LEGAL PEOPLE

Law firm Dawda Mann and its attorneys have earned top mentions in key publications' rankings of U.S. firms. Midwest Real Estate News, which covers commercial real estate in 13 states, ranked Dawda Mann the no. 5 firm in the Midwest for real estate transactions. The firm's 14 real estate attorneys completed more than 800 commercial real estate transactions in 2010. Chambers USA, which ranks leading firms and attorneys in a range of practice areas, gave Dawda Mann founding member Edward Dawda its Band 1 ranking for real estate, founding member Michael Mulcahy its Band 3 ranking for real estate and member Theresa Joswick its Band 2 ranking for employee benefits and executive compensation. * * * Mark D. Rubenfire, a partner in the Southfield office of Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer, & Weiss PC, has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit. Jaffe CEO Richard Zussman made the announcement. Since its founding in 1926, the Jewish Community Center has been dedicated to serving the city's diverse and vibrant population with the very best in cultural, educational and recreational programming and whose goals remain the same: to make the Jewish Community Center a place where everyone feels welcome, a place of opportunity and creativity, a true center of the community. Rubenfire will be serving his first three-year term on the board through 2014. Rubenfire is a partner in the Southfield office of Jaffe Raitt and focuses his practice in real estate law, real estate leasing and real estate lending and workouts. He serves as practice group coordinator of the firm's real estate practice group and is past chairman of the firm's recruiting committee, as well as a past member of Jaffe's board of directors. Rubenfire is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Wayne State University Law School. * * * Frederick A. Acomb, a principal in the Detroit office of the law firm of Miller Canfield, has been appointed chair of Miller Canfield's International Dispute Resolution Section by the firm's Litigation and Trial Group. The International Dispute Resolution Section has defended and prosecuted international claims in many of the world's major arbitral institutions as well as in the United States federal courts. Acomb handles complex commercial litigation and international arbitration matters for clients from all over the world. He earned his law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of Law and his B.M. from Northwestern University. He is a member of the International Bar Association; the American Bar Association, International Law and Practice Section; and the State Bar of Michigan, International Section. In addition, Miller Canfield announces that Mark T. Boonstra, a principal in the Ann Arbor office, has been appointed by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder to the Michigan Judges Retirement Board for a term ending on March 31, 2015. He represents the general public and replaces Chris Swope. The board provides oversight of the Judges Retirement System Defined Benefit Plan. At Miller Canfield, Boonstra is co-chair of Miller Canfield's Appellate Section and deputy leader of the Litigation Group. He handles business and commercial disputes of all kinds. He worked on matters involving antitrust and securities law, constitutional law, contract and business tort claims, noncompete and trade secret claims, shareholder and other corporate governance disputes, and a variety of other legal matters. He also is a member of the Representative Assembly of the State Bar of Michigan, the Michigan Supreme Court's Model Civil Jury Instruction Committee, and is listed in "Best Lawyers of America" in the areas of Antitrust Law, Bet-the-Company Litigation, and Commercial Litigation. He earned his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School, his Master of Applied Economics from the University of Michigan, and a B.A. from Michigan State University. Also, Thomas W. Cranmer, a principal and managing director in the Troy office, has been appointed by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder to the Michigan Appellate Defender Commission for a term ending on May 24, 2015. The commission is responsible for providing a system of indigent appellate defense services and developing standards. At Miller Canfield, Cranmer concentrates his practice in both civil and criminal litigation. With more than 35 years of courtroom experience, his practice focuses largely on white-collar criminal defense, complex commercial litigation and arbitration/facilitation matters. Cranmer is a past president of the State Bar of Michigan, as well as a past president of the Oakland County Bar Foundation. He earned his law degree from Ohio Northern University and his B.A. from the University of Michigan. Additionally, Christopher M. Trebilcock, a principal and employment and labor lawyer in the Detroit office of the law firm of Miller Canfield, has been elected president of the Founders Junior Council (FJC), an auxiliary of the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA). At Miller Canfield, Trebilcock is deputy leader of the Employment and Labor Group. He serves clients in federal and state employment and labor litigation, including oral arguments before the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Michigan Court of Appeals. He also manages arbitrations and administrative proceedings at the state and federal level; conducts collective bargaining negotiations; and advises clients, including school districts and universities, on all labor and employment