Legal People

Butzel Long
Bushra A. Malik, a senior attorney with Butzel Long, is the program vice chair and a presenter for the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Global Forum on June 26 in San Francisco.
Malik will participate in a panel presentation titled, “Developing a Successful Global Immigration Practice by Working with Local Counsel Abroad.” The presentation will focus on ethical considerations for a global immigration practice that will involve the representation of employer and employee clients as well as the engagement of local counsel. The panel will offer insights from key global practice managers on best practices for delivering effective global immigration considerations.
Malik currently serves as the chair of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service Liaison Committee for the Michigan Chapter of AILA and on the Conference and Events Committee of the Global Migration Section for AILA. Malik previously served as the treasurer and on the Executive Committee for the Michigan Chapter.
Malik practices in the area of immigration law, focusing on the representation of multinational and domestic clients’ inbound and outbound immigration needs. Her experience includes employment based (Extraordinary Ability, Outstanding Researcher, Multinational Manager, and PERMs) and family based Permanent Residence Petitions; Non-Immigrant Petitions (H-1B/Specialty Occupation, J-1/ Exchange Visitor, L-1/Intracompany Transfers, O-1/Extraordinary Ability, TN/ NAFTA); Employer Compliance (I-9 Audits and H-1B Public Access File Audits); J-1 waivers; waivers of inadmissibility for DUI/DWI for entry into Canada; Compliance under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiate (WHTI); U.S. Passports; and complex naturalization matters.
Malik has experience in securing work and residence permits for numerous countries around the globe, including: China, India, Canada, Japan, Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany, Russia, and Belgium. She also represents clients at U.S. Ports of Entry, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services District Office, as well as various Foreign Consulates.
Malik also is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, American Bar Association, the South Asian Bar Association, the Michigan Muslim Bar Association, and the Japanese Business Society of Detroit. She also speaks Hindi, Japanese and Urdu.
Additionally, Butzel Long attorney and shareholder David F. DuMouchel has been appointed as a voting member of the U.S. Sentencing Commission Practitioners Advisory Group. One person from each of the 11 federal circuits is appointed to this group. He was appointed from the Sixth Circuit. DuMouchel’s term ends in October 2014.
Based in Butzel Long’s Detroit office, DuMouchel chairs the firm’s Corporate Compliance, Internal Investigations and Criminal Defense practice.
DuMouchel’s practice is limited to white collar criminal defense, professional licensure and criminal health care, criminal IRS investigations of both taxpayers and professionals, SEC enforcement of corporate executives, public corruption, as well as grand jury investigations, internal corporate investigations and compliance.
He is a recipient of the Leonard Gilman Award from the Federal Bar Association as the outstanding criminal law practitioner in the Eastern District of Michigan. He has been named by Best Lawyers as the “2010 Detroit Criminal Defense: White-Collar Lawyer of the Year.”
DuMouchel has been listed in each Best Lawyers edition for the last 30 years, up to and including the most recent. He also is listed in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Business Lawyers, and in Michigan Super Lawyers.
He is a frequent speaker on internal corporate investigations and federal criminal procedure matters.
DuMouchel is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers; serves as a member of the Criminal Procedure Committee; and, is a Fellow of the International Society of Barristers. DuMouchel served as the first chairman of the State of Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission.

—————

Giarmarco, Mullins, & Horton P.C.
Bruce E. Bigler has joined the firm of Giarmarco, Mullins, & Horton PC. Bigler was senior partner and president of Bigler Barker PLLC. Over the past three decades, Bigler has concentrated his practice in the area of medical malpractice defense. He is knowledgeable in all fields of alleged medical malpractice, with special concentration in obstetrics.
Bigler is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates with an Advocate rating. His outstanding peer ratings have made him an AV attorney in Martindale Hubbell and a Michigan Super Lawyer in 2006 through 2013. He also received the Michigan Association of Justice Respected Advocate Award in 2008.
Bigler earned his BS from Michigan State University, and his law degree from Wayne State University Law School. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Michigan Defense Trial Counsel, as a mediator for the Oakland County Circuit Court, and served on the Medical/Legal Committee of the Oakland County Bar. He is also a member of the State Bar of Michigan and Oakland County Bar Association.

—————

Wayne State University  Law School
Wayne State University Law School has earned a perfect score from Law School Transparency for providing full and accurate information online regarding student scholarships and employment outcomes.
Wayne Law is among 46 law schools nationwide who earned the perfect score, according to a March 6 article in the American Bar Association Journal. The article found that nearly half of accredited law schools are not posting all of the data required by the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, or “are reporting misleading and incomplete data.”
The ABA Section, which offers accreditation to law schools, set new standards for transparency recently known as Section 509, which requires that the “consumer information” offered by law schools “shall be complete, accurate and not misleading.”
Wayne Law Assistant Dean of Admissions Ericka Matthews-Jackson and Assistant Dean for Career Services Krystal Gardner make sure the school’s posted information meets the required standards, and say they’re happy to do so.
“I applaud the efforts of the Law School Transparency and the ABA to ensure that law schools are providing prospective students with complete, accurate and current data,” Matthews-Jackson said. “At Wayne Law, we strive for transparency and were eager to comply with Standard 509 because it is the right thing to do for students. They rely on this information to make very important decisions about their future and where they will invest their time, talent and resources to receive the best legal education possible.”

