Butzel Long
Butzel Long attorney and shareholder Craig S. Schwartz is one of 32 lawyers who was recently named a fellow of the Oakland County Bar Foundation.
Schwartz practices in the areas of labor relations and employment-related litigation. He has experience in collective bargaining for employers in many industries, labor arbitration and union representation proceedings, and has represented employers in over one hundred fifty labor arbitrations.
He also has experience representing clients in administrative proceedings and litigation before the National Labor Relations Board, Michigan Employment Relations Commission, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Michigan Department of Civil Rights, and in state and federal courts.
Schwartz is admitted to practice in the states of Michigan and Minnesota, as well as several federal district and circuit courts. He is also admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He is a member of the Labor and Employment Section of the American Bar Association and the Employment Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan. He was an adjunct professor of law at the Ave Maria School of Law teaching collective bargaining from 2006-2009.
In 2009, Schwartz served as a member of Detroit Mayor Dave Bing’s Crisis Turnaround team, focusing on labor relations and human resource issues. He has been named one of the top lawyers in Metro Detroit by DBusiness magazine, and a Top Rated Lawyer in Labor & Employment Law by American Lawyer Media.
In addition, Butzel Long has been named a “Top Referring Firm for 2013” in the 101-200 lawyer category by Lex Mundi, a global association of 160 independent law firms. The Lex Mundi award recognizes firms that have made the greatest number of outbound referrals to other Lex Mundi members during the calendar year.
Butzel Long will be among the winners recognized at the Lex Mundi Summit and Annual Conference on May 3 in New York.
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Jackson Lewis LLP
Jackson Lewis PC is pleased to announce that Detroit shareholders Emily Petroski and Mario Johnson Roebuck and associates Tiffany Buckley-Norwood and Kimberly Yourchock were named to the list of Top Women Attorneys in Michigan by Hour Detroit magazine based on their inclusion in the edition of Michigan Super Lawyers and Rising Stars.
Petroski’s practice focuses on employment litigation, as well as counseling clients in an effort to provide effective and creative solutions to the complex array of workplace disability, leave, and health management issues faced by employers. As a member of Jackson Lewis’ Disability, Leave and Health Management Practice Group, which assists employers in meeting the legal and practical challenges posed by federal and state laws protecting injured, ill, and disabled employees, Petroski counsels clients with the goal of either avoiding litigation entirely, or otherwise improving outcomes before administrative agencies, courts and juries.
Petroski has experience advising clients and handling multi-plaintiff claims under Title VII, the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Persons With Disabilities Civil Rights Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and Michigan’s Whistleblowers’ Protection Act. Her experience includes handling charges filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, as well as successfully litigating and defending lawsuits. She also has extensive experience in alternative dispute resolution, including facilitation, mediation and arbitration.
Roebuck represents employers on the full spectrum of laws governing the workplace, including but not limited to Title VII, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Her representation includes employment advice and counseling as well as employment litigation. She has successfully defended employers of all sizes in cases brought in federal and state courts and before administrative law agencies. In addition, Roebuck is an information privacy professional, advising clients on the protection of employee data and social media issues. She is a member of the firm’s Corporate Diversity and Counseling practice group and trains employers and human resource professionals on maintaining compliance with EEO policies.
Buckley-Norwood’s practice focuses on employment litigation and counseling. She represents employers in federal and state lawsuits, administrative proceedings and appellate cases regarding FMLA leave and breach of contract, in addition to claims based on discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. She also counsels HR professionals and business leaders on best employment practices, drafts employee handbooks and agreements, conducts liability prevention training at employer worksites, and advises employers on compliance with the OFCCP’s affirmative action requirements for federal contractors. This is Buckley-Norwoord’s first year as a Super Lawyer, following four consecutive years as a Rising Star.
Yourchock focuses her practice on defending employers in single and multi-plaintiff actions in state and federal court on claims of discrimination, sexual harassment, breach of contract, retaliation, and violation of whistle-blower protections, wage and hour laws, family medical leave laws, wrongful discharge, and related tort claims. Yourchock also advises employers on issues such as best practice employment policies, disability management, reductions in force, privacy in the workplace, terminations, restrictive covenants, and performance management.
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Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss, P.C.
Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer, & Weiss PC announced that PaymentsSource, the leading information resource for news, trends and analysis in the payments industry, has honored Jaffe attorney and partner Holli Targan as one of the year’s Most Influential Women in the Payments Industry. Jaffe CEO Bill Sider made the announcement.
Targan was honored at a reception on April 22 during the 26th Annual Card Forum & Expo in Orlando, Fla. Selected for her achievements in a traditionally male dominated industry, Targan is one of only 20 women recognized for helping redefine the way people and businesses handle money.
Targan serves as chairperson of Jaffe’s Electronic Payments practice group. With decades of experience, she specializes in the legal issues surrounding payments, including card processing, mobile payments, ATM, cash advance, ACH and stored-value systems, both domestically and internationally. She handles mergers and acquisitions, strategy development, contract negotiation, and state, federal and card brand regulatory compliance issues.
A recognized leader in the industry, she is a past president of Washington, D.C.-based Electronic Transactions Association (ETA), and served on the ETA board for 11 years. She has also served as chair of the ETA Government Relations and Certified Payments Professional Credentialing Commission.
In addition, Targan co-founded and is a board member of W.net, Women Networking in Electronic Transactions, which develops leaders within the payments industry and provides opportunities to empower women to reach their full professional potential. Serving approximately 300 members, W.net’s national and regional programs focus on professional and leadership development, networking and business opportunities, mentoring and peer support, championing diversity and positioning women for greater success.
