LEGAL PEOPLE

Honigman, Miller, Schwartz, and Cohn LLP is pleased to announce that Jonathan R. Borenstein, a partner in the firm's Real Estate Department, has been appointed to serve as an executive board vice president for the Apartment Association of Michigan. Borenstein has a broad range of experience advising clients on real estate matters, both regionally and nationally. He represents real estate owners, operators and developers of multi-family housing, commercial, hotel, office and industrial developments, as well as lenders, contractors and investors. Borenstein is a member of the National Multi Housing Council and serves on the MSU School of Planning, Design and Construction Alumni Advisory Board. He also serves on Cranbrook Educational Community's Board of Trustees and the School's Board of Governors. He was recognized in "Best Lawyers in America" in 2010 and 2011, DBusiness magazines' "Top Lawyers" in 2010 and "Michigan Super Lawyers" in 2007 and 2008. Borenstein earned his law degree from Wayne State University Law School and a B.A. from Michigan State University. * * * John J. Bursch, a partner with the law firm of Warner, Norcross, & Judd LLP, has been named Michigan Solicitor General. Bursch, who chairs the law firm's Appellate Practice and Public Affairs Litigation groups, will work under the office of newly elected Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, who was also an attorney at Warner Norcross for several years. In his new role with the state, Bursch will be responsible for: * Managing the state's litigation in the U.S. Supreme Court. * Overseeing the Appellate and Opinions divisions within the AG's office. * Making recommendations to the AG for issues related to the National Association of Attorney General. * Original briefing and oral advocacy in significant cases for the Office of the Attorney General. * Supervising all appellate filings by the Office of the Attorney General. Bursch took office on March 1 and anticipates that he will have the opportunity to argue his first U.S. Supreme Court case by the end of the month. He expects to argue two additional cases before the highest court in the land before the close of 2011, making him one of a very select few attorneys arguing three Supreme Court cases this calendar year. In the past eight years, Bursch has successfully litigated appeals with more than $2.25 billion in controversy, working on behalf of clients such as Dow Chemical, Amway, Fifth Third Bank, Spartan Stores and Whirlpool, among many others. He is the co-creator and a regular contributor to the One Court of Justice Blog, which has quickly become the leading blog analyzing Michigan's appellate courts. Bursch has served in leadership positions for a number of appellate bar associations and is currently the immediate past chair of the American Bar Association's Council of Appellate Lawyers. He previously served as the co-chair of the Supreme Court subcommittee of the ABA's Section of Litigation, and as an officer for the State Bar of Michigan's Appellate Practice Section. He is also a member of the Michigan Supreme Court Advocates Guild. Bursch has been recognized in "Best Lawyers in America" and as one of the top 100 "Michigan Super Lawyers." In 2010, he was elected as a fellow to the Litigation Counsel of America, an honorary society limited to less than one-half of 1 percent of American Lawyers. Bursch also received back-to-back Distinguished Brief Awards for his advocacy in the Michigan Supreme Court. Bursch earned his undergraduate degree from Western Michigan University and its Lee Honors College, and law degree from the University of Minnesota Law School. * * * Thomas R. McAskin has joined Butzel Long as counsel and will practice out of the firm's Bloomfield Hills office. McAskin retired as vice-president and chief legal officer at Beaumont Hospitals on Jan. 31. McAskin joined Beaumont in 1983 as assistant general counsel, became the first director of legal affairs in 1985 and was named vice president and chief legal officer of Beaumont Hospitals in 1999. McAskin has served as a member of Beaumont's Executive Committee, Leadership Council, Management Committee, as assistant secretary of Beaumont's Board of Directors and on many other hospital and medical staff committees. McAskin was responsible for managing the Office of Legal Affairs, which oversees all legal matters affecting Beaumont, its subsidiaries and divisions. Prior to joining Beaumont, McAskin was the assistant general counsel at Fruehauf Corporation in Detroit, and counsel and secretary of the Board of Directors of Fruehauf's subsidiary, Kelsey-Hayes Company. McAskin graduated from the University of Detroit School of Law (1973) and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Western Michigan University (1969). He was admitted to the State Bar of Michigan in 1974. McAskin's professional and community affiliations include: the Oakland County Bar Association and its Judicial Advisory Committee; State Bar of Michigan - Health Care Section (past chairperson); American Bar Association and National Health Lawyers Association. McAskin is a Beaumont Society member. