LEGAL PEOPLE

Five Honigman LLP Michigan practice groups garnered the highest ranking of “Band 1” in the 2021 edition of Chambers USA, more than any law firm in Michigan. Honigman’s Intellectual Property Department was also ranked in the firm’s growing Illinois office.

Chambers bestowed the highest ranking “Band 1” on the following Honigman practices in Michigan:
  —Bankruptcy/Restructuring
  —Corporate/M&A
  —Intellectual Property
  —Litigation: General Commercial
  —Real Estate

Honigman’s Labor and Employment practice in Michigan was also recognized.

“Our consistently high Chambers USA rankings continue to distinguish us from our peers,” said David Foltyn, Honigman chairman and CEO. “I’m proud of the attorneys who were recognized and grateful for our clients, who, like Chambers, continue to acknowledge our quality work and reputation year after year. We’re thrilled to add new rankings in our growing Illinois office in Intellectual Property.”

On the individual level, several Honigman attorneys were recognized and some of them are ranked in “Band 1.”

Eminent Practitioner
  • David Foltyn

Bankruptcy/Restructuring
  • Todd Sable
  • Joseph Sgroi

Corporate/M&A
  • Donald Kunz (senior statesperson)
  • Barbara Kaye
  • David N. Parsigian
  • Michael D. DuBay
  • Phillip D Torrence
  • Tracy T. Larsen

Intellectual Property
  • Anessa Kramer
  • Michael Huget
  • Jonathan P. O’Brien

Labor & Employment
  • Sean Crotty

Litigation: General Commercial
  • I.W. Winsten
  • Joseph Aviv
  • Raymond W. Henney

Real Estate
  • Adam Rothstein
  • Lowell D. Salesin

•            •            •

Bodman PLC is pleased to announce that experienced corporate attorney Joseph P. Michniacki has joined the firm as a member in the Troy office.

Michniacki is a member of Bodman’s Business Practice Group. He advises clients on a range of corporate law issues, including financing, mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructurings, corporate maintenance, and contract negotiation and drafting.

His clients range from startups to established mid-market enterprises to publicly traded companies. His decade of prior experience in business operations allows him to provide scalable services to meet each client’s needs regardless of company size.

Before becoming an attorney, Michniacki worked in golf facility management and oversaw operations for a number of Michigan golf courses.
Michniacki is a graduate of Western Michigan University Cooley Law School. He earned a B.B.A. in Accounting from the University of Michigan-Flint. He is a past recipient of the M&A Advisor International Professional Services (B-to-B) Deal of the Year Advisors Award.  

•            •            •

Kemp Klein Law Firm is pleased to announce that attorney Faith M. Gaudaen was offered shareholder status. Skilled in managing conflict and finding resolution, Gaudaen, concentrates her practice in the areas of commercial litigation, employment, real estate and corporate law.

•            •            •

Butzel Long attorney and shareholder Kaveh Kashef will be installed as the 89th president of the Oakland County Bar Association (OCBA) during a virtual Annual Meeting on June 3.

Kashef has served on the OCBA Board of Directors since 2012. He is the former chair of the Continuing Legal Education committee and is past president and a trustee of the Oakland County Bar Foundation. In addition, Kashef is a barrister of the American Inns of Court and is the former chair of the New Lawyers Section of the OCBA. He was a member of the State Bar Association Civil Procedure and Courts Standing Committee from 2005-2012.

Kashef specializes in complex litigation in the fields of automotive, shareholder disputes, employment, commercial, construction, riparian rights and real property law.

In addition to handling litigation in a wide range of industries, Kashef represents traditional and nontraditional private equity groups and serves as a general business and legal advisor to his individual and corporate clients. 

Kashef has been a speaker in the field of condominium development and has authored several contracting-related articles. He is admitted to practice in the State of Michigan and the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, and numerous courts across the country.

Further, Kashef has been recognized as a “Rising Star” by Michigan Super Lawyers; has been a “Super Lawyer” since 2013; a Top Lawyer by DBusiness Magazine; and, as an “Up and Coming Lawyer” by Michigan Lawyers Weekly. In 2012, he was named to The Trial Lawyer’s Top 40 Under 40 for the State of Michigan.

Kashef was a law clerk to United States Magistrate Judge William A. Webb, Eastern District of North Carolina.  He earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan (1995), and graduated from the Tulane University School of Law (2001) in New Orleans.

•            •            •

At its meeting on Monday, May 24, the Michigan Civil Rights Commission named attorney John E. Johnson Jr. as interim director of the Michigan Department of Civil Rights.  Johnson currently serves as the department’s legislative liaison and special advisor to the commission. Johnson will begin his duties on Tuesday, June 1, and will continue to serve in that capacity until the Commission selects a permanent executive director.

The decision to name an interim director was precipitated by the announcement on May 17 that MDCR Executive Director James E. White had accepted the position of interim chief of the Detroit Police Department. 

