Miller Canfield recently announced that 60 of its lawyers in Southeast Michigan were selected as DBusiness magazine’s 2011 “Top Lawyers.”
Miller Canfield lawyers were recognized for their legal expertise in 34 practice areas including: antitrust, banking, bankruptcy, corporate law, criminal defense, employee benefits, environmental, health care, intellectual property, international trade, labor and employment, litigation, M&A law, public finance, real estate, tax, and trusts and estates.
Detroit office
• Frederick A. Acomb, Business Litigation; Marjory G. Basile, Intellectual Property.
• Bruce D. Birgbauer, Corporate and International Trade and Finance.
• Orin D. Brustad, Employee Benefits.
• Harold W. Bulger, Public Finance.
• Beverly H. Burns, Labor and Employment.
• Thomas D. Colis, Public Finance.
• Donna J. Donati, Labor and Employment.
• Lawrence M. Dudek, Construction Litigation and Construction and Real Estate Law.
• W. Mack Faison, Commercial Litigation.
• Joseph F. Galvin, Land Use & Zoning and Real Estate.
• Leonard D. Givens, Labor and Employment.
• Jonathan S. Green, Bankruptcy and Creditor/Debtor Rights.
• Michael W. Hartmann, Commercial Litigation, Legal Malpractice and Professional Malpractice Law.
• Donald W. Keim, Public Finance.
• Douglas M. Kilbourne, Banking.
• Thomas W. Linn, Banking.
• Anthony J. Mavrinac, Banking.
• Michael P. McGee, Municipal Law and Public Finance.
• Patrick F. McGow, Public Finance.
• Jeffrey M. McHugh, Public Finance.
• Samuel J. McKim, Tax.
• David K. McLeod, Banking.
• Christopher A. McMican, Employee Benefits.
• Megan P. Norris, Labor and Employment.
• Kathryn L. Ossian, Information Technology.
• Thomas G. Parachini, Commercial Litigation.
• Joel L. Piell, Public Finance.
• Clarence L. Pozza Jr., Commercial Litigation.
• Steven A. Roach, Banking.
• Jerry T. Rupley, Public Finance.
• Larry J. Saylor, Antitrust.
• P. Rivka Schochet, Franchise.
• Richard J. Seryak, Labor and Employment.
• Michael H. Traison, Bankruptcy and Creditor/Debtor Rights.
• Amanda Van Dusen, Banking and Public Finance Law.
• Carl H. Von Ende, Banking Law and Business and Commercial Litigation.
• Richard A. Walawender, Commercial Law.
• Jerome R. Watson, Labor and Employment
Troy office
• James L. Allen, Banking.
• Brad B. Arbuckle, Corporate and Securities Law.
• Thomas W. Cranmer, Non-White-Collar and White-Collar Criminal Defense.
• Gregory V. DiCenso, Trusts and Estates.
• Gerald J. Gleeson, White-Collar Criminal Defense.
• Kalman G. Goren, Employee Benefits.
• Robert J. Haddad, Product Liability.
• Ronald E. Hodess, Real Estate.
• David D. Joswick, Banking, Business and Corporate Law and Mergers & Acquisitions.
• Kenneth E. Konop, Trusts and Estates.
• Matthew F. Leitman, Non-White-Collar and White-Collar Criminal Defense.
• Anna M. Maiuri, Environmental.
• James A. Simpson, Banking.
• David M Thoms, Nonprofit/Charities and Trusts and Estates.
• James W. Williams, Trusts and Estates.
• Mark E. Wilson, Health Care.
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Secrest Wardle attorneys William P. Hampton and Thomas R. Schultz have been recognized as “Top Lawyers” in Metro Detroit’s DBusiness Magazine.
Hampton was voted a Top Lawyer in the areas of Commercial Litigation, Family Law, and Municipal Law. Schultz received recognition as a Top Lawyer for his specialty area of Municipal Law.
Hampton, president of Secrest Wardle and former Oakland County Circuit Court judge, has also been recognized in “Best Lawyers in America” for more than years.
Hampton currently serves as general counsel for the City of Bloomfield Hills, City of Auburn Hills, Township of Bloomfield, and Township of West Bloomfield. He is a speaker for the Michigan Municipal League, Michigan Society of Planning Officials and other entities.
Schultz, an executive partner with the firm, is a prior honoree. He currently serves as city attorney for the City of Novi and the City of Farmington, and provides general counsel services for several other Oakland County communities, including the City of Farmington Hills and Bloomfield Township. Schultz is a recipient of the 2010 Distinguished Municipal Attorney Award given by the Michigan Municipal League and the Michigan Association of Municipal Attorneys (MAMA) for his recognized achievements exemplifying the highest level of accomplishment in representing municipal interests in Michigan courts.
