Legal People

Potestivo & Associates PC is pleased to announce the hiring of Caitlin Cipri, an associate attorney who has joined the firm’s Foreclosure Department in the Rochester Hills office.

Cipri graduated with a B.A. in Political Science from Michigan State University in 2010. She then went on to complete her law degree at Loyola University – Chicago in 2014.

Cipri previously worked as an attorney preparing the documents necessary for various transfers of real estate. This experience has made her well-equipped for working with both the Foreclosure and REO Departments at Potestivo & Associates PC.

Outside of the office, Cipri enjoys volunteering for Wills for Heroes which is program that provides legal documents, such as wills and powers of attorney, for first responders free of charge.

In addition, Potestivo & Associates PC is pleased to announce the hiring of Nicholas J. Tatro. He joined the attorney team on Monday, May 11. Tatro is located at the firm’s Rochester Hills office as an associate
attorney primarily serving the Litigation Department.

Tatro completed his B.A. in History at DePaul University in 2005. He went on to earn his law degree at Michigan State University College of Law in 2009.

Tatro served as a lead attorney to represent employers in workers’ compensation cases. His experience demonstrates that he is well-suited to the legal needs and objectives of Potestivo & Associates PC.

Tatro is a member of the State Bar of Illinois and the State Bar of Michigan. He has also been admitted to the General Bar of the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

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Brooks Kushman is pleased to announce five of the firm’s shareholders have been named “IP Stars” by Managing Intellectual Property Magazine.

Brooks Kushman attorneys recognized as IP Stars by the publication are President Mark Cantor and Shareholders Frank Angileri, Elizabeth Janda, Robert Tuttle, and Sangeeta Shah. All attorneys have been named the list of IP Stars since 2013.

Cantor is one of the founders of Brooks Kushman, and has been instrumental in the firm’s growth. He is co-chair of the Brooks Kushman litigation practice, focusing on complex litigation matters in all technology areas.

Angileri is co-chair of Brooks Kushman’s Post-Grant Proceedings practice, and focuses on IP litigation. He has successfully tried patent, trademark, trade secret and copyright cases in federal courts nationwide, the courts of appeals for the sixth and federal circuits, and the International Trade Commission. Angileri was also named Michigan’s IP “Litigator of the Year” by Managing IP.

Janda serves as chair of Brooks Kushman’s Trademark practice, managing substantial trademark portfolios both domestically and internationally in a variety of industries.

Tuttle’s practice at Brooks Kushman focuses on IP litigation. He works closely with clients across a variety of industries on litigation matters covering a variety of IP topics including patents, trademarks and trade secrets. Tuttle was named MIchigan “IP Litigator of the Year” in 2013.

Shah is Brooks Kushman’s co-chair of post grant proceedings and chief diversity officer. Her practice is primarily focused on post-grant challenges and patent opinions. She represents several Fortune 500 clients for whom she provides strategic counseling and guidance on their global IP portfolios.

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Honigman, Miller, Schwartz, and Cohn LLP adds two associates in its Detroit office. Ryan Peruski is an associate in the firm’s Insurance Department and Jordan K. Schwartz is an associate in the firm’s Corporate Department.

Peruski will focus his practice on captive insurance arrangements, international tax issues, tax controversies, and state and local tax planning matters. He will assist in the selection of the type and domicile of entities involved in captive insurance and cross-border transactions; provide advice regarding tax treaty, financial reporting and tax compliance obligations; and analyze state, federal and international tax implications of arrangements involving resident and non-resident individuals, taxable entities and tax-exempt organizations. Peruski is admitted to practice in Michigan.

He earned a law degree from Michigan State University College of Law.  Peruski received a B.B.A. in finance from Saginaw Valley State University.

He joins Honigman from Ernst and Young in Detroit where for the past four years he has worked on international tax issues.

Schwartz assists clients with mergers, acquisitions, and public and private securities offerings, including representation of issuers, underwriters and investors in initial public offerings and follow-on equity and debt offerings, venture capital and private equity investments and other private placements. He also advises clients regarding start-up company formation and financing issues, federal securities reporting requirements and corporate governance issues. Schwartz is admitted to practice in Michigan, Massachusetts, and Maine.

He earned a law degree from Suffolk University Law School. He received a B.A. in philosophy and sociology from Central Michigan University.

Schwartz joins Honigman from Dykema Gossett PLLC in Detroit where he has been an associate for the past year. Before that, he served as an associate at Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering, Hale, and Dorr LLP in Boston.

Additionally, Brian D. Wassom, a partner at Honigman, earned a “Special Service Award” for 2014-2015 from the Macomb County Bar Association for his work with Judge John Foster on the establishment and development of the Macomb County Business Court. Wassom was the first member of the advisory committee that designed the court’s pilot program in 2011. He also assisted in leading a recent review of the court’s rules and best practices.

As a member of Honigman’s Intellectual Property Department, he focuses his practice on intellectual property, privacy and First Amendment-related litigation. Wassom has experience in the areas of copyright, trademark, publicity rights and related subjects. He leads Honigman’s Social, Mobile and Emerging Media Industry Group and is knowledgeable on issues regarding social media and other evolving forms of digital communication. He authors a blog analyzing the laws governing digital media, and was recently invited to address judges from across Michigan on digital evidence issues.

Wassom is an active member of the Macomb County Bar Association and a trustee of the Macomb County Bar Foundation. He is also co-chair of the Social Media Committee for the Federal Bar Association, Eastern District of Michigan chapter.

He earned a law degree at Case Western Reserve University School of Law and a B.A. in political science and international studies from Wayne State University.

In addition, Honigman’s Judy B. Calton will be a featured speaker at the 22nd Annual Central States Bankruptcy Workshop, June 11–14, at the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa in Traverse City.

Calton will speak on “The Intersection of Ethics & Discovery (What Attorneys Need to Know).”

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Brian McKeen, managing partner of McKeen & Associates of Detroit  will co-moderate a Michigan Association for Justice (MAJ) morning seminar at Meadowbrook Golf & Country Club in Northville on Tuesday, May 26.

McKeen, the MAJ treasurer, along with, Terry Cochran, an MAJ board member, will co-moderate the seminar which will feature keynote presenter Michigan Supreme Court Justice Richard Bernstein as well as masters from the plaintiff’s bar and a judges’ panel.

The MAJ annual golf scramble will follow the seminar.