LEGAL PEOPLE

The State Court Administrative Office (SCAO) recently announced Macomb County Deputy Court Administrator John Nizol as the new director of its Michigan Judicial Institute (MJI), the education arm of the state judiciary. Nizol succeeds Dawn McCarty, who is retiring after 21 years of leading MJI and 36 overall years at SCAO. Reporting to the deputy state court administrator, Nizol will provide professional development to judicial branch personnel and guide MJI programming and publication teams in producing educational seminars, instructional materials, and legal reference resources for courts across the state.

In his new role, Nizol will oversee the MJI mandatory judicial education (MCJE) and the Hall of Justice Learning Center activities, in addition to designing and implementing substantive, procedural law and court management educational programs for state trial court judges and chief judges. He will also establish and direct the long-term goals for the SCAO Learning Management System and MJI’s digital services and online content.

Nizol most recently worked at Macomb County Circuit Court as deputy court administrator for the past five years, and as the legal services director and a staff research attorney prior to that. In addition, he served as an adjunct faculty instructor and is currently a legal assistant advisory board member at Macomb Community College.

Nizol also serves on the Justice for All Commission (Self-Help Center Subcommittee), as well as the State Bar of Michigan District Character and Fitness Committee.

“I welcome this new challenge and look forward to affecting positive change that positions Michigan courts to serve as trusted resources in the community,” Nizol said.

Nizol earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Western Michigan University and a law degree from Michigan State University College of Law.

•            •            •

Sean Bowen has joined McDonald Hopkins as an associate in the firm’s Litigation Department, adding his experience to the firm’s national Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice Group. He is accredited by the International Association of Privacy Professionals as a Certified Information Privacy Professional for the United States, the gold standard certification for information privacy professionals.

Bowen’s practice focuses on advising clients on best practices to prevent and respond to data privacy and cybersecurity matters such as ransomware attacks and email comprises. His expertise includes providing pre-breach and incident response counseling and managing all aspects of cybersecurity incident response, including forensic investigations and remediation, media and third party communications, data mining, breach notification, subrogation, and litigation.

Bowen has experience managing media and third party communications with state, federal and international regulators and represents his clients in connections with government investigations that arise out of cybersecurity issues.

Bowen provides counseling on matters relating to HIPAA, Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, GDPR, CCPA, FERPA, PCI-DSS, and various state data protection and breach notification laws. He also has experience advising and assisting with proactive data privacy measures and breach prevention, including the creation of information security plans and programs, acceptable use policies, and incident response plans.

In addition to his years of experience as a data privacy and cybersecurity attorney, Bowen previously served as a senior analyst handling compliance matters for a Fortune 50 health insurance company and also was a prosecutor and defense litigation attorney at the New York City Law Department, where he conducted several trials and hearings. Bowen is also a U.S. Army Veteran, having served for over six years, attaining the rank of Captain.

Bowen received his B.S. in criminal justice from East Carolina University. He went on to study at Rutgers Law School, where he earned his law degree.

•            •            •

Dickinson Wright is pleased to announce that Aaron Burrell (member, Detroit and Troy) has been named a “2022 40 Under 40” honoree by Michigan Chronicle.

The Michigan Chronicle 40 Under 40 Awards recognizes local African-American young professionals who inspire others through their vision, leadership, exceptional achievements, and participation in community service. Honorees will be recognized at the Michigan Chronicle 40 Under 40 Awards and Induction Ceremony on June 30 at the International Marketplace in Detroit. “I’m honored to be a part of the Michigan Chronicle’s exemplary 2022 Class of 40 Under 40,” says Burrell.

Burrell is a member of Dickinson Wright and serves as co-chair of the firm’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. He serves on the board of directors of Western Michigan University Cooley Law School and Oakland County Bar Association. He has served in leadership positions in numerous organizations including the State Bar of Michigan, the D. Augustus Straker Bar Association, and the American Bar Association.

Burrell is recognized by numerous publications as a leader in his field including Diversity MBA Magazine, Profiles in Diversity Journal, Crain’s Detroit Business, Michigan Lawyers Weekly, and Michigan Super Lawyers Rising Stars.

•            •            •

On May 4, Kitch attorneys Don Lenderman, Laura Witty, Matt Faiver, and Laura Sherbrook were invited faculty at the SEMCME Medical & Legal Considerations in OBGYN seminar which took place at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak. They addressed four topics all based on case studies: fetal heart rate interpretation, gynecological surgical complications, shoulder dystocia, and defending the lawsuit. These were individual sessions precepted by physicians and attorneys (together) to prompt discussion of medical, as well as medical/legal issues presented.

SEMCME, the Southeast Michigan Center for Medical Education established in 1974, is the largest community-based medical education consortium in the Midwest, comprised of 13 member hospitals with 277 accredited residency and fellowship programs in 90 specialties and sub-specialties, 3,636 approved residency and fellowship positions and over 4,000 university and community faculty.

Lenderman is a principal and leader of the firm’s birth trauma defense practice. A member of the firm since 1998, he has developed a background and experience base in birth trauma defense and obstetrics/gynecology litigation.

Witty is a principal attorney and senior member of the firm’s birth injury and medical malpractice defense practices. A member of the firm since 1994, she has experience representing hospitals, physicians and other healthcare professionals in perinatal injury, complex catastrophic and other neurological claims on a local and national basis.

Faiver is a principal in the firm’s Detroit office. As a member of the firm’s birth injury and medical malpractice defense practices, he specializes in the defense of hospitals, physicians, and other healthcare professionals in complex, catastrophic medical malpractice litigation on both a local and national basis.

Sherbrook is an associate principal in the firm’s Detroit office and focuses her practice on birth trauma and medical malpractice defense litigation. Sherbrook received her law degree from Michigan State University College of Law.

•            •            •

Brooks Kushman has added patent attorney Stanley Hill to its growing Patent Prosecution practice.

With more than 30 years of experience as a patent attorney, Hill’s practice involves all aspects of domestic and foreign patent preparation and prosecution. He regularly counsels clients on the development and management of their patent portfolios in a wide variety of technical areas such as semiconductor processing and packaging, computer architecture and software, consumer products, chemical and electronic arts, and artificial intelligence.

Hill is experienced with the USPTO, serving for more than 10 years as a patent examiner. Stanley also spent eight years working in-house for a multinational chemical corporation. He spent time designing and developing computer software. Hull received his law degree from IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law and earned a M.S. in Computer Science from Indiana University.

•            •            •

Harness IP is pleased to announce that several of its intellectual property attorneys have been named as “IP Stars 2022” by Managing IP magazine. Harness IP received firmwide recognition for its outstanding work. In Michigan, it is noted as a “highly recommended” firm for trademark work.

In addition, the following local Harness IP lawyers are honored by the publication:

– Patent Stars
   Michael P. Doerr – principal, Detroit
   Stanley M. Erjavac – principal, Detroit
   Glenn E. Forbis – principal, Detroit
   George D. Moustakas – principal, Detroit
   Stephen T. Olson – principal, Detroit
   Michael D. Wiggins – principal, Detroit

– Trademark Stars
   Stephen T. Olson – principal, Detroit

– Notable Practitioners
   Lisabeth H. Coakley – senior counsel, Detroit
   Raymond V. Millien – chief executive officer, Detroit