Goodman Acker P.C.
Goodman Acker PC, the Southfield-based personal injury law firm celebrating its 20th year of serving Metro Detroit, recently announced the recent addition of three new attorneys to the firm — Charles W. Wojno, Johnny A. Hamood, and Eboney R. Hughes.
Wojno joined Goodman Acker as an attorney where he is responsible for all aspects of personal injury practice. He comes from Wigod & Falzon PC where he worked as an associate attorney and handled a docket of more than 100 personal injury cases in litigation. Prior to that, he spent the first 20 years of his legal career with Berger, Miller, & Strager PC where he was the first law clerk ever hired as an attorney in the firm’s more than 30-year history.
A graduate of University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, Wojno actively supports his community serving as a member of the Grosse Ile Township Board of Zoning Appeals and the Grosse Ile Athletic Boosters. He also is a member of the Knights of Columbus at Sacred Heart Catholic Church on Grosse Ile.
Hamood joined Goodman Acker from Garan, Lucow, Miller PC. Specializing in civil and personal injury litigation, Hamood is responsible for representing clients in a variety of personal injury matters.
Hamood earned his law degree from Wayne State University Law School. He is an active member of the Arab American Chamber of Commerce and the Arab American Bar Association.
Hughes is a welcome addition to Goodman Acker’s Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Team where she is responsible for processing PIP claims and assisting with personal injury litigation files. Prior to joining Goodman Acker, Hughes worked as a sole practitioner.
Hughes received her law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing and her undergraduate degree from Wayne State University.
Additionally, Wojno, Hamood and Hughes all are members of the Michigan Association for Justice.
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Wilson Elser
National law firm Wilson Elser is pleased to announce that John T. Eads III has joined the AmLaw 200 firm as a partner, bolstering the firm’s national footprint.
The office opened on April 17 and is staffed with Eads, regional managing partner; Darice Weber, Of Counsel; Concetta Moceri-Louzon, associate; Carol Smith, paralegal; and three support staff.
With more than 24 years of experience handling high-exposure medical malpractice cases, Eads has applied his understanding of medicine to the handling of catastrophic injury matters, defending claims in trucking, product liability and environmental matters. He also handles general liability, legal malpractice defense, business and employment disputes, contract actions and municipal/school liability matters.
Eads’ client list encompasses regional and national companies, many of which are household names, and includes insurers, commercial businesses and trucking companies.
According to Eads, Wilson Elser’s national platform and shared practice areas will enable him to provide his clients with high-quality representation in jurisdictions where he is not admitted to practice.
Eads is included in Michigan’s Super Lawyers (2006-2014), a 2013 Top Rated Lawyer in Insurance Law, a Top Lawyer for Detroit Business and one of Michigan’s Top 25 Leaders in Law by Michigan Lawyers Weekly. In addition, he has been nominated as a Fellow of the Michigan Bar Foundation for his “outstanding legal ability and devotion to community.”
Eads is admitted to practice in Michigan and Illinois, and is licensed in the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts in Michigan and Maryland. He is also licensed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Eads is a member of numerous bar associations and organizations, including the American Board of Trial Advocates (he was one of the youngest attorneys invited to join); Claims and Litigation Management Alliance; DRI; Litigation Counsel of America; National Retail & Restaurant Defense Association; Shamrock Bar Association; The Trial Law Institute; Trucking Industry Defense Association; and Transportation Lawyers Association.
Eads earned his B.A. degree from Hillsdale College (1987) and his law degree from University of Richmond Law School (1990).
The addition of Wilson Elser’s Michigan office brings the firm’s U.S. count to 26.
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Dickinson Wright PLLC
Dickinson Wright PLLC attorney Monica Labe has been elected as a Fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL).
