LEGAL PEOPLE

Jennifer Colagiovanni presented "Latest Developments in Medicare and Medicaid Audits: MICs, MACs, RACs and ZPICs," at the Hoosier Homecare & Hospice Conference in Indianapolis. Colagiovanni is an attorney at Wachler & Associates PC. A portion of Colagiovanni's practice is focused on representing physicians and other health care providers and suppliers in the defense of RAC, Medicare, Medicaid and third party payor audits. Colagiovanni has experience defending audits involving complex medical necessity denials as well as statistical sampling and extrapolation. * * * The State Bar of Michigan has hired Peter Cunningham as its new director of Governmental Relations. He will replace Elizabeth K. Lyon, who is relocating to Alexandria Va., where she has accepted a position as program director with the Council of State Governments Justice Center. Lyon served the State Bar for more than eight years and is moving because of marriage. Cunningham will begin in early July and will head a program that includes a large state and public policy agenda. He will be responsible for developing solutions and implementing the policy objectives and positions adopted by the State Bar's Board of Commissioners and Representative Assembly. Cunningham joins the State Bar after serving as the executive director of the Campaign for Justice, a nonpartisan, nonprofit coalition working for public defense reform in Michigan. Prior to that, he served as legislative director and chief of staff to former Speaker of the House Andy Dillon, following seven years of service as House policy director and research analyst. Cunningham managed a successful campaign to pass a $77 million bond proposal for Lansing Public Schools, which resulted in the construction of a new middle school and improvements at several existing schools. He has bachelor's degree in political science from Juniata College in Huntingdon, Penn., and a master's degree in anthropology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. * * * Attorney Margaret A. Czuchaj recently joined Plunkett Cooney as a member of the firm's Litigation Practice Group. A member of the firm's Bloomfield Hills office, Czuchaj focuses her litigation practice in the areas of premises liability, retail liability, motor vehicle no-fault disputes and in claims involving motor vehicle negligence. She is admitted to practice in Michigan's state and federal courts, Czuchaj is a member of the Macomb County Bar Association and the State Bar of Michigan. Prior to joining the firm, Czuchaj worked as a clerk for Macomb County Circuit Court Judge David F. Viviano. Czuchaj earned her law degree from University of Notre Dame Law School in 2010. She received her undergraduate degree from Hillsdale College in 2007. * * * The State Bar of Michigan has recognized the law firm of Warner, Norcross, & Judd LLP with the 2012 Pro Bono Circle of Excellence award. The distinction is reserved for law firms that provide free or reduced-fee representation to low-income individuals or organizations. Additionally, law firms may also contribute a minimum of $300 per attorney to provide civil legal services to persons of limited means. With 220 attorneys practicing in six offices across the state, Warner Norcross is one of the largest law firms in Michigan. In addition to making an annual financial contribution to the State Bar's Access to Justice Fund, Warner Norcross attorneys provide direct client representation, serve on boards for legal aid programs, engage in community legal education programs and advise non-profit and low-income public interest groups. * * * Brian Tobin has joined Southfield-based Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer, & Weiss PC as an associate in the firm's litigation group. Jaffe CEO William Sider made the announcement. Most recently, Tobin served as a litigation associate with Brooks Kushman PC. He specialized in litigation relating to patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade dress, trade secrets, insurance and various other general commercial disputes. Previously, he served as a judicial intern for U.S. District Court Judge Denise Page Hood, Eastern District of Michigan. Tobin received his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School, where he served as editor for the Michigan Technology and Telecommunications Law Review. He also earned a Masters of Engineering in Construction Engineering and Management and a Bachelor of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Michigan. * * * Michael Pitt and Joseph Golden, both of the Pitt, McGehee, Palmer, Rivers and Golden law firm, will be speaking at the 2012 National Employment Lawyers Association annual convention in San Diego on June 21. Pitt will speak on the topic "Retaliation in the Post-Employment Context." Pitt has specialized in employment law and civil rights litigation for more than 30 years. He and his team of lawyers were widely acclaimed for their successful representation of women who had been sexually abused by guards in Michigan prisons. The Michigan Department of Corrections agreed to pay $100 million to resolve the claims of more than 400 women. Golden will be presenting a session titled "Top 10 Tips for the Next Generation of Plaintiffs' Employment Lawyers." Since 1980, he has lectured nationally on employee rights issues, especially wrongful discharge. In addition, he has served a two-year term as the president of NELA. * * * The law firm Dawda Mann and its attorneys have earned top mentions in Chambers USA's rankings of Michigan firms. Member Theresa Joswick earned Band 2 ranking for employee benefits and executive compensation. Dawda Mann has one of the largest real estate development practices in the Midwest. In addition, Dawda Mann's attorneys have practiced in the complex area of energy and environmental law since the early 1980s. Dawda Mann's real estate attorneys work with retailers, developers, owners, property managers, financial institutions and investors in all types of real estate transactions. The firm's clientele includes the world's largest retail companies, Fortune 500 companies, financial institutions, and mid-size and emerging businesses throughout the world. * * * Wayne County Executive Robert A. Ficano recently announced the appointment of William J. Giovan to the Wayne County Ethics Board. A graduate of the University of Michigan, School of Law, Giovan has a mediation and court law practice and a combination of practical, educational and judicial experience. He served as Wayne County Circuit Court judge from 1976 to 2008, where he rose in the ranks to chief judge. Giovan has worked on various committees for the Michigan Supreme Court, State Bar of Michigan and the Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association. A knowledgeable educator, he has taught at the Michigan Judicial Institute, the American Academy of Judicial Education and