Columns

University of Detroit Mercy School of Law announced that Nicholas Schroeck will serve as interim dean as of June 1. Schroeck joined Detroit Mercy Law in 2018 as the director of Clinical Programs and associate professor of law. He was appointed associate dean of Experiential Education in 2019.

“I look forward to working with the Detroit Mercy Law community in this new capacity,” said Schroeck. “We will build on our school’s momentum under Dean Jelani Jefferson Exum and continue to provide our students an exceptional legal education rooted in our mission and traditions.”

Schroeck will succeed Dean Jefferson Exum, who served as dean of the law school since 2021 and is moving into the deanship at St. John’s University School of Law in Queens, New York.  

Schroeck is an environmental law expert. His research focuses on reducing air and water pollution, working towards environmental justice, promoting mass transportation, and advancing citizen suit enforcement of our environmental laws. In addition to his role as associate dean overseeing the Detroit Mercy Law clinical and externship programs, he directs the environmental law clinic and teaches upper-level environmental law courses.  

Before joining the faculty at Detroit Mercy Law, Schroeck was executive director of the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center. He has litigated cases for several environmental advocacy organizations. He previously directed the Transnational Environmental Law Clinic at Wayne State University Law School.

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Butzel attorney Shanika A. Owens received the Detroit Bar Association’s Pro Bono Service Award on May 1.

Owens focuses her practice on helping clients navigate mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, and real estate law. Her experience includes a wide range of transactions in a variety of industries.

In 2022, Owens, along with her colleagues, represented the seller in an acquisition worth over $400 million. She and the team received the 2023 Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) Detroit Chapter’s M&A Deal of the Year award in recognition of their legal expertise in navigating the transaction.

Before joining the firm, Owens served as a legislative assistant to the Detroit City Council where she advised policymakers on issues including economic development, budgeting, and matters leading up to the Detroit bankruptcy. She interned with U.S. District Court Judge Avern Cohn, Eastern District of Michigan.

More recently, Owens has been named to The Best Lawyers in America, Ones to Watch, Corporate Law and Real Estate Law, 2023. She was named to the list of Michigan Lawyers Weekly Up & Coming Lawyers in 2021. She also has been named a Michigan Chronicle 40 under 40 Honoree.

Owens is a member of the State Bar of Michigan (SBM) Business Law and Young Lawyers sections. She is elected to the SBM Representative Assembly and also serves on The Institute of Continuing Legal Education’s (ICLE) Business Law Advisory Board.

Owens serves on the Board of Directors of Avalon Healing Center in Detroit, a non-profit organization that provides compassionate and trauma-informed care to survivors of sexual assault.

In addition, Owens is a member of the Board of Directors of Great Lakes Environmental Law Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing environmental justice for marginalized populations in Michigan.

Butzel is also pleased to note that attorneys Bushra A. Malik and Reginald A. Pacis were guest speakers during the 2024 American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Michigan Conference on May 10 in Southfield.

Malik participated in a panel program titled, “Consular Practice: Stateside Visa Processing Updates, Latest Issues and Practice Trends.” Pacis was featured during a panel discussion titled, “Getting Started in Immigration Law: New Attorney and Law Student Recruitment, Basic Skills and Networking.”

Malik practices in the area of immigration law, focusing on the representation of multinational and domestic clients’ inbound and global migration needs. Her experience includes Employment based (Extraordinary Ability, Outstanding Researcher, Multinational Manager, and PERMs) and Family based Permanent Residence Petitions Non-Immigrant Petitions (H-1B/Specialty Occupation, J-1/ Exchange Visitor, L-1/Intracompany Transfers, O-1/Extraordinary Ability, TN/ NAFTA); Employer Compliance (I-9 Audits and H-1B Public Access File Audits); J-1 waivers; Compliance under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI); U.S. Passports; complex naturalization matters; and currency seizures.

Malik has experience in securing work and residence permits for numerous countries around the globe. She also routinely represents clients at U.S. Ports of Entry, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services District Office, U.S. Embassies and Consulates abroad, as well as various Foreign Embassies and Consulates.

Malik was named “Lawyer of the Year” (2022) and is listed in The Best Lawyers in America (Immigration Law), was named one of DBusiness magazine’s Top Lawyers in the field of immigration law and was recognized as a Who’s Who Legal Thought Leader for Corporate Immigration 2021.

Malik is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), the American Bar Association, the South Asian Bar Association, the Michigan Muslim Bar Association, and the Japanese Business Society of Detroit. She is currently serving on the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Department of State National Liaison Committee. She previously served as chair of the AILA Michigan Chapter; on the AILA Board of Governors; chair of AILA’s Global Migration Section; and speaks regularly at AILA national and international conferences. Malik speaks Hindi, Japanese and Urdu.

Pacis concentrates his practice in immigration law and has handled a variety of matters including H-1B specialty occupation cases, L-1 Intracompany transfers, Labor Certification matters, Immigrant Visa Petitions/Adjustment of Status applications and interviews, TN Free trade cases, H-1B Department of Labor Investigations, I-9 employer verification compliance, and U.S. Port of Entry airport and land port interviews.

Pacis is listed in The Best Lawyers in America and Michigan’s Super Lawyers (Immigration Law). He was recognized as “Lawyer of the Year” in Immigration Law in 2013 and again in 2023 by Best Lawyers and he continues to maintain an AV rating in the Martindale Hubbell publication.

Pacis is a member of the American Bar Association, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), and the Samahang Pilipino Ng Oakland Filipino organization. He served two consecutive terms from 2003 to 2004 and 2004 to 2005 as chairperson of the Michigan Chapter of AILA and was a member of the AILA National Board of Governors for those terms. He
previously served as secretary (2001 to 2003) and membership chairperson of the Michigan Chapter of AILA (1998 to 2003).

Pacis completed an appointment by former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm for service on the Advisory Committee for Asian Pacific American Affairs (ACAPAA). He served on the Michigan AILA Advocacy Committee from 2007 to 2010. He was appointed by former Governor Rick Snyder to serve on the Michigan Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission (MAPAAC) for a four-year term from 2019 to 2022.

Pacis previously served as chairperson of the Michigan AILA Committee responsible for liaison with the Michigan Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Agency, a division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security presiding over inspections and security of the U.S. border, from 2005 to 2007. His service expanded to the AILA National CBP liaison Committee as a member, vice chair and chairperson of the AILA National CBP liaison Committee. He also served as vice chair on the AILA United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Field Operations Liaison committee, the AILA education “Distance Learning” committee, the USCIS/ AILA Nebraska Service Center Liaison committee, and on the USCIS/ AILA National Benefits Center liaison committee.

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Ogletree Deakins is pleased to welcome Richard Warren as a shareholder in the firm’s Detroit office. Warren joins Ogletree Deakins from Miller Canfield, where he was a principal and the Employment and Labor deputy group leader.

A litigator, Warren has a record of successful results at trial, arbitration, and before administrative agencies. He served as the lead attorney in numerous class and collective action lawsuits on behalf of employers. Warren is also an advisor to management and human resource professionals relative to compliance with increasingly complex labor and employment matters, including hiring, layoffs, discipline, and termination.

Warren has experience assisting employers in their strategic planning and growth, as well as in innovation and the adoption of artificial intelligence. At his prior firm, he led a committee on the use of generative artificial intelligence in hiring, assessment, and retention, as well as the firm’s Industry Task Force on the usage of generative artificial intelligence.

