Two attorneys from Williams, Williams, Rattner, & Plunkett PC in Birmingham participated in the 2010 Summer Conference of the Real Property Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan.
Kevin S. Macaddino is a partner whose law practice focuses on real estate land acquisition, development, financing and leasing, boundary disputes and corporate law. Macaddino was a discussion leader on the topic of “Michigan Law and Boundary Disputes.” John D. Gaber is a partner whose practice focuses on real estate, corporate and general business law. Gaber was the moderator and a presenter for the featured seminar “Lessons Learned from the Downturn.”
The 2010 Summer Conference, held at Crystal Mountain Resort in Thompsonville is the 35th annual edition. The Summer Conference is an opportunity for attorneys to continue their legal education and to network with other attorneys.
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Cheryl A. Bush of Bush, Seyferth, & Paige PLLC, a litigation firm in Troy, was selected as an honoree of Corp! Magazine’s “Michigan’s Salute to Diversity” distinction for “Diversity Focused Company.”
BSP was selected as an honoree for demonstrating a commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion and how it adds value within the workplace; fostering career development and advancement for diverse employees; and enhancing the employee experience through diversity.
Additionally, Bush and Patrick G. Seyferth of BSP were accepted into The Fellows of the Michigan State Bar Foundation.
Admittance into the Fellowship signifies accomplishments and dedicated service both to the legal profession and the community. Invitations are extended to qualified Michigan lawyers only once each year.
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Michelle Carter, a partner in the Troy office of Detroit-based Bodman LLP, has received the first ever “The One to Watch” award from the Barristers of the Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association for outstanding professional achievement.
Carter received the award at the DMBA’s 23rd Annual Summer Breeze and Law Clerk event on July 15.
“The One to Watch” award is reserved for attorneys who have practiced for less than 10 years, have achieved an exceptional level of professional accomplishment, and demonstrate a potential for future success. In announcing the award, Barristers President Chandra W. Baker cited Carter’s multiple leadership roles in the legal community. Carter currently serves on the DMBA Board of Directors and is immediate past president of the Wolverine Bar Association. She is a member of the Michigan Supreme Court’s Solutions on Self-Help Task Force, established in May 2010 by Chief Justice Marilyn J. Kelly. Carter has held leadership positions with the National Bar Association and she serves as secretary of the Board of Directors for Volunteers of America-Michigan.
In her legal practice, Carter represents clients involved in a variety of complex commercial litigation matters, contract matters, real property matters and construction matters. She also has experience with labor and employment law, employment litigation, and employment counseling. She is listed in the current edition of Michigan Rising Stars under business litigation.
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Paul Millenbach was appointed to the Michigan Truck Safety Commission by Governor Jennifer Granholm. Millenbach is assigned to represent private motor carriers for a term expiring Aug. 4, 2011.
An attorney with Foster, Swift, Collins, and Smith PC , Millenbach is a specialized transportation and logistics lawyer and is also a visiting lecturer on Transportation Law at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. In addition to his transportation practice, Millenbach handles Michigan No-Fault litigation, mass tort defense of asbestos disease cases, commercial litigation and family law matters. He also serves on the firm’s executive committee and as co-leader of the General Litigation Practice Group.
The role of the Michigan Truck Safety Commission is to improve truck safety by developing and providing Michigan citizens and the trucking industry with effective education and training.
The commission is responsible for the expenses of the Truck Safety Fund grants and initiates data collection and research on truck safety following the implementation of the educational programs.
Millenbach completed his undergraduate education at Northern Michigan University where he received a Bachelor of Science and earned his law degree from the Thomas M. Cooley Law School shortly after.
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Jonathan L. Engman, partner with the law firm of Fabrizio & Brook PC, authored the article, “Two Michigan Cases Affect Lenders” which appears in the Summer 2010 issue of UTA (United Trustees Association).
Engman is the supervising attorney for the Real Estate Department where he oversees all foreclosures and REO files for the firm. He concentrates his law practice in the area of real estate, mortgage lending, curative title, contracts, and has extensive experience litigating foreclosure and quiet title cases.
Additionally, Fabrizio & Brook PC is honored to participate in the pro bono program “Services to Soldiers: Legal Assistance Referral Program.” Faculty and staff of The Thomas M.
Cooley Law School developed this pro bono program and it is the only law-school-run program in Michigan specifically designed to assist with the immediate civilian legal needs of military personnel returning from deployment.
