Miller Canfield
The law firm of Miller Canfield announces that Reshma M. Sambare has joined the firm as an associate in the Troy office in the Real Estate Group. She will assist clients on issues related to commercial construction and commercial real estate development.
Sambare brings commercial construction experience to the firm. Before joining Miller Canfield, she worked in various capacities in the fields of project management, construction management and management consulting in both the United States and her native India. She is fluent in English, Hindi, and Marathi.
In 2012, she earned her law degree from Michigan State University College of Law. She earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Govt. College of Engineering Pune in India, and master’s degrees in construction management from Michigan State University and finance from Walsh College.
In addition, Miller Canfield announces that Megan Norris, a principal and leader of the firm’s Employment and Labor Group (Detroit office), has been elected as a fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.
The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers was founded in 1995 as a professional organization to honor leading lawyers and has evolved to become a leading resource for labor and employment law issues. Its fellows are selected through nomination only and must have displayed exemplary character, integrity, ethics and performance in labor and employment law practice for more than 20 years.
At Miller Canfield, Norris also serves as chair of Miller Canfield’s Managing Directors, the firm’s management administration that works with the CEO to oversee the firm’s 17 offices. As an employment lawyer, she counsels clients on all conceivable day-to-day employment matters, including discipline decisions. She also conducts management training on matters such as sexual harassment and litigates employment cases involving issues such as discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.
She is a nationally recognized expert on the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act. She co-authored “Family & Medical Leave Act and the Law,” a book published by ALM’s Law Journal Press.
She earned her law degree from the University of Michigan Law School and a B.A. from Wesleyan University, where she is chair of the Alumni Association.
Additionally, Jennifer L. Sabourin, a principal and deputy group leader of the Employment and Labor Group at Miller Canfield (Detroit office), was named one of Southeast Michigan’s Top Young Lawyers by DBusiness Magazine. She was one of only six lawyers selected for the honor by peers in the legal industry and DBusiness readers.
At Miller Canfield, Sabourin represents management in various aspects of labor and employment counseling and litigation. DBusiness lauded her successful representation of a client embroiled in a wage-and-hour dispute with 250 supervisor employees seeking overtime pay.
Sabourin told DBusiness, “What I find the most professionally rewarding are the occasions when I can be more of a business partner and work with a client on compliance issues at a pre-litigation stage to prevent problems before they arise. I think that’s when our clients are most appreciative.”
Sabourin is a member of the American Bar Association’s Labor and Employment section as vice chair for the section’s national programs committee.
She is a 1999 graduate of Wayne State University Law School. She also has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan-Dearborn.
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Butzel Long
Butzel Long attorneys W. Patrick Dreisig and David W. Sommerfeld each have been named a 2013 Detroit FIVE STAR Wealth Manager SM as a result of a survey completed by HOUR Detroit magazine, DBusiness magazine and FIVE STAR Professional. A listing of individuals named a 2013 FIVE STAR Wealth Manager SM appears in the July/August edition of DBusiness. This is the fourth year that Dreisig and Sommerfeld have each been named a Detroit FIVE STAR Wealth ManagerSM. The FIVE STAR Wealth ManagersSM is a select group representing less than seven percent of the wealth managers in the Detroit area.
Dreisig is a vice president of Butzel Long and serves on the firm’s Board of Directors. He is co-chair of both the firm’s Finance Committee and Global Automotive Industry Group and also is a member of the firm’s Business Law Practice.
He focuses his practice in general business law and transactional matters, including mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, recapitalizations, debt and equity finance transactions, venture capital transactions, supply agreements, intellectual property development and licensing transactions, customer and supplier workouts, entity selection and formation, corporate governance and business succession.
Dreisig practices within the automotive supplier industry. He is experienced in representing automotive suppliers in structuring and negotiating long term supply and other commercial arrangements with automotive manufacturers and other suppliers.
Dreisig received his B.A. degree from the University of Michigan in 1974 and his law degree from Wayne State University in 1977.
He is a member of the Business Law and Taxation Sections of the American Bar Association and the State Bar of Michigan. He also has served as a member of the Legal Issues Council, and as past counsel to the Chief Purchasing Officers Council, of the Original Equipment Suppliers Association. Dreisig is listed in The Best Lawyers in America.
