Benchmark Litigation has named Bodman PLC its 2014 Michigan Law Firm of the Year.
The selection was announced at a national award ceremony held on January 30 at the Essex House in New York.
State winners are chosen based on an analysis of case matters held during the prior year, including potential precedent set or verdicts with notably high dollar amounts at stake.
"This award is a well-deserved recognition for our Litigation Group, which had a fantastic year in 2013" said Bodman Chairman Ralph E. McDowell. "This is a true team win. The award is not based on a single high-profile case but on a track record of success over a broad range of matters for a variety of clients."
Bodman's Litigation and Alternative Dispute Practice Group focuses on a wide variety of civil disputes ranging from simple breach of contract claims to antitrust, securities, professional liability, trade secret, and other complex matters
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Two partners in the Southfield office of Warner, Norcross, & Judd LLP have been recognized as leading Michigan attorneys by Chambers USA 2014.
Mary Jo Larson and Lisa B. Zimmer were among 10 attorneys at Warner Norcross to be recognized by Chambers USA. Both were acknowledged for their expertise in employee benefits and executive compensation.
For the 12th consecutive year, Chambers recognized Warner Norcross as a leading law firm in the state. In addition to its strength in employee benefits, the firm was acknowledged in the areas of banking and finance, corporate, mergers and acquisitions, and commercial litigation.
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Hall, Render, Killian, Heath, & Lyman, a national health care focused law firm with offices in Troy, is pleased to report that it ranks 8th on The Hill newspaper's 2013 top 10 list of lobbying firms based on the number of new client registrations. Last year, the firm registered 28 new clients.
The recognition is rewarding for the attorneys in Hall Render's Federal Legislative & Regulatory Advocacy practice group which was created in 2012. The group routinely works with agency personnel, members of Congress and staff of health care-related committees and bring decades of experience in the development and implementation of health policy initiatives for a variety of health care organizations.
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Kameron F. Bonner has been named an associate attorney at Rader, Fishman, & Grauer PLLC.
Bonner's primary focus is preparing and prosecuting patents of both mechanical and electrical in nature. While attending Wayne State University Law School, Bonner worked as a law clerk at Rader, Fishman & Grauer where he gained experience in multiple areas of patent prosecution.
Bonner graduated from Wayne State University Law School. He also has a Bachelor of Science from University of Dayton. Bonner is a member of the State Bar of Michigan.
Rader, Fishman, & Grauer is also pleased to announce that attorney Christopher Wen has recently become a member of the State Bar of Michigan.
Wen joined the firm as an associate attorney in September of 2013. He was already a member of the State Bar of New York and State Bar of New Jersey.
Prior to joining Rader, Fishman, & Grauer, Wen worked at an intellectual property firm where he worked extensively on preparing and prosecuting patent applications, particularly in the automotive industry. Wen focuses mainly on preparing and prosecuting patent applications in a variety of technical areas, including various types of engineered mechanical and electro-mechanical devices. Wen also has experience in patent litigation, trademark prosecution and opposition proceedings, and licensing.
Wen earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan, and his law degree from Brooklyn Law School.
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Gov. Rick Snyder announced the reappointment of Wolfgang Mueller to the Michigan Unarmed Combat Commission as vice chairperson.
Housed within the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, the 11-member commission regulates professional boxing and mixed martial arts events. Appointees serve four-year terms, and their appointments are subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.
Mueller is an attorney with Olsman, Mueller, Wallace, & MacKenzie where he specializes in wrongful conviction and police misconduct cases as well as construction site litigation. Previously, he worked as an automotive engineer for Chrysler Corp. Mueller is a second-degree black belt in the Korean martial art of Tang Soo Do, and serves as an instructor at Boliard's Martial Sciences Center in Canton.
He received bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering from Michigan State University and the University of Michigan-Dearborn, respectively, and earned a law degree from the Detroit College of Law. Mueller will continue to represent licensees in mixed martial arts.
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Charles H. Brower II, a Wayne State University Law School professor who is Of Counsel with Miller Canfield in Detroit, will be a featured speaker Feb. 20 and 21 for a law forum in Houston.
"International Energy Arbitration" is the theme of the joint winter forum of The Institute for Transnational Arbitration and The Institute for Energy Law. Both institutes are divisions of The Center for American and International Law and focus on providing education and professional opportunities for lawyers and other professionals.
Brower will conduct a luncheon interview honoring his father, Charles N. Brower, a prominent U.S. arbitrator who has served since 1983 as judge of the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal at The Hague.
Professor Brower is an elected member of the American Law Institute and winner of the Smit-Lowenfeld Prize for 2012. The prize recognizes the outstanding article published in the year before on any aspect in international arbitration.
Brower has taught and written about human rights, international business transactions, international commercial arbitration, the law of armed conflict and public international law for more than 15 years. He is Of Counsel for Miller Canfield's International Dispute Resolution Section. He is a member of the American Arbitration Association's observer delegation to UNCITRAL Working Group II, vice chair of the Institute for Transnational Arbitration, director of the Atlanta International Arbitration Society and the reporter for NAFTA developments at www.KluwerArbitration.com.
Brower has been an advocate for the government of the Republic of Costa Rica in advisory proceedings before the International Court of justice. He earned his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law where his father was selected as the John A. Ewald Jr. Distinguished Visiting Professor. Before joining Wayne Law in 2012, Brower was the Croft Professor of International Law at the University of Mississippi School of Law.
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Plunkett Cooney recently named local associate attorneys Paul J. Dwaihy and Patrick E. Winters as its newest shareholders.
