LEGAL PEOPLE

Michael J. Beach has joined Farmington Hills-based Trott & Trott PC as a litigation attorney in the firm's recovery services department. Trott & Trott Chairman David A. Trott made the announcement. Michael Beach will be concentrating his practice on deficiency judgments. Prior to joining Trott & Trott, he served as the Director of the Legal Department for Warren-based Asset Acceptance Capital Corporation, where he was responsible for the legal forwarding and bankruptcy/probate departments. Michael is a graduate of Oakland University, where he studied business, and he earned his law degree from Wayne State University Law School. A frequent speaker, he is a member of the National Association of Retail Collection Attorneys (NARCA) and the Michigan Creditors Bar Association (MCBA). * * * Plante & Moran PLLC announces that Joe Cunningham, a long-time partner in the firm, has received the 2011 Joe D. Sutton Call to Justice Award from Elder Law of Michigan Inc. (ELM) in the category of Contributions to Law and Aging. ELM is a nonprofit charitable organization that promotes and protects the rights, health and economic well-being of older adults and people with disabilities, providing information, advocacy, legal advice and professional services. Cunningham works in Plante & Moran's valuation services area, where he specializes in business valuation, divorce taxation, and marital settlements. As a leader of the State Bar of Michigan's Michigan Litigation Assistance Partnership Program (MI LAPP), Cunningham has participated in preparing hundreds of Qualified Domestic Relations Orders for low income families to ensure their economic security in retirement. Additionally, he serves on the Finance-Audit Committee of the Michigan State Bar Foundation. Cunningham and his fellow honorees will receive their awards at a reception to be held on Friday, April 1, at the Country Club of Lansing. * * * Dykema recently announced that the firm has been selected to receive the American Bar Association Business Law Section's 2011 National Public Service Award, which recognizes the firm's sustained commitment to transactional pro bono work and its leadership role in the Michigan and greater Detroit legal communities. The firm was nominated by partner organizations Community Legal Resources, the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, and the Legal Aid and Defender Association of Southeastern Michigan. The Section of Business Law National Public Service Award recognizes significant pro bono legal contributions of law firms, corporate law departments and individual business lawyers that demonstrate a commitment to providing services to the poor in a business context. Recipients demonstrate dedication to the development or delivery of pro bono business legal services, contribute significant work toward developing innovative approaches to the delivery of pro bono business legal services, and/or provide sustained pro bono business legal counsel to nonprofit organizations or to micro-businesses in aid of community development "We are honored that the Business Law Section has recognized Dykema for its dedication to providing assistance to low-income and disadvantaged communities through pro bono and public interest work for nonprofit organizations and individuals," said Rex E. Schlaybaugh Jr., Dykema's chairman and chief executive officer. "Dykema's strong commitment to pro bono work has been important given the current economic challenges, and I commend all of our attorneys for their considerable efforts to helping those in need." Leor Barak, pro bono program manager at Community Legal Resources, said: "Dykema has demonstrated one of the largest commitments to pro bono legal representation in metropolitan Detroit, and throughout Michigan. Without Dykema's assistance, nonprofit organizations serving low-income communities in our state would be sharply disadvantaged in dealing with every day legal issues that arise during the course of their operations. Dykema's actions are especially impressive given the dire economic challenges in Michigan and Detroit particularly. Despite one of the most difficult legal markets in the country, Dykema has not for one moment waivered in its commitment to pro bono and public interest work." Working with its partner organizations, Dykema regularly provides pro bono legal services to nonprofit organizations serving low-income communities. Since 2005, Dykema has accepted 146 referrals from Community Legal Resources and has established five Community Partnerships, where the firm provides legal advice and assistance as needed by a nonprofit organization. These Community Partnerships and other noteworthy pro bono initiatives include: * Southwest Detroit Business Association: For more than nine years, Dykema has helped to drive economic development in Southwest Detroit and assisted in creating the first Business Improvement District (BID) in the State of Michigan. * Warren/Conner Development Coalition: Assisting with litigation matters, corporate formation, and protection from liability, Dykema works with a coalition of neighborhood organizations to improve the condition of low-income communities. * Northwest Detroit Neighborhood Development: Dykema works with the local community development organization and assists with numerous tax issues, liability, and developing affordable housing. * Michigan Immigrants Rights Center: Dykema has shown leadership in the area of immigrants' rights through the Michigan Poverty Law Program, representing clients seeking asylum, special immigrant juvenile status, U-Visas, VAWAs, T-Visas and withholding of removal claims. Dykema believes the practice of law, especially in a large corporate firm, is a privilege that carries with it profound societal responsibilities. Performing legal services for those who cannot afford to pay for them - or for organizations that benefit such persons - is a central part of the firm's effort to improve the quality of life for the underserved in its community. In 2010, Dykema attorneys and support staff performed 9,996 hours of pro bono work. The firm and its attorneys have earned several awards for its pro-bono work, including the 2009 Exceptional Service Award from the ABA Death Penalty Representation Project, the 2009 John W. Cumminsky Pro Bono Award, the 2009 Detroit Metropolitan Bar Pro Bono Service Award, and the 2010 Beacon of Justice Award from the National Legal Aid & Defender Association. Dykema will be honored at the Business Law Section's Spring Meeting in Boston on Friday, April 15. * * * Darius Dynkowski, partner with Bloomfield Hills-based Ackerman, Ackerman, & Dynkowski PC has been appointed as the Michigan representative for the Owners' Counsel of America. Managing