Butzel Long
Butzel Long is recognized in the 2010 State Bar of Michigan Circle of Excellence listing for outstanding pro bono legal services to the poor during calendar year 2009. The Circle of Excellence listing was recently published in the Michigan Bar Journal.
Law firms included in the Circle of Excellence have proven a high level of participation by all attorneys staffed by the firms in the calendar year 2009.
On average, each attorney has contributed at least 30 hours of counsel or representation to low-income individuals and families or to organizations that provide legal services.
In addition, Butzel Long attorneys and shareholders Richard P. Manczak and Jeffrey D. Moss co-authored an article that appears in the January 2011 edition of the Michigan Bar Journal. The article is titled, “‘Green’ Tax Incentives – A Guide to Federal and Michigan Tax Incentives for Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency.” (http://www.michbar.org/journal/ pdf/pdf4article1802.pdf).
By 2015, 10 percent of Michigan’s energy must come from renewable sources. Nationwide, eight percent of energy produced is renewable source energy, but Michigan is below five percent renewable. The article discusses and summarizes some of the more important federal and Michigan incentives currently available for renewable/clean energy and energy efficiency, with a focus on tax subsidies.
Manczak is a transactional attorney long active in the renewable energy and clean technology sectors. He leads the firm’s Emerging Technologies and Capital Formation Practice Group and co-chairs its Energy and Climate Change Practice Group.
Moss practices in the areas of federal and state taxation and has an active transactional and estate planning practice.
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Michigan Court of Appeals
Larry Royster, research director of the Michigan Court of Appeals, has been appointed chief clerk of that court, Michigan Court of Appeals Chief Judge William B. Murphy announced recently.
Royster will also continue as research director, Murphy explained. His appointment as chief clerk becomes effective Jan. 31.
Royster has degrees from Michigan State University and the Thomas M. Cooley Law School. He joined the Court of Appeals in 1986 and has served as a research attorney, a judicial law clerk to Judge Richard M. Maher, advance research supervisor, deputy research director, and research director.
Royster will replace Chief Clerk Sandra Schultz Mengel, who will retire from the Court effective January 31, 2011.
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State Appellate Defender Office (SADO)
The Appellate Defender Commission accepted on Jan. 4, the resignation and retirement of James R. Neuhard, director of the State Appellate Defender Office (SADO). Neuhard directed the statewide office, which has provided appellate representation to indigent criminal appellants, since Sept. 6, 1974. SADO has been recognized as one of the nation’s premier public defense offices, receiving the prestigious Clara Foltz Award from the ABA in 2009. Neuhard has received numerous awards based on his leadership, including the Michigan Lawyers Weekly recognition as “Lawyer of the Year” in 2009.
The Commission appointed Dawn Van Hoek, SADO’s chief deputy, to serve as acting director pending a decision on Neuhard’s permanent replacement.
The Commission is a statutory body comprised of governor’s appointees, overseeing both SADO and the Michigan Appellate Assigned Counsel System.
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Maddin, Hauser, Wartell, Roth, & Heller P.C.
The American Bar Association (ABA) has appointed David G. Michael, an associate at Maddin, Hauser, Wartell, Roth, & Heller P.C. of Southfield as co-chair of the Banking & Lender Liability Subcommittee of the ABA Litigation Section’s Commercial and Business Litigation Committee for 2010-2011.
As co-chair, Michael will propose program ideas, submit case, news, development notes and articles for the committee web site, collect content for the newsletter, and attend the upcoming Litigation Section Annual Conference in Miami in April and/or the ABA Annual Meeting in Toronto in August. The committee’s mission is to secure the vitality of the American system of justice and equal justice for all, providing members with the resources and opportunities to help them be effective, competent and ethical advocates on behalf of their clients and in the eyes of the public.
In addition to the ABA Litigation Section, Michael is a member of the Business Law Section and the Real Property Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan. He is also a member of Federal Bar Association, the Oakland County Bar Association, a director of the Wayne State University Law School Alumni Association and a volunteer youth hockey coach with Detroit’s Clark Park Coalition.