—————

Honigman, Miller, Schwartz, and Cohn LLP
Nicholas B. Gorga, a partner in Honigman, Miller, Schwartz, and Cohn LLP’s Litigation Department, has been named by Oakland County Executive, L. Brooks Patterson, to the “Brooks’ Elite 40 under 40” Class of 2013. Now in its second year, the award honors young Oakland County professional and executive leaders who have achieved success and excellence in their fields before the age of 40. Members of the Brooks’ Elite 40 under 40 Class were introduced at the 2013 State of the County Address.
Gorga is a commercial litigator who focuses his practice on the defense of companies and their directors and officers in business disputes, including class actions and securities-related lawsuits. He also serves Honigman as its recruiting partner.
Gorga was recognized in 2011 by Crain’s Detroit Business as one of Crain’s “40 under 40,” and has been named a “Rising Star” by Michigan Super Lawyers from 2009-2012. He is a 2002 graduate of the University of Michigan Law School and received an A.B. in 1999 from Princeton University.
Gorga co-founded (along with Ted Balowski) Hatch Detroit, a Michigan-based 501(c)(3) organization that champions and supports independent retail businesses in the city through funding contests, education, exposure, and mentoring. To date, Hatch Detroit has successfully launched two area retail businesses, and recently announced its Neighborhood Initiatives program, in partnership with the Detroit Lions. 
Honigman is also pleased to announce that Leonard M. Niehoff, Of Counsel in the Litigation Department, has been elected by his peers as a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation (ABA). The Fellows of the ABA constitute an honorary body comprised of attorneys, judges and legal researchers demonstrating outstanding dedication to their communities as well as proven adherence to the highest principles of the legal profession. Membership is restricted to one-third of one percent of all lawyers licensed to practice in each jurisdiction.
Niehoff joined Honigman in 2011, and currently serves as a Professor from Practice at the University of Michigan Law School, where he teaches civil procedure, evidence, media law and legal ethics.
He has practiced for more than 28 years, primarily in appellate litigation, higher education law and media law. In his higher education practice, he has represented many public and private universities and has served as legal counsel to a number of private institutions. He also has handled libel, privacy and access matters for a variety of high-profile local and national media clients. In addition, Niehoff has argued numerous cases in the Michigan Court of Appeals and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and has filed amicus curiae briefs in several cases before the U. S. Supreme Court.
Niehoff has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America, Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Michigan Super Lawyers and Crain’s Detroit Business. He is a member of Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law and Who’s Who of Emerging Leaders in America.
He is the author or co-author of more than 100 publications regarding evidence, litigation strategy, media law, professional responsibility and Supreme Court history. Niehoff has also held numerous leadership roles in professional organizations and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the National Association of College and University Attorneys.
He earned his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School, and a B.A. in English at the University of Michigan.

—————

Hertz Schram PC
Bloomfield Hills-based law firm Hertz Schram PC is proud to announce the addition of Joseph A. Bellanca to the team of Howard Hertz and Jay Yasso in the firm’s entertainment law practice. The firm has represented some of entertainment’s best-known talents including Eminem, Mike Posner and Elmore Leonard.
In addition to entertainment law matters, Bellanca, Hertz and the intellectual property law team at Hertz Schram advise clients regarding copyright, trademark and trade secret matters, as well as intellectual property protection, litigation, maintenance, licensing, enforcement and registration.
Prior to joining Hertz Schram, Bellanca was the founder of Bellanca & Associates, which specialized in sports and entertainment, intellectual property and corporate law, as well as labor relations, civil litigation and criminal defense. He also served as the general manager of Freedom Hill Amphitheatre in Sterling Heights, where he worked with a number of music icons including B.B. King, Don Henley, James Brown, and Al Green.
Both Bellanca and Hertz were recently named “2013 Top Lawyers” in the field of Entertainment Law by DBusiness magazine.