the National Judicial College in Reno, NV and has authored several professional publications. A new Wayne County Ethics Ordinance, introduced and approved by the Wayne County Commission on April 5, 2012 calls for the assemblage of a seven member independent board charged with overall ethics oversight and transparency. Per the ordinance guidelines, Giovan will serve a four-year term, along with others named by the Wayne County Commission, Sheriff, Clerk, Prosecutor, Register of Deeds and Treasurer. * * * Oakland County Corporation Counsel Judy Cunningham is blazing a trail as the first public official to serve as president of the Oakland County Bar Association. She will serve until June 2013. "As the OCBA's 80th president, I consider it a privilege to be the first government lawyer and the seventh woman to lead this amazing organization in the coming year," said Cunningham. Cunningham, the first woman to serve as Oakland County corporation counsel, began working with Oakland County as a part-time summer law clerk in 1980. She joined the county full time in 1983 as deputy administrator of the Circuit Court. In 1988, she became Circuit Court administrator - a position she held until Patterson appointed her corporation counsel in 1999. She is a 1983 graduate of the Detroit College of Law. As corporation counsel, Cunningham oversees a staff of 11 attorneys which manages a total of about 1,250 assignments each year. More than 90% of Oakland County's lawsuits are handled in house saving taxpayers significant legal fees that would otherwise be spent on outside counsel. Cunningham has been an active member of the OCBA since 1983. She was elected to its Board of Directors in 2004 and re-elected in 2007 and 2010. She was the first co-recipient of the OCBA's Distinguished Public Servant Award in 1999 and also received its Distinguished Service Award in 1985. Cunningham was honored twice by Michigan Lawyers Weekly. In 2008, she was among 20 attorneys in Michigan to receive MLW's recognition of "In-House Leader in the Law." She also was part of MLW's "Women in the Law" ceremony for her contributions to the legal system and her mentoring efforts with young lawyers in 2010. * * * Chambers USA 2012, a referral guide designed to objectively present the best practitioners in the main areas of corporate law, has selected Miller Canfield as a top law firm in all six practice areas ranked in Michigan. In addition, 21 of the firm's lawyers are recognized as leading business lawyers. In Michigan, the firm received the highest possible ranking - Band 1 - in Commercial Litigation; Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation; and Labor & Employment Law; and was also recognized for Banking & Finance Law; Real Estate; and its Corporate/M&A work. Those named leading lawyers in their specialty area in Chambers USA 2012 are: Detroit office: * Orin D. Brustad, Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation. * Donna J. Donati, Labor & Employment. * Adam S. Forman, Labor & Employment. * Leonard D. Givens, Labor & Employment. * Jonathan S. Green, Banking & Finance: Bankruptcy. * Christopher A. McMican, Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation. * Megan P. Norris, Labor & Employment. * Clarence L. Pozza Jr., Commercial Litigation. * Steven A. Roach, Banking & Finance: Bankruptcy. * Richard J. Seryak, Labor & Employment. * Carl H. von Ende, Commercial Litigation. * Jerome R. Watson, Labor & Employment. Troy office: * Thomas W. Cranmer, Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations. * Ronald E. Hodess, Real Estate. * Brian H. Holt, Real Estate. * Matthew F. Leitman, Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations. * Ronald H. Riback, Banking & Finance. * James A. Simpson, Real Estate. * * * Monica Moore, an attorney with Detroit-based employment law firm Nemeth Burwell PC, has published an article in the June issue of The Corporate Counselor titled, "Litigation and Social Media: Using It To Your Advantage." The Corporate Counselor is a legal publication targeted to in-house counsel of FORTUNE 500 companies and other large businesses. Writing in The Corporate Counselor, Moore notes that as individuals become more comfortable with presenting "private" information to the "public," information posted on social networking sites can provide a rich source of discovery and a game-changer in litigation. The article can be viewed at http://www.lawjournalnewsletters.com/issues/ljn_corpcounselor/26_6/news/156722-1.html. At Nemeth Burwell, Moore focuses her practice on employment counseling and litigation. Areas of particular interest include Title VII, Americans with Disabilities Act, the Michigan Civil Rights Act, and protecting confidential and electronic employer data. * * * Attorney Dan A. Penning has formed a new consulting/law firm, The Penning Group, with offices across the State of Michigan in Detroit/Novi, Grand Rapids and Traverse City/Suttons Bay www.penninggroup.com. The Penning Group represents and consults with clients throughout the State of Michigan and nationally in the areas of business law, family business planning and dispute resolution, complex estate and tax planning, cottage law and succession planning for legacy assets such as family cottages and farms, and real estate law, including property tax appeals www.propertytaxappealinstitute.com. The Penning Group has resources for clients, including affiliations with numerous organizations and service providers, including the Cottage Law Institute and Property Tax Appeal Institute. These resources result from Penning's 26 years of experience in assisting businesses, families and individuals achieve their business, financial, estate and succession planning goals. Penning attributes the firm's growth and success based on the practical approach of providing "right minded planning + solutions + results" focusing on its clients' needs. Penning, in a recent media interview, stated ". . . The traditional model for law firms and service providers doesn't work anymore and requires change. In fact, clients are demanding that it change. We have embraced the changes and efficiencies technology has to offer, combined together with our traditional core values, resulting in our ability to provide thorough and cost effective solutions for our clients." In addition, the firm acquired the general law practice of Stuart J. Hollander five years ago in Suttons Bay, Michigan. Hollander authored the book "Saving the Family Cottage" and developed the area of cottage law as a specialty practice. The Penning Group continues to occupy Hollander's office in Suttons Bay, Michigan and carries on the tradition that Hollander began with respect to providing clients with succession planning for legacy assets, including family cottages www.cottage-law.com. For additional information, contact The Penning Group at www.penninggroup.com. Published: Mon, Jun 18, 2012