Michael is a member of Maddin Hauser’s Real Property and Mortgage Dispute Resolution Group. He also practices in the areas of banking, business and commercial litigation.
Michael received his bachelor’s degree from Wayne State University in 1999 and earned his law degree in 2003 from Wayne State University Law School.
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Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP
Honigman, Miller, Schwartz, and Cohn LLP is pleased to announce that its chief operating officer Robert D. Kubic has been selected as one of Corp! magazine’s 2010 “Michigan Top Executives.” Corp! magazine identified 21 leaders throughout the state who are driving innovation, bringing business to Michigan. According to the magazine, the primary attribute shared by these leaders is that they are all determined and committed to finding business success in Michigan.
Kubic came to Honigman in November 2008 from Mintz Levin, a national law firm based in Boston. He has more than 20 years of experience in the legal service industry. At Honigman, Kubic serves as a member of its Senior Management Team.
Kubic earned an MBA from Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University and a B.A. from Hiram (Ohio) College.
Kubic is active in the Fibromuscular Dysplasia Society of America, Inc. (FMDSA). The nonprofit organization is dedicated to increasing the understanding of Fibromuscular Dysplasia (FMD) among doctors and patients and improving the lives of people with this condition. FMD, an under-diagnosed disease in which abnormal cells develop in the arteries causing a decrease in blood flow, captured the attention of the Wall Street Journal in June 2009. The article quoted Thom W. Rooke, vascular medicine professor at the Mayo Clinic, as estimating “three to five percent would be a very reasonable estimate in the general population for FMD.” Through the work of FMDSA, the University of Michigan recently joined eight other sites throughout the world, including prestigious institutions such as the Cleveland Clinic, the Mayo Clinic and Mt. Sinai in New York, in registering patients in a database to collect important information about the disease. The data for all sites is being hosted at the University of Michigan and is being used to assist in better diagnosis and treatment of FMD.
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Dykema
Dykema announced the election Joseph A. Doerr to membership.
Doerr, a member of Dykema’s Business and Commercial Litigation Practice Group in the Bloomfield Hills office, focuses on commercial litigation with particular emphasis on complex contract disputes, consumer financial services litigation, and real estate and construction matters. He handles commercial transactions and contracts; general consumer finance, including suits arising under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Truth in Lending Act, Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and Michigan Consumer Protection Act; construction; leases and landlord-tenant disputes; and fraud and business torts.
Additionally, Dykema announces the addition of former Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox to the firm’s Litigation Department. Cox will be based in the firm’s Detroit office.
A national leader in the Affordable Care Act of 2010 debate, Cox brings a range of health care experience directing innovative cases in the state of Michigan. Among his successes as attorney general include fighting to maintain competition in the individual health insurance market and contending with the myriad issues surrounding the conversion of the non-profit hospital system Detroit Medical Center into a for-profit structure with Vanguard Healthcare – at $1.5 billion, the largest such conversion yet in the nation.
At Dykema, Cox will focus his practice on health care fraud compliance and white collar defense issues where he will advise clients on navigating the complexities and risks of government investigations. On the health care front, he will help clients develop strategies in response to increased compliance and tougher anti-fraud policies stemming from the Affordable Care Act of 2010, Stark Law violations, False Claims Act violations and qui tam cases, as well as responding to inquiries from the Office of the Health Services Inspector General. Cox also will provide counsel on high-stakes government and regulatory matters such as product safety in addition to counseling clients on commercial litigation, securities litigation, antitrust cases, energy and utility regulation, climate change and gaming matters.
With Cox at the helm, the Department of Attorney General recovered a record $3.2 billion for Michigan consumers and saved the state’s taxpayers more than $1.7 billion in defense of state lawsuits. Cox went to court and testified before Congress to defend the Auto Industry, and those whose jobs depend on it, from efforts to impose huge, additional costs on domestic carmakers. Cox also created a Mortgage Fraud unit which has helped more than 50,000 people receive mortgage assistance.
