Butzel attorney and shareholder Mark Lezotte was recently appointed chair of the Board of Directors for SourceAmerica®, an AbilityOne® authorized enterprise that connects the federal government and a national network of more than 350 AbilityOne authorized providers, who hire a talented and diverse workforce segment — people with disabilities.
Lezotte has served on the SourceAmerica Board of Directors since 2013.
Based in Butzel’s Detroit office, Lezotte is a co-chair of the firm’s Health Care Industry Team. He has substantial experience in corporate, healthcare, exempt organization, and tax matters, including corporate and nonprofit governance, hospital-physician ventures and other healthcare transactions, regulatory investigations, tax exemption matters, and a wide range of business and commercial transactions.
Lezotte also serves on the United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) National Board, and has served on many civic and community boards, including local boards and committees of the Metropolitan Affairs Coalition, Southwest Solutions, Michigan UCP, Metro Health Foundation, Disability Rights Michigan, the YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit, and the Generation of Promise Program at Focus: Hope.
Lezotte is a former council member of the State Bar of Michigan Business Law Section and former co-chair of the Nonprofit Corporations Committee, as well as former co-chair of the Health Law Committee of the Federal Bar Association, Eastern District of Michigan chapter.
The firm also announces that from year-to-year, Butzel attorneys and practice areas are consistently ranked in the prestigious Chambers USA 2023 – America’s Leading Lawyers for Business 2023 – The Client’s Guide.
Butzel practice areas included in Chambers USA 2023 are:
—Corporate/ Mergers and Acquisitions
—Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation
—Immigration
—Labor & Employment
—Litigation: General Commercial
—Real Estate
Butzel attorneys ranked and highlighted in Chambers USA 2023 include:
—Corporate/M&A
Arthur Dudley II
Jennifer Consiglio
Justin Klimko – Eminent Practitioner
Nicholas J. Stasevich
—Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation
Andrew Stumpff
Lynn McGuire
Mark Jane – Associate to Watch
Robert B. Stevenson – Senior Statespeople
—Immigration
Bushra Malik
Clara DeMatteis Mager
He Xian
Reginald A. Pacis
—Labor & Employment
Barbara Buchanan – (New Addition)
Brett Miller
Carey A. DeWitt
Daniel B. Tukel
James S. Rosenfeld
John P. Hancock Jr.
—Commercial Litigation
Bernard Fuhs – (New Addition)
Bruce Sendek
Cynthia Haffey
Daniel Rustmann
—White-Collar Litigation & Government Investigations
David F. DuMouchel
George Donnini
—Real Estate
David W. Hipp – Senior Statespeople
Thomas Kabel
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Oakland University recently announced that the school is honoring Honigman LLP Government Relations and Regulatory Advisor Dennis Muchmore by naming a new Public Policy Series after him. The annual series is presented by the Oakland University Center for Civic Engagement.
The newly established series will serve as an annual event that addresses critical issues facing the region, state, or nation. The initiative aims to foster meaningful discussions and provide valuable insights for public policy.
Muchmore is co-leader of the Government Relations and Regulatory Practice Group at Honigman LLP. Prior to joining the firm, he served as chief of staff to former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and managed the issues of the 19 state departments and some 47,000 employees. His 40 years in and out of government in a variety of roles and challenges give him extensive knowledge of the inner workings of government. As a professional public administrator with great respect for public employees on all levels, he continues to encourage and mentor young people in the pursuit of training and expertise. Earlier in his career, he was a principal at the Lansing lobbying firm Muchmore, Harrington, Smalley, & Associates.
“Dennis is a legend in political circles and in the field of public policy in Lansing and across Michigan,” said Honigman Chairman and CEO David Foltyn. “Dennis has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to government relations and public service and unparalleled expertise throughout his career. This recognition is a testament to his leadership and efforts in helping to shape meaningful policies in Michigan. It is an honor to have Dennis on the Honigman team and collaborate with Oakland University.”
The inaugural event is scheduled to take place on Monday, September 18, at 6 p.m. at the Oakland Center, 312 Meadow Brook Road, Suite 151, in the Oakland Banquet Rooms on the Oakland University campus in Rochester. Chuck Stokes, WXYZ-TV Editorial and Public Affairs director and host of Spotlight on the News, will moderate a discussion with former Gov. Rick Snyder and former Gov. James Blanchard. The discussion will be focused on the current state of Michigan and national politics, as well as on serving the common good and fostering civility in public discourse. To register for the event, visit https://forms.gle/SgBp6Nh1uktm9Ab4A.
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Holm Belsheim has joined McDonald Hopkins LLC as an associate in the Litigation Department, adding his expertise to the firm’s national Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice Group.
Belsheim is accredited by the International Association of Privacy Professionals as a Certified Information Privacy Professional for the United States. He is also accredited by the IAPP as a Certified Information Privacy Professional for Europe.
Belsheim’s practice focuses on advising companies in a wide variety of industries on best practices for preventing and responding to data privacy and cybersecurity incidents. His experience includes
revising privacy policies and data processing agreements, advising clients on third-party privacy agreements, drafting licensing and privacy agreements, and performing risk assessments. Belsheim has specific expertise on data privacy and cybersecurity matters involved in M&A transactions, including advising on breach notification and privacy law compliance and performing diligence on information technology, intellectual property and software agreement licensing.