Warren has been honored with recognitions in The Best Lawyers in America®, Michigan Super Lawyers, and DBusiness Magazine’s Top Lawyers lists. He often dedicates time to pro bono service and is an ultra marathon runner. Warren earned his law degree from the Michigan State University College of Law and earlier received his B.A. from James Madison College at Michigan State University.

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Attorney Courtney A. Lavender recently joined the Appellate Law Practice Group of Plunkett Cooney.

Lavender, who is a member of the firm’s Bloomfield Hills office, focuses her appellate practice in the areas of commercial litigation, governmental law, first- and third-party motor vehicle negligence and insurance coverage disputes. She also has litigation experience defending No-Fault and third-party claims, as well as premises liability, pet liability and defamation matters.

Lavender received her law degree from Wayne State University Law School in 2021.  Following law school, she worked as a research attorney at the Michigan Court of Appeals. Lavender received her undergraduate degree in 2017 from the University of Michigan.  

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Dykema recently announced that Antonia R. Giles was selected for the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) Detroit’s “Igniting Inspiration” Award. Giles will be honored at the Inspire & Ignite:
Women’s Forum Luncheon on Friday, May 17, at the Cambria Hotel in Detroit.

According to ACG, this award program is dedicated to “acknowledge the contributions and achievements of women in the M&A community.”

Giles works with M&A clients in a variety of sectors, including tech, manufacturing, aerospace and defense, and funeral and cemetery services.

Giles earned a law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law and a B.A. from Davidson College.

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Bodman PLC is pleased to share that Adomas N. Rauckis has joined the firm as a senior associate in the Business Practice Group.

Rauckis has experience counseling corporate clients on mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance matters, securities offerings, and venture capital financing.

Before joining Bodman, Rauckis practiced with an AmLaw 100 law firm where he served as lead associate on complex M&A transactions and drafted transaction documents including purchase agreements, subscription documents, due diligence memoranda, disclosure schedules, reorganization packages, and other ancillary agreements. He also served as lead attorney on venture capital financing transactions where he drafted transaction documents and guided startup companies through the due diligence and close phases.

Rauckis is a graduate of Wayne State University Law School and received an undergraduate degree from Eastern Michigan University.

In addition, Bodman is pleased to share that Kelly M. Burnell, member and co-chair of Bodman’s High Net Worth Practice Group, has been appointed to CATCH’s Board of Trustees.

CATCH (Caring Athletes Team for Children’s and Henry Ford Hospitals) is a children’s charity founded in 1987 by the late Detroit Tigers Manager Sparky Anderson. CATCH raises funds for items and services that improve the quality of life of sick, injured and economically disadvantaged pediatric patients from Children’s Hospital of Michigan and Henry Ford Health.

As a board member, Burnell will help guide the organization’s operations and fundraising activities, which include the CATCH Golf Classic, CATCH Night of Champions, The Detroit News/CATCH Outstanding High School Graduate Awards program, as well as various other third-party functions. She has a three-year renewable term and will be up for reappointment in 2027.

As co-chair of Bodman’s High Net Worth Practice Group, Burnell serves as an advisor to high net worth individuals and families and assists them with managing many aspects of their personal and financial affairs. She advises clients on estate planning, trust and estate administration, wealth transfer and tax planning matters, business succession planning, and the formation and administration of private foundations. She was recently recognized by Crain’s Detroit Business as a Notable Women in Law. Burnell has been listed in Chambers HNW for Private Wealth Law since 2021 and in DBusiness Magazine Top Lawyer for Trusts and Estates since 2020.

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McDonald Hopkins is proud to congratulate member and Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Co-Chair Dominic Paluzzi on his selection to Cybersecurity Docket’s Incident Response 50 for 2024.

Paluzzi was also recognized by Cybersecurity Docket in 2016, 2018, 2022, and 2023. He advises organizations on data privacy and cybersecurity risks on both a national and international basis, including pre-breach services, incident response strategies and management, and defense of regulatory enforcement actions and single-plaintiff and class action litigation.

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Dickinson Wright is pleased to announce that Erin Pawlowski (member, Troy) has been named a “Go To Lawyer” for Business Transactions by Michigan Lawyers Weekly.

“I am honored to be selected by Michigan Lawyers Weekly as a ‘Go To Lawyer’ for Business Transactions. It is a privilege to be included with such a talented and accomplished group of attorneys,” Pawlowski said.

Pawlowski focuses her practice on complex corporate transactions. She has a diverse M&A practice and serves as outside general counsel for businesses in a variety of industries and stages of growth. She represents private equity sponsors, portfolio companies, venture capital funds, strategic buyers and sellers, and other privately held businesses.

Pawlowski is recognized as a leader in her field by The Legal 500 and Best Lawyers in America. She is a member of various organizations, including the Association for Corporate Growth, the American Bar Association, and the State Bar of Michigan. She received her law degree from Wayne State University Law School.

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Robert S. Bick, a shareholder with Birmingham-based full-service business law firm Williams, Williams, Rattner, & Plunkett (WWRP), has been named to the Michigan Lawyers Weekly 2024 list of
“Go To Lawyers in Business Transactions.”

Bick’s practice focuses on corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, and business transactions. A dealmaker with more than 30 years as an attorney, he counsels and represents public and private companies, entrepreneurs, venture capital and private equity groups, boards of directors and business owners on matters related to corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, private placements, private equity, securities, tax, commercial and private lending (senior, mezzanine and subordinated credit facilities), corporate governance (counsel to corporate officers and board members) and related business law matters.

Bick’s other recognitions include being named a Corporate Law Lawyer of the Year by The Best Lawyers in America®, the M&A Attorney of the Year by the Association for Corporate Growth, the Dealmaker of the Year by the M&A Advisor, and a Leader in the Law by Michigan Lawyers Weekly.  Since 2007, he has been recognized on the annual lists of Michigan Super Lawyers and DBusiness Top Lawyers.

Bick is involved with several organizations, including the Association for Corporate Growth, where he has served on the programs committee and as a judge for the ACG Cup Competition and the M&A All Stars Awards.  Bick’s community activities include membership in the American Jewish Committee, where he served on the board of directors for the Detroit Regional Office, and the Anti-Defamation League, where he served on the board of directors of the Detroit Regional Office.  He has also provided multi-year service as a mentor to at-risk children at Haven of Oakland County through his participation on the ACG Cares committee.

Bick earned a law degree from the University of Michigan Law School and a B.B.A. from the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross School of Business.

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Tiffany McLean, training + learning manager at Warner Norcross + Judd LLP, has been recognized as one of the top 50 learning and development professionals in the country by OnConferences. 
McLean was chosen among more than 250 finalists in the learning and development category.  

Since joining Warner in 2022, McLean has developed a learning culture at the firm through the implementation of a new learning management system, enhanced training and a mentorship program geared toward non-attorney employees. McLean is also developing a partnership readiness program for the firm.

In addition to her role at Warner, McLean is actively involved in a number of professional organizations and committees, including the Association for Talent Development, Inforum Southeast Michigan Mosaic and Downtown Detroit Luncheon affinity groups, Association of Legal Administrators Professional Development Advisory Council, Professional Development Consortium’s Summer Conference Planning Committee as well as the International Legal Technology Association’s Women Who Lead Committee and Leadership and Development Content Creation Team.

McLean earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial and organizational psychology from Loyola University Chicago.