Before earning his B.A. and law degree from the University of Michigan, Cox served as a Marine for three years, where he earned the Navy Achievement Medal and Command Marine of the Year Designation. Prior to his election as attorney general, Cox served in the Oakland and Wayne County Prosecutors Offices.
During his terms as attorney general, Cox held leadership positions in both the National Association of Attorneys General and Republican Attorneys General Association.
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Corbet, Shaw, Essad, Tucciarone, & Bonasso PLLC
Effective Jan. 1, Steven J. Bonasso has become a name partner of the Detroit law firm Corbet, Shaw, Essad, & Tucciarone, PLLC. The firm is now known as Corbet, Shaw, Essad, Tucciarone, & Bonasso PLLC.
Bonasso practices primarily in the areas of medical malpractice defense, insurance defense, municipal law (civil rights actions/1983), long-term care litigation, and premises liability. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan and his law degree from Wayne State University. He was admitted to the State Bar of Michigan and the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, in 1996.
Other partners of the firm are Daniel R. Corbet, Bruce R. Shaw, Kenneth M. Essad, and Eric G. Tucciarone.
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Clark Hill PLC
Former Michigan State Senate Majority Leader Michael D. Bishop has joined the national law firm of Clark Hill PLC, and will work out of the firm’s Birmingham office. Bishop will be a member of the firm’s Government and Public Affairs Group, and will focus his practice on all areas of public policy, business law and government relations.
Originally elected to the Michigan State House of Representatives in 1998, Bishop recently finished his term in Michigan’s 12th Senate District in December 2010. Following the 2006 election, he was nominated by his caucus and chosen by his peers to serve as the Senate majority leader.
Throughout his term in the Senate, Bishop championed a wide variety of important causes, including sponsoring legislation to create the Michigan Child Protection Registry, which was the first of its kind in the United States. He also authored the Michigan Identify Theft Protection Act, which established identity theft as a felony. He served on a number of committees in the House and Senate, including chairing the Banking and Financial Institutions Committee and was vice chair of the Judiciary Committee.
As Senate majority leader, he chaired the Government Operations Committee which is charged with recommending to the full Senate whether to accept or reject Governor Granholm’s appointments to state agencies and commissions.
In addition to his accomplishments in office, Bishop has received numerous honors, including: Credit Union National Association Legislator of the Year, Small Business Association of Michigan Legislator of the Year, Dads and Moms of Michigan Legislator of the Year, Citizens for Traditional Values Leadership Award, Michigan Bankers Association Economic Impact Award, Michigan Food and Beverage Association and Michigan Business and Professional Association Distinguished Service Award. In 2006, Bishop was named one of Crain’s Detroit Business 40 under 40.
Bishop earned his B.S. from the University of Michigan, and his law degree from the Detroit College of Law.
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Cantor Colburn LLP
Cantor Colburn senior trademark counsel Robyn S. Lederman is among DBusiness magazine’s Top Lawyers in Metro Detroit for 2011, as published in its December issue.
Lederman was nominated for this distinction by her peers. The magazine polled more than 15,000 private attorneys in the five-county Metro Detroit region.
Lederman concentrates her practice on protecting and enforcing her clients’ branding strategies through trademark clearance, registration and litigation.
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Kupelian, Ormond, & Magy P.C.
Paul S. Magy has been elected vice president of the Building Owners and Managers Association of Metro Detroit for 2011.
Magy is a founding principal of the law firm holder Kupelian, Ormond, & Magy P.C. where he specializes in real estate law.
BOMA is the premier professional trade association for owners and managers of commercial real estate, or providers of goods and services to the industry.
Magy was also awarded the 2010 BOMA President’s Award for extraordinary efforts throughout the year dedicated to the advancement of the commercial real estate industry.
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Michigan Supreme Court
Matthew Schneider, a federal prosecutor and law professor, has been named legal counsel to the Michigan Supreme Court, the court recently announced. He will also serve as Supreme Court chief of staff.
