Douglas S. Bishop was born in Chicago, Illinois, and has lived previously in southern and northeastern lower Michigan. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1969 and served on active duty as an officer in the U.S. Navy through September 1974, when he entered law school. He graduated from Suffolk University Law School, Boston, Massachusetts in 1977, receiving his Juris Doctorate degree, cum laude. During law school, he also served as an intern in the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Massachusetts. Following law school, he was admitted to the State Bar of Michigan and has since practiced continually in Michigan and, specifically, in the Grand Traverse region. An active member of the Grand Traverse-Leelanau-Antrim Bar Association, he served on its Steering Committee from 1980-1982, as president of the Young Lawyers Section in 1980 and as president of the association for the 1986-1987 term. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Michigan and is licensed to practice in all Michigan courts, the United States District Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan, the Court of Federal Claims and the U.S. Supreme Court. He is also a registered patent attorney and licensed to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and is a member of the American Intellectual Property Association. Mr. Bishop has significant civil and criminal trial experience in the state and federal courts of Michigan. He also maintains an active multi-state intellectual property practice (patent, trademark, copyright, trade secrets and related matters) with additional areas of emphasis in real estate (including oil and gas title matters), estate planning, corporate, business and probate.

Mr. Bishop is a past president of the Grand Traverse Bay YMCA (1982 -1983) and the Suffolk University Law School Alumni Association (1992-1993, 1985-1986). He has served as chairman of the Board of Directors of the Traverse Area Chamber of Commerce and also as chairman of its Education Committee. He is a retired Captain in the United States Naval Reserve and is Area Coordinator for the Information Program of the Admissions Department of the United States Naval Academy for western and northern Michigan, including the Upper Peninsula. He presently serves as a Trustee of Northwestern Michigan College, as Chairman of the Traverse City Chamber of Commerce Foundation, and as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of First Congregational Church of Traverse City.