Targan also regularly writes at ElectronicPaymentsLaw.com, a blog she helped launch to keep the payments industry informed of the evolving legal landscape.
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The Health Law Partners, PC
Clinton Mikel, a partner at healthcare law firm The Health Law Partners, presented and moderated a national CLE webinar titled “You Mean HIPAA Applies to Lawyers? Keeping Data Safe, Clients Happy and Your License Secure.” The webinar, presented on April 22, was sponsored by Center for Professional Development, the American Bar Association (ABA) Health Law Section and Commission on Law and Aging. Founding Shareholder Adrienne Dresevic made the announcement.
The webinar advised lawyers on the ethical legal duties to keep client information confidential and safe, and outlined the foundational background of HIPAA and HITECH. As a result of the HITECH Act, lawyers who practice in many areas of law must comply with the federally regulated provisions of the HIPAA Security Rule, Privacy Rule, and Enforcement Rule. In addition to serving as a speaker/moderator, Mikel provided insight on HIPAA security basics, key terms and business obligations to nearly 2,600 participants from across the country.
Mikel serves as chair of the ABA eHealth, Privacy and Security Interest Group and vice chair of the Publications Committee. He practices in all areas of health care law, garnering critical attention in state and federal health information privacy compliance and telehealth/telemedicine matters. A frequent speaker and author in these areas of law, Mikel routinely holds educational sessions for clients interested in telemedicine and the legalities surrounding this new and growing area of health care.
Mikel received his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School, and completed his undergraduate degree at Cornell University.
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Brooks Kushman P.C.
Brooks Kushman PC shareholder and attorney Kristin Murphy has been appointed to the Inforum Center for Leadership’s inGAGE ™Advisory Council.
InGAGE™ is Inforum’s strategy to position Michigan as the Midwest hub for high-growth women entrepreneurs. InGAGE™ helps connect highly-skilled women with the innovation-based economy through innovation, networking and investments.
“I am honored to join the inGAGE™ Advisory Council,” said Murphy. “I look forward to applying my legal and engineering background to helping other women interested in technology find the connections and investments they need to succeed in this competitive industry.”
Murphy is the chair of Brooks Kushman’s IP Due Diligence practice. In her role, she counsels companies, venture capitalists, and investors by helping them evaluate the viability of patent portfolio assets and properly understand the strengths and weaknesses of the intellectual property assets which enables them to make critical investment decisions.
Murphy earned her law degree from the University of New Hampshire and a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Western New England University.
In addition to her new role with the inGAGE™ Advisory Council, Murphy will continue as the immediate past president of the Women’s Bar Association of Oakland County and president of the Michigan Intellectual Property Law Association. Murphy also currently serves on the Western New England University Board of Trustees and the Board of Trustees advisory council of The Pink Fund, a Michigan-based charity aiding women and men battling breast cancer.
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Brooks Kushman P.C.
Building upon the firm’s expertise, Brooks Kushman P.C. has hired Gary Donohue as a senior attorney.
Prior to joining Brooks Kushman, Donohue oversaw all aspects pertaining to trademarks, copyrights and patents for Ally Financial as Intellectual Property Counsel. In this position, he was responsible for the company’s international trademark portfolio, patent litigation and the selection and management of outside counsel, which also included providing critical legal counsel during the rebranding from GMAC to Ally.
Prior to his work as intellectual property counsel at Ally, Donohue served as in-house counsel and as an attorney for GMAC Insurance Holdings, where he provided counsel on general business and insurance matters, which included providing legal support during the multi-billion dollar sale of GMAC.
Donohue earned law degrees from Wayne State University Law School and Thomas M. Cooley Law School, and a Bachelor of Arts from Michigan State University.
He is a member of the State Bar of Michigan as well as the International Trademark Association.
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Judicial Tenure Commission
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder recently announced the appointment of Missy Spickler, of Bloomfield Hills, to the Judicial Tenure Commission.
The commission works to ensure the integrity of the judicial process and preserve public confidence in the courts. It investigates complaints of judicial misconduct or incapacity, and recommends disciplinary action.
Spickler is a managing director at Merrill Lynch and founder of The Spickler Group. She has more than three decades experience in the financial services industry, previously working as a Merrill Lynch financial adviser. Spickler was recognized in Barron’s Top 1,200 Advisors by State, named to Barron’s Top 100 Women Financial Advisors in 2012 and 2013, and has been voted by Hour Magazine as a 5-Star Wealth Manager.
She previously worked as an undercover agent for the Michigan Attorney General. Spickler earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Michigan State University. She replaces Brenda Lawrence.
Spickler will serve a three-year term expiring Dec. 31, 2016, and her appointment is not subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.
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Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP
Sarah L. Baumgartner has joined Honigman, Miller, Schwartz, and Cohn LLP as an attorney in its Real Estate Department and is located in the firm’s Detroit office.
Baumgartner will focus her practice on commercial real estate transactions, including acquisitions, sales, financing and leasing. While earning her bachelor’s degree, she interned at the White House in the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. In addition, Baumgartner interned at the Unites States Embassy in San Jose, Costa Rica in the Political/Economic Section while earning a master’s degree.
She earned a law degree from the University of Michigan Law School and an M.P.P. from the University of Michigan, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. Baumgartner earned a B.A. in political science and Spanish from Hope College. She is admitted to practice in New York and her admittance to practice in Michigan is pending.
Baumgartner joins Honigman from Latham & Watkins LLP’s New York office.