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the RESTORE Foundation, which raises funds for the adult and juvenile therapeutic drug treatment courts of Oakland County. He is a past board member of Presbyterian Villages of Michigan and a current board member of several non-profit corporations. * * * Foster, Swift, Collins, & Smith PC attorney Paul Millenbach, a shareholder in the Farmington Hills office, was re-elected to serve on the firm's Executive Committee as vice president of the Farmington Hills and Detroit offices. He is a litigator and co-leader of Foster Swift's General Litigation Practice Group. He has experience in Michigan no-fault litigation, including medical provider reimbursement as well as first and third party defense. The remaining members of Foster Swift's Executive Committee for 2011 are: President Michael Sanders, Treasurer Scott Chernich, Vice President Michael Homier, Vice President Matt Hrebec, and Secretary Jennifer Kildea Dewane. Additionally, Scott Storey was re-elected as in-house counsel for the firm. * * * Jill Miller has been named partner at Southfield-based Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer, & Weiss PC. Jaffe CEO Richard Zussman made the announcement. Miller is a member of the firm's finance and aviation practice groups. She is a 1993 graduate of Eastern Michigan University and a 2004 graduate of the Michigan State University College of Law. She is a member of the Oakland County Bar Association, State Bar of Michigan, American Bar Association, ETA, W.net (Women Networking in Electronic Transactions), Women in Aviation and the National Aircraft Finance Association. * * * Andrew B. Wachler of Wachler & Associates PC provided a review of the past year's developments in Medicare and Medicaid hospital audits at the American Health Lawyers Association (AHLA) Hospital and Health System Law Institute in Las Vegas. The Law Institute sessions provided a focused analysis of the legal challenges faced by hospitals and their counsel. Wachler has been practicing health care law for more than 25 years. He counsels health care providers and organizations nationwide in a variety of health care legal matters. In addition, he writes and speaks nationally to professional organizations and other entities on health care law topics such as Medicare appeals, Stark and fraud and abuse, HIPAA, and other topics. The AHLA is a 10,000-member national, nonpartisan educational organization devoted to legal issues in health care. AHLA provides resources to address the issues facing members who practice in law firms, government, in-house settings and academia; and who represent the broad spectrum of the health industry, ranging from physicians and hospitals to HMOs and nursing homes. * * * Southfield-based Collins, Einhorn, Farrell, & Ulanoff PC announced that attorney Kellie L. Howard-Goudy has joined the firm. Howard-Goudy focuses her practice on professional liability claims, toxic tort and private security defense. She also holds specialties in defense litigation, including property insurance defense, contracts, premises liability and commercial litigation. During her career, Howard-Goudy has represented a wide range of clients, including a public utility company and a national airline. She has served clients in cases ranging from pre-litigation and claims resolution to trial representation. She also has provided clients with training and workshops focused on education and risk prevention. Howard-Goudy is a member of the Wolverine Bar Association, Defense Research Institute, National Bar Association and Oakland County Bar Association. She earned her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center and graduated from Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree. * * * Strobl & Sharp PC recently announced that Mark Solomon has joined the firm in an Of Counsel role in the Taxation and Estate Planning practice areas. Solomon has been chairman of the Taxation and Business Law Department and director of the Masters of Science Taxation Program at Walsh College in Troy since 1981. He has also served as an adjunct professor at the University of Detroit-Mercy School of Law. Before coming to Michigan in 1975, Solomon was a tax law specialist with the National Office of the Internal Revenue Service. He has published numerous articles on federal taxation and has been a frequent speaker on various tax subjects. His practice includes all phases of federal income taxation and estate planning, including family business succession planning, tax controversies, sale and purchase of businesses and corporate taxation. Solomon earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ohio State University in 1967 and a Master of Education degree from Cleveland State University in 1971. He earned his law degrees from George Washington University in 1973 and Georgetown University Law School in 1976. Solomon serves on the City of Troy Charter Revision Committee. Published: Mon, Mar 7, 2011