Legal People

Clement and Hurst PLC is proud to announce the addition of Abril Valdes as an associate attorney. Valdes is fluent in Spanish and will continue to represent represents clients in the areas of immigration, family law, and criminal defense.

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Bonnie Mayfield, a member of Dykema’s Litigation and Labor & Employment practices, served as a featured speaker at the 11th annual POWER: Opening Doors for Women Conference in Chicago on Thursday, June 11.

The theme of this year’s conference was “Shared Responsibility: Women and Men for Gender Equality.” The event featured economists, sociologists, and corporate leaders—women and men—discussing the shared responsibility of gender equality.

Mayfield is the author of “Succeeding Despite the Crash, Burn & Microinequities” which teaches how individuals can deal with and overcome microaggressions and microinequities and achieve success.

Microaggressions are everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs, or insults—intentional or not—which communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative messages to target persons based solely upon their marginalized group membership. Microinequities are the byproducts of microaggressions and are only potential barriers to success if the recipient internalizes them.

Mayfield, who is a sought after speaker, was also a featured panelist at the Corporate Counsel Women of Color One-Day Law Firm Associates Career Strategies Conference, which took place at the New York Hilton in April. Mayfield was a co-presenter of a session titled “Building a Book of Business – A Step-by-Step Pitch Simulation.” She also discussed with attendees how to achieve success and overcome microaggressions and microinequities.

Mayfield, who is a trial and appellate lawyer, has won a series of victories for various clients. She represents clients in labor and employment, product liability, and commercial matters. Mayfield also is a member of Dykema’s National Trial Team.

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Donald P. DeNault Jr., a shareholder with the firm of O’Reilly Rancilio PC, became the 87th president of the Macomb County Bar Association for a one year term beginning July 1.

DeNault follows in the footsteps of two other members of the firm, the late Paul O’Reilly, a founding member of the firm, and Charles Turnbull, a current shareholder of the firm, in serving as the leader of the nearly 1,400-member bar association, the third largest voluntary bar association in the state.

DeNault is a graduate of Wayne State University Law School and has served the Macomb County Bar Association for the past 6 years as a board member, treasurer, secretary, and president-elect.  He focuses his practice in municipal law, school law, and litigation.

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Honigman, Miller, Schwartz, and Cohn LLP recently received a Turnaround Atlas Award for its role in the City of Detroit’s Chapter 9 Plan of Reorganization. The Plan of Reorganization was named the “Turnaround of the Year.” The annual Turnaround Atlas Awards honor landmark deals, industry leaders, influential professionals and outstanding firms of the year from the restructuring and turnaround communities worldwide. Global M&A Network, a diversified information and digital media company, presents the awards. Accepting the award on behalf of Honigman at the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois, were firm partners Judy B. Calton and Scott B. Kitei.

Honigman served as lead counsel for The Detroit Institute of Arts throughout the City’s Chapter 9 bankruptcy case. The firm advanced the DIA’s position that the museum art collection could not be used to satisfy municipal debts because the art collection was held in charitable trust and public trust and because donors had placed transfer and sale restrictions on artwork that were enforceable under Chapter 9.

Honigman also represented the DIA in the negotiation and consummation of the Grand Bargain, which was approved by the court. The Grand Bargain involved: (1) the contributions of $366 million by local and national foundations, $100 million by the DIA (through the support of foundations, corporations and individual donors), and $350 million by the State of Michigan; (2) the conveyance by the City of Detroit to the DIA of all of the City’s interests in all museum assets, including the DIA’s encyclopedic art collection and building; and (3) the commitment by the DIA to hold the museum assets in trust for the benefit of the residents of the City of Detroit, counties of Macomb, Oakland and Wayne, and the State of Michigan in perpetuity. 

More than 35 Honigman attorneys and staff helped guide the DIA through the City’s bankruptcy, including representatives of the following disciplines: 1) bankruptcy; 2) corporate; 3) government relations; 4) litigation; 5) mergers and acquisitions; 6) non-profit; 7) real estate; 8) tax; and 9) trusts and estates.

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Hall, Render, Killian, Heath, & Lyman is pleased to announce attorney Matthew Quardokus has joined the firm’s Michigan office.

Hall, Render, Killian, Heath, & Lyman is a national health law firm with offices in Denver, Detroit, Indianapolis, Louisville, Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

Quardokus practices health care law with a focus on general corporate matters and contracting.  He received his undergraduate degree from the Western Michigan
University Haworth College of Business in 2003 and his law degree from the Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School in 2014.

Quardokus is admitted to practice in Michigan and is a member of the American Health Lawyers Association and the State Bar of Michigan.

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Plunkett Cooney healthcare attorney Marta J. Hoffman was recently appointed by the American Health Lawyers Association (AHLA) Board of Directors to serve as a vice chair of the national organization’s Hospital and Health Systems Practice Group.

“It’s an honor to be selected for this position,” said Hoffman, a senior member of the Healthcare Industry Group of Plunkett Cooney. “The AHLA is an outstanding organization, and I look forward to the opportunity to working with my colleagues to make the Hospital and Health Systems Practice Group even stronger.” 

The American Health Lawyers Association is the nation’s largest, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) educational organization devoted to legal issues in the healthcare field. Based in Washington, D.C., the association has more than 12,500 members. The Hospital and Health Systems Practice Group is the AHLA’s second largest practice group with over 2,200 members nationwide.

In her role as vice chair, Hoffman will head the group’s Publications Committee. The committee is responsible for publishing articles, white papers and other materials that are disseminated to the entire AHLA organization.