Based in Butzel Long’s Bloomfield Hills office, Sommerfeld serves as manager of the firm’s Probate, Trust and Estate Planning Practice.
He practices in the areas of estate planning, probate, and trust administration. Sommerfeld also has experience in the areas of income tax, estate and gift tax, and related tax and financial matters.
Sommerfeld is a 1963 graduate of the University of Detroit and a 1967 graduate of the Detroit College of Law. He is a certified public accountant as well as an attorney.
He is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and is listed in The Best Lawyers in America, Who’s Who in American Law, Michigan Super Lawyers, and DBusiness as a 2012 Top Lawyer in Metro Detroit for Trusts and Estates. Sommerfeld is a member of the Financial and Estate Planning Council of Metropolitan Detroit.
Sommerfeld is a frequent lecturer on the subject of estate planning on behalf of the Institute for Continuing Legal Education of the State Bar of Michigan, the Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants, and Professional Education Systems Inc.
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Demorest Law Firm, PLLC
Demorest Law Firm PLLC attorney Melissa Demorest recently graduated from the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Leadership Detroit program, a 10-month transformational leadership program designed to challenge emerging and existing community leaders from Southeast Michigan to bring about positive change.
“I learned so much about our city and our region, visited some amazing places, and got to know so many great people. I especially enjoyed all of the tours that I had a chance to take. I am more motivated than ever to help keep moving our city forward,” Demorest said.
As part of Leadership Detroit’s Class XXXIV, Demorest joined 67 executives from across the region, representing a cross-section of the community, including business, organized labor, government, education, media, civic groups, health services and community organizations.
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State Bar of Michigan
The following individuals are recipients of 2013 State Bar of Michigan awards, which will be presented at a banquet on Sept. 18 at this year’s Annual Meeting in Lansing. The 2013 State Bar of Michigan Award Recipients include:
• Roberts P. Hudson Award: Kurt E. Schnelz.
• Frank J. Kelley Distinguished Public Service Award: retired Judge Donna T. Morris.
• John W. Reed Michigan Lawyer Legacy Award: Professor James J. White.
• Champion of Justice Award: Eugene Driker, Valerie R. Newman, Michele L. Halloran, Ann L. Routt, and A. Kay Stanfield Spinks.
• John W. Cummiskey Pro Bono Award: Robert G. Mossel.
• Kimberly M. Cahill Bar Leadership Award: Elizabeth A. Kitchen-Troop.
• Liberty Bell Award: Marge Palmerlee.
The following individuals are recipients of State Bar Representative Assembly awards, which will be presented at the Assembly’s Sept. 19 meeting in Lansing. The 2013 State Bar of Michigan Representative Assembly Award Recipients are:
• Michael Franck Award: Martin P. Krohner.
• Unsung Hero Award: James E. Brenner and Elizabeth Stafford.
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Clark Hill PLC
Clark Hill attorney Daniel Minkus has been named the recipient of the 2013 Stephen H. Schulman Outstanding Business Lawyer Award by the Business Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan.
The annual award recognizes those who have made extraordinary contributions to the Business Law Section and to the practice of business law in Michigan. Minkus will be presented the award at the Business Law Section’s annual meeting on Sept. 26.
Minkus is the member in charge of Clark Hill’s Birmingham office where he practices in the firm’s Corporate Practice Group. For more than 25 years, Minkus has counseled clients in the areas of business and real estate. He has repeatedly been selected by his peers for inclusion in national rankings such as Best Lawyers in America, Law & Politics Magazine’s Super Lawyers publication, and Chambers USA List of Leading Business Attorneys.
Minkus has taken an active role in the legal community, including board participation with the Business Law Section of the State Bar; chair of the Business Law Section’s Business Boot Camp for newer lawyers; chair of the Business Law Section’s Unincorporated Enterprises Committee; service as a member of Institute of Continuing Legal Education’s Business Law Advisory Committee; and participation on the American Bar Association’s Mergers & Acquisitions Committee, including serving as a member of its Revised Model Asset Purchase Agreement drafting subcommittee.
Active in the community, Minkus currently is serving in his 24th year as a board member of the Michigan Humane Society. He is the former state sports director for soccer for Michigan Special Olympics, a past member of the board of Leadership Oakland (president 1998-99), and has served as a member of volunteer committees for United Way Community Services in Detroit.
