Legal People ...

Honigman, Miller, Schwartz, and Cohn LLP associate Elizabeth C. Lamoste was elected to the board of directors of the Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote – Michigan. This is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization committed to justice and equity for the Asian American community through grassroots mobilization, civic engagement, leadership development and coalition building.

Lamoste, a member of the firm’s Litigation Department, practices complex commercial litigation, and is a member of the Insurance Recovery and Advisory, e-Discovery and Information Management, and Data Security and Privacy Litigation practice groups.

In 2015, Lamoste earned the Detroit Young Professionals’ Vanguard Award. This honor recognizes the outstanding talent of 15 of the region’s young professionals and entrepreneurs who are making a difference in our community.

She earned a law degree from the University of Michigan School of Law and a B.A. in sociology and political science from Columbia University.

Honigman is also pleased to announce that two of its local partners, J. Adam Rothstein and Richard S. Soble, have been recognized as BTI Client Service All-Stars for 2016.

Rothstein, located in Honigman’s Bloomfield Hills office, is a partner in and vice chair of the firm’s Real Estate Department. He also is leader of Honigman’s practice groups for retail and hospitality and lodging. In Rothstein’s national practice, he advises clients located throughout the United States engaging in transactions from coast to coast.  He represents a wide range of real estate owners, operators and users in various real estate and other business transactions.

Rothstein’s clients include shopping center, hotel, multifamily, self-storage and office building owners and operators, including publicly traded real estate investment trusts, as well as some of the largest privately owned real estate operators in the United States. He earned a law degree from the University of Michigan Law School and a B.A. in economics and political science from the University of Michigan.

Soble, located in the firm’s Bloomfield Hills office, is a partner in the firm’s Tax Practice Group. He has more than 30 years of experience in structuring business ventures to accomplish clients’ business goals and representing their interests in tax adjudications, audits and appeals.

Soble focuses his practice on advising individuals and businesses on a vast range of federal income tax issues and counsels them in planning to minimize their taxation on day-to-day commercial operations and in transactions. He earned a law degree from Yale Law School and a B.A. from the University of Michigan.

In addition, Richard J. Burstein, a real estate partner at Honigman,  has been named to the 2015 Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame by Midwest Real Estate News. Burstein is one of only four attorneys among the 95 professionals named this year. The vast majority are brokers and developers.

Burstein, who has more than 45 years of legal experience, represents national and regional commercial real estate developers and tenants throughout the United States. He advises clients on transactions, investments and the development of regional and community shopping centers, office complexes and industrial parks, urban redevelopment projects, multifamily residential developments and the structuring and creation of real estate investment trusts (REITs). He represents clients in complicated projects that often involve the negotiation and documentation of joint business ventures, combinations of public and private partnerships, and the cooperation of large numbers of participants, sometimes in distant parts of the country.

Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, has recognized Burstein as a top attorney since 2005.  In addition, he has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America since 1995 and Michigan Super Lawyers since 2007. Burstein has been named in Who’s Who of International Business Lawyers and Who’s Who of International Real Estate Lawyers. He also is a member of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers.

Burstein earned a law degree from Wayne State University Law School and a B.A. in economics from the University of Michigan.

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Benchmark Litigation has named Bodman PLC the winner of its 2016 Michigan Litigation Award. It is the third consecutive year that Bodman has earned the award.

The selection was announced at a national award ceremony held on February 11 at the Essex House in New York. Bodman was chosen from a shortlist of four of Michigan’s largest and most prestigious business law firms. State winners are chosen based on client and peer feedback and an analysis of case matters held during the prior year, including potential precedent set or verdicts with notably high dollar amounts at stake.

“Our Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution Group had another outstanding year in 2015,” said Bodman Chairman Ralph E. McDowell. “To win this award for the third straight year is a testament to the outstanding client service our litigation attorneys provide day in and day out. I applaud them for this achievement.”

Bodman’s Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution Practice Group serves clients ranging from local entrepreneurs to global conglomerates.  Its attorneys appear before state and federal courts and non-judicial forums such as national and international arbitral panels.  Client issues vary from breach of contract claims to antitrust, securities, professional liability, and other complex matters.  The group’s expertise spans many industries including accounting, banking and financial services, automotive, insurance, healthcare, manufacturing, real estate and zoning, and construction, among others.

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Justin G. Klimko, president and managing shareholder of Butzel Long, received the Meritorious Service Award from the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) Detroit on February 9. Klimko is a Board Member and Secretary of ACG Detroit.

ACG is a global organization with 57 chapters and more than 14,500 members including professionals from private equity firms, corporations and lenders that invest in middle-market companies, as well as from law, accounting, investment banking and other firms that provide advisory services.

Klimko, based in the firm’s Detroit office, has experience in securities regulation, corporate financing, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and general corporate matters, areas in which he has practiced since 1980. He has received numerous awards and recognitions for business law matters and is ranked as one of Michigan’s leading corporate and M&A lawyers.