Recently, I was a guest lecturer at a university and spoke to a class on American politics. It was a great experience as the students were engaged and impressive. One particular student, however, stood out. He was a young man who had immigrated to America from China. He asked great questions, and the professor told me afterwards he was one of the brightest students in the class of about 100 undergraduates. I kept in touch with the young man. He recently told me the story of his experience in China and shared his dreams now that he is living free in America.  He hopes to go to law school and to pursue a career in public service. I have no doubt he will be successful.  

Here is his story. He asked that his name not be used as he is worried the Chinese government will punish family members who are still living in China. We are lucky to have this young man living in our country.

—Dave Trott
Former member of Congress

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Two years ago, I found myself trapped in a nightmarish world of interrogation and imprisonment, a victim of the Chinese government’s relentless pursuit due to my advocacy for freedom and LGBTQ+ rights. I was threatened with lifetime imprisonment and even the death penalty. Eventually, I managed to escape to the United States, became an asylum seeker and a top student at a prestigious university, and soon a U.S. permanent resident. This is my story, a testament to my resilience and unwavering belief in the American dream.

Childhood and Growing Pains

Growing up in one of China’s poorest villages, I faced the harsh reality of being a gay son in a working-class family. I knew being myself would be impossible as my father almost strangled me to death one time for trying to shield my bruised and dying mother from his relentless kicks. Seeking refuge in school only led to relentless bullying and physical abuse, as my “not manly enough” behavior became a target for mockery and violence.

Just when everything took a turn for the worst, my mom filed for divorce and I was left in a house filled with the smoke of nicotine, and an addictive dad who lashed out at me with fists, whips, and hammers after he lost another round of Counter-Strike. In the depths of despair, I stumbled upon Stephen Colbert’s “The Late Show,” which introduced me to a place called America where being gay was accepted, and the police protected those facing domestic abuse. This revelation ignited a passion for politics and gave me the courage to confront 60 of my angry nationalist classmates about how they had been misled with hatred by the Chinese Communist Party narrative and forgot America had the kind intention of making Chinese people freer through trade.

The backlash was swift and harsh—I was branded an “American dog,” reported to teachers, and even occasionally dragged to the corner of the school by my enraged CCP-supporting classmates and assaulted. Strangely, their attempts to silence me only fueled my determination to delve deeper into politics. My motivation was so strong that it turned me from the worst student with an F in English to the best student in the class who could watch CNN for 12 hours without subtitles. Eventually, I entered college in the top 1 percent among 600,000 seniors.

Persecutions by the CCP

It was from there that I found acceptance by joining one of the largest LGBTQ+ rights organizations as an intern, aiding a community suffering from government persecution and torture. Yet, I was accused of human trafficking and being an American spy (in their view, LGBTQ+ advocacy=Western Espionage) by the Chinese police just because I helped a sheltered transgender woman escape the swine cage her family was keeping her imprisoned. Praying it would be the end of my persecution by the Chinese government, little did I know that it was just the beginning of a series of nightmares.

Several months later, as I sat in the college cafeteria, I received a phone call that would change the course of my life. Initially dismissing it as a potential scam, the gravity of the situation hit me when the Chinese Ministry of State Security revealed detailed information about my parents—names, professions, and addresses. The implicit threat was clear: non-cooperation would not only lead to my expulsion from university, but also result in the imprisonment of my parents.

Terrified, I inquired about a meeting location, only to be informed, “We’re already on our way to your school.” I entered a black car to find two men, and my phone displayed a frustrating “Could not send messages, click to try again” as I attempted to seek help. They took me to a “teahouse” where I was coerced into signing a document, granting the government authority to punish me with penalties ranging from 10 years in jail to the death penalty if I disclosed false information or spoke about the interrogation.

Over three grueling hours, they interrogated me, rifling through my phone and compelling me to provide contact information about my friends, callously stating, “If they have a problem, there is nothing you can do to help them.” They questioned my sexuality due to my internship in LGBTQ+ advocacy, insinuating sinister intentions, and threatened me “You are trying to study abroad, right? If you can’t explain this matter clearly, we will take you directly to the custody station for interrogation, who else do you think can help you?”

Once the interrogation concluded, they drove me back, reminding me that the NDA-like document I signed was “a promise to the CCP and the nation.” Returning to school was tough. I couldn’t bring myself to talk to my roommates or friends for a whole week. Fear consumed me—every day, every moment. I was terrified that Chinese intelligence would somehow find out I wasn’t being entirely truthful, and they’d show up at my school to take me away. For nearly a month, my nights were spent crying quietly under my blanket, overwhelmed by the dread of what tomorrow might bring. I felt utterly alone, unable to share the heavy burden I was carrying, afraid that speaking out about the interrogation would only make life worse for me.

The following year, after returning to my hometown, fear gripped me so intensely that I applied for a leave of absence and transferred to a U.S. college. My anxiety reached a peak when, following a successful visa interview at the U.S. Embassy, I was intercepted by government officials at the train station.

As they scanned my ID, surprise painted their faces, and they demanded, “What’s the purpose of your visit to the U.S. Embassy?” I explained that I was there to secure a student visa to the U.S. Their response was a mix of anger and mockery, “Still dreaming of going to the U.S.? Stay put!” They confiscated my ID and confined me to a solitary cell for “quarantine,” an unusual move since most people were placed in a quarantine arena housing thousands. For five days, they subjected me to harassment at 4 a.m., served me cold meals, and refused to provide any information about when I might be released.

Finally, after five grueling days, the Chinese national government canceled the quarantine, the pretext they had used to imprison me. On my way out, they delivered a warning, “Your COVID test results were all negative. You know exactly why you’ve been held for so long.” At that moment, I realized it was no longer safe for me to stay in China—both the central and local governments were closing in on me. Boarding a flight to America, I spent the night before in the airport, plagued by the fear that they might arrest me on the very last day.

A Future Unchained

My arrival in a foreign land did not dispel my fears. However, the unwavering support of friends, professors, and the legal system guided me to seek asylum and made me for the first time feel treated with respect without being rich or powerful. I saw in person that police here would defend people with bruises and blood instead of dismissing them as “familial internal conflicts.” The term “domestic violence” finally entered my vocabulary and motivated me to establish an anti-domestic abuse organization and continue my advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community here in America. And I was able to marry the man I love thanks to a system that was not always perfect, but trying to improve itself by constantly incorporating the voices of people who were once left out.

Through my past ordeals, I’ve come to appreciate the profound impact of politics on personal lives. Now, I am determined to utilize my abilities to contribute towards its improvement, helping America shine brighter. My goal is not only personal resilience, but also to broadcast a message of hope to the people of China and the world—freedom persists as long as those who believe don’t give up fighting for it.

Note: I have chosen to remain anonymous to protect my loved ones from the vengeful retribution of the CCP, a regime notorious for its brutal torment of dissenters’ families. But my untold story will not wilt in this temporary silence. One day, the scattered pieces of my narrative will come together as I step from the shadows. The CCP’s tyrannical grip on freedom-loving people will crumble, and a world where liberty burns bright will shine.

By Dr. Bill Jones
and Mike Tobias

April was Alcohol Awareness Month, which was a great time for the Michigan Council on Alcohol Problems (MICAP) to reflect on ways that our Michigan community can reduce alcohol-related traffic crashes, deaths, and injuries.

The sad fact is virtually every week, six or seven Michigan adults and children die in alcohol-related traffic accidents.

Michigan State Police data show 357 people died in alcohol-involved traffic crashes in 2021, and 322 died in 2022. They were one-third of all traffic deaths statewide.

