Legal People

Third Judicial Circuit Court
Third Judicial Circuit Court Judge Craig Strong was presented with the Man of the Year Humanitarian Award at the Care for Kids Celebrity Benefit hosted by The Hollywood & Vine Recovery Center at Club Avalon Hollywood on June 2.

U.S. Congresswoman Maxine Waters presented the award to Strong.

Under the Hollywood & Vine Recovery Center is The Care For Kids program, an affordable substance-abuse treatment center for children 7-19 years old. Having experienced the drug haven streets of Detroit, Dr. Gloria Montgomery and Joan Wendorf moved to California and founded the non-profit organization.

“I enjoy traveling and speaking at schools and before youth groups across the country, in Canada, Europe, Germany, South Africa, and throughout the Caribbean Islands,” said Strong. In Southern California, he has spoken at Dorsey High School, the Marcus Garvey Academy, and distributes toys for Christmas at churches and community centers.

The recipient of numerous proclamations and awards, Strong is the official ambassador of Steve Harvey’s Neighborhood Awards (formerly the Hoodie Awards), which takes place annually in Las Vegas. He has made appearances on several television shows as well as guest spots in five motion picture productions. The judge was cast as a judge in the ABC series “Detroit 187.”

Strong was appointed referee in the Traffic & Ordinance Division of Detroit’s Recorders Court at age 30. Later that year he was elected judge of the Detroit Recorder’s Court, the youngest to serve in this capacity. He was re-elected four times.

Strong became an officer of the Wolverine Bar Association and its youngest president at age 30. He later became one of the founding members of the Association of Black Judges of Michigan and served as president. He has also served on the National Bar Association Board of Governors, and is former chair of the Judicial Council.

As part of the National Bar Association’s delegation to South Africa, Strong met with black lawyers from many countries to develop an International Bar Association.

Strong is a retired commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve. During a five-year tour in the Navy Marine Corp Trial Judiciary, he was the only African-American judge presiding over special courts marshal. A 33-degree Prince Hall Mason, he is a lifetime member of the NAACP, Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., and the Navy Reserve Officer Association.
Being active in numerous civic organizations, he has served on the Board of the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, the largest of its type in the United States, and was a founding board member of the International African World Festival. He founded and still chairs the Black History months’ membership drive, which has generated thousands of new members to help keep the doors of the museum open. He has also served on the boards of the Westside Citizens for the Retarded and the Black United Fund of Michigan.

Believing in world peace and justice, the Strong participates in the U.S. State Department sponsored International Visitors Leadership Program and routinely hosts its visitors. This year he has shared his experiences and insights with delegations from France and Azerbaijan.

Strong earned his bachelor’s degree from Howard University and his law degree from Detroit College of Law, now Michigan State University College of Law.

—————

Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP
David K. Page, a partner in the Corporate Department at Honigman, Miller, Schwartz, and Cohn LLP, has been named non-executive chairman of the board of Meadowbrook Insurance Group, Inc., a position formerly held by the company’s founder Merton J. Segal.  Meadowbrook is a specialty, niche-focused, commercial insurance underwriter and insurance administration services company.

Meadowbrook’s total assets equal nearly $3 billion and its shareholder’s equity is more than one-half billion dollars.  Page has been a member of Meadowbrook’s board for 13 years.  During that time, he has served as chair of both its Finance and Investment Committees.  In addition, he has served as a member of its Governance and Compensation Committees.

Page also currently serves on the board of directors for Keyco Bond Fund, Inc.  He has previously served on the corporate boards of Allied Supermarkets, Inc., Meadowdale Foods, Inc. and Highland Superstores, Inc. 

He earned his law degree from Harvard Law School and a B.A. from Dartmouth College.  In addition, he was a Fulbright Scholar at the London School of Economics.

—————

Harness, Dickey, & Pierce PLC
Harness, Dickey and Pierce, PLC is pleased to announce that Glenn E. Forbis has joined the firm’s Detroit office as a partner.

Forbis is a first chair litigator with more than 20 years of experience representing both plaintiffs and defendants in patent and trademark cases around the country, many of which involved damages in excess of $50 million. In addition to his trial experience, Forbis has experience representing clients in appellate courts, including the U.S. Court of Appeals, as well as in contested matters before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. He advises clients in creating and executing intellectual property strategies and effective risk management.

Forbis has been selected to Best Lawyers in America® in 2013 and consistently selected as a Michigan Super Lawyer.® He was a Crain’s “40 Under 40” recipient in 2007.

Forbis earned his law degree, an M.B.A., and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering all from the University of Michigan,.

—————

Warner, Norcross, & Judd LLP
The law firm of Warner Norcross & Judd LLP has named Alan T. Rogalski as the co-chair of its Life Sciences Industry Group.

