[4][5] He began his legal career as an associate with Sterns Weaver Miller Weissler Alhadeff & Sitterson in Miami, where he was promoted to shareholder in 1988.
[10] Orr had been picked to lead Jones Day's new Miami office before he resigned his partnership to move to Detroit.
[11] Noting his "impressive depth of experience," legal industry publication Chambers and Partners listed Orr among the top bankruptcy lawyers in Washington as of 2013.
[13] The Detroit News described Orr as "the lead attorney on convincing the court to allow Chrysler to abruptly close a quarter of its U.S.
[15] A Democrat,[16] he was appointed by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder as emergency manager to oversee Detroit financial operations on March 14, 2013 under Public Act 72.
On January 24, 2013 Snyder had signed a revised version of a controversial emergency manager law that was rejected by voters during the November election.
The pick has been criticized as a conflict of interest (Jones Day represents several of Detroit's creditors like Bank of America) and the firms billing rates of up to $1,075 per hour and large travel expenses have been questioned.