In addition, Secrest Wardle is pleased to announce that Bruce A. Truex, Mark E. Morley, Thomas J. Azoni, Mark F. Masters, and James R. Bradley have been invited to join the Council on Litigation Management.
The council is a nonpartisan alliance comprised of thousands of insurance companies, corporations, corporate counsel, litigation and risk managers, claims professionals and attorneys. Through education and collaboration the organization’s goals are to create a common interest in the representation by firms of companies, and to promote and further the highest standards of litigation management in pursuit of client defense. Selected attorneys and law firms are extended membership by invitation only based on nominations from CLM Fellows.
Additionally, Secrest Wardle Alternative Dispute Resolution attorney Daniel P. Makarski made the 2011 “Top Lawyer List” in Metro Detroit’s DBusiness Magazine.
Makarski, with more than 30 years of experience, has earned a statewide reputation as a successful arbitrator, case evaluator, facilitator, and mediator. He is routinely appointed to cases involving personal injuries, medical malpractice, and property and business disputes. For the second year in a row, he has been named in DBusiness magazine as a Top Lawyer in Metro Detroit.
Makarski was included in a group of honorees among 49 specialized practice areas. He has previously been awarded the prestigious Respected Advocate Award from the Michigan Trial Lawyers Association and the Civility Award from the Macomb County Bar Association.
Makarski is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, Macomb County Bar Association, St. Clair County Bar Association, American Arbitration Association, and Advocates Bar Association.
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Norman D. Tucker, a Medical Malpractice Law and Personal Injury attorney in Detroit, has been named Detroit Area “Best Lawyers Medical Malpractice Lawyer of the Year” for 2011.
Tucker, who has been on the “Best Lawyers in America” list for thirteen years, was given its highest honor by being designated the 2011 Detroit Area Medical Malpractice Lawyer of the Year. Tucker, a long time partner at the Southfield law firm of Sommers Schwartz, has practiced in the field of medical negligence his entire career.
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Thomas M. Cooley Law School Professor David C. Berry has won the 2010 International Trademark Association (INTA) Volunteer Service Award for the Advancement of the Association. Berry is a professor of law at Cooley’s Auburn Hills campus and is director of Cooley’s Graduate Program in Intellectual Property Law.
“I am grateful that INTA has recognized the success of our efforts to build bridges between scholars specializing in intellectual property law and the attorneys and law firms that handle trademark protection issues for clients every day,” said Berry. “This interaction makes law professors better teachers and, at the same time, improves the practice of trademark law.”
Berry accepted his award on Nov. 10 at an awards ceremony at INTA’s annual Leadership Meeting in Scottsdale, Ariz. He has been a member of the Cooley faculty since 2002, when he joined as a specialist in patent and intellectual property law. Before joining the faculty, he was a partner in the Boston, Mass., law firm of Testa, Hurwitz, & Thibeault LLP.
Additionally, Cooley Professor Dorean Koenig was inducted into the Michigan Hall of Fame Oct. 19 in recognition of her work in the fields of human rights law, women’s rights law, civil rights and civil liberties, and education. Internationally, Koenig worked for the formation of the International Criminal Court in The Hague. In the United States, she has worked to end the death penalty and to refine death penalty standards for the severely mentally ill. Koenig is one of seven women inducted into the Michigan Hall of Fame this year in the Contemporary Category.
Koenig is an award-winning teacher and prolific author whose criminal law textbook is used by many Cooley students. She is active in the Individual Rights and Responsibilities Section of the American Bar Association (IRR) as well as in the American Section of the International Association of Penal Law (AIDP.) She is a Fellow of the American and Michigan Bar Foundations.
She is a recipient of the YWCA’s Diana Award for outstanding service to the community; the President’s Award from the Lansing League of Women Voters for organizing a program to register voters; and a member of the Cooley Legal Author’s Society
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Honigman, Miller, Schwartz, and Cohn LLP is pleased to announce that Laura A. Brodeur-McGeorge, a partner in the firm’s Labor and Employment Department, has been elected to the Board of Solid Ground, a nonprofit organization based in Macomb County and dedicated to helping the homeless, and those at risk of becoming homeless, to achieve and maintain independence.
Brodeur-McGeorge focuses her practice on counseling clients on employment matters, employee health and safety issues, contract disputes, trade secrets and restrictive covenants. She also litigates employment matters in federal and state courts and before various administrative agencies and arbitration tribunals.
