The State Bar of Michigan Young Lawyers Section presented Marilena David-Martin with the Regeana Myrick Outstanding Young Lawyer Award on Saturday, May 31, at the Radisson Hotel in Lansing.
David-Martin is an assistant defender at the State Appellate Defender Office in Detroit, where she has most recently worked as the staff attorney for the SADO Department of Justice Gideon Grant. She was awarded the Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan Justice for All Award for her work investigating convictions involving the now closed Detroit Crime Lab.
David-Martin serves on the Appellate Practice Section Council, where she co-chaired the Good Deeds Committee. She has also volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House of Detroit. She is the chair of the SADO Community Outreach Committee, and has been involved in developing “Family Outreach Nights” and a community resource database as part of a reentry project. David-Martin is an active volunteer with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and with the Detroit Parade Company.
The Outstanding Young Lawyer Award was presented as part of the SBM Young Lawyers Section Seventh Annual Summit.
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Several Honigman, Miller, Schwartz, and Cohn LLP intellectual property attorneys have been recognized as 2014 IP Stars in the directory published by Managing Intellectual Property. The firm’s “Stars” include Jennifer Sheehan Anderson, Joseph V. Coppola Sr., J. Michael Huget, James F. Kamp, Anessa Owen Kramer, Michael A. Lisi, Jonathan P. O’Brien, and Leigh C. Taggart. Honigman, which serves clients nationally and internationally, was also noted as a highly recommended law firm.
Jennifer Sheehan Anderson is a partner in Honigman’s IP Department and its Trademark and Copyright Practice Group.
Anderson provides legal and business guidance on a wide range of non-contentious and contentious intellectual property matters in U.S. and international markets, including global clearance and filing strategies for trademarks; copyright registration and enforcement; enforcement and defense of trademarks; and licensing. She has experience in intellectual property due diligence and transfers, and customs registration of Intellectual Property.
Joseph V. Coppola Sr. is a partner in Honigman’s IP Department and its Patent Practice Group. He represents clients on patent prosecution matters before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and foreign patent offices, and handles intellectual property licensing, patent opinions, design-around evaluations, due diligence investigations, and software copyright matters.
In his 25 years of practice, Coppola has represented clients in several technology sectors including aerospace, ecommerce, banking, consumer electronics, bio-medical devices, robotics, optics, lasers, engine and vehicle controls, hybrid vehicles, vision systems including thermal imaging, software including graph databases, parallel processing architecture, data encryption algorithms, and fuel processing.
J. Michael Huget is co-chair of Honigman’s Litigation Department and leads the IP Litigation Practice Group. He is also a partner in the firm’s IP Department and the Trademark and Copyright Practice Group.
Huget has experience in high-stakes patent and trademark cases throughout the United States. He also has appellate experience in the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He represents clients in industries as varied as automotive, pharmaceutical, media, consumer goods, software and manufacturing. Huget also was recently named “IP Litigator of the Year for Michigan” by Managing Intellectual Property.
James F. Kamp is a partner in Honigman’s IP Department and the IP Litigation and Patent practice groups. His areas of focus include IP litigation, patent prosecution, patent opinions and licensing, and strategic counseling, particularly in the biotechnology and life sciences fields.
His patent applications and opinions relate to bioinformatics, genomics, proteomics, biochemistry, imaging, microbiology, immunology, hematology, medical devices, biomaterials, and research, diagnostic and clinical tools.
Anessa Owen Kramer is a partner in Honigman’s IP Department and its Trademark and Copyright and IP Litigation practice groups, and is the co-managing partner of Honigman’s Bloomfield Hills office.
She represents a number of owners of well-known brands, counseling them on issues such as global clearance and filing strategies, IP management, trademark enforcement and litigation, and trademark licensing. She also has experience advising clients on trade dress protection, dilution and anti-cybersquatting matters. Kramer has handled more than 100 U.S. trademark oppositions and has been involved with litigation matters throughout the country. She is frequently engaged to counsel clients on multi-jurisdictional trademark disputes, and is a frequent speaker and author on trademark issues.
Michael A. Lisi is a partner in Honigman’s IP Department and leads the firm’s Trademark and Copyright Practice Group. He has more than 23 years of experience in trademark, copyright, domain name, e-commerce, trade secret, and related technology and intellectual property matters.
Lisi develops and implements global brand management and enforcement strategies; negotiates and concludes license, joint venture, non-disclosure, transfer and related intellectual property agreements; searches, clears and registers trademarks on a global basis; and litigates trademark, copyright, unfair competition, passing off, dilution and misappropriation matters in U.S. and foreign jurisdictions.