The program provides free legal assistance for non-military legal matters to eligible military personnel. The program offers assistance in multiple legal issues ranging from family law, creditor problems, preparation of legal documents to job loss.
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Cooley Law School has hired attorney and health-care consultant Lisa DeMoss to lead its new Master of Laws in Insurance Law program at the school’s Lansing campus. The program, which begins in January 2011, is part of a partnership program with Olivet College.
DeMoss will serve as director of the Graduate Insurance Program and as a visiting professor. She is looking forward to getting the new program in motion.
“I am thrilled to be part of the graduate program faculty at Cooley Law School. These are exciting and unsettling times for the insurance industry. Cooley is providing its graduates with interdisciplinary training for the insurance sector jobs of the future, while working collaboratively with the industry to foster the growth of knowledge based employment opportunities within our state,” DeMoss said.
She added that, “this innovative program provides an opportunity for lawyers and insurance industry leaders to share their expertise and insight while addressing new and expanding regulatory challenges confronting the industry.”
DeMoss served as senior vice president, general counsel, and corporate compliance officer for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan in Detroit, Mich., 2003-2009, before becoming a health care consultant. As a consultant, she has provided strategic advice and risk management for health care entities under health care reform.
She served as vice president and deputy general counsel in litigation, and as principal counsel for the Auto-National Division of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan 1998-2003, and as litigation counsel for the organization from 1984-1998.
DeMoss began her law career in 1977 as an associate with Fitzgerald Peters, Dakmak, and Bruno, in Detroit, becoming a partner in 1980.
She earned her bachelor of arts degree at Michigan State University, and her law degree at Wayne State University Law School.
The partnership agreement joins Olivet College’s Risk Management and Insurance Program with Cooley’s Law School’s juris doctor and master of law programs, creating only the second master of law’s insurance program in the nation.
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Hall, Render, Killian, Heath & Lyman announced the strategic hire of shareholder David A. French. French has practiced in the areas of corporate counsel services, general commercial litigation, health law litigation and risk management, as well as medical staff relations.
As a graduate of Wayne State University Law School, French has been a litigator and trial lawyer for more than 25 years. Throughout the course of his career, French has had success in handling qui tam and federal false claims litigation, physician staff disputes, reimbursement disputes with third party payors, federal and state investigations along with other administrative regulatory matters. He has further acted as lead counsel in federal and state courts across the nation.
French is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, the Washtenaw County Bar Association and the American Health Lawyers Association. French has written numerous articles and has lectured at several programs that focus on the health care industry.
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Judith Greenstone Miller, partner with Southfield-based Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer, Weiss PC, has been appointed to the Board of Directors of The Heidelberg Project, a Detroit-based community organization designed to improve lives and neighborhoods through the use of art. Jaffe CEO Richard Zussman made the announcement.
Miller is a member of the firm’s Insolvency and Reorganization Practice Group, specializing her practice in the areas of creditors’ rights and commercial litigation. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Wayne State University Law School.
A published author and frequent lecturer, Miller has been consecutively named as a “Michigan Super Lawyer” since 2006. She is also a member of numerous professional groups and committees, including the Business Bankruptcy Committee of the American Bar Association’s Business Law Section, the Debtor/Creditors’ Rights Committee of the Business Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan, the American Bankruptcy Institute and the Detroit Chapter of the American Jewish Committee.
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Jennifer Sheehan Anderson, a partner in Honigman, Miller, Schwartz, and Cohn’s Intellectual Property Practice Group of its Corporate and Securities Department, has been elected chair of the State Bar of Michigan’s Intellectual Property Law Section. The section provides education, information and analysis about issues of concern in the Intellectual Property field through a variety of activities including meetings, seminars and publication of a newsletter. Anderson has served as a council member of the Intellectual Property Section since 2006, as secretary and treasurer from 2008 to 2009 and as chair-elect from 2009 to 2010.
Anderson’s practice includes providing guidance on a wide range of intellectual property matters in the U.S. and international markets, including registration, maintenance and renewal of trademarks, copyrights and domain names, e-commerce and technology matters, as well as enforcement and defense of trademarks, trade dress, copyrights and domain names.
In addition to her position on the State Bar of Michigan Intellectual Property Section, Anderson is a member of the Michigan Intellectual Property Law Association and The International Trademark Association. She was also recognized as a “Rising Star” by “Michigan Super Lawyers” in 2010.
Anderson earned her law degree from University of Detroit Mercy and a B.A. from University of Maryland- College Park.