Thousands more suffered injuries, often severe and life-altering. Every death and severe injury was an unnecessary and avoidable tragedy.

Here is the key issue for Michigan policymakers. Those statistics only reflect drivers with a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of .08, Michigan’s current legal standard for drunk driving.

Since Michigan adopted its drunk driving law decades ago, new evidence clearly shows drivers are impaired well before reaching .08 BAC. The experts now consider .08 BAC too high.

National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) studies document significant impairment beginning at a BAC of 0.02. A 2022 NTSB study came to this startling conclusion: “By 0.04 BAC, all measures of impairment are statistically significant.”

In fact, drivers with a BAC below .08 but above .05 are 7 times more likely to be in a fatal crash and up to 17 times more likely to be killed than sober drivers.

Clearly, buzzed driving is impaired driving.

Based on solid evidence, NTSB issued a safety recommendation to all states to lower their impaired driving limit from .08 to .05 BAC because a BAC of .05 “will save lives and increase road safety.”

A .05 BAC isn’t an outlier. More than 100 countries have a BAC limit of .05 or lower, including France, Germany and others renowned for enjoying their beer and wine. In some countries, such as Norway and Sweden, the limit is .02 BAC.

In the United States, several state legislatures are considering a .05 BAC. So far only Utah has adopted it, and after adoption, alcohol-related fatalities and crashes in Utah dropped by one-fifth.

The Utah hospitality industry was concerned the new law would impact alcohol sales, but those fears proved unfounded. Alcohol sales actually increased, while miles traveled increased and police enforcement and DUI arrests were virtually unchanged.

If every state adopted a .05 BAC, the NTSB estimates fatal alcohol crashes would drop significantly, “saving 1,800 lives a year and preventing thousands more life-altering injuries.”

The push to adopt .05 BAC isn’t about discouraging drinking. It’s just common sense to make our highways safer. You and the children in your car should not be innocent victims of another driver whose BAC is between .05 and .08.

The Michigan Council on Alcohol Problems is part of a group of organizations, including Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the American Medical Association, among others, that support .05 BAC.

Michigan should do its part and move quickly to adopt .05 BAC. Saving lives, reducing life-altering injuries, and making our roads safer should be a top priority of every legislator and policymaker.
Stay alive, let’s back Oh-Five!
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Dr. Bill Jones is president of the Michigan Council of Alcohol Problems and Mike Tobias is a past president and current Board member. Information about MICAP and its mission is available at www.micap.org.

By Berl Falbaum

The idiom “words speak for themselves” never was more true than when Gilad Erdan, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, recently delivered a blistering attack on the organization in the General Assembly.

His verbal attack does not need any amplification, clarification, interpretation, or explanation.  Writing that he did not mince any words is one of the greatest understatements ever voiced in political journalism.

His words did not just speak.  They scorned, blasted, demeaned, chastised, accused, scolded, condemned ...

Even without a Google search, I feel safe to observe that such an attack has never been heard in the diplomatic or political world.

Erdan took on the world’s double-standard, accusing it of ignoring humanitarian crises in Sudan, Myanmar, Yemen, Pakistan, bewailed the antisemitism on campuses among students and faculty and the hatred directed at Israel.

And he laid it all—all of it—at the feet of the United Nations whose demise he predicted in his speech.  Stating the U.N. makes him want to “vomit” and “disgusts” him—yes, he said that—here is some of his fiery rhetoric.  As stated above, it speaks for itself.

— “The U.N. is fueled by nothing other than political interests not by the U.N. Charter, not by morality.”

— “... the U.N. is again seeking to reward the perpetrators of the horrors.”

— “The U.N. couldn’t care less about Israel, to hell with our safety, to hell with our future, and the hell with our hostages.”

— “To this day you have not even condemned Hamas, not even once.  To this day, not a single U.N. initiative has been taken for the sake of the Israeli hostages. Instead, this body has focused only on recognizing a Palestinian terror state, an entity fueled by Jewish genocide, by terror, by Nazi-like incitement.”

— “You have told Hamas that terror pays off.  You have done nothing for the victims.”

— “The U.N. is the main impediment to peace.  You, most of you, [Y]ou are a dream come true for every Palestinian terrorist who seeks to destroy Israel through diplomatic terror ...”

— “You should be ashamed of yourself, those who support a unilateral forced Palestinian terror state.”

— “This body reeks of antisemitism. It’s everywhere. The U.N. cares nothing for Israeli blood, nothing, zero. It is a collaborator of the Nazis of our day, working to assure Hamas’s survival and even rewards them for murder and rape. I have no words.”

— “You are encouraging their racism and antisemitism.”

— “This brainwashing did not happen overnight.  It was the result of years of incitement and delegitimization here, here at the U.N. and you know who it is, who it is that set the stage for this blatant anti-Semitism —the U.N., the General Assembly.  The anti-Israel vitriol spread here by this organization is what sparked what we are seeing today on college campuses…you are emboldening anti-Semites and terrorists alike.”

— “It is because of you mobs think that attacking Jews is acceptable.”

— “Look at the generations you have indoctrinated into antisemitism.”

— “There is no freedom to incite murder and violence; there is no liberty to attack Jewish students.”

— “Today is the ninth General Assembly meeting held on Gaza since Hamas’s massacre. Ninth. Not one of the meetings focused on condemning Hamas or releasing the hostages; not even one.  I am disgusted by this institution.”

— “You are not interested in criticizing rogue states; you are interested only in smearing the Jewish state.”

— “Don’t you see how much of a joke the U.N. has become, a sick joke that cares nothing for the lives of civilians around the world, that cares nothing for wars being fought, that cares nothing for death, destruction and suffering.  The only thing the U.N. cares about is bashing the Jewish state.”

— “Today the U.N. is a haven for terrorists, for tyrants, for dictators, a laundromat to whitewash their crimes while shifting the focus on the vibrant democracy of Israel. The root of all the U.N. evil is in this very room—the General Assembly.”

— “The clock is ticking and soon the world will wake up and see the disaster the U.N. has become. In the future ... students will study the fall of the U.N. They will learn of this organization’s moral
bankruptcy and blindness. They will be taught that your indifference and hypocrisy is what brought the U.N. crashing down.

“But this is also what will prompt the establishment of a new world institution, a force for good, one with a strong moral compass, democratic values, a body that will refuse to give dictators a free pass and terrorists a lifeline.

“Mark my words, the U.N.’s days are numbered.”

Setting aside Erdan’s prediction of U.N.’s demise, he is, of course, correct in U.N.’s antisemitism. It has been a cesspool of anti-Israel feelings for years, reaching its peak in 1975 when it adopted a resolution equating Zionism with racism. The resolution was revoked in 1991, but the damage was done, and revocation was meaningless since its politics did not change.

In 2022, the U.N. adopted 15 anti-Israel resolutions, two more critical resolutions than for all the other 193 countries in the general assembly—combined.

The question raised by Erdan’s speech: Should he have been so “aggressive” or might he have tempered his language?

In strategic sessions Israel probably decided to let Erdan proceed—let it all hang out, so to speak—because, unfortunately, it has nothing to lose in the U.N.

And that is the saddest moral of this story.
————————
Berl Falbaum is a veteran journalist and author of 12 books.