Jonathan P. O’Brien is the chair of Honigman’s IP Department and leads the firm’s Patent Practice Group. He concentrates his practice on life sciences (pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device), industrial chemistry, battery technology and nanotechnology.
O’Brien provides clients with global IP strategies related to IP procurement and enforcement, product clearance, and various transactional and regulatory issues. Since he became chair of the firm’s Intellectual Property Department in 2008, it has quadrupled in size to more than 75 legal professionals with experience in patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret services, including search, procurement, enforcement and anti-counterfeiting. Earlier this year, O’Brien was named a “Leader in the Law” by Michigan Lawyers Weekly.
Leigh C. Taggart is a partner in Honigman’s IP Department and the IP Litigation and Patent practice groups. Taggart represents plaintiffs and defendants in patent, trademark, copyright, antitrust and trade secret cases throughout the United States. He has represented both individuals and some of the world’s largest companies in patent disputes involving $25 million or more in damage claims, including several with over $100 million at stake.
Taggart serves clients in the medical device, silicon wafer, pharmaceutical, ophthalmic lens, automotive, consumer products and commercial jet engine industries. He also has experience in international trademark, unfair competition and commercial disputes in the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Italy, Turkey, Bulgaria, Lebanon and Australia. Formerly General Counsel & Secretary of a consumer products company, Taggart also performs freedom to operate studies and provides IP licensing and portfolio counseling services.
The professionals in the IP Department serve clients from large corporations to start-up companies and have experience in numerous industries, including automotive (OEM and suppliers), advertising, banking, biotechnology, consumer products, e-commerce, electronics, fashion, food and beverage, gaming and hospitality, insurance, medical services and devices, pharmaceuticals, publishing (newspapers, books, magazines and multi-media), real estate, restaurant, retailing, software, telecommunications and transportation.
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Ramone L. Reese has joined Miller Canfield as an associate in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Group in the Detroit office.
He assists clients on a variety of commercial litigation matters, including class actions, contractual disputes, trademark, trade secret, unfair competition, and other complex matters.
Reese joins Miller Canfield from Thompson Coburn in St. Louis, where he was an associate in the Business Litigation Group. He is a member of the Missouri Bar.
He received his law degrees from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis. He received his B.A. from the University of Michigan.
Before law school, he helped manage an $80 million multi-family and retail property portfolio for a Michigan property management and investment firm.
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McKeen & Associates (www.mckeenassociates.com) announced the addition of attorney Marco Masciulli as an associate.
Masciulli will focus his practice in the areas of medical malpractice, wrongful death, personal injury and birth trauma. Prior to joining McKeen & Associates, he worked in the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office serving as a law clerk and legal intern. He also has experience in the State of Michigan-Department of Attorney General as a special assistant to the attorney general.
He is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, Michigan Association for Justice, and American Association for Justice.
Masciulli earned his law degree from the Michigan State University College of Law and his Bachelor of Science degree from Central Michigan University.
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Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer, & Weiss PC recently hosted a Harvard Business School Alumni Not-For-Profit Leadership Collaborative meeting, featuring sought-after nonprofit consultant Susan Katz McFall. Jaffe CEO Bill Sider made the announcement.
Sponsored by Jaffe’s Not-for-Profit Practice Group, the seminar was attended by nearly 90 of the top Southeast Michigan leading nonprofits and their board chairs. Former General Counsel of the Kellogg Foundation Susan Katz McFall discussed nonprofit governance with topics including fiduciary, strategic and generative approaches.
Additionally, the two-hour program included a panel discussion, a question and answer round, and Tony Rothschild, the CEO of Common Ground, also spoke about the success of this collaborative, nonprofit governance model, which provides a framework for nonprofit trustees and executives to govern more effectively.
Panelists also included retired Hospice of Michigan CEO Dottie Deremo of The Deremo Group and James Bayson, chairman of the American Red Cross and founder of Business Consultants for Nonprofits.
Jaffe’s Not-for-Profit Practice Group counsels a wide variety of nonprofit and charitable organizations throughout the nation, including family foundations, cultural institutions, and other educational, religious and social impact organizations.
Positioned to address the multidimensional needs of tax exempt organizations and social enterprises, the practice group counsel their clients in all aspects, including federal tax exemption qualification and compliance, creation of sustainable revenue streams, nonprofit corporate governance, joint ventures, fund investment management, program related investments, employment and compensation issues, and local and national charitable solicitation registration.