Labe is a member in the firm’s Troy office and a member of the firm’s Management Group. Prior to holding this position, she was the Practice Department Manager for the Real Estate and Environmental practice groups at the firm for several years. She has experience representing large corporations, developers, real estate private equity firms, lenders and real estate investment companies in the acquisition, development, leasing, financing, construction and disposition of industrial, office, retail, mixed-use and entertainment projects throughout the U.S.
Labe is a recognized leader in her field by Michigan Super Lawyers, Chambers USA, Best Lawyers in America and was named a 2012 “Women in the Law” honoree by Michigan Lawyers Weekly. She is a member of the State Bars of Michigan and California as well as the Detroit and Oakland County Bar Associations. Labe received her B.A. from the University of Michigan and her law degree from Northwestern University School of Law.
In addition, Dickinson Wright attorney Brian R. Balow has been selected to serve on the inaugural HIMSS mHealth Committee. His tenure on the committee will begin on July 1.
Balow is a member in Dickinson Wright’s Troy office where he focuses his practice in the areas of information technology, technology transactions, corporate governance, international, intellectual property, mergers and acquisitions, healthcare, and franchise and distribution. He has worked with Fortune 100 clients over the last 15 years on IT-related matters, including the drafting and negotiation of agreements, formulation and implementation of policies and procedures for the management of IT (including outsourcing-related issues), counselling and advising on privacy and data security issues, and assisting clients in favorably resolving disputes with IT vendors (including disputes with the BSA and SIIA).
Balow has spoken and written extensively on healthcare IT and telemedicine issues, and is a member of the mHIMSS Legal/Policy Task force and MTAM’s mHealth Advisory Council. Balow contributed the chapter titled “Allocation and Mitigation of Liability” to the ABA Health Law Section’s “E-Health, Privacy, and Security Law” treatise. Balow regularly counsels clients across the United States on heath IT and telemedicine-related matters. Balow received his law degree from the University of Georgia School of Law.
HIMSS is a global, cause-based, not-for-profit organization focused on better health through information technology.
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Bodman PLC
Bodman attorney James J. Carty has joined the University of Toledo College of Law Dean’s Advisory Board.
The University of Toledo College of Law Dean’s Advisory Board was formed more than 10 years ago to advise the dean on issues affecting the law school. The board is comprised of law school alumni from around the country.
Carty is a member of Bodman’s Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution Practice Group. He represents clients involved in complex commercial litigation matters. Before becoming an attorney, he worked as a print and broadcast journalist. He was most recently a freelance sports correspondent for The New York Times, covering college football and basketball while attending law school. In eight years at the Ann Arbor News, he won or shared in more than two dozen local and national journalism awards. He was one of two lead writers on an investigative project into athletics and academics at the University of Michigan that was an entry for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for local reporting.
Carty is a graduate of the University of Toledo College of Law. He earned his undergraduate degree at Syracuse University.
Carty served as a judicial intern to United States District Court Judge George Caram Steeh III, Eastern District of Michigan.
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Corbet, Shaw, Essad, Tucciarone, & Bonasso PLLC
Christopher C. Frayer has joined Corbet, Shaw, Essad, Tucciarone, & Bonasso as an associate.
Frayer has more than a decade of experience in civil litigation focusing on insurance defense, medical malpractice defense, personal injury defense, employment law disputes, and contract and municipal law.
Frayer graduated from Thomas M. Cooley Law School and was admitted to the bar in 2001. He worked for the Office of the Florida State Attorney General before practicing with firms in Florida and Michigan. Prior to joining Corbet, Shaw, Essad, Tucciarone & Bonasso, Frayer worked for Brown, Jacobson PC in Norwich, Connecticut representing corporate clients, insurance companies and municipalities. His practice at CSETB focuses on civil litigation, concentrating on medical malpractice defense.
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The Health Law Partners, PC
Leslie A. Rojas has joined The Health Law Partners PC, a national health care law firm, as an associate in their Southfield office. Founding Partner Adrienne Dresevic made the announcement.