Butzel attorney Debra A. Geroux will be a co-presenter during the Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA) Ann Arbor Regional Healthcare Compliance Conference on Thursday, June 13. Geroux along with Scott Wrobel, managing member, N1 Discovery, will present a program titled, “The Evolving Healthcare Cybersecurity Landscape – How Threat Actors are Succeeding in their Infiltration of the Healthcare Industry and How to Avoid Being the Next Headline.”

The session will provide insight on the following:

• Understanding the dynamics of Threat Actors’ campaigns,

• Overview of the U.S. government’s efforts to minimize the impact of cyber incidents on healthcare providers, and,

• What healthcare entities can and should be doing to avoid a cyber attack.

Geroux is co-chair of Butzel’s Health Care Industry Team. Her health care practice focuses on health care compliance, cybersecurity and privacy, and statutory reporting obligations. She has assisted health care practitioners in defense of state and federal debarment, fraud, waste and abuse investigations and litigation, licensing and credentialing, government and commercial payor audits and other health care issues. She also has experience in supply chain and source contracting for a large Michigan-based health system, including negotiations of its IT contracts.

Geroux earned her Certified in Healthcare Privacy Compliance (CHPC) designation from the Compliance and Certification Board. She also holds a Certified in Healthcare Compliance (CHC) designation.

Geroux has been named to Best Lawyers in America, Lawyer of the Year, Health Care Law, 2022 and 2024, and Best Lawyers in America, Health Care Law, 2018-2024 and Commercial Litigation, 2021-2023.

•            •            •

Honigman LLP recently announced that Joshua W. Damm has joined its Corporate Department as a partner in the firm’s Public Company, Securities and Governance Practice Group.

Based in Detroit, Damm specializes in securities offerings, ongoing securities laws compliance, public company reporting and corporate governance counseling. He advises companies and boards of directors on day-to-day SEC and stock exchange reporting and compliance requirements, as well as corporate governance policies and practices. He also represents a range of clients in equity and debt transactions, including IPOs, follow-on and secondary equity offerings, at-the-market offerings, reverse merger and de-SPAC transactions, PIPE transactions, convertible note offerings and liability management transactions.

Damm joins the firm from Fenwick & West LLP, where he served as a senior associate. He earned his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center and his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan.

•            •            •

Associate attorney Cloie Y. Chidiac recently joined Plunkett Cooney as a member of the Torts & Litigation Practice Group.

Chidiac represents commercial clients directly and through their insurance providers. Her litigation practice includes such areas as general liability, insurance law, employment liability, premises liability, family law, commercial litigation and motor vehicle liability.

A member of the State Bar of Michigan, Chidiac received her law degree from Wayne State University Law School in 2022. She received her undergraduate degree from Oakland University in 2020.

In addition, Plunkett Cooney partner Courtney L. Nichols was recently named by DBusiness magazine as one of the publication’s 30 in Their Thirties.  

Since joining the firm in 2011, Nichols has built an employment law practice. She serves as outside employment law counsel to numerous Michigan companies, and she defends employers in workplace-related litigation through their insurance providers.

Nichols currently, she serves as the firm’s Litigation Department leader with oversight responsibility for more than 40 attorneys in 10 practice groups located throughout the firm’s four-state footprint. She has also previously served as the firm’s Labor & Employment Law Practice Group leader. Nichols is a member of Plunkett Cooney’s Strategic Planning, Retirement and Salary & Bonus committees, and she serves as employment counsel to the firm.

In addition to her leadership roles within the firm, Nichols is a sought-after speaker for national conferences and international organizations, as well as for her clients. She has also held leadership positions in the Labor & Employment Law Practice Group of ALFA International, a consortium of 140 law firms throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia, Australia/New Zealand, Africa, Canada, Mexico and South America.

Nichols is a member of the firm’s Bloomfield Hills office and focuses her litigation practice in the area of employment law, including discrimination, retaliation and civil rights claims. She provides counsel to employers of all sizes regarding complicated employment and labor issues prior to litigation, including compliance with the ADA, FMLA, and FLSA. Nichols also assists clients with drafting and enforcing contractual agreements.

In addition to the DBusiness honor, Nichols was selected as a Michigan Super Lawyer Rising Star in Employment & Labor by Michigan Super Lawyers magazine from 2016 to 2021. She was named by Crain’s Detroit Business as one of its 2023 Notable Leaders in Employment & Labor Law, and she was honored as a 2015 Up & Coming Lawyer and a 2021 Go To Employment Lawyer by Michigan Lawyers Weekly.

Admitted to practice in the state and federal courts in Michigan, Nichols is a member of the State Bar of Michigan and serves as vice chair of ALFA International’s Labor & Employment Law Practice Group.

She received her law degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law in 2011 and her undergraduate degree from the James Madison College at Michigan State University in 2008.

•            •            •

Wayne State University Law School celebrated five new members into the Alumni Wall of Fame during a ceremony held at the law school on April 9.

The Wayne Law Alumni Wall of Fame Award is the highest honor the law school presents. It is awarded to alumni, faculty, or staff who embody the highest standard of excellence and have distinguished themselves through their contributions to their field and the profession, their work toward the betterment of humanity, or their significant impact on the law school and its community. The Wall of Fame, an interactive, multimedia display in the Law School lobby showcasing the inductees, was made possible by a donation from 1986 Wayne Law alumnus, E. Powell Miller.

The 2024 honorees are:

Ret. U.S. Magistrate Judge Vernelis K. Armstrong, ‘60. Armstrong was appointed in 1961 by the Michigan Attorney General as the first African American female assistant attorney general. The following year, she was appointed law clerk for Justice Adams when he was named to the Michigan Supreme Court. Armstrong was sworn in as a U.S. magistrate judge in the Northern District in September of 1994, becoming the first African American and first female magistrate in the Western Division of the District. Armstrong retired in 2015 and continues to be recognized for her accomplishments.

Julia Donovan Darlow, ‘71. Darlow practiced law for 33 years with Dickinson Wright PLLC in Detroit and for two years with Varnum LLP. Beginning early in her law career, Darlow worked with other women lawyers in promoting the election and appointment of women to judicial office and in engaging with public issues of particular concern to women. Darlow served as president of the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan (1976-77), on the State Bar of Michigan Board of Commissioners (1977-1986), and as president of the State Bar of Michigan (1985-86). Darlow was the first woman to hold this position in Michigan and among the first women to lead state bar associations in the country. Additionally, Darlow shared her talent and expertise with students at Wayne Law when she taught in 1976 and 1996.

Joseph D. Grano, Distinguished Professor of Law (posthumously). Grano served as an assistant district attorney in Philadelphia, then joined the faculty of the University of Detroit School of Law. He served as acting dean of the law school, then joined the faculty of Wayne State University Law School. Grano served as a much-loved professor of criminal procedure and constitutional law for 25 years. He was a prolific author of law review articles and his highly praised book, “Confessions, Truth, and The Law.” Grano was a member of the American Law Institute, the Academy of Scholars, and numerous professional organizations in Michigan. The family of the late Prof. Grano was present to accept this honor and included retired Justice Maura Corrigan, Daniel Grano, Dianna Grano, Joseph P. Grano, and Marianne Grano.

Gary Torgow, ‘82. Torgow is the chairman of Huntington National Bank. Previously, he served as chairman of TCF Financial and Chemical Financial Corporation. Torgow was the founder and chairman of Talmer Bank and was also the founder and chairman of the Sterling Group. Torgow serves on the boards of DTE Energy (NYSE), Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, and Corewell Health Beaumont Hospital.