“It was an honor to host this informative discussion with great leaders in the nonprofit (also known as the ‘for-impact’) industry,” said Jaffe Partner and Not-for-Profit Practice Group Leader Jennifer Miller Oertel. “I have seen in action the Governance as Leadership model presented tonight by Susan Katz McFall, and it encourages the best use of the valuable insights of the board.”
The Harvard Business School (HBS) Alumni Not-for-Profit Leadership Collaborative, to which 50 of the top nonprofit leaders in Southeast Michigan belong, is a part of the HBS Alumni Group.
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Foster, Swift, Collins, & Smith PC is pleased to announce the arrival of Adam A. Fadly. He joins the firm as an associate in the firm’s Farmington Hills office in the General Litigation Practice Group. His practice focuses on no-fault litigation, medical malpractice defense, and general civil litigation.
Before joining Foster Swift, Fadly was an associate at a civil litigation firm in Livonia. He represented hospitals and physicians in medical malpractice actions, general liability claims, negligent credentialing claims, and health care regulatory matters. He also represented clients in commercial litigation, product liability defense, and insurance coverage disputes.
Fadly earned his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Western Michigan University in 2006. He graduated from Michigan State University College of Law in May 2009. Fadly also completed a judicial externship with Michigan Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth A. Weaver.
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George A. Contis has joined the firm of Giarmarco, Mullins, & Horton PC. Contis concentrates his practice in the areas of real estate acquisition and development, construction, mortgage and end-loan lending, participation loans, commercial and industrial leasing for landlords and tenants (including master leases, ground leases and subleases) and business planning.
Contis regularly works with lenders, owners and court appointed receivers in the sale of distressed office, commercial and industrial properties and manufactured home communities. He represented LA Fitness International and negotiated leases on its behalf for the establishment of its first 6 fitness facilities in Southeastern Michigan.
Contis earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics from the University of Pittsburgh in 1982 and received his law degree from the University of Detroit in 1985.
His publications include: Tax Aspects of Divorce in Michigan, Michigan Tax Law Journal, 1984; Bring a Weapon to School, Get Expelled 370 Laches 8, Nov. 1996; and Year End Planning Considerations for 1031 Exchanges, Bar Briefs, December 2000.
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A team of labor and employment attorneys and paralegals has joined Varnum’s Metro Detroit office. Attorneys Terrence Miglio, Barbara Buchanan, Katie Derthick, and Mindy Barry, along with paralegals Joanne Demers and Cynthia Petty, recently joined Varnum. All were previously with the Keller Thoma PC.
The addition of the six legal professionals plus support staff is in accordance with the firm’s plan to grow its presence in Southeast Michigan. A total of 29 attorneys now practice out of the firm’s Metro Detroit office, located in Novi.
Miglio and Buchanan have a practice with a strong focus on employment litigation as well as traditional labor work. Prior to joining Varnum, Miglio had been with Keller Thoma PC for 30-plus years, including a long tenure as the firm’s co-managing partner.
Buchanan, formerly a partner at Keller Thoma, has 15-plus years in representing employers in all aspects of employment litigation including trials and appeals. Miglio and Buchanan counsel clients nationally, providing advice as well as representation before state and federal courts and agencies.
Derthick and Barry also focus on labor and employment law and have experience in all aspects of employment litigation, from initial investigation to representing employers before state and federal courts and administrative agencies. Barry worked for the U.S. House of Representatives for more than ten years prior to entering private practice.
Executive Partner Tom Kyros said the Metro Detroit office’s growth has been a source of dynamism and enthusiasm firm-wide. Eight attorneys have joined the office in the past 18 months, bringing the total to 29. In addition, eight professional staff and 18 administrative staff also support the office.
Kyros indicated the firm plans to expand its current office to accommodate continued growth, and will be evaluating a second Metro Detroit location to complement its office in Novi.
In addition, Varnum attorney Matthew Bower has been appointed to the board of ArtServe Michigan.
Bower is a business and corporate attorney with a focus on general business, contracts, transactions, and employment and private equity. He has represented a wide variety of clients in the creative industries, including publishers, authors, theatrical producers, recording artists, photographers, artists and celebrities.
In addition to his work as a member of ArtServe Michigan’s Lawyers for the Creative Economy Advisory Committee, Bower is a member of the board of directors for the Michigan Youth Art Association.
Bower earned his law degree at Yeshiva University in New York and his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Michigan.
ArtServe Michigan is a statewide nonprofit organization which advocates for the power of the creative economy in Michigan, and provides leadership and professional development for artists, creative practitioners, and arts and cultural organizations. Their mission is to cultivate the creative potential of Michigan’s arts and cultural sector to enhance the health and well-being of Michigan, its people and communities.
