Legal People

Butzel Long BUTZEL LONG attorney and shareholder GARY W. KLOTZ has been elected chairman of the Board of Community Choice Credit Union, a southeast Michigan-based credit union founded in 1935. Klotz had previously served as vice chairman of Community Choice Credit Union, which has seven locations in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties and serves more than 50,000 members. Based in Butzel Long's Detroit office, Klotz has represented employers in labor and employment law matters for more than 30 years. He has defended employers in state and federal courts, as well as before state and federal administrative agencies. He also has experience representing employers in labor arbitration cases, collective bargaining negotiations, and preventive employee relations counseling. Klotz is the author of numerous articles about labor and employment law, and he regularly speaks at management education programs about labor and employment issues. Klotz's professional memberships include the Labor and Employment Section of the American Bar Association and Employment Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan. Klotz is a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School and Oakland University. In addition, Butzel Long recently elected firm attorneys to serve on its Board of Directors: * JUSTIN G. KLIMKO is completing his second year on the Board. Klimko was reappointed by the Board as president and managing shareholder. * CAREY A. DEWITT and JAMES E. WYNNE have been re-elected to the Board. * RICHARD B. BROSNICK, W. PATRICK DREISIG and LOUIS THEROS are newly elected to the Board. * JORDAN SCHREIER is completing his second year on the Board. * RICHARD E. RASSEL has been reappointed chairman of the firm. Klimko is based in the firm's Detroit office. He has experience in securities regulation, corporate financing, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and general corporate matters, fields in which he has practiced since 1980. He is a past chair of the State Bar of Michigan Business Law Section. He co-chairs the Business Law Section's Corporate Laws Committee, which monitors Michigan corporation laws and actively participates in their amendment from time to time. He chaired the Business Law Section's Ad Hoc Committee on Legal Opinions in Business Transactions. He also is a member of the Legal Opinions Committee, the Negotiated Acquisitions Committee and the Federal Regulation of Securities Committee of the American Bar Association. Klimko is included in "The Best Lawyers in America" and is rated one of Michigan's top Corporate/M&A attorneys by "Chambers USA Guide of America's Leading Lawyers for Business" and is listed in "Michigan Super Lawyers" (Mergers and Acquisitions). DeWitt is a shareholder and vice president, and is past chair and Practice Group Leader of the firm's Labor and Employment Department. He is based in the firm's Detroit office. He has more than 26 years of experience representing employers in all phases of employment litigation. DeWitt is listed in "Best Lawyers in America" (Labor and Employment) and "Michigan Super Lawyers" (Labor and Employment). He is a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America and a Fellow of the Michigan State Bar Foundation. DeWitt has published numerous legal articles and has been a featured speaker at many conferences and forums. His memberships include: National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA); State Bar of Michigan (Labor and Employment Law Section); American Bar Association (Labor and Employment Law and Litigation Sections); Federal Bar Association, and the Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association. Wynne is a shareholder and vice president based in the firm's Detroit office. He is admitted to practice law in both Michigan and Illinois and in numerous federal courts across the country. Wynne is listed in "The Best Lawyers in America." Wynne has handled commercial and product liability trials and litigation since 1975. He serves as the national trial counsel for several major automotive suppliers, handling cases in a variety of states. Wynne is a member of a several bar associations, including their sections on negligence, intellectual property, commercial litigation and product liability, and serves locally as chairman of TriCounty Hearing Panel No. 2 of the Michigan Attorney Discipline Board. Brosnick is a shareholder and vice president based in Butzel Long's New York office. Dreisig is a shareholder and vice president based in the firm's Bloomfield Hills office. He is co-chair of the firm's Global Automotive Industry Group and is a member of the firm's Business Law Practice. He focuses his practice in general business law and transactional matters. Dreisig is a member of the Business Law and Taxation Sections of the American Bar Association and the State Bar of Michigan. He also serves as an active member of the Legal Issues Council. Theros is a shareholder and vice president and is based in the firm's Detroit office. Theros concentrates his legal practice in the areas of employment litigation, labor, advising and counseling clients on statutory employment compliance and gaming law. Theros has published a number of scholarly articles on various aspects of labor and employment law. He is a frequent lecturer on a wide range of employment and labor issues. He is listed in "Best Lawyers in America" and is named in "Michigan Super Lawyers," both since 2007. Theros is a former president of the Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association (2005-2006), and currently serves as a trustee of the Association's charitable arm, the