Rogalski will share leadership responsibilities of the 12-attorney practice group, which provides counsel in U.S. and foreign patent license applications, FDA regulatory compliance, product liability, licensing and technology agreements, technology transfer and related areas to assist companies from multi-national firms to start-ups.

A licensed clinical pharmacist, Rogalski brings nearly two decades of experience in counseling physicians, hospitals, health plans, pharmacies, universities and other healthcare providers to his new role with the firm. He has experience with the federal and state anti-kickback investigation, the Stark Law, federal and state false claims act investigations, corporate compliance and corporate integrity agreements, licensing and regulatory matters, and health care business formations and contracts. He practices in the firm’s Southfield office.

Rogalski has been named to Best Lawyers in America, a Top Lawyer by DBusiness, a Michigan Super Lawyer and one of the Best Lawyers in Detroit by Hour Media. Active professionally, Rogalski is a member of American Health Lawyers Association and Michigan Pharmacists Association. He is a fellow with the American Society of Pharmacy Law and Michigan State Bar Foundation and a member of the State Bar of Michigan and the American Bar Association. He also serves on the American Dental Association Commission on Dental Accreditation. He is a graduate of Leadership Detroit.

Rogalski earned his bachelor of science in pharmacy from Wayne State University College of Pharmacy and his law degree from University of Detroit Mercy School of Law.

—————

Dickinson Wright PLLC
Dickinson Wright recently announced that attorney Jerome Crawford has been elected to the board of directors for the Wolverine Bar Association and the Wolverine Bar Foundation. He will serve as a director of the organizations during the 2013-2014 bar year.

Crawford is an associate in Dickinson Wright’s Troy office. He focuses his practice in the areas of commercial and business litigation; intellectual property; music, sports and entertainment litigation; real estate and bank litigation; and workouts, restructurings and foreclosures. Crawford advises clients with regards to the formation of LLCs and corporations and drafting and/or amending organizational documents. In the intellectual property arena, he counsels Fortune 500 companies regarding risks associated with potential trademark use and registration on a wide array of retail products.

He is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, the Oakland County Bar Association, the Wolverine Bar Association, and the Straker Bar Association.

Crawford earned his B.A. from Michigan State University and his law degree from Michigan State University College of Law.

—————

City of Detroit
Detroit Mayor Dave Bing has appointed Portia Roberson as corporation counsel for the City of Detroit, effective July 1. The appointment was approved by the Detroit City Council and Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr. Roberson will lead the city’s Law Department as it provides legal counseling and representation to the executive and legislative branches of city government, as mandated by the City Charter.
Roberson is a Detroit native who graduated from Cass Technical High School in 1986. She received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan in 1990 and a law degree from Wayne State University Law School in 1993. Roberson has worked for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) since 2009, when President Barack Obama appointed her to serve as director of the DOJ Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.

“I would like to thank Mayor Bing for this opportunity,” Roberson said. “I believe the essential role of law and government is to serve the public, and I look forward to serving the people of Detroit as corporation counsel.”

In November 2011, Roberson accepted an assignment with the White House Office of Domestic Policy Council and a position as Detroit Team Lead of the federal Strong Cities, Strong Communities Initiative (SC2). Detroit was one of six cities chosen by President Obama to participate in SC2, which promotes federal collaboration with local and state government to develop regional partnerships that encourage economic growth. Roberson led approximately 15 team members from various agencies for SC2 Detroit, including individuals from the departments of Transportation, Education, Small Business Administration, and Commerce, among others. In that role, she worked with local and state officials on all issues related to the Justice Department.

Roberson has served as an assistant Wayne County prosecutor, where she was a principal in the community prosecution office. She also served as an associate general counsel at the Detroit Medical Center and as political director for Wayne County with the Michigan Campaign for Change.

Roberson is a member of various professional organizations, including the Wolverine Bar Association and the National Black Prosecutors Association.

—————

Butzel Long
Butzel Long is onsite in Macomb County with the opening of an office in the Macomb-OU INCubator at the Velocity Collaborative Center in Sterling Heights to meet the escalating demands of emerging businesses in key growth sectors. Butzel Long is part of the new Executives-in-Residence program offered through the Macomb-OU INCubator. Butzel Long is supporting incubator clients with certain free services and consultation.

“We have worked extensively with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), Macomb County and Automation Alley in the defense arena,” said Beth S. Gotthelf, attorney, executive-in-residence and director of Innovation and External Relations, Butzel Long. “For us, it is critical to be onsite and accessible to incubator clients. We’ve provided counsel to several incubator clients. In one instance, a client needed counsel on compliance. Another sought our expertise on intellectual property funding.

“Butzel Long has a long and strong history in this region for more than 150 years. From what drove this region in the 1900s to what drives it in the 21st century, we believe in growing the region and being a partner as it grows and diversifies,” added Gotthelf. “When people come together as a team and collaborate there is great synergy.”

