Whether it’s tackling a legal case, starting a law firm, changing careers or helping new entrepreneurs, James Hiller ’73 is always up for a challenge.
“The way I look at it, a life without challenges would be an empty life,” he said.
Hiller came to the University of Detroit School of Law on the recommendation of his father’s attorney. He liked what he saw.
“I particularly liked the size of the school,” he said. “It seemed like a more personal kind of experience.”
He jumped in with two feet, getting involved with the Moot Court, among other organizations, was president of his senior class and received the Outstanding Student Award.
“I loved the law school,” he said. “I had a fabulous experience. I feel I was well-trained, well-treated and I made deep and enduring friendships that last to this day. I owe a great deal to University of Detroit Mercy for the success that I have been fortunate to attain.”
After graduation, Hiller worked for a large Detroit law firm for a few years before opening his own firm with fellow University of Detroit Mercy alumnus Judge Barry Howard. The practice was known for its integrity, he said, in the labor, corporate and real estate law it specialized in. “We were one of the few firms who represented both public unions and employers. So we brought a unique perspective to what we did that the people we represented appreciated.”
In the late 1980s, after years of having “one foot in up to my knee” in Shopping Center Markets, a chain of grocery stores started by his father, Hiller left the firm to work full-time for the family business.
“I don’t know that my position even had a name,” he said with a laugh. “Part of my own makeup is to be entrepreneurial, so I came in with a goal to turn it into a big chain.” He took the business from two stores to seven, changed the names to Hiller’s and sold it in 2015 to Kroger.
“It was with very mixed emotions I made the decision to sell,” he said. To many customers, Hiller’s was a place that reminded them of mom-and-pop grocery stores of decades ago. “I miss the daily contact with the staff and the customers, but I don’t miss the stress of running a large corporation.”
Hiller jumped right into the next chapter of his career: Hiller Consulting Group, a business that helps entrepreneurs take ideas and turn them into successful businesses.
“There’s a part of me that wants to see others do well and I enjoy the nurturing and mentoring of the entrepreneurial spirit,” he said. “People come to me for advice and listen to what I have to say because it’s a road that I’ve already walked.” His clients come from all fields, but Hiller especially likes working with people in the food industry.
Hiller shares his success in other ways, too, by helping support medical research, with Lou Gehrig’s Disease and breast cancer being high on his list.
His success in other ventures comes from his law school education.
“Having a law degree is good if you want to practice law,” he said. “But it’s even better if you want to do other things. It’s not about teaching you the law, it’s about training you to think in a different way, to approach problems in an inductive way. A law degree prepares you well for business or anything you want to do.”