Detroit Metropolitan Bar Foundation (2006-present). Schreier is a shareholder and vice president and is the Practice Group Leader for the Employee Benefits Practice Group. He is based in the firm's Ann Arbor office. Rassel is a shareholder and serves as chairman of Butzel Long. He is based in the firm's Detroit office. Rassel also is a Certified Judge Advocate having graduated from the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate School. He practices primarily in the area of complex business litigation and arbitration with a special concentration in media law. He has been a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers since 1989 and is a graduate of the CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution Mediation and Arbitration Training Program. Rassel is listed in "The Best Lawyers in America" (Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation and First Amendment Law). He is a director and secretary of the Detroit Legal News, Inc. He is a director of the Michigan Strategic Fund and a Trustee of William Beaumont Hospitals. ---------- Miller Canfield MILLER CANFIELD securities lawyers MICHAEL P. COAKLEY and MATTHEW P. ALLEN recently co-authored, "The New Form ADV Part 2 and the 'Plain English' Movement of the SEC, FINRA, and Michigan's OFIR" in the Spring 2011 Michigan Business Law Journal, a publication of the State Bar of Michigan. The article examines the changes to Part 2 of the Form ADV by the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and Securities Division of the Michigan OfÞce of Financial and Insurance Regulation (OFIR) seek disclosures to Þnancial customers that are written in "plain English." "By examining the details of the new Form ADV Part 2 designed by the SEC, the article provides some practical deÞnition to what the SEC means by 'plain English,' and an outline of the new Form ADV Part 2 requirements for advisers and their lawyers," said Coakley and Allen. Coakley practices commercial litigation including securities, fraud, unfair competition, trade secrets, trademarks, trade names, commercial transactions, banks and banking, and insurance. He is an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association (including International) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, and is a case evaluator for the Wayne County Circuit Court and the Oakland County Circuit and District Courts. He also serves as private mediator in civil matters. He received his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School and his B.A. from Richard Stockton State College. Allen is a business, securities, and intellectual property litigator and trial lawyer who assists businesses, executives, broker dealers, and investment advisers in an array of SEC, FINRA, OFIR and other governmental-related inquiries, examinations, investigations and enforcement actions. Allen is co-chairman of the Broker Dealer and Investment Adviser sub-committee of the ABA Securities Litigation Committee. He received his law degree from Wayne State University Law School and his B.A. from the State University of New York College at Fredonia. He also served as a judicial law clerk in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. ---------- Sommers Schwartz PC SOMMERS SCHWARTZ is pleased to announce the following appointments to the firm's Board of Directors: DANIEL D. SWANSON was re-elected as chairman of the Board of Directors. Swanson is a senior shareholder and a member of the firm's business litigation department. MATTHEW G. CURTIS was re-elected as vice chairman of the Board of Directors. Curtis is a senior shareholder and a member of the firm's personal injury litigation department. In addition, newly elected to the Board is RICHARD D. FOX, a member of the birth injury, medical malpractice and general negligence department. Other Board members consist of MICHAEL J. CUNNINGHAM , a member of the birth injury, medical malpractice and general negligence department; and ANDREW KOCHANOWSKI, a member of the complex business and intellectual property department. ---------- Gurewitz & Raben, PLC The Detroit law firm of GUREWITZ & RABEN. PLC is pleased to announce the addition of attorney CLARENCE M. DASS and Of Counsel attorney MICHAEL GORDNER. Dass adds to the firm his involvement in urban affairs and fluency in Arabic. Gordner brings his unique qualifications as a Canadian lawyer as well as a member of the State Bar of Michigan and decades of experience as a criminal trial lawyer. Dass is admitted to practice law in Michigan and the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. He received his B.A. from Wayne State University and his law degree from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. Dass has received numerous awards, been published in the Entrepreneurial Business Law Journal, and sits on the board of directors for Wayne State University's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Alumni Association and the Executive Board for the Center for the Study of Citizenship. His primary practice areas include felonies and misdemeanors, white collar crimes, juvenile offenses, international criminal matters, and administrative claims and related civil litigation. Gordner is admitted to practice law in Michigan and Ontario, Canada, and before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. He received his B.A. from the University of Windsor, in Ontario, and his law degrees from the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law, and Wayne State University Law School. Gordner has more than 35 years of experience in the criminal defense area, with a special focus on white collar crime, including defending