issues. Trebilcock earned his B.A. from Alma College and his law degree from Wake Forest University School of Law. Also, Michael H. Traison, a principal in the law firm of Miller Canfield's Chicago and Detroit offices, co-sponsored, through The Michael H. Traison Fund for Poland, the sixth edition of the International Teachers' Summer Institute "Teaching about the Holocaust," held at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland, July 1-7. Sixty participants took part in the Institute, among them middle and high school teachers from different cities, towns and villages from all over Poland, NGOs educators, consultants and evaluators, experts from the Teacher Training Center and students. The program included a one day study visit to the State Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau, as well the International Youth Meeting Centre in Ose cim/Auschwitz and Auschwitz Jewish Centre. The Institute is a common project of Polish, American and Israeli partners. All experts invited to the Institute are recognized academics and scholars from the United States, Poland and Israel. The mission is the integration of the Holocaust Studies into Polish schools with the goal of creating a just, caring and inclusive society in which prejudice, discrimination and anti-Semitism are condemned and combated. For more information about the VI International Teachers' Summer Institute Teaching about the Holocaust, visit www.holocaust.uj.edu.pl. At Miller Canfield, Traison specializes in helping businesses solve their commercial and financial problems including bankruptcy and restructuring as well as providing expertise in international trade & export controls, representing clients in Israel, Poland, the Czech Republic and other areas of Eastern Europe. He earned both his M.Ed. and Ph.B. from Wayne State University and his law degree from Michigan State University College of Law. * * * Howard & Howard Attorneys PLLC is pleased to announce that Miles T. Macik has joined the firm. He will practice out of the firm's Royal Oak Office. Macik focuses his practice on a wide range of litigation matters and disputes, including but not limited to: automotive supply and auto dealer litigation, commercial class action litigation, real estate development and leasing litigation, insurance litigation, and sales representative commission litigation. Prior to joining Howard & Howard, Macik represented clients in litigation matters in the state and federal courts of Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Oklahoma, California, Maryland, Florida and Massachusetts. He is a former professional football player with the Detroit Lions and has experience as a small business/franchise owner. Macik earned his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1996 and his law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law in 2001. He is admitted to practice in the state of Michigan and before the United States District Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and the United States Supreme Court. * * * Shanta S.W. McMullan, a labor and employment law attorney, has joined Butzel Long as an associate based in the firm's Detroit office. Previously, McMullan was an attorney with Honigman, Miller, Schwartz, and Cohn LLP. Mullan represents employers in judicial and administrative proceedings, and provides employment counseling regarding compliance with federal and state employment laws (including FMLA, FLSA, ADA and Title VII). She is admitted to practice in the State of Michigan, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, and the U.S. Court of Appeals in the Ninth Circuit. McMullan is a graduate of Wayne State University Law School. McMullan received the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan's Outstanding Woman Law Student Award. She also is a graduate of the University of Michigan. During law school, McMullan was a law clerk at the University of Michigan's Office of the General Counsel, the Library of Congress's Office of the General Counsel, and at the National Football League's (NFL) General Counsel's Office. She also was a judicial extern for the U.S. District Court Judge Arthur J. Tarnow, Eastern District of Michigan. Prior to entering the legal field, McMullan was a coaching staff assistant for the Detroit Lions. McMullan is a member of the American Bar Association, the Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association, and the Wolverine Bar Association. She also is a board member of Student Mentor Partners, an organization that provides mentoring and tuition assistance for underprivileged Detroit high school students. * * * LeRoy Wulfmeier has been elected as a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). Wulfmeier is a partner and member of the Board of Directors of Giarmarco, Mullins, & Horton PC, in the Litigation Group with more than 35 years of experience defending health care providers in complex medical malpractice cases. Wulfmeier has acted as chief trial counsel in more than 400 medical malpractice cases. He has represented physicians in all specialties as well as dentists, nurses and hospitals in a variety of malpractice and disciplinary proceedings. He has also provided counsel for prominent pharmaceutical manufacturers in product liability cases. Wulfmeier has served as a special mediator and arbitrator in serious injury malpractice and personal injury cases. He is a frequent lecturer at hospitals and medical schools and has participated in various symposiums for the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Published: Mon, Jul 25, 2011