Michigan Super Lawyers magazine recently named 18 attorneys from Plunkett Cooney to its 2019 list of "Super Lawyers."
For the thirteenth consecutive year, Plunkett Cooney appellate attorney Mary Massaron has received special recognition by the magazine with its inclusion of her among the state's top 50 women lawyers. Massaron is one of the firm's most experienced appellate attorneys and serves as co-leader of Plunkett Cooney's Class Action & Mass Tort Practice Group.
Below is a list of Plunkett Cooney's local partners who have received the 2019 Michigan Super Lawyer designation:
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
Jeffrey C. Gerish - Appellate
Robert G. Kamenec - Appellate
Mark S. Kopson - Health Care
Anthony J. Rusciano - Business Litigation
Scott H. Sirich - Construction Litigation
Detroit office members:
D. Jennifer Andreou - Personal Injury Defense: Medical Malpractice
Laurel F. McGiffert - Personal Injury Defense: Medical Malpractice
Stanley A. Prokop - Insurance Coverage
Mary Catherine Rentz - Insurance Coverage
Matthew J. Stanczyk - Personal Injury Defense: Products
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Super Lawyers has selected nine attorneys from Detroit-based McKeen & Associates.
Brian McKeen, founder and managing partner of the firm, was named on the Super Lawyers Top 100 and Top 10 lists. Norman Rosen, Of Counsel, and associates Terry Dawes, David Tirella, and Richard Counsman were also recognized as Super Lawyers. McKeen and Rosen additionally were recognized for making the Super Lawyers lists for more than ten years.
Additionally, associates Andrew Kay, Kenneth Lee, John Malone, and Erik Proulx were named as 2019 Rising Stars honorees.
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Dykema recently announced the addition of Thomas T. Moga to its Intellectual Property & IP Litigation Department and Automotive Industry Group as a senior counsel in the firm's Bloomfield Hills office. Moga joins Dykema from the Dearborn office of LeClairRyan.
Moga has more than 30 years of experience in domestic and international intellectual property portfolio development and enforcement. He is an experienced patent prosecutor in various fields, including the mechanical, chemical, biochemical, and pharmaceutical arts. Moga has also been qualified and testified as an expert witness in patent disputes.
As an IP portfolio developer, Moga's experience includes the development of domestic and foreign patent portfolios, the acquisition of registrations for trademarks and copyrights, licensing, and policy development. Within the discipline of IP rights enforcement, he manages patent enforcement and anti-counterfeiting actions in Asia, including overseeing initial counterfeit product investigation, selecting and working with local investigators, selecting and working with local counsel, preparing administrative and judicial documents, and participating in raids.
Moga is also a pioneer in protecting and enforcing intellectual property rights in China and has represented foreign companies in China since the 1980s. He was a Fulbright Scholar in China, where he taught patent law at Jilin University and acted as a foreign advisor to China's patent office.
In 2018, Moga was appointed by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to serve on the Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Intellectual Property Rights (ITAC 13). As the only representative on the committee for the U.S. automotive industry, Moga's contributions include analyzing national trade positions and providing advice on a broad array of trade issues as they relate to IP for both the White House (by way of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative) and the Department of Commerce in pursuit of trade agreements that benefit U.S. businesses, workers and the economy.
Moga received his law degree from the St. Louis University School of Law. He also earned an M.A. in English Language & Literature as well as a B.A. in both English Language & Literature and Political Studies (with a China concentration) from the University of Michigan. Moga also received a B.S. in Biochemistry from Madonna University.
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The Dragich Law Firm is pleased to announce that January Dragich has joined the firm as a commercial litigation attorney. She represents clients in a wide range of litigation matters, including breach of contract claims, supplier disputes, fraud claims, shareholder and partnership disputes, and corporate governance matters, among other areas of focus, in both state and federal courts and in alternative dispute resolution settings. She also assists other lawyers in the firm in adversary proceedings and other litigation in bankruptcy court.
