Legal People ...

Schuyler von Oeyen has joined Fink + Associates Law as an associate attorney.

Von Oeyen will work with the firm on business and commercial litigation, including individual and class actions.

Von Oeyen brings to the firm experience gained while serving as assistant regional counsel for the Social Security Administration, Office of General Counsel. Von Oeyen has also represented individuals, businesses and government entities in a wide variety of matters, including breach of contract, construction litigation, eminent domain, employment litigation, insurance disputes, and shareholder oppression actions.

Von Oeyen received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Brown University and his law degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Law. He is admitted to the bar in Michigan, Ohio, and the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan.

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Secrest Wardle partner Douglas D. Moseley, of the firm’s Troy location, has participated in an A.M. Best Company podcast discussing Michigan’s Dram Shop Act.  To listen to the podcast and read the transcript, visit http://bit.ly/1OPlSsk.

A.M. Best Company provides news, credit ratings and financial data products and services for the insurance industry.  For more information, visit http://www.ambest.com/.

Moseley is a member of Secrest Wardle’s Construction, Insurance Coverage, Motor Vehicle Litigation, and Premises Liability Practice Groups. 

In addition, Michael P. Salhaney has joined Secrest Wardle as a partner in the firm’s Troy office.  Salhaney is a member of the firm’s Municipal Practice Group. 

Prior to joining Secrest Wardle, Salhaney practiced in the Metro Detroit area as city attorney for the City of Birmingham, City of Orchard Lake Village, and various cable television consortiums such as the Birmingham Area Cable Board and the Intergovernmental Cable Communications Authority (ICCA), as well as various school districts including Dearborn Public Schools.  Salhaney also practiced criminal defense, child custody, alimony, child support, and divorce and separation matters.

Salhaney is a former Oakland County assistant prosecuting attorney, having served the county for 10 years.  While an assistant Oakland County prosecutor, Salhaney served in almost every department of the Prosecutor’s Office and spent the majority of his career there prosecuting in just about every district court in Oakland County, as well as serving in the circuit court handling felony trials.

Salhaney is a member of the State Bar of Michigan and the Oakland County Bar Association.  He is a Fellow with the Oakland County Bar Association.  Salhaney is currently a member of the OCBA Municipal Committee and the Case Evaluation Committee. 

Salhaney has worked for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Michigan since 1998, and has participated in the Wish-A-Mile 300 Mile Bicycle Tour for the past 18 years.  He is currently a member of the Wolverine Sports Club cycling team as well as the Cadieux/TeamO2 cycling clubs in Oakland County. 

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Brooks Kushman is pleased to announce that Isaac Slutsky has been promoted to shareholder of the firm.

Slutsky’s practice focuses on the preparation and prosecuting of patent applications, in a wide range of industries including computer software, consumer electronics, automotive, telecommunications and medical devices.

Isaac also advises clients on complying with open source license terms and obligations. He has an in-depth understanding of various license agreements and works alongside clients to create compliance strategies.

Prior to becoming a patent attorney, Slutsky was a software developer at a leading computer technology corporation. Isaac received his Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Michigan and his law degree from Wayne State University Law School. He is a member of the Intellectual Property Owners Association, American Intellectual Property Law Association, and the Oakland County Bar Association.

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Bodman PLC attorney Jeffrey G. Raphelson, of the firm’s Detroit office, has been elected president of the American Constitution Society’s Michigan Chapter.

The American Constitution Society is a national legal organization that promotes the vitality of the United States Constitution. The organization works to further progressive values by shaping public debate through the creation of public programs and materials, building strong personal networks to encourage and nurture the next generation of progressive lawyers, judges, and policymakers, and making a difference in legal and public policy debate to ensure that the law works to improve the lives of American citizens.

Raphelson, a member of Bodman’s Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution, Automotive/Industrial, Intellectual Property groups, focuses his practice on intellectual property litigation and commercial litigation, particularly related to the automotive industry. He also dedicates a substantial amount of time to general commercial cases such as contract disputes, finance and banking litigation, corporate governance and dissolution matters, dealer and franchise termination, and other corporate law disputes.

Raphelson is listed in Benchmark Litigation 2016 as a State Litigation Star, in Michigan Super Lawyers 2015 under Business Litigation, and in The Best Lawyers of America 2016 under Commercial Litigation. He is AV® Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell and is listed as a “Top Lawyer” by DBusiness magazine.

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An article written by Wayne State University Law School Assistant Professor Kirsten Matoy Carlson was cited in an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Carlson’s article, “Congress and Indians,” studies Indian-related legislation introduced and enacted by Congress from 1975 to 2013. It aims to increase understanding of the amount and kinds of Indian-related legislation enacted by Congress.

The Supreme Court case is Nebraska v. Parker, which concerns whether Congress intended to change the boundaries of the Omaha reservation in an 1882 Act. The language of the act suggests that Congress didn’t alter the reservation boundaries, Carlson said, but the petitioners contend that the court should. Oral arguments in the case are scheduled to begin Wednesday, Jan. 20.

Carlson’s article was cited in an amicus brief for historical and legal scholars in support of the respondents.

At Wayne Law, Carlson teaches American Indian Law and Civil Procedure. She serves on the State Bar of Michigan Standing Committee on American Indian Law.

Her research focuses on legal advocacy and law reform, with particular attention on the various strategies used by Indian nations and indigenous groups to reform federal Indian law and policy effectively. Carlson’s research integrates traditional legal analysis with social science methodologies for studying legal and political advocacy.

From May 2014 through July 2016, she has a National Science Foundation Law and Social Science Program grant to fund her research project, “Legal Mobilization, Rights Claims, and Federal Indian Policy Reform.”

Carlson previously received a National Science Foundation dissertation research grant to study the constitutional entrenchment of aboriginal and treaty rights in Canada. As a Fulbright Scholar, she researched attitudes toward the Waitangi Tribunal and the treaty claims settlement process in New Zealand.

Her articles have been published in the University of Colorado Law Review, American Indian Law Review, Georgia State Law Review, Michigan Law Review and Michigan State Law Review.

Prior to joining Wayne Law, she advocated nationally and internationally to protect the rights of Indian nations as a staff attorney at the Indian Law Resource Center. She led the center’s advocacy efforts to restore criminal jurisdiction to Indian nations to end violence against women in Indian Country.

Carlson earned a bachelor of arts degree in international studies from Johns Hopkins University; master of arts degree in Maaori studies from the University of Wellington, New Zealand; and law degree and doctorate in political science from the University of Michigan.

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Fishman Stewart PLLC is pleased to announce that Michael T. Fluhler has been named as a partner of the firm. 

Fluhler joined Fishman Stewart (formerly Rader, Fishman & Grauer) in 2014 as an associate attorney. He is the chair of the firm’s Medical Device and Life Science practice group. Michael is a registered patent attorney with experience in patent strategy, prosecution, licensing, and monetization. His practice is focused on helping his clients develop IP strategies to build and drive portfolios toward value in competitive and parallel markets worldwide. Fluhler prepares and prosecutes mechanical, electrical, and software patent applications in the automotive, aerospace, medical, and telecommunications industries.

Fluhler has been recognized by Michigan Lawyers Weekly as one of the top 30 “Up & Coming Lawyers” for 2015.  He serves as co-chair of the Michigan Chapter of the Licensing Executives Society (LES), secretary of the Aerospace and Transportation Committee and chair of the Medical Devices Subsector for LES.  Fluhler also sits on of the membership committee of the Detroit Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) and is actively involved with the Licensing and Management of IP Assets committee of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA).

Fluhler earned his Bachelor in Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University and his law degree from Chicago – Kent College of Law.