—————

Plunkett Cooney
Plunkett Cooney recently announced the election of two new members to its Board of Directors, D. Jennifer Andreou and Jeffrey C. Gerish.
Also winning re-election to the board during the firm’s annual meeting were partners Douglas C. Bernstein and Thomas P. Vincent.
Andreou, who previously served as a member of the board of directors from 2006 to 2009, is one of the firm’s most experienced trial attorneys and co-chairs Plunkett Cooney’s Medical Liability Practice Group.
A member of the firm’s Mt. Clemens office, Andreou focuses her practice exclusively in the areas medical liability litigation and licensure actions against medical professionals. She is a graduate of the Detroit School of Law.
Joining Andreou on the board for his first term is Gerish, who is a member of Plunkett Cooney’s Insurance Law and Appellate Law practice groups. Gerish, who works in the firm’s Bloomfield Hills office, has numerous published appellate decisions to his credit, including many high exposure and complex claims with multi-million dollar demand amounts.
A graduate of University of Michigan Law School, he is licensed to practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth and Eighth Circuits, as well as the District of Columbia.
Bernstein currently leads Plunkett Cooney’s Banking, Bankruptcy & Creditors’ Rights Practice Group, which includes more than 40 attorneys with over 225 years of combined experience as in-house bank counsel prior to joining the firm.
A former in-house bank attorney himself for over 20 years, Bernstein has extensive experience in the areas of commercial litigation, commercial loan restructuring, loan documentation, creditors’ rights, commercial and municipal bankruptcy, receiverships and other banking related litigation and appeals on behalf of national and regional lenders and special servicers. He is a graduate of the Detroit College of Law.
A long-time member of Plunkett Cooney’s Board of Directors, Vincent is a trial attorney and a member of the firm’s Litigation Practice Group. He has successfully represented numerous Fortune 500 companies as commercial policyholders for some of the world’s leading insurance providers in such areas as business litigation, complex general litigation and labor and employment litigation in both state and federal courts.
Vincent, who is a graduate of Michigan State University College of Law, is also a former member of the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office, where he rose to the level of chief trial attorney.

—————

Nemeth Burwell PC
Attorney Linda Burwell, a founding partner of Detroit-based employment law firm Nemeth Burwell PC, testified before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in Washington, D.C. last week as part of a round table public meeting to provide input on the agency’s Quality Control Plan (QCP) for investigations and conciliations. Nemeth Burwell was the only management side law firm in the nation invited to be among the roundtable participant groups, which included employer advocacy groups, associations and one plaintiff’s law firm.
Key points of Burwell’s EEOC testimony were:
• The Quality Control Plan should concentrate its efforts on the intake process and assess the clarity of the charge.
• Vague and ambiguous charges that lack specific detail slow the process, result in unnecessary disputes and confuse the issues.
• The EEOC must concentrate on improving its communication with employers.
A nationally recognized speaker and author on employment law, discrimination prevention and risk management, Burwell often serves as the legal expert on panels involving employment laws and workplace trends. At Nemeth Burwell, she serves as a litigator, arbitrator and consultant, representing management in all aspects of labor and employment law and EEOC matters.
Burwell’s areas of expertise include wrongful discharge, discrimination, non-competition, harassment, interference with contract, equal pay, retaliation, whistleblowers, wage and hours, unfair labor practices, breach of contract, libel and slander, and invasion of privacy. She also counsels management on collective bargaining agreements, pre-employment, discipline, and pre-termination and post-termination matters.
Burwell is a board member of the National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF) and an ABA Foundation Fellow. She earned her law degree from Wayne State University Law School and a Bachelor of Science degree from Michigan State University and is a member of the Michigan, Ohio, Federal, and the United States Supreme Court bars. She has received numerous honors throughout her legal career and in 2010 was named one of Michigan’s 25 Leaders in the Law by Michigan Lawyers Weekly.
 A transcript of the hearings, including Burwell’s testimony, will be posted on the EEOC website at http://www.eeoc.gov/.

—————

Maddin, Hauser, Wartell, Roth & Heller PC
Southfield-based Maddin, Hauser, Wartell, Roth, & Heller PC announced a strategic partnership with Clayton Holdings LLC in Connecticut to offer readiness assessments for mortgage servicers to prepare for their upcoming Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) examinations.
The partnership was formed to address the growing legal and operational challenges mortgage servicers are confronting as a result of the rapidly changing mortgage servicing environment, including the CFPB’s release of its final rules for mortgage servicers in mid-January. The CFPB is aggressively enforcing existing law, and, by 2014, the agency will seek to enforce new and more stringent rules through examinations that will evaluate both compliance with the letter of the law, as well as the quality of the servicer’s operational systems, internal processes and procedures.
Given the dual focus of the exams, Maddin Hauser and Clayton created a group that combines regulatory and operational expertise to help servicers prepare for them. Specifically, the group will:
• Assess a servicer’s compliance with federal consumer protection laws through loan-level file reviews, management interviews, work observations, and policy, procedure and documentation reviews
• Use the assessment to help servicers prepare for CFPB examinations by evaluating and improving operational deficiencies that have been identified in their servicing platforms prior to the imposition of fines or other enforcement actions
• Identify systemic problems to improve servicer performance over and above CFPB minimum requirements
• Continually monitor changes in either the letter or interpretation of the law and advise clients to ensure compliance in a rapidly evolving environment
“A Maddin Hauser-Clayton relationship provides a unique ‘value proposition’ for our servicer clients,” said Maddin Hauser Shareholder Marty S. Frenkel, co-chair of the firm’s Real Property and Mortgage Dispute Resolution Group. “This program combines extensive mortgage servicing expertise with a pragmatic and cost effective approach to assisting those clients in controlling their risk in an uncertain regulatory environment.”