Torgow is the chairman of Business Leaders for Michigan and is a Trustee and Board member of the Community Foundation of Southeastern Michigan. Additionally, Torgow serves as the president of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, is on the board of the Pope Francis Center, and is president of the Yeshiva Beth Yehuda. Torgow serves on the Advisory Board of the Carl Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy.

I. W. (Bill) Winsten, ‘79. Winsten is described by his peers as an “outstanding trial lawyer,” “phenomenally talented,” and “effective, smart, and innovative,” according to Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. Winsten has shown great dedication to Wayne Law through his many years serving as both a member and chairman of the Wayne Law the Board of Visitors. He continues to shape Wayne Law through his role as an adjunct professor, teaching Evidence.

In addition, Wayne Law congratulates Professor Kirsten Matoy Carlson who has been selected as one of the Board of Governors 2024 Distinguished Faculty Fellows. This award was presented at the Academic Recognition Ceremony on April 25.

The Distinguished Faculty Fellowships recognize and provide support for members of the faculty whose achievements and current activities in scholarship, research, and/or artistic performance and creativity continue to hold national distinction. The recognition includes $10,000 to assist the Fellow’s research.

An authority on federal Indian law, Carlson teaches a variety of courses on Indigenous rights and policy, civil procedure, legislation, and legal change. Her interdisciplinary, empirical research investigates access to justice issues, including legal mobilization and law reform strategies used by Native peoples to reform law and policy effectively. Her work seeks to elevate Native voices in their quest for justice within the legal system.  

Carlson’s articles have appeared in the Michigan Law Review, Minnesota Law Review, Indiana Law Journal, and Washington Law Review, and peer-reviewed interdisciplinary and political science journals, such as Law and Society Review, Publius—The Journal of Federalism, and the Journal of Race, Ethnicity and Politics. Her article, “Lobbying Against the Odds,” was selected for presentation at the Yale/Stanford/Harvard Junior Faculty Forum at Harvard Law School.

Carlson serves on the State Bar of Michigan Standing Committee on American Indian Law and is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation. She is a Faculty Scholar in the American Bar Foundation/JPB Foundation (ABF/JPB) Access to Justice Scholars Program, and a Marilyn Williamson Endowed Distinguished Faculty Fellow in the Humanities Center at Wayne State University for 2023-2024. She has served as a visiting research scholar at the University of Ottawa and a visiting professor at the University of Michigan Law School and the University of Minnesota Law School. Professor Carlson has also received the Donald H. Gordon Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2014 and was selected by Wayne Law students as First Year Professor of the Year in 2017 and 2023.

Carlson earned her law degree and a Doctorate in political science from the University of Michigan, a Master of Arts degree in Maaori studies from the University of Wellington, New Zealand, and a Bachelor of Arts in international studies from The Johns Hopkins University.

•            •            •

Andrew C. Goetz has joined Miller Johnson as a member in the firm’s Detroit office. Goetz is a litigator and investigations attorney who was most recently at the United States Attorney’s Office for the
Eastern District of Michigan, where he served as the appellate chief and part of the executive team. Goetz’s hiring marks Miller Johnson’s fifth attorney to join the firm’s Southeast Michigan team this year and 22nd attorney working out of the Detroit hub.

As appellate chief, Goetz supervised all of the United States Attorney’s Office’s civil and criminal appellate litigation before the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and he guided the office in resolving many of its most complex or sensitive legal questions. He also previously served as a senior litigation counsel and deputy appellate chief there, advising the office on indictment reviews and trial strategy and litigating some of its most prominent appeals. Among his other litigation experience there, Goetz served as the lead appellate attorney on the team that prosecuted and convicted former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick on public-corruption charges.

While in private practice at a large international law firm in the nation’s capital, Goetz represented financial institutions and corporate clients on internal investigations, white collar and regulatory defense, and corporate compliance. His practice covered a range of subject areas, including alleged accounting and securities fraud, other accusations of malfeasance or whistleblower complaints, and investigations under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

“I am excited about serving clients throughout Michigan in navigating their most difficult and critical legal issues,” said Goetz. “Working on behalf of our region’s largest employers, while collaborating with such a talented group of attorneys at a firm as highly regarded as Miller Johnson, is attractive as I join the firm’s Detroit office.”

Goetz was earned his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School. He earned a B.S in Chemistry and a B.A in Political Science from Michigan State University. From 2007 to 2008, Goetz served as a law clerk to U.S. Court os Appeals Judge  Mary Beck Briscoe, Tenth Circuit.

•            •            •

Varnum partner Gabe Edelson has been named a Go To Lawyer for Business Transactions by Michigan Lawyers Weekly.

A member of Varnum’s Corporate Practice Team, Edelson focuses his practice on mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, corporate governance and general corporate matters. He represents private equity firms, portfolio companies and a wide variety of other businesses in cross-border and domestic mergers and acquisitions and commercial transactions, ranging in size from under $1 million to over $1 billion.

He advises both public and private clients in a variety of industries, with experience in private equity and strategic transactions.

Edelson is recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® for his professional accomplishments in corporate law. In 2020, he was recognized as by The Well and The Detroit Jewish News as one of 36 Under 36, recognizing exceptional young professionals who are impacting the Metro Detroit community.

Edelson recently completed a year of community focus and education as part of Leadership Detroit Class XLII, as well as a seven-year stint on the board of directors of the Founders Junior Council at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

•            •            •

Dickinson Wright is pleased to announce that Elizabeth Luckenbach (member and division director, Regulatory/Administration) will receive the 2024 Professionalism Award from the Oakland County Bar Association at their upcoming 90th Annual Meeting and Awards Ceremony in June.

“I’m honored to be receiving the Professionalism Award from the OCBA this year,” Luckenbach said. “I feel that professionalism, civility, and respect are cornerstones of the practice of law, and I hope that my example inspires the next generation.”

Luckenbach, rated by Martindale-Hubbell® as an “AV/Preeminent Attorney®,” specializes in probate and fiduciary litigation, trust and estate administration, estate planning, and special needs planning.

With more than 25 years of experience representing fiduciaries and individuals in all aspects of litigation, administration, and planning, she works to advocate for her clients, treating each of them with the individual attention they deserve.

•            •            •

Taft Detroit attorney Shirley Kaigler has been selected as a panelist for the Detroit Artists Market series on May 11. Detroit Artists Market is a non-profit gallery committed to contemporary art and to connecting artists, collectors, and communities.

Kaigler will speak on “How to Dispose of your Art Collection or Works in your Studio,” emphasizing the use of estate and tax planning methods to safeguard and transfer these assets efficiently and securely to intended beneficiaries.

Kaigler is a partner in Taft’s Private Client practice group. She concentrates her practice in the areas of probate and trust administration, estate, tax, retirement and business succession planning, elder law, and health care proxy and special needs issues. She has experience principally in the area of gift, estate, and tax planning for all estate sizes. Her clients are business owners, professionals in solo and group practices, corporate executives, educators, retirees, and individuals with special needs.

•            •            •

Robert Graziani of Howard & Howard was honored last month at the Michigan Lawyers Weekly “Hall of Fame” honoree luncheon.

With a career spanning more than 40 years, Graziani has a diverse practice with both a national and international client base. He represents and counsels private and insurance companies on coverage issues, including professional liability, general liability, first party property, employer’s liability, cyber liability, directors and officers, transactional liability, bad faith, and construction defects. Previously in his career, Graziani has served as national, regional, and state counsel in numerous matters for manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and installers in commercial disputes and product liability cases.  His engineering background provides a foundation in defending product liability cases, especially in the automotive and related industries.