Partner Alan T. Ackerman made the announcement. The Owners' Counsel of America (OCA) is an organization that brings together the most experienced eminent domain attorneys in the country to protect the rights of private property owners. OCA attorneys are in private practice and represent property owners in cases against the government, utilities and any other entity armed with the power to condemn. An attorney from nearly every state in the country is selected to represent those in need of eminent domain legal assistance in his or her state. A position formerly held by managing partner Alan Ackerman, Dynkowski was appointed as the Michigan representative for OCA in 2011. He is a 1993 graduate of Wayne State University, and he earned his law degree from the Detroit College of Law in 1996. He serves as the co-chair of the American Bar Association Condemnation Law Committee and the chair of the American Bar Association Real Property/Condemnation/Eminent Domain Committee. Darius has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Detroit Law School since 2002 and at Michigan State University College of Law since 2009. He also sits on the Michigan State Board of Real Estate Appraisers, to which he was originally appointed in 2004. * * * Southfield-based Collins, Einhorn, Farrell, & Ulanoff announces that attorney Deborah Hebert has been promoted to partner. For more than two decades, Hebert has served as lead counsel in hundreds of appeals at both the state and federal levels. In the early 1990s, she developed an interest in insurance coverage law and now also devotes a significant portion of her practice to preparing coverage opinions, advising clients of their contract rights and obligations, and managing coverage litigation. During her career, the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law alumna has been selected for inclusion in Law and Politics Magazine's Super Lawyers in each of its years rating lawyers in Michigan, and was one of three Collins Einhorn attorneys included on the list of the Top 50 women. In 2007, Hebert assisted in forming the Insurance and Indemnity Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan and currently serves as Council member. She also was the founding chair of the Appellate Practice Section of the State Bar in 1994, and was later elected to various offices, including chair in 2005. * * * The law firm of Warner, Norcross, & Judd LLP has elected Linda Paullin-Hebden to serve on its Management Committee. Paullin-Hebden, who practices in the firm's Southfield office, will serve a three-year term on the law firm's 10-member Management Committee. The committee, which is chaired by Managing Partner Douglas E. Wagner, is responsible for the strategic vision and the day-to-day operations of Warner Norcross, one of the largest law firms in the state. Paullin-Hebden concentrates her practice in complex corporate matters, including mergers and acquisitions securities and securities compliance. She chairs the firm's Woman-Owned Business Enterprise Practice Group. She is recognized as a "Michigan Super Lawyer." * * * Harold D. Pope, a partner with Southfield-based Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer, & Weiss PC, was recently appointed to the Board of Governors as Minority Member-at-Large for the American Bar Association (ABA). Jaffe CEO Richard Zussman made the announcement. The Board of Governors has the authority to act and speak for the ABA, consistent with previous action of the House of Delegates, when the House is not in session. The board usually meets four times a year and oversees the general operation of the ABA by developing specific plans of action. It is composed of 40 members from the association: 18 district representatives, 13 members-at-large, six officers who serve as ex officio, a secretary-elect and a treasurer-elect, each serving three-year-terms. Pope is a member of the firm's Litigation practice group, focusing his practice in personal injury, products liability, construction, professional malpractice, directors' and officers' liability, employment and problem loan litigation. He is a graduate of Concordia College and a graduate of Duke University School of Law. * * * Dennis B. Schultz has rejoined Butzel Long as counsel practicing in the firm's Bloomfield Hills office. Most recently, he was an attorney with Varnum LLP. Schultz is listed in "The Best Lawyers in America," 2011, and is a former manager of Butzel Long's Business Litigation Practice. Prior to beginning his legal career, Schultz spent more than 10 years in construction contracting and the real estate development area. He has conducted numerous trials in federal and state courts and the American Arbitration Association. Schultz has been lead counsel in major business disputes, shareholder class actions, corporate hostile take-over actions, commercial contract disputes and trade secret/intellectual property cases. He brings deep expertise in the construction and development industry, including acting as lead counsel in large complex engagements. Schultz has represented owners, general contractors, construction managers and subcontractors in negotiation and drafting contract documents and negotiated settlements of claims on a variety of construction projects, including design, product and system performance, contractor performance and numerous contract disputes. He also has represented both public and private owners in the negotiation and preparation of contract documents for real estate purchase and lease transactions. He has served as lead counsel in the litigation of claims on major construction projects, including both public and private projects such as office complexes, waste water treatment plants, industrial processing facilities, manufacturing facilities, automobile manufacturing plants, and major healthcare projects. Schultz's experience includes numerous arbitrations of disputes and litigation in the state and federal courts of Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Illinois, Washington, D.C., and Colorado. Schultz is a graduate of Michigan State University College of Law (1977) and a graduate of Wayne State University (B.S., 1970). * * * Andrew B. Wachler of Royal Oak-based Wachler & Associates PC presented a afternoon session updating attendees on the latest developments in the regulatory schemes covering providers and RAC contractors at the Fifth National Medicare RAC Summit in Washington, D.C. Wachler's presentation included strategies for successfully defending audits from both Medicare and Medicaid contractors. Wachler also co-chaired the conference and presented a conference overview ahead of the morning session. 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. Published: Mon, Mar 21, 2011