Lawyers of Distinction recently recognized John F. Schaefer, founder and managing partner of The Law Firm of John F. Schaefer, as a member.
The Law Firm of John F. Schaefer was founded in 1996 and is dedicated the practice of matrimonial and family law. Schaefer, an internationally recognized family law expert, specializes in complex and high profile divorce cases and keeps offices in Birmingham, Grosse Pointe, and Harbor Springs.
The Michigan State University College of Law library is named after Schaefer, where he has served as trustee emeritus and adjunct law professor for more than 30 years.
He serves, and has served, on numerous boards and associations including the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, where he was past president of its Michigan chapter, and past president of the Oakland County Bar Association.
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Southfield law firm Maddin, Hauser, Roth, & Heller PC is pleased to announce that Kaitlin A. Brown has been named the recipient of the 2018 Regeana Myrick Outstanding Young Lawyer Award from the State Bar of Michigan Young Lawyers Section. The announcement was made by the firm's president and CEO, Steven D. Sallen.
This award annually recognizes a Michigan lawyer under the age of 36 who has demonstrated an overwhelming commitment to public service, service to the bar and exceptional leadership.
Brown is a shareholder in Maddin Hauser's Corporate and Employment practice group. Specializing in employment law, she focuses primarily on counseling employers to take proactive measures to prevent more costly claims of wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment and improper payment of wages.
She has been recognized among Michigan Lawyers Weekly's 2016 Up and Coming Lawyers, named a Rising Star by Michigan Super Lawyers® from 2014-2017, received a Pro Bono Accomplishment Award from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, and was recognized in 2017 with the Member of the Year Award from the Women's Bar Association.
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The W.K. Kellogg Foundation recently announced the selection of Faye Alexander Nelson as its new director of Michigan programs, effective August 6.
In this role, Nelson will be responsible for providing leadership and oversight of the foundation's investments in Michigan to create conditions that ensure children have opportunities to thrive in equitable communities. Nelson, who will be based in WKKF's Detroit office, will lead the foundation's statewide grantmaking priorities, in collaboration and partnership with grantees, communities, and other stakeholders throughout the region.
Most recently, Nelson served as the 2017-2018 Sojourner Truth Fellow at the University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning. Using the transformation of the Detroit riverfront as a case study, Nelson and graduate students from both Taubman College and the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy examined, over the course of thirteen weeks, the catalytic impact of placemaking and public space development in urban communities like Detroit.
Previously, Nelson was vice president of DTE Energy, and president and board chair of the DTE Energy Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the company. During her tenure, Nelson co-led the restructuring of the foundation and oversaw its annual grantmaking to over 400 nonprofits throughout the state of Michigan.
Prior to her role at DTE Energy, Nelson served as the inaugural president and CEO of the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy and led the restoration of the Detroit riverfront. During Nelson's ten-year tenure, she oversaw the public-private partnership transformation of the abandoned industrial waterfront into a vibrant public space of more than 3.5 miles of parks, plazas, pavilions, and pathways. To date, the riverfront receives more than three million annual visitors and has generated more than $1 billion in public and private investment.
Nelson is actively involved in her community and has more than 20 years of board service experience-14 of which were with Compuware Corporation. Currently, she serves on the board of several Detroit area organizations, including the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Henry Ford Health System and Health Network.
Nelson is the recipient of numerous awards, including Crain's Detroit Business 100 Most Influential Women in Michigan Award in 2016, the Walsh College Jeffery Barry Education Excellence & Community Service Award, the Damon J. Keith 24th Annual Soul and Spirit Humanitarian Award, the Grio's 100 African American History Makers presented by NBC News, and the Milliken Distinguished Service Award from the Michigan Environmental Council.
Nelson earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Mercy College of Detroit and a law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. She is a member of the State Bar of Michigan and a life member of the Sixth Circuit Judicial Conference.
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Michael Pitt, co-founding partner of Royal Oak-based Pitt, McGehee, Palmer, & Rivers, has been elected president of Public Justice for a one-year term.
Public Justice is a national public interest law firm that pursues high-impact lawsuits to combat social and economic injustice, protect the Earth's sustainability, and challenge corporate conduct and government abuses.
As president of Public Justice, Pitt will guide the organization's litigation, fundraising, advocacy work and lead the Board of Directors and Executive Committee.
Pitt and his firm are currently representing thousands of Flint residents in several class action lawsuits arising from lead-tainted water in the city's municipal water system. In another large class action, Pitt's firm is representing thousands of state residents wrongly accused of fraud by the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency.
Pitt has previously been named a Champion of Justice by the State Bar of Michigan and given its Distinguished Service Award. In addition, Michigan Lawyers Weekly named him to Leaders in the Law and Michigan Association for Justice also selected him as its 2018 Champion of Justice.
He has served in board and leadership positions for numerous legal organizations, including American Bar Association; State Bar of Michigan; Oakland County Bar Association; Wayne State University Board of Visitors; American Civil Liberties Union and National Employment Lawyers Association.
Published: Mon, Jul 30, 2018