Selected in 2013 as a Michigan Super Lawyers "Rising Star" in Personal Injury Defense for Medical Malpractice, Dwaihy concentrates his practice on defending medical liability litigation. He represents physicians, hospitals, nursing homes and long-term care facilities in medical malpractice claims and ordinary negligence actions throughout the state of Michigan. Dwaihy, who is a member of the firm's Mt. Clemens office, also has experience defending a variety of general litigation matters.
A member of the Macomb County Bar Association and the Litigation and Negligence sections of the State Bar of Michigan, Dwaihy graduated from Michigan State University College of Law in 2003. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan in 2000.
Also a 2013 Michigan Super Lawyers "Rising Star" in the area of insurance coverage, Patrick E. Winters focuses his practice exclusively in this area of complex litigation.
Winters, who is a member of the firm's Bloomfield Hills office, represents insurance companies in coverage issues involving environmental contamination, professional liability, automotive, trucking, construction defects, product liability, bad faith and personal and advertising injury.
Winters is admitted to practice in Michigan and Ohio; in federal courts in Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin; as well as Pro Hac Vice in Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. He is a member of the Oakland County Bar Association. He is a member of the State Bar of Michigan and the Tort, Trial & Insurance Practice Section of the American Bar Association and the DRI-The Voice of the Defense Bar.
Winters graduated from Michigan State University College of Law in 2003, and he received his undergraduate degree from Michigan State University in 1999.
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Honigman, Miller, Schwartz, and Cohn LLP is pleased to announce that Philip J. Kessler joined the firm as a partner in its growing Litigation Department. Kessler brings more than 40 years of experience and a national reputation as a successful trial lawyer to Honigman. He will be located in the firm's Detroit office. Kessler is the third highly experienced litigator recruited to the firm in the past three months. Since January 1st, 10 attorneys have joined Honigman's Litigation Department.
"I am extremely pleased to join Honigman. Many of my clients are Michigan-based companies with national and international interests and it is important for me to be part of a firm with such a strong foundation here," said Kessler. "In Michigan, there is no better place to be than Honigman. The firm has a stellar reputation among its clients and peers. Its highly ranked national litigation practice is well-known and continues to expand."
Kessler focuses his practice on the prosecution and defense of public and private companies, as well as individuals and partnerships, in a broad range of business and intellectual property issues. He has experience in a wide variety of matters including antitrust, audit malpractice, contracts, securities fraud, corporate control contests, and intra-corporate and partnership disputes. Kessler also litigates intellectual property issues arising from copyright, trademark, trade secret, unfair competition, and patent infringement claims. He represents clients in numerous industries, including automotive, advertising, health care, pharmaceutical, financial services, real estate and manufacturing. In addition, Kessler has recently been involved in high-profile, high-risk international arbitrations, working with a prominent barrister at 12 Gray's Inn Square in London.
He is a Fellow and has served as a member of the Board of Regents and on the Executive Committee of the distinguished American College of Trial Lawyers. He also is a Fellow of The International Society of Barristers and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. In addition, Kessler is a trustee, secretary and executive committee member of the U.S. Supreme Court Historical Society and is also a member of the Appeal Board of the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law in London, England. He has been consistently recognized as a leading lawyer by Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, The Best Lawyers in America and Michigan Super Lawyers.
He earned his law degree from the University of California at Berkeley School of Law and an A.B. from the University of Michigan. He is admitted to practice in Michigan and New York.
Kessler joined Honigman from Thompson & Knight LLP's offices in Detroit and in New York City.
In addition, Scot A. Hinshaw has joined Honigman as a partner in its Labor and Employment Department's Wage and Hour Matters Practice Group. He is located in the firm's Detroit office.
Hinshaw brings to Honigman 15 years of experience practicing labor and employment law. He has a background in advising and counseling clients in a wide range of industries on matters involving legal compliance, employment policies, wages and hours, and best practices. His experience also includes litigating labor and employment cases under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the National Labor Relations Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and ERISA.
Hinshaw earned his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center and a B.A. from the University of Maryland. He is admitted to practice in Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Illinois, and his admittance to the State Bar of Michigan is pending.
He joined Honigman from Vedder Price PC in Chicago.
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Southfield-based Maddin, Hauser, Roth, & Heller PC has been named as one of the "2014 Go-To Law Firms® at the Top 500 Companies" in the area of Litigation.
The honor, a result of work done by the firm's Consumer Finance/Regulatory Compliance and Real Property Litigation Group, places the firm in an elite group that delivers work for the in-house legal departments at Fortune 500 companies.
Published in Corporate Counsel's In-House Law Departments at the Top 500 Companies, recipients are selected after a research process that involves data provided by general counsel at Fortune 500 companies, leading business executives, and law firms.
Led by Martin Frenkel and David Hart, Maddin Hauser's real property litigation team has experience in litigation, arbitration and other alternative dispute resolution procedures involving a wide variety of cases.
Members of the firm's real property litigation practice group have represented clients across the whole spectrum of real estate and banking matters in federal and state trial courts, appellate courts, and administrative agencies and boards.
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Young & Associates announced that J. David Garcia and Jason Killips have been recognized as 2013 Rising Stars by Super Lawyers Magazine.
Garcia specializes in complex commercial litigation, including issues such as intellectual property, sales representative, automotive supplier, accountant liability, trade secret, unfair competition, business and contract litigation.
A graduate of the University of Michigan, Garcia continued his education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Law, where he earned his law degree.
Killips focuses his practice on complex commercial litigation, which includes intellectual property, accountant liability, automotive supplier and business dispute litigation.
He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and earned his law degree at the University of Michigan Law School.
Published: Mon, Feb 10, 2014