Belsheim earned his law degree from the University of Minnesota Law School and his B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
• • •
BSP Law is pleased to be recognized in Vault Law’s “Top 150 Under 150” list, a nationwide list of leading small and midsize law firms with 150 lawyers or fewer. BSP Law also ranked nationally in the following Vault Best Midsize Law Firm lists: #5 for Diversity, #19 for Wellness, #22 for Quality of Work, #23 for Satisfaction, #23 for Transparency, and #25 for Selectivity.
• • •
Varnum attorney Jailah Emerson was recently elected to the Board of Directors for Wayne Region Women Lawyers Association of Michigan (WLAM).
Emerson, who previously served as director of programming for the organization, is an associate attorney on Varnum’s Litigation and Trial Practice Team. Her practice is primarily focused on complex commercial litigation, family law, tax and insolvency litigation. She assists clients in a wide variety of matters, ranging from standard breach of contract claims to complex real estate disputes.
Prior to her employment at Varnum, Emerson served as a legal intern at the U.S. Dept. of Justice and in the general counsel office of DTE. She also served as a legal extern to U.S. District Court Judge Victoria A. Roberts, Eastern District of Michigan. She graduated from University of Detroit Mercy School of Law and received her undergraduate degree from Michigan State University.
• • •
Miller Canfield is pleased to announce that Erika Giroux has been selected by the Detroit Bar Association as the winner of the Barristers Section 2023 Pro Bono Award.
Giroux is an associate in Miller Canfield’s Litigation and Dispute Resolution Group. Soon after Giroux joined the firm in 2017, she dove into the high-impact, complex Hamama v. Adducci pro bono national class action matter, where she was part of a team that successfully represented 1,400 Iraqi nationals living in the U.S. to secure an injunction to stop their immediate removal and allow them time to pursue relief in immigration court.
More recently, Giroux was the lead attorney in a pro bono matter in which she represented a single mother whose former partner was using the court system to harass her after the couple’s relationship had dissolved. The cases were dismissed, even as the client’s former partner had filed appeals up to the Michigan Supreme Court.
Giroux was also part of the team that handled a pro bono matter involving the drafting and filing of amicus briefs on behalf of the Brennan Center, a national nonpartisan voting rights organization, arguing Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson had the authority to affirmatively mail absentee ballot applications to all registered voters in the state during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition to her pro bono work, Giroux has worked on several high-profile Title IX litigation matters in higher education and class action cases involving Michigan municipalities.
Giroux is a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School. She has been named to the State Bar of Michigan Pro Bono Honor Roll since its inception in 2019.
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Eighty-six Clark Hill attorneys have been named 2023 Leading Lawyers. Local Clark Hill attorneys named include:
—Birmingham
Dana L Abrahams
Jennifer A. Bielfield
Paul W. Coughenour
William B. Dunn
John L. Gierak
Randi P Glanz
Edward C. Hammond
Douglas R. Kelly
Peter B. Kupelian
Thomas MacFarlane
Paul S. Magy
Daniel H. Minkus
Charles E. Murphy
Thomas F. Sweeney
Linda M. Watson
—Detroit
Anthony A. Agosta
William G Asimakis Jr.
Fred W. Batten
Jay M. Berger
Daniel J. Bretz
Connie M. Cessante
David M. Cessante
Martin E. Crandall
Dennis M. Devaney
Thomas M. Dixon
Daniel J. Dulworth
Maria Fracassa Dwyer
Peter S. Ecklund Jr.
Cynthia M. Filipovich
David M. Hayes
Kevin S. Hendrick
John J. Hern Jr.
Edward J. Hood
Thomas M. Keranen
Christopher A McMican
William A. Moore
Michael P. Nowlan
Daniel J. Scully Jr.
Richard A. Sundquist
Duane L. Tarnacki
Christopher M. Trebilcock
Reginald M. Turner Jr.
Timothy D. Wittlinger
• • •
Brooks Kushman is proud to announce that the World Trademark Review (“WTR”) named Robyn Lederman as a 2023 Global Leader.
With more than 25 years of experience practicing in the area of trademark law, Lederman specializes in global branding strategy with a keen eye on clearance, protection, and enforcement for start-ups to Fortune 500 companies. She works extensively with company legal, marketing, and business development groups to devise cost-effective strategies to achieve business goals. She works with her clients on issues beyond trademark registration that include brand enforcement programs, copyright, domain name recovery, IP due diligence, licensing and other IP agreements, trade dress protection, and dilution avoidance in a variety of sectors such as agriculture, automotive and mobility, food and beverage, entertainment, financial services, high-tech, and fashion.
Lederman has experience in growing and managing worldwide trademark portfolios for her clients. Prior to Brooks Kushman, Lederman worked for more than seven years at a law firm in Israel as a trademark attorney and maintains her professional relationships in what has become known as “the Start-Up Nation” by visiting clients and colleagues each year to keep them apprised of IP developments in the U.S.
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Harness IP is pleased to announce that 10 of its attorneys have been included in the 2023 IAM Patent 1000 list. This is the 10th year in a row that the firm’s patent attorneys have been ranked by the guide. The local 2023 honorees include:
Mark Elchuk
Glenn Forbis
Paul Keller
David Suter
David Utykanski
Bryant Wade