Schneider has been an assistant U.S. attorney in Detroit since 2003; he was a member of the Public Corruption Unit, which investigates and prosecutes corrupt public officials, organized crime, drug traffickers, and others. His responsibilities included training other attorneys and law enforcement officials. From 2002-2003, Schneider served as senior advisor and assistant general counsel in the White House Budget Office, where he provided legal and policy advice to cabinet members and senior presidential staff. From 2000-2002, he was an associate in the Washington, D.C. law firm of Wiley, Rein, & Fielding LLP, where he advised clients on business and trade issues.
Schneider earned his undergraduate degree in International Relations from Michigan State University, where he was a member of the James Madison College. From 1996-1997, he served as public events and advance coordinator for Governor John Engler.
A 2000 graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, Schneider is a visiting professor of constitutional law at the Thomas M. Cooley Law School, where he has taught since 2007.
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Cooley Law School
Brigadier General Michael C.H. McDaniel has joined the Cooley Law School full-time faculty as a professor in the Constitutional Law Department, and will teach classes at the school’s Auburn Hills and Lansing campuses. He will also be responsible for developing a program in Homeland Security Law.
McDaniel is currently the deputy assistant secretary for Homeland Defense Strategy, Prevention and Mission Assurance. His responsibilities include supervision of the Department of Defense Critical Infrastructure Protection Program and Global Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection Policy. He also serves as the Department of Defense Homeland Defense liaison to the White House and Congress and is responsible for domestic counterterrorism and counternarcotics programs.
McDaniel believes that Homeland Security Law is a growing field today and that Cooley Law School is uniquely qualified to be a leader in developing and offering this program to its students.
“It is not surprising that Cooley Law School, given its history of commitment and substantial support to the military and law enforcement, has made it a priority to develop a Homeland Security Law program,” stated McDaniel. “By offering innovative programs, Cooley provides the leaders of tomorrow with the legal knowledge and skills they need in an ever increasing competitive work environment.”
Earlier in his career, McDaniel was appointed by Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm as her adviser on Homeland Security in 2003 and served in that capacity until July 2009. At the same time, he also served as the assistant adjutant general for Homeland Security, Michigan National Guard.
He served as the liaison between the governor’s office in Michigan and all federal, state and local agencies on homeland security with responsibility for developing statewide policy on homeland security preparedness. Duties have included coordinating efforts to protect the state and its critical infrastructure from terrorist attacks.
McDaniel served as a member of the National Governors Association’s Homeland Security Advisors Council where he was elected to the Executive Committee in 2006 and 2008. He was named by the Office of Infrastructure Protection, Department of Homeland Security, as chair of the State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Government Coordinating Council in 2007.
McDaniel has been a member of the Michigan National Guard for over 24 years, previously serving as a military judge. He was formerly the assistant attorney general for Litigation in the executive division of the Michigan Department of Attorney General, with responsibility for reviewing all civil and criminal actions proposed to be initiated by the department in state or federal trial courts and all proposed settlements.
He earned his B.A. from St. Bonaventure University, his law degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Law, a Master of Strategic Studies from the Army War College, and a Master of Arts in Security Studies (Homeland Security) from the Naval Postgraduate School.
McDaniel received the Zimbardo Award, given to the Center for Homeland Defense and Security graduate who best embodies high academic achievement, outstanding leadership, and innovation in homeland security thinking. On Nov. 1, 2010, he was named as a visiting professor in the National Security Institute at the Naval Postgraduate School.
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King & Murray PLLC
Former Dykema Gossett partners Stephen W. King and Thomas J. Murray are pleased to announce the formation of King & Murray PLLC.
Located in downtown Birmingham King & Murray is a boutique business litigation law firm specializing in commercial and business litigation, including breach of contract, insurance coverage, and financial services litigation.
“Our goal is to achieve the best possible results for our clients at the least possible cost,” says partner King. “We can now take the experience we acquired at one of the largest law firms in the nation, and apply that same quality of service with a more flexible and cost effective approach for our clients,” he adds.
King & Murray is currently serving as counsel for the City of Detroit in an attempt to recover $10 million from the former federal police monitor.