Brodeur-McGeorge is a member of the State Bar of Michigan Client Protection Fund Committee, a Fellow of the Oakland County Bar Foundation, and a member of the American Bar Association, Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association and the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan.
Brodeur-McGeorge earned her law degree from Wayne State University Law School and a B.S. in management from Oakland University.
Honigman is also pleased to announce that A’Jené M. Maxwell, a partner in the firm’s Real Estate Department, has been named by Michigan FrontPage (FP) and Real Times Media as one of the 2010 FP:Thirty. The honorees were identified by their nominators as “one of the most influential and inspiring emerging leaders in Metro Detroit.”
Maxwell’s law practice focuses on industrial, office, retail and residential real estate financing, leasing, acquisition and disposition. He also advises clients with regard to property tax, incentives, zoning and land use matters.
Maxwell’s professional involvement includes serving as a member of the Law Division of the International Council of Shopping Centers, and as a Steering Committee Member for the Urban Land Institute’s Young Leaders Group. In the community, Maxwell serves on the Basic Needs Impact Council of United Way, the Community Impact Council of United Way and the Word of Faith International Christian Center – Ministry of Helps.
Maxwell earned his law degree from Wayne State University Law School and a B.B.A. in Finance from Grand Valley State University.
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Meghan E. Curavo has joined Corbet, Shaw, Essad & Tucciarone as an associate.
Curavo graduated from Wayne State University Law School in 2010. At Wayne State, Curavo was a member of the law review and served as president of the Student Bar Association Board of Governors. She also served as a student attorney at the Free Legal Aid Clinic in Detroit. During her third year of law school, Curavo interned for U.S. District Court Judge Gerald E. Rosen, Eastern District of Michigan.
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IDG’s CIO magazine has announced that Foley & Lardner LLP is a recipient of the 2010 CIO 100. The 23rd annual award program recognizes organizations around the world that exemplify the highest level of operational and strategic excellence in information technology (IT).
The firm received this honor in large part for its budget management tool – a technology developed by Foley that provides its attorneys and clients with real-time data regarding actual fees incurred against budget, enabling its attorneys to manage work for clients efficiently and provide predictable pricing. This Web-based tool provides the data and reports necessary for the effective management of matters and fees, and greatly enhances communication and collaboration with firm clients.
“In collaboration with clients, our attorneys use the budget management tool to proactively manage legal projects and budgets to ensure client business objectives and fee expectations are aligned, provide predictable pricing and avoid budget surprises, which are all capabilities highly valued by our clients,” said James R. Kalyvas, chair of the firm’s Information Technology & Outsourcing Practice and one of the lead business representatives in the development of this tool.
The Foley budget management tool is just one of the technology-based solutions Foley offers that promotes collaboration between the firm’s attorneys and its clients while integrating seamlessly into day-to-day firm activities. Another such tool is Foley ClientSuite, a dedicated Web site that allows clients to track and manage matters and acts as a repository for case files and other information.
“We pride ourselves on the use of innovative technology to address client concerns and improve our ability to deliver high-quality services with distinctive value,” said Douglas D. Caddell, chief information officer at Foley. “Through Foley’s client service interview program, we listen to what our clients have to say and heavily invest in technology that allows us to better address client service requirements and thus exceed their expectations.”
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Maddin, Hauser, Wartell, Roth, & Heller PC recently announced the formation of a new practice group, the Real Property and Mortgage Dispute Resolution Group. Firm shareholders Martin S. Frenkel and David E. Hart will head the group.
Shareholder Brian A. Nettleingham and attorneys Lavinia S. Biasell, Mark E. Plaza, Courtney D. Roschek, and Brandon K. Buck are members of the practice group, which will concentrate on title insurance and mortgage litigation defense, two practices that the firm has a long-standing experience in.
The firm has also named David G. Michael as an associate attorney.
Michael practices in the areas of business, commercial and real estate litigation, with a concentration in banking and mortgage-lender litigation.
Michael received his bachelor’s degree from Wayne State University in 1999 and his law degree from Wayne State University Law School in 2003.
Michael is a director of the Wayne State University Law School Alumni Association and is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, Business Law and Real Property Law Sections; the American Bar Association, Litigation Section; and the Federal Bar Association.
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Corbet, Shaw, Essad, & Tucciarone recently announced that Sarah E. Tupica was named a “2010 Rising Star” by “Super Lawyers” magazine.
Tupica focuses her practice on medical malpractice and insurance defense.
