LEGAL PEOPLE

Trott & Trott PC recently announced the promotion of Roy Sexton to senior vice president, corporate affairs. Trott Managing Partner Jeffrey Raff made the announcement. In addition to continuing to lead the firm's marketing and strategic planning, Sexton is responsible for the overall organizational and cultural communication and change, business development, service line planning, facility planning and support, and other administrative oversight. Prior to joining Trott, Sexton spent 10 years in various planning and communications roles at Oakwood Healthcare System, serving as the corporate director of strategic communications and planning. In this role he led a staff of 20 marketing professionals and developed the strategic direction for the $1 billion health care system. Sexton earned his Bachelor's degree from Wabash College in 1995 and is a 1997 graduate of The Ohio State University, where he earned his Master's degree in Theatre. In 2007, Roy graduated with his MBA from the University of Michigan. He is a graduate of Leadership Detroit, Class XXX, is a governor-appointed member of the Michigan Council of Labor and Economic Growth and was appointed to the Michigan Mortgage Lenders Association Board of Governors in 2012. Sexton has been involved on the following nonprofit boards and committees: First Step, Michigan Quality Council, National MS Society, ASPCA, Wabash College Southeast Michigan Alumni Association, Penny Seats Theatre Company, and the Spotlight Players. * * * The law firm of Dawda Mann has earned top ranking for several of its practice areas in the U.S. News - Best Lawyers® "Best Law Firms" rankings. The firm earned Detroit Tier 1 rankings for Corporate Law; Environmental Law; Real Estate Law; and Real Estate Litigation. In addition, Dawda Mann achieved Detroit Tier 2 rankings for Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law; Environmental Litigation; Labor and Employment Litigation; and Trusts and Estates Law. The firm also received Detroit Tier 3 ranking for Employment Law - Management. * * * Butzel Long received national recognition in the 2014 "Best Law Firms," rankings by U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers®. Butzel Long is nationally ranked in the first tier in Immigration Law (Tier 1). Butzel Long is ranked in multiple legal specialties in the Ann Arbor, Detroit, Lansing and New York offices. The 2014 "Best Law Firms" rankings can be seen in their entirety by visiting bestlawfirms.usnews.com. Below is a list of Butzel Long's 2014 Best Law Firm rankings: National Rankings Tier 1 * Immigration Law. Tier 2 * Litigation - Mergers & Acquisitions. Tier 3 * Commercial Litigation. * Construction Law. * Corporate Law. * Employment Law - Management. * Litigation - Construction. * Litigation - ERISA. * Litigation - Labor & Employment. * Litigation - Real Estate Local Metropolitan Rankings Tier 1 Detroit * Commercial Litigation. * Construction Law. * Corporate Compliance Law. * Corporate Law. * Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law. * Employment Law - Individuals. * Employment Law - Management. * Immigration Law. * International Trade and Finance Law. * Labor Law - Management. * Litigation - Construction. * Litigation - ERISA. * Litigation - Labor & Employment. * Litigation - Real Estate. * Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants. * Product Liability Litigation - Defendants. * Real Estate Law. * Tax Law. Tier 2 Detroit * Antitrust Law. * Closely Held Companies and Family Business Law. * Corporate Governance Law. * Criminal Defense: White Collar. * Environmental Law. * Ethics and Professional Responsibility Law. * Family Law. * Health Care Law. * Litigation - Antitrust . * Litigation - Trusts & Estates. * Mergers & Acquisitions Law. * Securities / Capital Markets Law. * Securities Regulation. * Trusts & Estates Law. Tier 3 Detroit * Litigation - Environmental. In addition, Several Butzel Long attorneys were recognized as Top Lawyers in Metro Detroit 2014 by DBusiness magazine. The list appears in the November/December 2013 edition. The local attorneys and their practice areas are listed below: Bloomfield Hills office --Alexander B. Bragdon, Employee Benefits Law. --Carey A. DeWitt, Labor and Employment Law Trade Secrets. --Angela Emmerling Boufford, Information Management & Discover Law. --Geoffrey S. Gallinger, Real Estate Law. --Debra A. Geroux, Health Care Law. --Beth S. Gotthelf, Environmental Law. --David Stewart Green, Real Estate Law. --Susan L. Johnson, Environmental Law. --Thomas A. Kabel, Real Estate Law. --Patrick A. Karbowski, Real Estate Law. --Linda D. Kennedy, Litigation - Patents Intellectual Property & Patent Law. --Sheldon H. Klein, Antitrust Law Litigation - Antitrust . --Terry O. Lang, Tax Law. --Allan Nachman, Real Estate Law. --Max J. Newman, Bankruptcy and Creditor /Debtor Rights Law. --Bill C. Panagos, Litigation - Intellectual Property Intellectual Property and Patent Law. --Robert P. Perry, Trusts and Estates. --Thomas B. Radom, Bankruptcy