 “Our role is to provide advisory and consulting services including the review of contracts for early stage businesses that need assistance, but don’t have the budget or funds yet to pay for these services, “said Butzel Long Senior Attorney Jeremy Cnudde, who is one of the Butzel Long Executives-in-Residence. “The Macomb-OU INCubator is similar to TechTown Detroit and Ann Arbor SPARK, but with a greater focus on the thriving defense industry in Macomb County. This program has a lot of potential to help small and second stage businesses become viable during their critical first few years.”

The Macomb-OU INCUubator provides comprehensive development and support to startup and emerging businesses with a focus on the defense, homeland security, advanced manufacturing and technology sectors. For more information, visit www.oakland.edu/macombouinc.

—————

Wayne State University Law School
Lance Gable, associate professor of law at Wayne State University Law School, has been named interim associate dean.

Gable has been a Wayne Law faculty member since 2006. An internationally known expert on public health law and bioethics, Gable earned his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center and a M.P.H. from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He also earned his B.A. in political science and biology from Johns Hopkins University. He teaches Public Health Law, Bioethics and the Law, Torts, and other health law subjects at Wayne Law.

Gable’s research addresses the overlap between law, policy, ethics, health and science. He has published journal articles on a diverse array of topics including public health law, ethics, and policy;
international human rights; bioterrorism and emergency preparedness; mental health; research ethics; and information privacy. He is also co-editor and co-author respectively of two books: “Research with High Risk Populations: Balancing Science, Ethics and the Law” (American Psychological Association, 2009, with Buchanan and Fisher) and “Legal Aspects of HIV/AIDS: A Guide for Policy and Law Reform” (World Bank Group, 2007, with Gamharter, Gostin, Hodge, and Van Puymbroeck).

Gable currently is the principal investigator for the project “Developing Ethical Guidelines for the Allocation of Scarce Medical Resources During Public Health Emergencies in Michigan.” In addition, he is the co-chair of the Wayne State University Stem Cell Research Oversight Committee. He has served as the co-chair of the Wayne State University Clinical and Transnational Research Ethics Workgroup and received the 2010 Wayne State University Academy of Scholars Junior Faculty Award for the Humanities and Social Sciences. He has helped develop course materials for the World Health Organization Diploma in International Human Rights and Mental Health and has worked as a human rights consultant for the Pan American Health Organization.

Prior to joining the Wayne Law faculty, Gable served as a senior fellow at the Centers for Law and the Public’s Health: A Collaborative at Georgetown and Johns Hopkins Universities, which is affiliated with the Word Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He continued his affiliation with the Centers as a scholar from 2006-2012. He was the project director for the Emergency System for Advance Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals (ESAR-VHP) Legal and Regulatory Issues Project, administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). He was also the Alfred P. Sloan Fellow in Bioterrorism Law and Policy at the Centers for Law and the Public’s Health and practiced as a health care law attorney at a major international firm in Washington, DC.

—————

Maddin, Hauser, Wartell, Roth, & Heller P.C.
James M. Reid IV, an associate attorney with Maddin, Hauser, Wartell, Roth, & Heller PC, a Southfield-based law firm, will conduct the “Employee Handbook Tips and Strategies” Webinar, hosted by CredentialCheck™, on Wednesday, July 17, at 1:30 p.m.

Reid will instruct participants on how to reduce liability; provide strategies used to enforce appropriate written handbook policies; and outline new policy trends being used, such as social media and iPad communications. The Webinar is available for HRCI (or Human Resource Certification Institute) credits.

Reid focuses his practice in the area of employment law, working mainly with employers on a spectrum of issues including counseling and training human resources personnel. He also develops and improves employment policies and contracts, handbooks and employment agreements.

He earned his bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University and his law degree from Wayne State University Law School.

To register for the webinar, visit:https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/571879271.

—————

The Petz Law Firm, PLLC
Attorney G. Grace Petz is proud to announce the opening of her new law office in Troy. The Petz Law Firm, PLLC focuses its practice in providing quality estate planning for individuals and families. According to Petz, the firm is built on creating strong relationships with its clients. The firm’s goal is to provide its clients peace of mind with the right estate plan.

 Petz earned her law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law and was recognized in 2012 in the Super Lawyers – Rising Stars Edition. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Management from Albion College.

Petz has served clients on various types of estate plans, including; last wills and testament, revocable living trusts, credit shelter trusts, special needs trusts, cross ownership trusts, powers of attorney and irrevocable life insurance trusts.

She has been called upon for her estate and special needs planning knowledge by several media outlets on regional and national stories of interest, including WXYZ Channel 7 in Detroit and Metro Parent Magazine.

The firm is centrally located in Troy, which allows The Petz Law Firm to provide quality services as a trusted estate advisor to a diversified client base, regardless of their location or particular legal needs.

The Petz Law Firm is located at 525 E. Big Beaver Rd., Suite 305 in Troy. To reach the firm’s office call 248-688-9329.

Visit them on the web at ThePetzLawFirm.com.