LEGAL PEOPLE

Howard & Howard is celebrating its Community Reinvestment Fund's 25th anniversary. Through the fund, Howard & Howard has awarded over $3 million to local charities. The Howard & Howard Community Reinvestment Fund (H2CRF) is unique in that it is wholly funded by employee contributions and nearly all of the firm's attorneys and staff donate a portion of their annual salary to the fund. "The success of the Howard & Howard Community Reinvestment Fund lies in our employee commitment to serving the community," said Mark A. Davis, president and CEO of Howard & Howard. "Distributing the funds to causes that our attorneys and staff are involved in or committed to creates a sense of pride in the program and boosts morale within the firm." Through recommendations from the firm's attorneys and staff, the H2CRF makes distributions twice a year to a variety of charitable 501(c)(3) authorized agencies. The fund is donor-advised and administered by a community foundation to ensure the donations fit Howard & Howard's vision for the H2CRF - to give back to the organizations that have enriched the lives of the firm's attorneys, staff and local residents. The H2CRF has proven a valuable asset to the firm itself, aiding in the recruitment and retention of employees and enhancing job satisfaction. The fund also pays homage to the firm's beginnings, which hinged upon generosity and giving. "William G. Howard was able to obtain his law degree only because the community banded together and pooled their money to support him," said Davis. "When he founded the firm in 1869, he built it with a culture of giving, which has since evolved and become engrained in our day to day operations." * * * William J. Giovan of Charfoos, Giovan, & Birach LLP has been elected chairman of the Board of the Grosse Pointe War Memorial. Since its founding the War Memorial has served the Grosse Pointes and the greater Detroit metropolitan area as a community center, hosting social, cultural, musical, educational and theatrical events. Housed on the shores of Lake St. Clair in Grosse Pointe Farms, the War Memorial serves as a center for enrichment in honor of veterans. The building itself is the former home of the Russell Alger family--a mansion, built in 1910, and donated to the community in honor of World War II veterans in 1949. The home is designated as a state and national historic site and, in conjunction with the newer Fries Auditorium, is used for a variety of programs that focus on dance, art, music, theatre, health and personal enrichment as well as a multitude of children's and youth programs. The War Memorial also operates Station WMTV, which broadcasts locally originated television programs throughout southeast Michigan. Giovan has returned to the practice of law after a 39-year career in the judiciary, including 33 years on the Wayne County Circuit Court, where he completed his service as chief judge. He specializes as a settlement facilitator for civil actions and appears as counsel in selected civil and criminal litigation. * * * Butzel Long attorney and shareholder David F. DuMouchel was a featured speaker during the Federal Bar Association, Eastern District of Michigan, 2011 Bench/Bar Conference on Media and the Law on April 28 in Dearborn. DuMouchel participated in a panel presentation with attorneys for Martha Stewart, Scooter Libby, and Oprah Winfrey along with members of the media. Based in Butzel Long's Detroit office, DuMouchel chairs the firm's Corporate Compliance, Internal Investigations and Criminal Defense practice. DuMouchel's practice is limited to white collar criminal defense, professional licensure and criminal health care, criminal IRS investigations of both taxpayers and professionals, SEC enforcement of corporate executives, public corruption, as well as grand jury investigations, internal corporate investigations and compliance. DuMouchel is a recipient of the Leonard Gilman Award from the Federal Bar Association as the outstanding criminal law practitioner in the Eastern District of Michigan. He has been named by Best Lawyers as the "2010 Detroit Criminal Defense: White-Collar Lawyer of the Year." He has been listed in each "Best Lawyers" edition for the last 25 years, up to and including the most recent. He also is listed in "Chambers USA: America's Leading Business Lawyers," and in "Michigan Super Lawyers." DuMouchel also is a frequent speaker on internal corporate investigations and federal criminal procedure matters. DuMouchel is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and serves as a member of the Criminal Procedure Committee, and is a Fellow of the International Society of Barristers. * * * Clark Hill PLC is proud to announce it has become a community partner of the Southeast Michigan program of Leave A Legacy®. Through their partnership, Clark Hill PLC maintains its commitment to the community by supporting and promoting the need for individuals to support their favorite charities through a charitable bequest in their wills or estate plans. Founded in 1997, the Southeast Michigan program of Leave A Legacy is a public awareness campaign conducted by the Planned Giving Roundtable of Southeast Michigan to inspire people to make charitable bequests, a type of planned gift to be distributed sometime in the future to a charity meaningful to the donor. Leave A Legacy is a national broad-based community campaign that involves all types of nonprofit groups and is conducted by professionals, who assist donors with charitable estate planning. Clark Hill PLC is a full service law firm that provides business legal services, government & public affairs, and personal legal services to our clients throughout the country. With offices in Arizona, Illinois, Michigan and Washington, D.C., Clark Hill has more than 200 attorneys and professionals. For additional information, visit www.clarkhill.com. * * * Andrew B. Wachler presented "What You Can Do When a Payer Doesn't Reimburse Your Claim & Addressing BCBSM Physician Office Infusion Therapy Audits," at a meeting of the Michigan Society of Hematology and Oncology. The Michigan Society of Hematology and Oncology (MSHO) is a non-profit 501c(6) corporation which was formed in 1985 to address the growing needs of oncologists in the private practice. Over the last 25 years membership has expanded to Michigan's academic medical centers and hospital-based clinics. Membership is allowed for practicing oncologic physicians, their staff members and MSHO corporate sponsors. The Society is now representing 347 medical oncologists and hematologists. The Society works with more than twenty corporate members that support continuing medical education and efforts to assure access to quality care for Michigan's cancer patients. 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. Royal Oak-based Wachler & Associates PC has served the legal needs of health care providers nationwide for more than 25 years. The firm specializes in all aspects of health care law, including RAC and other third party payor audits, health care business transactions and contracting, Stark self-referral law, fraud and abuse analysis, regulatory compliance, billing and reimbursement issues, provider participation and deselection matters, licensure and staff privilege matters, defense of civil and criminal health care fraud issues and Certificates of Need. * * * Linda S. Ross, a partner and chair of the Health Care Department at Honigman, Miller, Schwartz, and Cohn LLP, recently addressed health organization board members attending the Excellence in Governance Fellowship program of the Michigan Health and Hospital Association (MHA). Her presentation was titled "Hospital/Physician Relationships and the Law...What Every Board Member Must Know." She addressed such topics as hospital/physician alignment, physician practice acquisitions, employment agreements, social media, Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), and other health reform opportunities and challenges. In her practice, Ross represents hospitals, physicians and other health care systems and providers regarding affiliations, acquisitions, divestitures, mergers, reorganizations and joint ventures. She also advises health care providers about compliance matters including the Stark Law, the Anti-kickback Statute, self-disclosures to the Office of Inspector General, and laws and regulations affecting tax-exempt entities. Ross has been named in "Best Lawyers in America" from 2005 to 2011 and "Michigan Super Lawyers" from 2007 to 2010, as well as one of its top 50 women from 2007 to 2010. She also was recognized as a "Top Lawyer" by DBusiness in 2010 and 2011. She earned a law degree from Wayne State University Law School, an M.S. in Dental Public Health from Boston University, and a B.S. in Dental Hygiene from the University of Michigan. The MHA Excellence in Governance Fellowship provides governance leadership opportunities through a combination of expert faculty, specially designed curriculum and interaction. The program is collaborative and brings fellows together in a variety of learning formats, including retreat-like interface, virtual communications and dialogue and peer learning circles. Published: Mon, May 2, 2011