Hoffman is actively involved with the AHLA. In 2014, she was selected into its leadership program, and she has contributed to numerous publications. She was a contributing author of the 340B (drug discount) toolkit published on AHLA’s website for its membership, she contributed to several of AHLA’s public interest publications for active duty military, and she was a contributing author and editor of “Institutional Review Boards: A Primer,” published by AHLA in 2010. She is currently co-authoring a chapter for “Representing Hospitals and Health Systems,” which will be published by the AHLA in 2016.

Hoffman, who works in Plunkett Cooney’s Bloomfield Hills office, is licensed to practice in Michigan and Ohio. A former in-house attorney for two large multi-hospital and healthcare systems, her private practice includes work in the areas of healthcare, corporate law, and employment law. She represents a variety of healthcare clients, including hospitals, physicians, nonprofit corporations, extended care facilities, ambulance companies, and Federally-Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs).

Hoffman has experience in the areas of corporate healthcare, regulatory matters, physician and physician practice related issues, teaching hospital and faculty group arrangements, service line arrangements, physician and mid-level provider employment agreements, recruitment agreements, leases, graduate medical education, ambulatory surgery center matters, capital acquisition and leasing, clinical research and IRBs, managed care and finance issues, compliance, HIPAA/HITECH and privacy related rules, risk management, and recipient rights issues.

In addition to her involvement in the AHLA, Hoffman recently chaired the leadership council of the Healthcare Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan. She is also a member of the Michigan Society of Health Care Risk Management.

Prior to pursuing her legal career, Hoffman worked for 12 years as a registered nurse, specializing in critical care, emergency nursing and hospital supervision of nursing and other staff. She received her associate degree from Monroe County Community College in 1981 and went on to receive her undergraduate degree from the University of Toledo in 1988. She received her law degree in 1992 from the University of Toledo College of Law.

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Bodman PLC attorney Marc M. Bakst has been appointed to serve on the Jewish Family Service (JFS) of Metropolitan Detroit Board of Directors for a three year term.

Bakst has been a member of the JFS Finance Committee since 2014, and will remain on that committee.

Founded in 1928, JFS is a non-sectarian, non-profit health and social services organization providing compassionate support to community members in all phases of life.

JFS provides a wide range of community services, including working with older adults to provide help with home care, transportation, and meals, and working with individuals and families to provide counsel and services in the areas of health care, mental health counseling, immigration and citizenship, and translation services.

Bakst practices in Bodman’s Detroit office where he represents clients in the areas of creditors’ rights, bankruptcy, reorganizations, and insolvency. He regularly represents secured and unsecured creditors, debtors, trustees, and creditors’ committees in loan workout and other negotiations and in state and federal courts.

In addition, The City of Birmingham has reappointed Bodman attorney Wendy L. Zabriskie to a 3-year term on its Brownfield Redevelopment Authority.

The Brownfield Redevelopment Authority was established by the City of Birmingham to promote the redevelopment and reuse of commercial and industrial property that is environmentally contaminated, blighted, or obsolete. The Authority may implement redevelopment plans and use tax increment financing to assist with the remediation and redevelopment of eligible sites.

A member and former co-chair of Bodman’s Banking Practice Group, Zabriskie has more than twenty years of experience representing banks in the structuring, negotiation, and documentation of commercial real estate loans. She represents banks in complex, multi-million dollar real estate transactions involving commercial properties located throughout the United States. She also advises banks on middle market loan transactions with borrowers in the automotive, manufacturing, health care, technology, leasing, and service industries.

Zabriskie is based in Bodman’s Troy office. She is listed as one of Michigan’s leading banking and finance attorneys in Chambers USA 2015. She is also listed in The Best Lawyers in America 2015 under Banking and Finance Law and in Michigan Super Lawyers 2014 under Banking Law and as one of the Top 50 women attorneys in Michigan.

In 2014, DBusiness magazine named her a “Top Lawyer” in Real Estate and Banking.

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The shareholders at the law firm of Dean & Fulkerson have elected James M. Dworman as president of the firm. He chairs the firm’s Executive Committee which includes Executive Vice President Janet Lanyon and Curt Mistele.

Dworman has more than 27 years of experience as a business litigator and adviser to businesses and individuals engaged in commercial and real estate litigation (including landlord/tenant and collections), appeals, business and entertainment law. Within the firm he has served on the firm’s Executive Committee for four years, and has held other leadership positions including chairman of the Litigation practice group.

Dworman is listed in The Best Lawyers in America® for Commercial Litigation, was selected as a Top Rated Lawyer in Commercial Litigation by American Lawyer Media, and is listed as a Top Lawyer in DBusiness magazine. In addition, he is an adjunct professor at Western Michigan University Cooley Law School.

“Our firm is growing and we are stronger than ever in our ability to provide the best legal services to our clients,” said Dworman.

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Aghogho O. Edevbie, associate attorney at Butzel Long law firm, has been elected to the State Bar of Michigan’s Representative Assembly in the 3rd Circuit – Wayne County.

The assembly is the final policy-making body of the State Bar and structured to reflect the lawyer population from the state’s judicial districts.

Edevbie concentrates his practice in the areas of business and commercial litigation.

While in law school, Edevbie interned with the Michigan Supreme Court and with  U.S. District Court Judge Arthur Tarnow, Eastern District of Michigan. After law school, he traveled to Tanzania where he taught civics at St. Peter Claver High School in Dodoma and climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Edevbie currently serves on the steering committee of the Jesuit Alumni and Friends of Detroit and is an active member of the Detroit Metropolitan Bar and Wolverine Bar associations.

Edevbie is a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School (2012) and the University of Michigan (2008).