LEGAL PEOPLE

Detroit-based law firm Bodman PLC has admitted Michael T. Brennan, Amanda J. Pontes, and Carl T. Rashid as members of the firm. Brennan, of Bodman's Detroit office, is a member of the Banking and Real Estate Practice Groups. He concentrates his legal practice in real estate and real estate finance. He represents banks and other financial institutions in a wide variety of complex, multi-million dollar secured credit facilities and other financial arrangements involving real estate, including syndicated loan transactions, mortgage warehousing lines of credit, mortgage loans, land acquisition and development loans, and construction financing for diverse projects. Brennan was previously an associate attorney with Bodman. He received both his undergraduate degree and law degree from Michigan State University. Pontes, of Bodman's Detroit office, is a member of the Automotive and Industrial Team and the Business Practice Group. She represents clients involved in a variety of business matters including corporate organization, mergers and acquisitions, and complex commercial transactions. She has particular experience with automotive industry clients, having served extended in-house assignments with two major automotive suppliers. Pontes was previously an associate attorney with Bodman. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Wayne State University Law School. Rashid, of Bodman's Detroit office, is a member of the Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution Practice Group. He represents private and publicly traded businesses and municipal governments in complex business and commercial litigation involving contracts, anti-trust, trademark, product liability, business torts, employment, and class actions. He has served as first, second, and third chair in jury and bench trials in Michigan and federal courts. He also has arbitration experience. Rashid was previously an associate attorney with Bodman. He received his undergraduate and law degrees from Michigan State University. * * * Bowman and Brooke is pleased to announce that Detroit partner Thomas Branigan was re-elected to the firm's Executive Committee. He will serve a three-year term, effective Feb. 1. In addition, Lawrence Mann was elected to be the managing partner in Detroit and Jeffrey Gorcyca was elected to be co-managing partner. Each will serve a one-year term, beginning Feb. 1. * * * Brinks, Hofer, Gilson, & Lione has been included as a "Recommended" firm on Legal Media Group's (LMG) Clean Technology and Renewable Energy publication list of top law firms. Brinks provides technical skills and legal expertise to help clients create, protect and commercialize IP rights for green technology innovations. With more than 40 attorneys and agents actively involved in green technology, Brinks' Green Technology Group focuses its experience in green technology to develop, procure and enforce intellectual property rights on both green and clean technologies and sustainable practices, from solar power to organic food. Additionally, shareholder Kelly K. Burris, chair of Brinks' Green Technology Group, was named by LMG to the CleanTech 100, a listing of the top 100 attorneys in clean technology. Burris is managing partner of the firm's Detroit office. She focuses her practice on patents in the mechanical, electrical and materials science arts. She also performs intellectual property due diligence for mergers and acquisitions and manages corporate IP portfolios and policies. * * * Foley & Lardner LLP recently announced that Stacy Fox has joined the firm's Automotive and Energy Industry Teams and the Transactional & Securities Practice as of counsel in the Detroit office. Fox is also a co-founder and principal of the Roxbury Group, a Detroit-based real estate development company. Prior to Sunoco, Fox served as general counsel and senior vice president of corporate transactions and legal affairs for Visteon Corporation. She was instrumental in the company's spin-off from Ford Motor Company which, at the time, resulted in Visteon ranking as a Fortune 100 company. She also held various senior positions in her 11-year tenure at Johnson Controls, where she led negotiations and closings of international acquisitions, divestitures and joint ventures. Fox also served as executive vice president, chief administrative officer and general counsel at Collins & Aikman Corporation (C&A), where she helped develop the company's Chapter 11 reorganization strategy. During these proceedings, she led C&A's negotiations with financial advisors to complete the wind-down of the enterprise and its legal entities. At the time of its Chapter 11 filing, C&A represented the largest bankruptcy filing in the U.S. As a result of her efforts, Fox was also able to protect the charitable stipend from the $4 billion enterprise, which was donated to 2-1-1 On the Go!, an organization that helps to alleviate homelessness in downtown Detroit. * * * Governor Rick Snyder appointed Oakland County Probate Court Chief Judge Linda S. Hallmark to the newly formulated Governor's Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect. Hallmark will represent judges and attorneys for a three-year term expiring Dec. 31, 2015. Currently, she is chief judge of the Oakland County Probate Court and has served in the family division of the court since 1997. Hallmark graduated with a bachelor's degree from Michigan State University and a lawdegree from Wayne State University Law School. * * * The law firm of Miller Canfield announces that Ronald E. Hodess, a principal and leader of the Real Estate Group for the firm, has been named one of Michigan Lawyers Weekly's "Leaders in the Law" for 2013. "I feel honored by the award, especially considering the high caliber of talent that have received this award both this year and in past years," said Hodess. Hodess is a leader in the real estate field. He is skilled in structuring large real estate and construction projects. His track record includes representing commercial and corporate clients on numerous real