Before he was hired by MDCR, Johnson served as executive director of the Michigan Legislative Black Caucus, a position he held for seven years. Prior to his position with the Michigan Legislative Black Caucus, he held several leadership positions, including corporation counsel for the City of Detroit, general counsel to the Detroit NAACP, deputy executive director of Wayne County Neighborhood Legal Services, and hearing officer for the Michigan Tax Tribunal. He also is a former management consultant with Legal Services Corporation of Washington, D.C. and previous owner of a private law practice.

Johnson has a Bachelor of Arts from Howard University and a law degree from Valparaiso University. He has been a member of the State Bar of Michigan for more than 41 years and has been involved with the Detroit NAACP since 1992.

The Michigan Civil Rights Commission was created by the Michigan Constitution to safeguard constitutional and legal guarantees against discrimination.

The commission is charged with investigating alleged discrimination against any person because of religion, race, color or national origin, genetic information, sex, age, marital status, height, weight, arrest record, and physical and mental disability. The Michigan Department of Civil Rights serves as the operational arm of the commission.

•            •            •

The National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms’ Intellectual Property Practice Area Committee (IP PAC) will welcome Damian Porcari, regional director of the Elijah J. McCoy Midwest Regional United States Patent and Trademark Office, for a timely discussion of the National Council for Expanding American Innovation on June 15.

As the regional director of the Elijah J. McCoy Midwest Regional United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) since September 2018, Porcari carries out the strategic direction of the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO while leading the Midwest regional office in Detroit. By focusing on the region and actively engaging with the community, Porcari ensures the USPTO’s initiatives and programs are tailored to the region’s unique ecosystem of industries and stakeholders.

From 1989 to 2017, Porcari worked for Ford Global Technologies LLC (FGTL) in Dearborn, Michigan, serving as its director of Licensing and Enforcement from 2005 to 2017. In this role, he was responsible for protecting and monetizing Ford’s IP across the globe through licensing and litigation. Porcari also served as FGTL’s director of Technology Commercialization, where he led a team to develop marketing strategies and oversee licensing of the company’s technologies. He also served as a senior patent attorney for the U.S. Army Tank-automotive Command in Warren from 1984 to 1989.

Porcari is a named inventor on five U.S. patents. He was born and raised in Detroit where he attended Detroit Public Schools. A steadfast supporter of STEM initiatives in the region, Porcari has volunteered at Detroit-area Camp Invention programs for more than 20 years. He received a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from Michigan State University and a law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law.

•            •            •

Bruce S. Kahn and Marguerite M. Donahue have joined the Southfield office of Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer, & Weiss PC as partners in the emerging & growth business practice group. Jaffe CEO Jeffrey M. Weiss made the announcement.

Kahn has knowledge of client representation in all aspects of business operations as well as advising expertise on contracts, mergers and acquisitions. He has represented both for profit and not for profit enterprises and a significant number of other professionals, including physician groups, dentists, physical therapists and other attorneys and law firms. Kahn has advised clients throughout virtually every stage of the business lifecycle including acquisition, ownership, operation and sale, employee incentive planning, debt offering, and refinancing.

Kahn has served on a number of advisory boards for local businesses and is routinely recognized as one of Michigan’s top attorneys by Super Lawyers®. Throughout his previous roles, he developed a deep understanding of representing business clients and honed his skillset in virtually every aspect of law.
Kahn graduated from the University of Michigan in 1968. He later received a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1971.

Donahue has experience in representing clients dealing with private equity and venture capital investments along with navigating legal matters affecting business transactions. She has a varied business law skillset focused on advising clients on capital raising, secured and unsecured lending transactions, securities law, mergers and acquisitions and corporate governance. Donahue has managed several types of transactions including asset sales, stock and membership interest sales, exchange offers, and reorganizations.

Donahue is a former chair of the Business Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan (2012-2013). Previous work and professional involvement leveraged Donahue’s knowledge and expertise of law practices and diversified client relations. She has been recognized as one of Michigan’s top attorneys by Super Lawyers® for nine years (2011-2019).

Donahue graduated from Wayne State University’s with a bachelor’s degree in economics in 1984. She then received her law degree from Wayne State University Law School in 1987.

•            •            •

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer recently announced the appointment of Susan Dabaja to the Commission on Middle Eastern American Affairs.

Dabaja is an attorney with Law Office of Susan A. Dabaja PC and the president of the Dearborn City Council. She is also the co-chair of the Dearborn Education Foundation. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Michigan-Dearborn and a law degree from the University Detroit Mercy School of Law.  Dabja is reappointed for a term commencing May 26, 2021 and expiring April 19, 2025.

The Commission on Middle Eastern American Affairs was created by Executive Order 2015-6. The Commission is housed in the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity and shall act in an advisory capacity to the governor and the director. The 15-member council will advise the department on issues relating to the Arab and Chaldean communities in Michigan and promote awareness of their culture and history. They will also work to empower, promote, and advance the Middle Eastern American community in Michigan.

This appointment is not subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.