The addition of Dragich, who is the wife of firm founder David Dragich, will help to bolster the firm's growing commercial litigation practice. She will play an integral role in fulfilling the firm's commitment to help clients achieve successful outcomes while providing highly responsive and personalized service.
Dragich brings significant experience to the firm, having spent more than 15 years at The Miller Law Firm PC, a commercial and class action litigation firm headquartered in Rochester.
Dragich earned her law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. She is active within the legal community, and is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, Oakland County Bar Association, and Women Lawyers Association of Michigan.
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Reiter & Walsh PC birth injury attorneys Jesse M. Reiter and Rebecca Walsh published an article in the September 2019 American Association for Justice (AAJ) Trial Magazine. The article is titled "Birth Asphyxia Cases: The Impact of Cooling."
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Varnum attorneys in several offices have been recognized by Michigan Super Lawyers for 2019, including several young attorneys honored as Michigan Rising Stars. All will be listed in the 2019 publication of Michigan Super Lawyers Magazine.
Local Varnum attorneys who have been recognized as 2019 Super Lawyers include:
DETROIT
Brendan G. Best, Bankruptcy: Business
Richard A. Hooker, Employment & Labor
Terrence J. Miglio, Employment & Labor
Eric Nemeth, Tax
NOVI
Thomas H. Bergh, Estate Planning & Probate
Dennis Devaney, Employment & Labor
Richard T. Hewlett, Construction Litigation
Julia A. Perkins, Family Law
Maureen Rouse-Ayoub, Employment & Labor
Local Varnum attorneys who have been recognized as 2019 Michigan Rising Stars include:
Bradley S. Defoe, Business Litigation (Novi)
Mallory A. Field, Business/Corporate (Detroit)
Erin Klug, Intellectual Property (Novi)
Kristen Veresh, Banking (Novi)
Salvatore (Sam) J. Vitale, Business Litigation (Novi)
In addition, Varnum real estate attorney Lauren Potocsky has been named to the Northville Community Foundation Board of Directors.
Northville Community Foundation awards grants and scholarships and plans events in furtherance of its mission to enhance and enrich life in the community. The foundation is also responsible for the operation of Maybury Farm, which provides educational programming and community activities that connect children and families to agriculture and animals.
Potocsky is a member of Varnum's Real Estate Practice Team. She regularly counsels clients on the acquisition, financing, sale and leasing of commercial property, including retail shopping centers, medical office and industrial buildings. Potocsky also provides construction law services, advising clients on contractual matters, construction liens and litigation matters.
Varnum is also pleased to announce that Stephen C. Rohr has joined the Estate Planning Team. He is based in the firm's Birmingham office.
Rohr's practice includes estate planning, business planning, and estate and trust administration. He also works with entrepreneurs on matters ranging from entity formation to buy-sell agreements and prepares nonprofit corporations and private foundations for high net worth individuals.
Rohr joins Varnum from Miller Canfield, where he led the Personal Services Practice Group. He received his law degrees from Michigan State University College of Law and Georgetown University. He attended Miami University for his undergraduate degree.
Rohr is a member of the State Bar of Michigan Estate Planning Section, the Oakland County Bar Association, and the Financial and Estate Planning Council of Metro Detroit. His community activity includes serving as a member of the Salvation Army Planning Committee and he is an initial participant in the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan Professional Advisors Philanthropic Institute.
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Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer recently announced several appointments to the Michigan Women's Commission. Among the appointees is Charity R. Dean, the director of civil rights for the city of Detroit and the former director of the city's Bridging Neighborhoods Program.
Dean is an advisory council member for the Detroit Women's Leadership Network, a board member for Youth Works Detroit, and a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.
Dean earned her law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. She is appointed to succeed Joanne Dawley, whose term expired July 15, 2019, for a term expiring July 15, 2022.
The Michigan Women's Commission was created by statute in 1968. The commission's duties include reviewing the status of women in Michigan, directing attention to critical problems confronting women, recommending ways of overcoming discrimination, enabling women to develop skills, conducting surveys, and recognizing women's accomplishments and contributions to Michigan.
Appointments to the Michigan Women's Commission are subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.