and Creditor /Debtor Rights Law. --Joseph E. Richotte, White-Collar Criminal Defense. --Dennis B. Schultz, Construction Law Litigation - Construction. --Thomas L. Shaevsky, Employee Benefits Law. --David W. Sommerfeld, Trusts and Estates. Detroit office --Geaneen M. Arends. Nonprofits/ Charities Law Real Estate Law. --Linda J. Armstrong, Immigration Law. --James C. Bruno, Corporate Law International Trade Law. --George B. Donnini, White -Collar Criminal Defense. --Arthur Dudley II, Corporate Law. --David F. DuMouchel, White-Collar Criminal Defense. --Eric J. Flessland, Construction Law Litigation - Construction. --Bernard J. Fuhs, Trade Secrets. --Robert A. Hudson, Corporate Law Mergers & Acquisitions Law. --Justin G. Klimko, Banking & Financial Service Law Corporate Law Mergers & Acquisitions Law. --Mark R. Lezotte, Health Care Law. --Clara DeMatteis Mager, Immigration Law. --Reginald A. Pacis, Immigration Law. --James S. Rosenfeld, Labor and Employment Law. --Bruce L. Sendek, Litigation - Commercial. --Nicholas J. Stasevich, Antitrust Law International Trade Law. --Louis Theros, Labor and Employment Law. --Daniel B. Tukel, Labor and Employment Law. Butzel Long also announces that Edward D. Gold, attorney and senior shareholder, has been named to the Leading Michigan Lawyers list in the areas of Family Law, and Family Law ADR. The news appears in the November/December issue of DBusiness magazine. Gold, practices matrimonial law full-time in the firm's Bloomfield Hills office. For more than 15 years, he served as the practice group leader for the firm's Family Law practice. He is a former chairperson of the Family Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan, from which he received its Lifetime Achievement Award. Gold is a member of the American College of Family Trial Lawyers, membership in which is limited to 100 of the country's top Family Law Trial lawyers. Gold previously served as a national vice president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and as president of the Michigan chapter. He is an elected member of the Matrimonial Network, a group of the 30 finest matrimonial lawyers in the country. He also has served as president of the Southfield Bar Association and the Oakland County Bar Association. He is listed in the current edition of the Best Lawyers in America and has been continuously listed for the past 20 years. He was named one of the 10 best divorce lawyers in metropolitan Detroit by Detroit Monthly magazine and is recognized as one of Michigan's Super Lawyers. Gold attended Wayne State University and Detroit College of Law. He has authored numerous articles on family law and is a contributing lecturer for the Institute of Continuing Legal Education, the State Bar Family Law Section Seminar Series, the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and the Michigan Trial Lawyers. He helped create the Family Forum, an annual program for Family Court Judges, Family Law Attorneys and therapists. He was an adjunct professor at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law where he taught Family Law. * * * Southfield-based Maddin, Hauser, Wartell, Roth, & Heller, PC (www.maddinhauser.com) announced it earned recognition with a Tier 1 Ranking in three practice areas in the 2014 edition of U.S. News - Best Lawyers' "Best Law Firms." The firm was listed as a Tier 1 firm in the Detroit metropolitan rankings in: * Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law. * Legal Malpractice Law - Defendants. * Real Estate Law. * * * Sommers Schwartz PC is pleased to announce the inclusion of the following lawyers in The Best Lawyers in America (Copyright 2014 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, SC). * William M. Brukoff - Family Law. * Richard D. Fox - Personal Injury Litigation. * Joseph E. Grinnan - Personal Injury Litigation. * Richard L. Groffsky - Personal Injury Litigation. * Steven J. Schwartz - Tax Law. * Robert B. Sickels - Medical Malpractice Law. * Daniel D. Swanson - Employment Law. * Norman D. Tucker - Medical Malpractice Law; Personal Injury Litigation. Additionally, Sommers Schwartz has again been selected to U.S. News-Best Lawyers® "Best Law Firms" list. Along with this honor, the firm's Medical Malpractice Law group was awarded a national Tier 1 Ranking - the highest recognition given - and its Personal Injury Litigation and Employment Law groups were awarded Tier 1 Rankings for the Detroit Metropolitan area. * * * Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak, & Stewart PC has been named "Law Firm of the Year" in two categories, Employment Law - Management and Labor Law - Management, in the 2014 edition of the U.S. News - Best Lawyers® "Best Law Firms" list. This is the third consecutive year that Ogletree Deakins has been named a "Law Firm of the Year." It is also the second consecutive year that the firm has been named "Law Firm of the Year" in the Employment Law - Management category. Ogletree Deakins' Detroit Metro office earned a "First-Tier" ranking