estate, construction and economic development incentive projects throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico. He is recognized by Chambers USA as one of the country's finest real estate attorneys, and has been given similar honors by Best Lawyers, Michigan Super Lawyers and DBusiness Magazine. In addition, Hodess was the lead advocate in the decision by Miller Canfield to voluntarily add an insurance benefit for lawyers and staff raising children with autism. Hodess is a member of the board of directors of the Autism Alliance of Michigan, which advocated for the passage of the legislation in Michigan in 2012. He is also on the Executive Board of directors of the Friendship Circle and active with the Autism Society of America, Oakland County Chapter. Hodess earned his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1985. He earned his B.B.A. from the University of Michigan. Miller Canfield also announces that Dawn M. Schluter, a principal in the Troy office and leader of the Personal Services Group, has been appointed to The American Cancer Society's (ACS) Nationwide Gift Planning Advisor Council for the Great Lakes Region. The Council consists of 16 volunteer leaders throughout the U.S. "I'm truly honored to have been nominated by Jo Stausz Rosen, director of estate and gift planning for the Nationwide Planned Giving Business Unit of the Great Lakes Division. I, like so many, am personally aware of cancer's impact. I know the importance of supporting the great work of The American Cancer Society and the impact of leaving a legacy - I have included the American Cancer Society in my own estate planning documents," said Schluter. "I am proud to be an advocate of The American Cancer Society's mission and join the other dedicated professionals on the Gift Planning Advisor Council." Schluter has experience in estate planning, trusts, taxes and family law when drafting estate and wealth transfer plans. Schluter, has been a lawyer with Miller Canfield since 1989. She earned her law degree from Wayne State University Law School and her B.A. from Kalamazoo College. * * * Attorney Mitchell McIntyre recently joined Plunkett Cooney as a member of the firm's Transportation Law Practice Group. A member of the firm's Detroit office, McIntyre focuses his practice on insurance-related work involving coverage disputes, entitlement issues and catastrophic injuries, as well as on no-fault law and motor vehicle litigation. In addition to his first- and third-party transportation parctice, McIntyre has experience representing clients in cases involving medical malpractice, premises liability and employment litigation, including discrimination claims, civil rights and civil RICO actions. McIntyre graduated from Wayne State University Law School in 2012. He received his undergraduate degree from Central Michigan University in 2008. McIntyre is a member of the State Bar of Michigan and the Macomb County, Oakland County and Federal bar associations. * * * Cooley Law School Professor Florise Neville-Ewell was honored on March 1 by the Federal Bar Association (FBA), Eastern District of Michigan Chapter, during the annual Wade Hampton McCree Jr. Award Luncheon at the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel, in downtown Detroit. Neville-Ewell received the 2013 Wade H. McCree Jr. Award for the Advancement of Social Justice. This award honors individuals or organizations that have made significant contributions to the advancement of social justice in areas involving poverty, promoting economic or educational opportunity, or fighting discrimination involving race, gender, ethnicity, national origin, religion, or economic status. In addition to teaching Contracts and Ethics at Cooley, Neville-Ewell serves as Cooley's faculty advisor for the Ten Commandments of Real Estate (10CORE®) Law Society, a student organization dedicated to educating the public through community outreach. As part of the group's efforts, Neville-Ewell and Cooley students visit community centers, faith groups, senior citizen homes and other venues, educating audiences on their rights and responsibilities when it comes to property ownership. 10CORE®'s outreach began in Southeast Michigan and, through partnerships with the American Bar Association, National Bar Association and the National Hispanic Bar, has provided programming in Georgia, Florida and Maryland. 10CORE® is an "Innovating Justice" award nominee, having received recognition from the HAGUE Institute (in the Netherlands) for the Internationalization of Law. Neville-Ewell has seen, first hand, the destruction foreclosures have taken on neighborhoods. She is a former general counsel for the Detroit Housing Commission and Chief of Contracts for the City of Detroit Law Department. In private practice, she provided real estate counsel to multiple nonprofits, churches, private entities, and municipalities. * * * William P. Hampton has accomplished a lot during his 48 years of practicing law so, when Secrest Wardle heard the news that he had been chosen as one of 30 Michigan attorneys to be honored as a Leader in the Law at an upcoming Michigan Lawyers Weekly award ceremony, it didn't come as much of a surprise. Hampton's past positions include serving as an Oakland County Circuit Court judge from 1971 to 1977 and as a state legislator from 1964 to 1970. He is president of Secrest Wardle and is credited with the formation of its Municipal Law Department. Hampton has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America® since 1995 in the areas of Commercial Litigation, Family Law, Land Use and Zoning, Real Estate Law, and Municipal Law. He is currently serving as attorney for the Cities of Bloomfield Hills and Auburn Hills and for the Townships of Bloomfield and West Bloomfield. He is also currently serving as special counsel for the cities of Pontiac and Royal Oak. He is a member of the Michigan Association of Municipal Attorneys, Michigan Judges Association, Michigan Municipal League, Oakland County Bar Association, State Bar of Michigan, Who's