those charged with income tax offenses, immigration and customs offenses, as well as other regulatory offenses, both in the United States and Canada. Gordner also represents those charged with criminal fraud, DUI/DWI offenses, drug violations, domestic offenses, sexual assault, and is available for consultation on compliance issues, and internal corporate investigations. Dass and Gordner join attorneys HAROLD GUREWITZ and MARGARET SIND RABEN in the firm's practice. Gurewitz has been practicing law for 40 years. In 2010, he successfully defended his client against the demand of the United States for the Death Penalty in United States v. O'Reilly, a federal prosecution for bank robbery and murder. He was counsel for former Detroit Mayor Coleman A. Young during federal and state investigations of the City of Detroit. He is admitted to practice in Michigan, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court. He graduated with a B.S. from Michigan State University and went on to receive his law degree from Wayne State University. His experience working in the U.S. Attorney's Office as an assistant U.S. attorney and chief of the Economic Crime Unit is a great asset to his clients. Much of his criminal defense practice focuses on trials and appeals, white collar crimes, public corruption, mail and wire fraud, Internet crimes, grand jury proceedings, money laundering, forfeiture, international criminal matters, and drug crimes. Gurewitz is listed in Michigan's "Super Lawyers" directory. Raben is admitted to practice law in Michigan and before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court. She received her B.Ph. from Monteith College and her law degree from Wayne State University Law School. With more than 20 years' experience trying cases, her primary areas of practice are trials and appeals, DUI/DWI offenses, drug crimes, Internet crimes, white collar crimes, health care fraud, and expungements. Raben received a Defender of Justice Award from the National Lawyers Guild in 2005. She is listed in Michigan's "Super Lawyers" directory. ---------- Veronia R. Leonard, PLLC VERONICA R. LEONARD is pleased to announce the formation of VERONICA R. LEONARD, PLLC. The new firm concentrates its practice in all areas of family law (divorce, custody, child support and parenting time issues) as well as probate and estate planning. The firm is located at 20700 Civic Center Drive, Suite 170, Southfield, 48076. The phone number is (248) 663-2395 and web site is www.leonardfamilylaw.com. ---------- Thompson & Knight LLP The global law firm of THOMPSON & KNIGHT LLP is pleased to announce the expansion of its Real Estate and Banking (REB) Practice Group with the addition of HOWARD B. GOLDMAN as counsel in its new Southfield office. Goldman focuses his practice on all aspects of real estate transactions, including representing borrowers and lenders in connection with loans secured by real estate (including construction and permanent loans and refinancings in all product types), loan workouts and foreclosures, negotiation of ground leases and easements, acquiring vacant and improved properties, representing landlords and tenants in commercial leases of all product types, and representing major automotive suppliers in connection with their real estate needs throughout North America. Goldman is a member of the State Bars of Michigan and Illinois. He received his law degree from the University of Illinois College of Law in 1985, and a B.B.A. in Accounting, from Loyola University of Chicago in 1982. Prior to joining Thompson & Knight, Goldman was a Shareholder at Butzel Long PC in Bloomfield Hills. He previously worked for International Airport Centers LLC as vice president and general counsel and Heitman Finance Group as senior vice president and counsel. ---------- Cantor Colburn LLP CANTOR COLBURN LLP has achieved its highest national rankings ever this year. The firm is in the Top 10 for Patents and in the Top 20 for Trademarks, per IP Today, May, 2011. Cantor Colburn has an office in Detroit, as well as Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Houston and Hartford. ---------- Foster, Swift, Collins, & Smith, PC FOSTER, SWIFT, COLLINS, & SMITH PC attorneys JULIE I. FERSHTMAN and APRIL L. NEIHSL were speakers at the 26th Annual National Conference on Equine Law in Lexington, Kentucky on May 4. The National Conference on Equine Law is the world's largest conference on Equine Law and in 2011 attracted attendees from 24 states and two continents. Also, at a recent meeting of the American College of Equine Attorneys, Fershtman was named secretary/treasurer. Fershtman is a shareholder with Foster Swift in its Farmington Hills office. She is president-elect of the State Bar of Michigan and a trustee of the Michigan State Bar Foundation. She also serves on the ABA House of Delegates and is a vice chair of a committee of the ABA Tort, Trial & Insurance Practice Section. A frequent writer and speaker, she is the author of three books, more than 200 published articles, and has spoken at conferences in 27 states. Fershtman focuses her law practice in the areas of commercial litigation, insurance law and equine law. She graduated from Emory College in 1983 and Emory Law School in 1986. Neihsl is an associate in the Farmington Hills office where she focuses her practice in the areas of commercial litigation, insurance defense, insurance coverage and equine law. She is a member of the State Bar of Michigan Representative Assembly. Neihsl is a 2003 graduate from Michigan State University and a 2006 graduate from Wayne Law School. Published: Mon, May 9, 2011

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