In this role, Rojas will focus on health care compliance with federal and state health care regulations, health information privacy and technology issues, fraud and abuse issues, and transactional and corporate aspects of health care.
Prior to joining the firm, Rojas practiced real estate, corporate and commercial litigation in Chicago. An active member of professional legal organizations, Rojas is a member of the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Michigan and the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan. She is licensed to practice in Michigan and Illinois.
Rojas, a graduate of the University of Michigan, earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology. She continued her education at Wayne State University Law School.
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Howard & Howard
Crain’s Detroit Business has named Howard & Howard attorney Evonne Xu to its 2014 class of “Twenty in Their 20s.” The program honors success at a young age, from up-and-comer entrepreneurs to young professionals who make an impact in large organizations. The celebration for the winners will take place on June 12 inside Midtown Detroit’s new Garden Theater.
Xu is a member of the Corporate Advisory Services Practice Group and concentrates her practice in the areas of automotive, manufacturing, technology and international law.
She has been successful in uniting and providing legal services to Chinese and U.S. entities involving transactions in intellectual property commercialization, real estate transactions, foreign investments, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, and labor and employment. In addition, Xu deals with domestic and international general corporate issues and provides legal opinions for tax matters.
Prior to joining Howard & Howard, Xu’s work experience included working as in-house counsel at a major Internet company in Shanghai, China and as a practicing lawyer in People’s Court in Ningbo, China.
Xu received her law degrees from Fordham University School of Law in 2012 and Shanghai University School of Law in 2011. She is a board member of the Detroit Chinese Engineers Association. Xu is licensed to practice in Michigan and New York as well as in the People’s Republic of China.
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Miller Canfield
Miller Canfield principal Matthew P. Allen recently published an article about the Securities and Exchange Commission’s new whistleblower program.
The article, “The SEC Whistleblower Program — What Employers Need to Know,” was published by the Michigan Defense Trial Counsel for its February 2014 issue of the Michigan Defense Quarterly, and by the State Bar of Michigan Business Law Section for its Spring 2014 issue of the Michigan Business Law Journal.
In the article, Allen provides an overview of the SEC’s Whistleblower rule, provides whistleblower compliance tips for employers, and an overview of how courts are interpreting and enforcing the whistleblower provisions. The article can be downloaded at the Miller Canfield website at: http://www.millercanfield.com/ resources-SECWhistleblowerProgram.html.
Allen is a business, securities, and intellectual property litigator and trial lawyer who has tried and arbitrated a wide variety of disputes in a wide array of forums. His significant securities experience includes representing companies and individuals in securities litigation, arbitration, regulatory enforcement actions, government and regulatory investigations, and internal investigations.
Allen is licensed in Illinois, Michigan, and New York, and serves on the Michigan Business Law Section Council, as head of the MDTC Commercial Litigation Section, and as vice chair of the ABA Securities Litigation Committee.
He received his law degree from Wayne State University Law School and his B.A. from the State University of New York College at Fredonia.
In addition, Ellen K. Wu has joined Miller Canfield as an attorney in the Troy office. She joins the Corporate Group and will focus on securities and regulatory governance matters for public and private companies, joint ventures, entity formation, franchising, and mergers and acquisitions.
She will also work closely with the China Practice Group, assisting Chinese enterprises conducting business in the U.S. with general corporate matters.
Prior to joining the firm, she interned with U.S. District Court Judge Victoria A. Roberts, Eastern District of Michigan, and with Massachusetts Superior Court Judge Carol S. Ball. She also worked with patent counsel and general counsel of Avid Technology, Inc. in Burlington, Mass., and in the entertainment law division at Duane Morris LLP in Boston.
She is a member of the Women’s Law Association of Michigan, Michigan Intellectual Property Law Association, American Intellectual Property Law Association, and Michigan Asian Pacific American Bar Association.
She received her law degree (2013) from Northeastern University School of Law and her B.A. (2010) from the University of Michigan.
She is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and English.