in two practice area categories: Employment Law - Management and Litigation - Labor & Employment. Nationally, the firm has been recognized with six "First-Tier" rankings: Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law; Employment Law - Management; Immigration Law; Labor Law - Management; Litigation - Labor & Employment; and Construction Law. A complete list of honorees is available online at http://bestlawfirms.usnews.com/. * * * Neuman Anderson PC announces that Kenneth F. Neuman has been recognized as a Michigan Super Lawyer for the seventh consecutive time. In addition to this achievement, this year Neuman also earned exclusive spots on the Top 100 Michigan Super Lawyers and Top 50 Business Michigan Super Lawyers lists. With more than 25 years of experience in the courtroom, Neuman has developed a practice in complex commercial litigation and business consulting, with a focus on corporate, real estate/construction, accounting and forensic issues, and contract disputes. He has obtained multiple verdicts and arbitration awards in excess of $1 million, including an $11 million breach of contract action judgment and a $3 million judgment in a suit involving a civil fraud case. Neuman is a registered certified public accountant (CPA) and spent several years with one of the ìbig eightî accounting firms prior to beginning his legal career. With this combined financial and legal experience, Neuman has fostered a comprehensive understanding of his clientsí business goals. In addition to Super Lawyer recognitions, for the past two years he has been named a Top Lawyer by DBusiness magazine and one of The Best Lawyers in America®. Neuman is a member of the Oakland County Bar Association, State Bar of Michigan, Michigan Association for Certified Public Accountants, and American Association of Attorney-Certified Public Accountants. Neuman graduated from Michigan State University with his Bachelors of Arts in Accounting, and he received his law degree from Wayne State University Law School. * * * Warner, Norcross, & Judd LLP has been ranked one of the 2014 "Best Law Firms" by Best Lawyers and U.S. News & World Report. The awards recognized the firm's Southfield and Macomb County office with a first-tier ranking for closely held companies, commercial litigation, employee benefits, environmental law, health care, regulatory enforcement litigation and tax. Two other Warner Norcross offices were also included in the first tier for metropolitan areas. Warner Norcross also has 95 attorneys listed in The Best Lawyers in America® 2014. * * * For the fourth consecutive year, Collins Einhorn Farrell (www.ceflawyers.com) earned recognition from U.S. News - Best Lawyers® Best Law Firms in the publication's annual rankings. The Southfield-based law firm was selected as a Tier 1 firm in the Detroit metropolitan rankings in seven practice areas: * Appellate Practice. * Ethics and Professional Responsibility Law. * Insurance Law. * Legal Malpractice Law -- Defendants. * Personal Injury Litigation -- Defendants. * Product Liability Litigation -- Defendants. * Professional Malpractice Law -- Defendants. * * * Intellectual Property law firm Reising Ethington announced that it has expanded its Medical Device industry team with the addition of Shannon Murphy. Currently a legal intern with the firm, she has accepted a position of associate attorney, to commence beginning next spring upon completion of her legal studies. Murphy graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor's of Science degree in Neuroscience, with related coursework including Organic Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, Biochemistry, Biology, Neurobiology, and Molecular Endocrinology. She is currently in the top 5% of her class at the University of Detroit-Mercy School of Law. In addition to her academics, Shannon brings first-hand experience of China's IP Law system to Reising's Medical Device industry team. She participated in a study abroad program at the Peking University Institute of Intellectual Property in Beijing, China. Her studies focused on intellectual property and international business organizations, and included instruction from Chief Judge Randall Rader of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. * * * Honigman, Miller, Schwartz, and Cohn LLP is pleased to announce that Khalilah V. Spencer has earned the Pro Bono Spirit Award for Wayne County from the Legal Aid and Defenders Association (LAD) for 2013. In addition, Honigman attorneys Charles W. Duncan Jr., Timothy S. Knowlton, and Kelsey Vidaillet Switzer are being honored for providing more than 100 hours of service to LAD clients in 2012. These tributes are a part of the annual "Laddy" awards honoring members of the legal community. The awards will be presented on November 21 in the Theodore Levin United States Courthouse in Detroit. Honigman is also a sponsor of the awards ceremony. Spencer is a partner in the Litigation Department at Honigman. She has experience in a wide variety of complex