Valerie A Kutz-Otway is an attorney at Chalgian & Tripp Law Offices, PLLC, in Saginaw, Michigan. She attended Thomas M. Cooley Law School, where she graduated cum laude. Attorney Kutz-Otway has over a decade of legal experience and focuses her practice in the areas of probate litigation and estate planning, with a special emphasis on assisting persons with disabilities or mental illness. She is the inclusion and lawyer development director for Chalgian & Tripp Law Offices, PLLC, where she previously served as its managing attorney. Attorney Kutz-Otway is licensed to practice in the State of Michigan, the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, the United States Bankruptcy Court, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans' Claims, and the United States Supreme Court. She is a member of the Probate and Estate Planning, Elder Law and Disability Rights, and Military and Veterans' Law sections of the State Bar of Michigan. She serves as President of the NAELA Michigan Chapter board and as Secretary of the WLAM Great Lakes Bay Region board. She formerly served on the board of directors for the Saginaw County Bar Association and was the longtime chair of its Pro Bono Committee. In addition, Attorney Kutz-Otway serves on the board of directors for HIS Restoration Ministries, an organization that provides shelter and counseling for homeless expectant mothers. Attorney Kutz-Otway was selected as a "Rising Star" by Super Lawyer Magazine in 2019 and 2020, and as an Influential Woman of Law by Michigan Lawyers' Weekly in 2024. Committed to continuing legal education, she regularly speaks on the topics of guardianships and conservatorships; she is a Co-Editor of ICLE's Michigan Guardianship and Conservatorship Handbook and authors the Guardianships of Developmentally Disabled Persons Chapter therein. She is a dedicated advocate on behalf of her clients, consistently providing the highest quality of representation. During her tenured career, Attorney Kutz-Otway has litigated noteworthy cases, which set precedent in both the Michigan Supreme Court and the Michigan Court of Appeals.