He taught corporation law for five years as an adjunct professor at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, frequently lectures and authors articles on business law subjects and has served as general editor of a treatise on Michigan Business Forms and as a contributing author for a treatise on Michigan contract law. 

Klimko is a past chair of the Business Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan. He serves as chair of the section’s Corporate Laws Committee, which prepares amendments to Michigan corporate statutes for legislative approval to keep Michigan corporate law current with modern trends and developments. 

He also is a member of the Legal Opinions Committee, the Negotiated Acquisitions Committee and the Federal Regulation of Securities Committee of the American Bar Association.

Klimko is included in the publication The Best Lawyers in America and enjoys an “AV” rating from the Martindale-Hubbell rating system. He is rated one of Michigan’s top Corporate/M&A attorneys by Chambers USA Guide of America’s Leading Lawyers for Business and is listed in Michigan Super Lawyers (Mergers and Acquisitions).

Klimko was the recipient of the 2009 Stephen H. Schulman Outstanding Business Lawyer Award from the Business Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan and was named Best Lawyers’ 2012 Lawyer of the Year in Detroit for Corporate Governance Law, 2014 Lawyer of the Year in Detroit for Corporate Law, 2015 Lawyer of the Year in Detroit for Corporate Governance Law and 2016 Lawyer of the Year in Detroit for Mergers and Acquisition Law.

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Brooks Kushman Senior Attorney Hope Shovein was featured in Michigan Lawyers Weekly’s February 5 article, “Intellectual property law is hashing things out.”

The article discusses whether hashtags can be protected as trademarks, as well as how companies can ensure they are not infringing on competitor trademarks when using hashtags.

According to Shovein, “a hashtag alone would be [used] to categorize an online discussion. For the most part, when the hashtag is being used in a Twitter discussion or on Instagram…, it’s not a trademark use.”

However, Shovein also said that there may be some situations in which hashtags can be protected as trademarks. “If a client is promoting a product and a hashtag is appearing in conjunction with that, ‘you’re going to [want to] clear them. You want to make sure you’re not infringing on your competitors’ marks.’”

Shovein focuses her practice on the procurement and enforcement of trademark rights. Hope’s work encompasses trademark clearance and prosecution, managing domestic and international trademark portfolios, drafting and negotiating agreements, preparing and responding to cease and desist letters, and representing clients in opposition and cancellation proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, as well as litigation.

In addition, Brooks Kushman Shareholder Linda Mettes has been selected to represent the firm as a member of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity’s (LCLD) 2016 class of Fellows. This landmark program identifies, trains, and focuses on the development of the industry’s next generation of professional leaders.

The LCLD Fellows Program offers participants virtual and in-person training, peer-group projects and networking opportunities with LCLD’s top leadership and industry professionals alike.

Mettes is a registered patent attorney and focuses on intellectual property litigation. She has handled cases in federal courts across the country in a wide array of technologies including mechanical, electrical, chemical and pharmaceutical.

Mettes has a law degree from Northwestern University School of Law. She has been involved with mentoring and teaching during her entire career and is currently an adjunct professor at Michigan State University teaching patent litigation.

Brooks Kushman also announces that Shareholder Sangeeta Shah was featured in Law360 February 10, 2016 article, “Eyes On High Court As Fed. Circ. Again Limits AIA Appeals.”

The article discusses the federal circuit’s recent decision in the case of Synopsys, Inc. v. Mentor Graphics Corporation that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board can choose to allow what claims are selected for review, and those that are not selected are not subject for appeal. This spring, the United States Supreme Court is expected to hear a similar case, known as Cuozzo, which could
open the door to appeals of PTAB decisions to institute America Invents Act reviews.

According to the article, Shah predicts the “Cuozzo decision will determine the impact of Synopsys.”

Shah is co-chair of post grant proceedings at Brooks Kushman and serves as the firm’s chief diversity officer. Her practice primarily focuses on post-grant challenges and patent opinions. She represents several Fortune 500 clients, providing strategic counseling and guidance on their global IP portfolios.

Additionally, Brooks Kushman announces that Of Counsel David C. Berry was featured in the Michigan Bar Journal’s February article, “New Pro Bono Opportunities for Michigan Intellectual Property Attorneys.”

The article discusses a variety of opportunities for Michigan intellectual property attorneys to offer pro bono legal services. There are a number of opportunities and organizations that help IP attorneys in the state find pro bono projects that are relevant to their practice, including the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s pro bono program, the Michigan Patent Pro Bono Project and Creative Many Michigan’s Lawyers for the Creative Economy program. Brooks Kushman attorneys participate as volunteers in all three programs.

According to the article, “In reality, the need for pro bono representation is as important in IP matters as in other legal issues. Low-income and under-resourced inventors, micro-entrepreneurs, artists, art organizations and other innovators and creative producers are an important part of the fabric of Michigan’s cultural environment and community identity.”

Berry focuses his practice on patent litigation and intellectual property law in the business sector. He chairs the Steering Committee of the Michigan Patent Pro Bono Project, a regional pro bono resource created pursuant to the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act and also serves as a faculty member of the Patent Resources Group (PRG), a leading provider of legal education programs specializing in patent and intellectual property law.