Who in American Law, and is a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers. Hampton earned his undergraduate degree from Michigan State University and his law degree from Wayne State University Law School. He was admitted to the State Bar of Michigan in 1964. Additionally, Secrest Wardle is pleased to announce that Margaret Scott has joined its Motor Vehicle Litigation Practice Group at its Troy office. In addition to practicing Motor Vehicle Law, Scott also specializes in Municipal Law and Property, Fire and Casualty. Scott served as an Oakland County assistant prosecuting attorney from 1988 to 2008. The majority of her career was spent as a special prosecutor of the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office where she was elevated to the office of chief of the Auto Theft Unit in 1996. As a felony trial prosecutor Scott prosecuted crimes involving insurance fraud, identity theft, embezzlement, and arson of insured property. During her time with the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office she successfully prosecuted nearly 100% of the cases assigned to the Auto Theft Unit. Scott is presently an instructor and presenter for various programs for the Michigan State Police, the Michigan Chapter-International Association of Arson Investigators, International Association of Special Investigative Units, the North Central Regional Chapter-International Association of Auto Theft Investigators, and the Michigan Association of Vehicle Theft Investigators. She has also instructed for the National College of District Attorneys, Prosecutor's Association of Michigan, the International Association of Arson Investigators, Oakland County Community College Police Academy, and numerous police departments in Southeastern Michigan, as well as a number of area high schools. She completed the National District Attorney's Association's Career Prosecutor Course in 1990 and the Experienced Prosecutor Course in 1996. Scott is a member of the following associations: * North Central Regional Chapter-International Association of Auto Theft Investigators. * Michigan Chapter-International Association of Arson Investigators. * Michigan Arson Prevention Committee. * Michigan Help Eliminate Auto Theft Committee. She is past chair of the Michigan Anti-Car Theft Campaign Committee. During her years of service to residents of Michigan, Scott testified before the State Senate and House on various proposed legislation involving auto theft and insurance fraud. Scott has practiced insurance defense (litigation) since 2009, as private counsel for various companies. These claims involved the defense of automobile and structure arson fires, No-Fault PIP, and uninsured motorists' claims as well as third party automobile claims. After obtaining her B.A. from Michigan State University in Criminal Justice and Psychology, Scott attended Wayne State University Law School. She was admitted to the State Bar of Michigan in 1988 and is licensed in all Michigan courts. Scott is a member of the State Bar of Michigan and the Oakland County Bar Association where she serves on the Circuit Court Case Evaluation Committee and the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee. * * * Butzel Long is included in the Crain's Detroit Business "Top Verdicts, Settlements of 2012" for a successful judgment on behalf of its client, Home Depot U.S.A. The news appeared in the Feb. 25 edition of Crain's Detroit Business. Butzel Long brought a tax refund lawsuit on behalf of its client, Home Depot U.S.A., Inc. v. Michigan Department of Treasury. Home Depot sought a refund of sales taxes it had overpaid as a result of bad debts arising from customers who defaulted on their private label credit card transactions and, therefore, never paid the full purchase price for the merchandise they received. In May 2012, Butzel Long attorney Christopher J. Nelson and co-counsel, Gibson, Dunn, & Crutcher, secured a $6,972,000 award from the Michigan Court of Appeals on Home Depot's behalf. "Refund cases are never easy and, considering the amount at stake and the financial challenges facing Michigan and other states, this case was no exception," said Nelson. "This was not only a good result for Home Depot, it was also the right result under the tax code." Nelson has served as a manager of the firm's business litigation group and specializes in complex, business-related civil litigation, including disputes involving business acquisitions, corporate management, real estate, fraud, insurance coverage, environmental liabilities, class action defense, the Uniform Commercial Code, taxation, and other business and commercial contracts. He has appeared in courts throughout Michigan and before the courts of Illinois, Ohio and Kansas. He is a member of the American Bar Association's Business Law Section and serves as an appointed mediator for commercial cases pending in Oakland County. * * * Honigman, Miller, Schwartz, and Cohn LLP recently announced that the firm was counsel on more than 140 corporate transactions that closed in 2012. The average transaction value was $35 million with several deals having transaction values in the hundreds of millions. From its base in Michigan, Honigman's nationally recognized corporate Mergers and Acquisitions, Private Equity and Venture Capital Practices serve clients across the country. Of the more than 140 transactions, 74 were private equity or venture capital transactions. "Honigman's M&A, Private Equity and Venture Capital practices are gaining interest from clients across the country," said the firm Chairman and CEO David Foltyn. "When we sit across the table from companies and funds around the nation, they see the quality of our work and it is not uncommon for them to retain our services on subsequent deals." Honigman also received high national rankings in U.S. News Media Group and Best Lawyers® 2013 Best Law Firms list for its M&A, PE and VC practices. In addition, Michigan's Corp! magazine named Honigman to its "Economic Bright Spots" list in 2012. Published: Mon, Mar 4, 2013