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Ottenwess, Allman, and Taweel
After a years of public service in local government within the city of Detroit, Wayne County, and the Detroit Water and Sewer Department (DWSD), Matthew Schenk has accepted a new challenge to help the public and move our community forward.
Schenk will join Ottenwess, Allman, and Taweel’s new Government and Public Affairs Division.
In this new division, Schenk will team with managing partner David M. Ottenwess and former U.S. Representative Thaddeus G. McCotter, who is Of Counsel at the Detroit firm.
Schenk set forth the new division’s vision and mission: “These are times that require the public and private sectors to join together in strategic partnerships to improve the service delivery experience for residents. I look forward to the opportunity to share my deep knowledge of the inter-workings of local government on behalf of a broader client base.”
Schenk’s knowledge stems from his years of experience in many regional collaboration projects and critical local government positions, including:
• Chief operating officer & chief compliance officer and member of the DWSD’s Executive Management Team where he has been a driving force behind the current proposal for DWSD to become a regional public authority.
• Key roles within Wayne County government including chief of staff to the county executive, assistant county executive, and principal attorney supervising the Municipal Law section of
the County’s Law Department. As chief of staff, Schenk managed various county departments, supervised nearly 2,000 employees, and had responsibility for the development and implementation process for Wayne County’s $2 billion annual budget. Schenk also worked on numerous regional initiatives including the expansion of Cobo Center and the development of its new convention authority, the creation of a regional transit plan for Southeast Michigan, and the development of the Aerotropolis.
• Service with the City of Detroit over seven years in both its legislative and executive branches of government. His last position in that period of service to the city was in the Law Department as Legislative Assistant Corporation Counsel.
• Involvement with numerous professional organizations, community affiliations, and civic boards, notably the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) and
SEMCOG.
Schenk earned his law degree from Wayne State University and was admitted to the State Bar of Michigan in 1996. He also earned two bachelor’s degrees from the University of Michigan.
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The Health Law Partners, PC
Carey Kalmowitz, founding shareholder of Southfield-based The Health Law Partners, recently partnered with the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) to present a webinar on new legal and compliance policies affecting a clinical gastroenterologist’s business. Founding Shareholder Jessica Gustafson made the announcement.
ACG invited Kalmowitz to present as part of their commitment to provide ongoing educational and legislative initiatives to its 12,000 members around the country. The presentation, “Legal Risks of ‘The Company Model’ Myths and Facts,” provided key details on company model structuring, Anti-Kickback and fraud statutes, compliance with the Office of the Inspector General and advice on how to mitigate risks.
Kalmowitz leads The HLP’s health care alignment and business transactions specialty group. With a robust practice and more than 20 years of experience in this area of health care law, Kalmowitz crafts revenue-enhancing transactions among physicians and other health care providers. He represents a full spectrum of providers, including physicians, physician groups, surgery centers, long-term care facilities, and medical equipment suppliers.
Admitted to practice in Michigan and New York, Kalmowitz is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, the Michigan Society of Hospital Attorneys, the New York Health Law Section, the American Health Lawyers Association and the American Bar Association. An alum of New York University Law School, Kalmowitz routinely speaks on health care matters throughout the country and is a published author in a variety of industry journals.
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Michigan Court of Appeals
Attorney Jerome W. Zimmer Jr., district clerk of the Michigan Court of Appeals’ Detroit office, has been named the court’s chief clerk, Michigan Court of Appeals Chief Judge William B. Murphy recently announced. Zimmer’s appointment became effective July 17.
Zimmer also served as district clerk of the Michigan Court of Appeals’ Troy office.
Zimmer, who earned an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Michigan, is a graduate of the Michigan State University College of Law.
He joined the Michigan Court of Appeals in 1995 as a prehearing attorney. From 1997-2000, he served as regulatory counsel for First Mercury Financial Corporation, where his responsibilities included advising corporate offices on regulatory compliance issues in all 50 states.
In 2000, Zimmer returned to the Michigan Court of Appeals, first as assistant to the chief clerk, and then as assistant clerk. In January 2011, he was named district clerk to the Michigan Court of Appeals’ Troy office, becoming district clerk of the Detroit office in October 2011.
Zimmer represented the Michigan Court of Appeals in communications with legislative offices regarding the Crime Victim’s Rights Act in 2000 and the Court of Appeals redistricting legislation in 2001.
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