Outside of his practice, Graziani is an active member of the Full Circle Foundation, serving on the executive leadership board, whose mission is to provide additional opportunities to individuals with special needs to learn and develop skills that will allow them to live independently and contribute to the community. He is also involved with Special Olympics, and has served on the Planning Commission, as trustee, village clerk, and on the Council for the City of Grosse Pointe Shores over a span of 18 years.

•            •            •

Brooks Kushman shareholders Rachel Smith and John Rondini were moderators at the Auto IP USA hosted by IAM in Detroit May 1-2.

Smith’s session, “Masterclass: The IP Portfolio of the Future,” discussed new trends within mobility, autonomous driving, electrification, and connectivity. This includes revamping IP protection strategies to fit converging technologies, implementing variations of technologies into developing a patent strategy, and accommodating IP related decisions for emerging market trends.

Rondini’s session, “Masterclass: The Role of Trade Secrets,” discussed how software and algorithms drive today’s computers, making trade secrets crucial in automotive IP portfolios. This includes deciding upon trade secrets or patent protection, successfully blending IT, data and legal, as well as identifying and monitoring the risks of collaborations.

Smith is a registered patent attorney and manages global patent portfolios of all sizes for Fortune 500 companies down to start-ups. Her practice extends to licensing negotiations, open-source software and copyright issues, and pre-litigation due diligence and investigations. Throughout her career, Smith has participated in numerous diversity and inclusion efforts, including managing her firm’s mentorship program and being an active member of the Leadership Counsel for Legal Diversity. She has been recognized for her accomplishments via several accolades including 2024 Crain’s Notable Women in the Law, Super Lawyers, Oakland County Elite 40 Under 40, Up & Coming Lawyer, among others.

Rondini is an attorney with knowledge in litigation, negotiating settlements, and licensing agreements. His experience includes assessing a client’s current cybersecurity and data privacy protocols and developing a comprehensive incident response plan to ensure compliance with applicable laws. Rondini’s practice includes representing clients in patent prosecution, litigation, and cyber security and data privacy matters. He has represented client’s litigation matters at the district court and appellate level, as well as, before the International Trade Commission, and has actively managed each stage of litigation from pre-suit pleadings through trial, and through appeal. Rondini has also managed the patent prosecution docket for clients that range from Fortune 500 companies to individual inventors. His prosecution experience includes handling a patent application from an initial draft through allowance.

•            •            •

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced the appointment of Steven L. Berenbaum to the State 9-1-1 Committee.

Berenbaum is the area manager of regulatory relations for AT&T. He received a Bachelor of Science, Master of Business Administration, and law degree from the University of Michigan. Berenbaum is reappointed to represent commercial mobile radio service for a term commencing May 2, 2024, and expiring December 31, 2025.

The State 9-1-1 Committee and it’s 21 member organizations work together to promote the successful development, implementation, and operation of 9-1-1 systems across the state of Michigan. In accordance with Public Act 244 of 2003, the Michigan State Police provides staff assistance to the committee as necessary to carry out the committee’s duties.    

This appointment is not subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.

By Michael S. Leib

Introduction

In 2023 I was appointed to arbitrate a matter in which an out-of-state resident was a party to the proceedings. The parties had agreed by contract to arbitrate here in Michigan and that Michigan law would control. Both parties had counsel but the lawyer for the out of state party was not licensed in Michigan, which raised an issue as to the lawyer’s ability to appear and represent his client in the proceedings. I was unsure of the answer and did some research. What I discovered is shared here.

In short, when arbitration or mediation proceedings are court ordered, the answer is plain – as a prerequisite to the ability to represent a party in the matter, the out-of-state lawyer must first be granted temporary admission via the court’s pro hac vice procedures. But where, as in this case, it is a non-court-annexed proceeding, the necessary process, or whether one is even required, is less clear. Nevertheless, the law, as well as ethical and practical considerations, suggest that pro hac vice admission is still required, and that in the absence of a judge, the assigned mediator or arbitrator is the appropriate body to review and pass upon any such requests. To clear up any confusion, rule amendments and a developed procedure for addressing possible unauthorized practice of law by out-of-state lawyers in Michigan non-court-annexed mediations and arbitrations would be helpful to arbitrators, mediators, and advocates alike.*1

The Statute and Court Rule

Michigan statute, MCL 600.916, provides that a person shall not practice law in Michigan unless licensed and authorized to practice law in Michigan, with certain limited exceptions:
“(1) A person shall not practice law or engage in the law business, shall not in any manner whatsoever lead others to believe that he or she is authorized to practice law or to engage in the law business, and shall not in any manner whatsoever represent or designate himself or herself as an attorney and counselor, attorney at law, or lawyer, unless the person is regularly licensed and authorized to practice law in this state... This section does not apply to a person who is duly licensed and authorized to practice law in another state while temporarily in this state and engaged in a particular matter.”

The final sentence of Section (1) is the rub. It provides that a person properly licensed to practice law in another state may practice law in Michigan “temporarily.”

Is participation by counsel in an arbitration or mediation the practice of law? The court in Dressel v Ameribank 468 Mich 557 (2003) provides guidance. The court states at page 566:

“We agree and reiterate that a person engages in the practice of law when he counsels or assists another in matters that require the use of legal discretion and profound legal knowledge.”

It would seem then that assisting a client in a mediation or arbitration, assessing the strength and weaknesses of legal positions, applying facts to law, drafting mediation and arbitration statements, appearing at a mediation, appearing at an arbitration and participating in the hearing including advocating a legal position and handling the evidentiary portion of a hearing, fits within the Dressel definition of “practicing law.” Indeed, Michigan Court Rule 8.126 (A), contains a process for obtaining temporary admission and provides that an out of state lawyer participating in an arbitration:

“... may be permitted to appear and practice in a specific case in a court, before an administrative tribunal or agency, or in a specific arbitration proceeding in this state when associated with and on motion of an active member of the State Bar of Michigan who appears of record in the case.”

Note that at present the Rule does not mention “mediation” and does not distinguish between a court-annexed arbitration and an arbitration commenced independent of a court proceeding.”

MCR 8.126 (B) Waiver describes the circumstances under which an out of state lawyer may obtain a waiver of the requirement to associate with local counsel. The waiver opportunity appears to apply only to a “court” proceeding and not to an arbitration. See, for example MCR 8.126 (A)(1) where a motion for temporary admission must be submitted to the “court…or arbitrator”. But a waiver may be obtained from the court, at its discretion, for limited exceptions when the out of state lawyer produces an affidavit verifying the attorney is in good standing in all jurisdictions in which they are licensed to practice, not suspended or disbarred and is familiar with the Michigan Court Rules and Rules of Evidence. MCR 8.126 (B).

Ethical Considerations

Michigan Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 5.5 discusses the unauthorized practice of law and multi-jurisdictional practice. Rule 5.5 (a) provides that a lawyer may not practice law in violation of the regulations of the jurisdiction in which they intend to practice. Rule 5.5 (b) states a lawyer not licensed in Michigan shall not practice law in Michigan unless authorized by an exception provided later in the rules. Rules 5.5 (c), (d) and (e) provide the exceptions. Rule 5.5 (d) and (e) speak to in-house corporate lawyers, government lawyers and to multi-jurisdictional issues and a lawyer licensed in another jurisdiction but residing in Michigan. These issues are beyond the scope of this article.