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The law office of Salvatore Prescott PLLC is set to open in downtown Northville on March 7. The office founded by Jennifer Salvatore and Sarah Prescott will be located at 105 E. Main Street in the downtown.

Salvatore Prescott PLLC specializes in employment law, civil rights, and business litigation. Founding partners Salvatore and Prescott have a combined 30-plus years of experience litigating cases, advising clients and achieving significant verdicts and settlements in hotly contested, cutting edge, and high profile matters in Michigan and nationally. They also routinely counsel and advise individuals and companies through tough transitions and sensitive employment matters and work as local counsel and as co-counsel with national firms on complex employment and civil rights issues.

Salvatore is an AV-rated lawyer and a partner at Salvatore Prescott PLLC where she practices in the areas of employment, civil rights, and business litigation. Salvatore represents a wide range of individuals who are in difficult employment transitions, including executives and other professionals in employment and contract disputes.  Salvatore has handled many high profile matters involving sex harassment and other gender issues.  She also has a busy practice representing students, including in Title IX litigation and internal processes related to college sexual misconduct investigations.

A Northville native, Salvatore’s (maiden name, Jennifer Beyersdorf) family moved to Northville in 1975 and she is a 1990 Northville High School graduate. After graduation from University of Michigan Law school Salvatore practiced law in Chicago with a large national firm before returning to Michigan in 2003 when her daughter was born. Prior to opening Salvatore Prescott, she was a principal at Nacht, Roumel, & Salvatore in Ann Arbor. 

“As we thought about where we wanted to open our practice, we both were drawn to downtown Northville. We love Northville and wanted to be rooted in a community we both care about and that is ‘home’ for us. We are busy lawyers and moms and the location is great in terms of being close to home, close to family,” said Salvatore.

Prescott concentrates her practice on employment law and civil rights violations. Prescott represents individuals in a wide variety of situations from highly compensated senior executives to part time wage earners.  She typically works with individuals who need savvy, hard-hitting, nuanced representation in difficult political or factual situations.  Her experience includes claims, be they nationally noteworthy or settled discreetly and privately, involving severance negotiations, whistleblowing and qui tam actions, wage and hour laws, contract violations, sex, race, disability, national origin, pregnancy, or age discrimination. She has also represented many government employees and contractors who have blown the whistle on public corruption or fraud and average citizens whose civil rights have been denied.

A native of Colorado, Prescott graduated from Harvard Law School, clerked for a federal judge in California, and worked in Washington, D.C. before moving to Michigan when her husband got a job teaching at the University of Michigan Law School.  Prior to founding Salvatore Prescott, she worked with Deb Gordon at Gordon & Prescott in Bloomfield Hills. 

“We also serve both individual and business clients throughout Michigan and are often in court in Detroit, Lansing and Ann Arbor -  so Northville is a great centrally located community in the South Eastern Michigan area for us.  We are so excited to be a part of the Northville business community,” added Prescott.

Hideaki Sano will also join Salvatore Prescott PLLC and work with the team as Of Counsel. He has a litigation practice that focuses on employment law, civil rights litigation, and complex civil litigation. He has litigated, tried, and arbitrated a variety of cases including race, gender, age, and disability discrimination and retaliation cases, federal and state whistleblower cases, and employment-related tort cases.

For more information on Salvatore Prescott PLLC, visit www.salvatoreprescott.com.

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Dinsmore & Shohl LLP’s Erin Morgan Klug has been named to Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson’s 40 Under 40 Class of 2016.

The 40 young professionals who make up the 2016 class share the goal of making a difference in Oakland County through their community service efforts and in their hard work.  Oakland County’s 40 Under 40 winners were recognized at the Oakland County State of the County Address on February 10.

Klug is a member of the firm’s Intellectual Property Department where she focuses her practice primarily on patent procurement, trademarks, copyright matters and litigation. She has successfully settled several intellectual property disputes for her clients. In addition to working with large corporations, Klug also works with startup companies and entrepreneurs in various intellectual property matters.

Klug is also the current vice president for the Women’s Bar Association, a current director at large for the Women’s Lawyer’s Association of Michigan, and is active in the Oakland County Bar Association, Animal Law Defense Fund, Michigan Intellectual Property Law Association, and Inforum Professional Women’s Alliance.

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Secrest Wardle is pleased to announce that Christopher Hogg has joined the firm as a partner in its Troy office.  Hogg is a member of the firm’s Employment, Product Liability, and Commercial and Business Practice Groups.

Prior to joining Secrest Wardle, Hogg practiced in Metro Detroit representing clients in employment litigation, catastrophic injury and wrongful death litigation, non-compete and trade secret litigation, appellate matters, and municipal law issues.  Hogg has practiced in state courts throughout the State of Michigan, and has also represented clients in various federal courts, including the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.   Hogg has been named to the list of Michigan Super Lawyers by Super Lawyers magazine (2013/2014).

Hogg received his law degree from Michigan State University College of Law in 2006. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration from the University of Michigan in 2003.