Legal People ...

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer recently announced the appointment of Steve Bieda to the Michigan Tax Tribunal.

Bieda, of Warren, is a former assistant Democratic floor leader in the Michigan State Senate and a former State Representative. In his time in the Legislature, Bieda served as minority vice-chair of the Senate Finance Committee and chair of the House Tax Policy Committee. Before seeking public office, he worked as the director of Labor Relations for the city of Warren and as a senior policy analyst for the Michigan House of Representatives. He is currently serving as the director of Legislative Affairs for the Department of Treasury.

Bieda received his Bachelor of Public Affairs-Political Science and Master of Public Administration from Wayne State University. He earned his law degrees from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law and Wayne State University Law School. 

Bieda is appointed to succeed David Marmon, whose term expires June 30, 2019, to represent attorneys for a term commencing July 8, 2019 and expiring June 30, 2023. The governor has designated Bieda to serve as chairperson of the Tribunal.

The Michigan Tax Tribunal is an administrative court that hears tax appeals for all Michigan taxes. Most of the Tribunal’s appeals involve property tax; however, the Tribunal also hears business and individual tax disputes. The Tribunal is divided into two divisions: the “Entire Tribunal” and the “Residential Property and Small Claims” Division. 

The appointment is subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.

 •            •           •

Bodman PLC is pleased to announce that attorney Rebecca C. Seguin-Skrabucha has joined the firm as an associate.

Seguin-Skrabucha is a member of Bodman’s Workplace Law Practice Group and is based in the firm’s Detroit office.  She concentrates her practice in advising employers on compliance with state and federal employment and labor laws.

She also has experience defending employers on a variety of employment claims before state and federal courts and before administrative agencies including the EEOC and the Michigan Department of Civil Rights.

Before joining Bodman, Seguin-Skrabucha practiced with a highly regarded southeast Michigan labor and employment boutique law firm. She is a frequent author on labor and employment law topics and served for over a year as a monthly columnist for the Michigan Employment Law Letter. She was a contributor to ICLE’s 2018 Labor and Employment Law Institute.

At The University of Michigan Law School, she served as an associate editor of the Michigan Journal of Gender and Law, as a student attorney with the Pediatric Advocacy Clinic, and as co-chair of the Advisory Committee to Student Funded Fellowships.  As a University of Michigan undergraduate she was named a James B. Angell Scholar based upon academic excellence.

Seguin-Skrabucha remains active with Student Funded Fellowships and serves on its Advisory Committee. She is also active with the Stage Nature Center, a 100-acre nature preserve and education center located in Troy, Michigan, and serves on the organization’s Fundraising Committee.

•            •           •

Dawda, Mann, Mulcahy & Sadler PLC is pleased to announce that Randal R. Cole has been appointed to the firm’s Management Committee.

He will work with the other members of the committee, Edward C. Dawda, Curtis J. Mann, Wayne S. Segal, and Marc K. Salach, to direct the leadership of the firm.

Cole joined Dawda Mann as an associate in 2011 and was made member in 2013. He concentrates his practice in the area of employment defense litigation, as well as providing advice to management on employment related matters and traditional labor law.

Cole has experience in both state and federal courts and has handled appellate cases in both the Michigan Court of Appeals and the Federal Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. His experience in administrative forums includes representing clients before the National Labor Relations Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, and Michigan Employment Security Agency. He has also arbitrated private claims with the American Arbitration Association and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

Cole earned his law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law in 1996, and his B.A. from Kalamazoo College in 1991.

He is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, Labor and Employment Law Section, and was vice-chairman of the Oakland County Bar Association Employment and Labor Law Committee from 2001 to 2002 and
chairman from 2002 to 2003. Cole has also lectured for various civic groups in the Detroit Metropolitan Area.

•            •           •

Dickinson Wright PLLC is pleased to announce that several attorneys within the firm have been recognized in Benchmark Litigation’s 2019 “40 and Under Hot List,”

Local Dickinson Wright attorneys in Benchmark Litigation’s 2019 “40 and Under Hot List” include:

Scott A. Petz, Troy
Benjamin M. Sobczak, Troy

•            •           •

Wayne State University Law School Professor Stephen Calkins is the 2019 recipient of the Alfred E. Kahn Award for Antitrust Achievement from the American Antitrust Institute.

Calkins, a long-time Wayne Law faculty member whose career has included government service in the United States and Ireland, academic administration, and private practice, received the award at AAI’s 20th Annual Policy Conference in Washington, D.C. on June 20.

Calkins has been a member of Wayne Law’s faculty since 1983. He has served as interim dean and has taken leaves of absence to serve as the university’s associate vice president for academic affairs, as general counsel of the Federal Trade Commission, and (from 2011-15) as a member of Ireland’s Competition and Consumer Protection Commission. While in Ireland he also served as adjunct professor at University College Dublin Sutherland School of Law.

The AAI Award for Antitrust Achievement, first presented in 2000, honors outstanding contributions to the field of antitrust. Calkins is the 21st recipient of the award. Among past recipients are four assistant attorneys general, an FTC chair and a commissioner, Europe’s head of competition, three U.S. senators, and professors from Cornell, Georgetown, Harvard, NYU, Purdue and Stanford.