LEGAL PEOPLE

For the second consecutive year, Collins, Einhorn, Farrell, & Ulanoff PC was been recognized by U.S. News - Best Lawyers® "Best Law Firms" in its annual rankings. The Southfield-based law firm was listed for this honor as a Tier 1 firm in the Detroit metropolitan rankings in three practice areas: appellate practice, legal malpractice law - defendants, and professional malpractice law - defendants. Collins Einhorn also earned recognition as a Tier 2 firm in ethics and professional responsibility law and product liability litigation - defendants. "We are extremely proud to be among the 'Best Law Firms' for the second year in a row," said Collins Einhorn President Michael J. Sullivan. "This honor is special in that it not only includes input from our peers, but also the clients for whom we have delivered results." * * * Clarkston attorney Timothy P. Flynn was appointed by Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette to serve as a special assistant attorney general in the AG's child support division. * * * Douglas C. Bernstein, a partner at Plunkett Cooney, has been re-elected to a second-consecutive three-year term on the Detroit River Regatta Association (DRRA) Board of Directors. The DRRA recently announced Bernstein's re-election along with the other officers and directors of the nonprofit organization which promotes the annual Detroit Yacht Club American Power Boat Association (APBA) Gold Cup races on the Detroit River. "I have been involved with the DRRA for over six years," said Bernstein, who currently serves as Plunkett Cooney's Banking, Bankruptcy and Creditors' Rights Practice Group leader. "Each year the association does an outstanding job promoting the APBA Gold Cup, and it's an honor to help continue this long-standing tradition in Detroit." The 2012 Detroit APBA Gold Cup, which is presented by the Detroit Yacht Club, will be held on the Detroit River, July 13-15. A long time race fan and supporter, Bernstein currently serves as general counsel for the Air National Guard H1 Unlimited Hydroplane Racing Series, and is a member of its Board of Directors, and served as general counsel for the Hydro-Prop Unlimited Hydroplane Racing Series from 2002-2004. A member of the firm's Bloomfield Hills office, Bernstein concentrates his practice in the areas of commercial litigation, loan restructuring, commercial loan documentation, loan workouts, bankruptcy, banking-related litigation and appeals. Prior to joining Plunkett Cooney, Bernstein worked as an in-house attorney at Michigan National Corporation for more than 20 years. He subsequently joined the Standard Federal Bank Legal Department when the bank merged with Michigan National Corporation in 2001. Bernstein earned his undergraduate degree in 1978 from Wayne State University and his law degree in 1982 from the Detroit College of Law. He has received several honors for his legal work, including an AV rating by Martindale-Hubbell and selection as a Michigan Super Lawyer by Super Lawyers magazine from 2008 to 2011. * * * David H. Fink, managing partner of Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based Fink & Associates Law, has earned a place on the 2011 Michigan Super Lawyers list. Founder of Bloomfield Hills-based Fink & Associates Law, Fink concentrates his practice in the areas of complex commercial and class action litigation, focusing on business disputes, antitrust, consumer fraud, environmental law, intergovernmental disputes, securities fraud, shareholder derivative litigation and construction contract matters. Fink was named a 2011 "Leader in the Law" by Michigan Lawyers Weekly and has been listed as a Super Lawyer in Michigan Super Lawyers Magazine every year since 2007. He is a graduate of Harvard College and of Harvard Law School and serves on the Michigan State Officers Compensation Commission (SOCC) and the Michigan State Bar Committee on Judicial Qualifications. * * * The law firm of Miller Canfield is pleased to announce the return of Saul A. Green, former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan and former deputy mayor of the City of Detroit. Green will be Of Counsel in the firm's Litigation and Trial Group where he will represent persons under criminal investigation or indictment, conduct internal investigations for organizations that are victims of illegal conduct, provide consultation to law enforcement agencies on the implementation of police reforms and best practices, and represent clients in alternative dispute resolution. Green left in June of 2011 as Detroit Mayor Dave Bing's deputy mayor and executive over public safety. Appointed to the post in 2008 by then-Mayor Kenneth Cockrel Jr., Green oversaw the Police, Fire, Law and Homeland Security Departments and had the task of ensuring that Detroit complied with federal consent decrees to stop abuses in police use of force and conditions of confinement. Green was appointed U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan by former President William J. Clinton, and served in that capacity from May 1994 to May 2001. During his many years of public service, he has held the positions of Wayne County corporation counsel, chief counsel, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Detroit Field Office, and assistant U.S. attorney. In December 2002, Green was appointed by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio to monitor implementation of required U.S. Department of Justice police reforms by the City of Cincinnati. He earned his law degree in 1972 from the University of Michigan Law School where he is a Public Interest/Public Service Faculty Fellow. He is the former president of the U of M Alumni Association, the 1989 recipient of the Alumni Association's Distinguished Service Award, and the 1994 Leonard F. Sain Esteemed Alumni Award. He is a past president of the Wolverine Bar Association and received its Trailblazer Award in 1991. He is a fellow of the State Bar Foundation and the American Bar Association Foundation. In 1999, he was awarded the State Bar Champion of Justice Award and in 2002 received its Frank J. Kelly Distinguished Public Service Award. In 2009, he received the Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association Dennis W. Archer Public Service Award. He was appointed by the Michigan Supreme Court to the Attorney Grievance Commission in 1990. His community service also is very extensive, having established four "Weed and Seed" sites, a Drug Education for Youth Camp, and sponsorship of an Explorer Scouts Troop while U.S. Attorney. In 1998, he received the Damon J. Keith Community Spirit Award and in 2009 he received the Michigan Roundtable Annual Humanitarian Award. He is a life member of the NAACP. * * * Steven C. Nadeau, a partner and chair of Honigman, Miller, Schwartz, and Cohn LLP's Environmental Law Department, has been named the 2011 Outstanding Environmental Professional of the Year for Michigan by the Michigan Association of Environmental Professionals (MAEP). The association noted that his role as founder and coordinating director of the Sediment Management Work Group since 1998 has been important to the evolution of national contaminated sediment policy. MAEP also highlighted his remediation projects in the state of Michigan under CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act) and Part 201 (of the Environmental Remediation of the Michigan Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act). Nadeau's federal and state Superfund practice has included precedent-setting accomplishments for his clients in the context of contaminated sediment management, PCB remediation and lender liability. He has been named a Best Lawyer since 1991 and in 2010 was named Environmental Lawyer of the Year in Detroit by Best Lawyers in America. Nadeau also has been listed in Michigan Super Lawyers since 2006 and on the DBusiness list of "Top Lawyers" from 2010 to 2012. Nadeau earned his law degree from Boston College Law School and an A.B. from Boston College. Published: Mon, Jan 9, 2012