commercial and employment litigation matters in federal and state courts and in arbitration. She represents individuals and public and private companies in various industries, including automotive, financial services, telecommunications, logistics and real estate. Spencer possesses pro bono experience in civil rights advocacy involving public education, voting rights and election protection. She also serves on the executive committee for the Detroit Branch of the NAACP. Spencer earned a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School and a B.A. in political science from the University of Michigan. Duncan is an attorney in Honigman's Intellectual Property Litigation Practice Group. He earned a law degree from the University of Michigan Law School and a B.S.E. in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan. Knowlton is Of Counsel in Honigman's Insurance Department and is leader of its Insurance Regulatory Practice Group. He earned a law degree from the University of Michigan Law School and a B.A. from Michigan State University. Switzer is an attorney in Honigman's Labor and Employment Department. She earned a law degree from Northwestern University School of Law, an M.A. from Florida International University, and a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin. * * * May, Simpson, & Strote PC of Bloomfield Hills is again honored to receive Best Lawyers®, Best Law Firms Tier-1 designation in Litigation-Construction and Litigation-Real Estate. The firm also recognizes Thomas C. Simpson and Ronald P. Strote for their outstanding achievements. Strote, was named the Best Lawyers®, 2014 Detroit Construction Law, Lawyer of the Year. He has been acknowledged by Michigan Super Lawyers®, as among the top 100 lawyers in Michigan, 2008-2013, a 2013 Top 50 Business Lawyer and a Top Lawyer, DBusiness magazine, 2014. Together with client representation, and his frequent writing and lecturing, he is actively involved in alternative dispute resolution as an arbitrator and mediator. Simpson, a Michigan Super Lawyer in real estate for each year the designation has been available to Michigan attorneys, has been recognized by Best Lawyers® 2014 in the areas of litigation-real estate and real estate law. He was elected to the American College of Real Estate Lawyers in 1989 and is a member of the American College Committee on Title Insurance Law. His practice concentrates in the areas of Real Estate, Title Insurance Law, Civil Litigation and Corporate Law. * * * Michigan Super Lawyers magazine recently named 32 attorneys from Plunkett Cooney to its 2013 list of "Super Lawyers." Mary Massaron Ross, Plunkett Cooney's Appellate Law Practice Group leader, received special recognition by the magazine for the seventh consecutive year when she was included among the state's top 100 attorneys and the top 50 women lawyers. In addition to being a member of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers and numerous other honors, Massaron Ross was recently concluded her presidency of the DRI - The Voice of the Defense Bar, an international organization of defense attorneys and in-house corporate counsel. Below is a list of local Plunkett Cooney partners who have received the 2013 Michigan Super Lawyer designation: Plunkett Cooney's Bloomfield Hills office members: * Michael P. Ashcraft Jr. - Professional Liability: Defense. * Douglas C. Bernstein - Bankruptcy. * Charles W. Browning - Insurance Coverage. * Henry B. Cooney - Civil Litigation Defense . * Dennis G. Cowan - Land Use/Zoning. * Jerome A. Galante - Personal Injury Defense: Products. * Jeffrey C. Gerish - Appellate. * Robert G. Kamenec - Appellate. * Theresa Smith Lloyd - Employment Litigation Defense. * Stanley C. Moore III - Employment & Labor. * Kenneth C. Newa - Insurance Coverage. * Scott H. Sirich - Construction Litigation. * Leslie J. Stein - Bankruptcy. * Thomas P. Vincent - Professional Liability: Defense. * Michael D. Weaver - Employment Litigation Defense. Plunkett Cooney's Detroit office members: * Loretta M. Ames - Personal Injury Defense: General. * Ernest R. Bazzana - Appellate. * James R. Geroux - Workers' Compensation. * Christine D. Oldani - Appellate. * Stanley A. Prokop - Insurance Coverage. * Mary Catherine Rentz - Insurance Coverage. Plunkett Cooney's Mount Clemens office members: * D. Jennifer Andreou - Personal Injury Defense: Medical Malpractice. * Lawrence R. Donaldson - Alternative Dispute Resolution. * Peter W. Peacock - Government. * * * Howard & Howard has been ranked in the 2014 "Best Law Firms" list by U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers® in the following areas: Metropolitan Awards * Tier 1, Detroit, Litigation - Intellectual Property. * Tier 1, Las Vegas, Litigation - Labor & Employment. * Tier 2, Ann Arbor, Commercial Litigation. * Tier 2, Detroit, Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law. * Tier 2, Detroit, Energy Law. * Tier 2, Detroit, Trusts & Estates Law. * Tier 3, Detroit, Tax Law. Published: Mon, Nov 11, 2013