Focusing on MRPC 5.5(c), a lawyer admitted in another jurisdiction of the United States and not suspended or disbarred, may provide temporary legal services” (providing guidance as to the meaning of “temporarily” in MCL 600.916), if

“(c)(1) The out of state lawyer is associated with a local lawyer;

 “(c)(2) The representation is related to a pending or potential pending proceeding before a ‘tribunal’ if the out of state lawyer is authorized to appear in such proceeding or reasonably expects to be so authorized;

“c(3) The legal services relate ‘to a pending or potential arbitration, mediation, or other alternative dispute resolution proceeding in this or another jurisdiction, if the services arise out of the lawyer’s practice in a jurisdiction in which the lawyer is admitted and are not services for which the forum requires pro hac vice admission’; or

“(c)(4) ‘Not covered by c(2) and c(3) and arise out of or reasonably related to the lawyer’s practice in the jurisdiction where the lawyer is admitted to practice.’”

The Comments to MRPC 5.5(c)(3) explain that an out of state lawyer may appear in a Michigan mediation or arbitration but “must obtain admission pro hac vice under MCR 8.126 in the case of a court-annexed arbitration or mediation, or otherwise if required by court rule or law”. So, what if the mediation or arbitration are not “court-annexed”. The Michigan Court Rules, current version, and as recently proposed, do not make a distinction between court-annexed arbitration and non-annexed arbitration but the proposed amendments do make a distinction between court-annexed mediation and non-court-annexed mediation. See below.

The Standing Committee on Professional Ethics has weighed in on the unauthorized practice of law in arbitrations. It issued an informal opinion, RI-382 (2021), that discusses the unauthorized practice of law, the duty of a lawyer to report the unauthorized practice of law, and temporary legal services under MRPC 5.5(c)(3).

Specifically, the informal opinion concludes:

1. Attorneys and judges have a duty to report the unauthorized practice of law to the State Bar of Michigan when they have actual knowledge of such activity.

2. Only the legislature and courts can determine whether specific conduct constitutes the unauthorized practice of law.

3. MRPC 5.5 provides that, absent meeting the exceptions contained in this section, an out of state attorney may not practice law in Michigan.

4. MRPC 5.5(c)(3) is one of the four “scenarios” where an out of state attorney may practice in Michigan. This scenario relates specifically to ADR.

RI-382 concludes:

“Pro hac vice admission is required in matters arbitrated in Michigan” relying on MCR 8.126. No distinction is made between court-annexed and non-court-annexed arbitrations. However, other adr proceedings (such as a mediation) must comply with one of the exceptions in MRPC 5.5.

Proposed Amendments to MCR 8.126

ADR providers and advocates should take note that the Michigan Supreme Court recently (March 27, 2024) published for comment proposed amendments to MCR 8.126. See ADM File No. 2022-10. The comment period ends July 1, 2024. The staff comments reflect that the proposed amendments would “clarify and streamline” the pro hac vice process.

Currently, when an out of state attorney wants to participate in a Michigan arbitration, they must comply with MCR 8.126. In addition to obtaining a sponsoring attorney, the out of state attorney must file a motion before the court or arbitrator seeking temporary admission and provide required information.

Importantly, the proposed amended rule makes a mediator “who conducts a facilitation or mediation” a “tribunal” in non-court related mediations. Hence, the mediator is the person to whom a motion for temporary admission is directed. And, significantly, in the proposed amended rule, an out of state lawyer participating in a Michigan mediation must obtain a sponsoring attorney and temporary admission from the mediator. It would seem then that RI-382 would then arguably support the position that out of state lawyers participating in a Michigan mediation must be admitted pro hac vice.

In the proposed rule, the court, the arbitrator, and mediator (in a non-court related mediation) may waive the sponsoring attorney requirement. In the current rule, the “court,” only, has the authority to waive the sponsoring attorney requirement.

Practical Considerations

There are good reasons to take an unauthorized practice of law question seriously, especially in an arbitration.

First, as lawyers we have a duty to report professional misconduct. See MRPC 8.3(a) and RI-382, supra. Lawyers have a duty to comply with MRPC 5.5. Another lawyer who does not seek temporary admission when the law requires, will be in violation of the Michigan Rules of Professional Conduct MRPC 8.5 and likely in violation of the Rules of Professional conduct in the jurisdiction in which they are licensed.

Second, the failure to address an unauthorized issue of law issue could impair the validity of an arbitration award. Less we think this cannot happen and who would make such a claim, a few cases actually have addressed such a claim. In Lawshawn Hines v Everest Institute, Case Number 2:13-cv-15219, (2014) ED Mich, the plaintiff filed a motion to vacate an arbitration award. The claim failed because the court found no conduct fitting within the bases for vacatur under FAA, 9 U.S.C. Sec. 10(a). The court found that plaintiff’s claim best fit under the category of “fraud or undue means.” (The Michigan Uniform Arbitration Act, MCL691.1681 et seq addresses vacatur at MCL 691.1703 and also contains, as a basis for vacatur, an award “…procured by corruption, fraud, or other undue means”).

The court also discussed the “manifest disregard for the law” basis to vacate an award. The court denied plaintiff’s motion because none of the allegations satisfied the bases for vacatur.

Specifically, the court denied the motion based on the claim that defendant’s attorneys practiced law without a license. However, even if true, the court found no evidence the arbitrator’s decision was influenced by the alleged unauthorized practice of law. There was no evidence the alleged unauthorized practice of law was an attempt to commit a fraud on plaintiff or the arbitrator. See also Superradio Ltd P’ship v Winstar Radio Productions, LLC 844 NE 2d 246 (Mass.2006).

Could a clever lawyer under the right set of facts argue that an award should be vacated because the winning lawyer engaged in the unauthorized practice of law? There is no reason to run the risks described above if the parties and/or the arbitrator are aware of facts that a lawyer from a foreign jurisdiction involved in a Michigan arbitration has not obtained temporary admission to practice law in Michigan.

Conclusion and Lessons Learned

1. The unauthorized practice of law is not permitted. And it violates the Michigan Rules of Professional Conduct.

2. A lawyer licensed in Michigan who has knowledge that an out of state lawyer may be engaged in the unauthorized practice of law should report same to the State Bar of Michigan.

3. Participation by a lawyer advising a client in a mediation and arbitration certainly appears to be the practice of law.

4. An out of state lawyer may participate temporarily in an arbitration or mediation.

5. The procedure for seeking temporary admission to participate in an arbitration in Michigan is found in MCR 8.126. When and if amended, an out of state lawyer participating in a non-court annexed mediation must seek temporary admission from the mediator under MCR 8.126.

6. Whether an out of state lawyer participating in a Michigan mediation must seek temporary admission under current MCR 8.126 is an open question.

It would be very helpful if the Michigan Supreme Court provided clarity to assist lawyers, both those licensed in Michigan and out of state lawyers, in addressing unauthorized practice of law questions in ADR.
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*1 The author thanks Professor Joan Vestrand, Cooley Law School, for her kind suggestions for this article.
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Michael S. Leib is a mediator with Leib ADR LLC in West Bloomfield and devotes his time to the mediation of business disputes including bankruptcy disputes and participation on the Alternative Dispute Resolution Council of the State Bar of Michigan, as well as on the Debtor Creditor Committee of the Business Law Section. Leib retired as a business trial lawyer in 2014 after many years as a shareholder at Maddin, Hauser, Roth, & Heller PC.