Legal People

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Associate Professor of Law J. Richard Broughton received University of Detroit Mercy’s Faculty Achievement Award at the Faculty Recognition Awards Dinner on Nov. 4. This award is for faculty members who demonstrate distinctive merit and achievement as a junior faculty member with the promise of continuing development to excellence in teaching, service, and scholarly activity.

Broughton joined the Detroit Mercy Law faculty in 2009 and was appointed associate dean for Academic Affairs in July of 2016. His scholarship focuses on American politics and institutions and the intersection of politics, constitutionalism, and criminal justice.

Broughton served in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. His work involved federal prosecutions of violent crime related to gang activity, drug trafficking, organized crime, and racketeering. He also served as Assistant Attorney General of Texas for Capital and Post-Conviction Litigation.

He has a B.A. from Hampden-Sydney College, and law degrees frrom Widener University and Georgetown University.

•            •            •

Justin A. Hanna has joined the Southfield office of Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer, & Weiss PC as an associate in the firm’s corporate practice group. Jaffe CEO William Sider made the announcement.

Hanna will concentrate his practice on helping entrepreneurs and business owners with all aspects of formation, governance, operations, and other general corporate matters. He will also assist in the representation of owners, developers, operators and investors in various aspects of commercial real estate transactions.

 Prior to joining Jaffe, Hanna played a critical role in founding the Transactional Law Competition at Wayne State University Law School, where he served as the program’s chair after successfully competing in both regional and national Transactional LawMeets competitions.

Hanna graduated from Wayne Status University where he earned his Bachelor of Science in business administration. He is a graduate of Wayne State University Law School.  Concurrently while in law school, he earned a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in finance from Wayne State University’s Mike Illitch School of Business, and was recognized for high academic achievement with a nomination to the Golden Key International Honor Society.

In addition to his position with Jaffe, Hanna is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, Chaldean American Bar Association, and Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce.

•            •            •

A 2016 graduate of Michigan State University College of Law, attorney Alannah M. Buford recently joined the Torts & Litigation Practice Group of Plunkett Cooney.

Buford focuses her practice in the areas of municipal law, general liability and medical malpractice defense. She represents clients in matters involving land use, personal liability, false imprisonment and arrest, drone liability, construction accidents and claims arising from Michigan’s Wrongful Death Act.

A member of the State Bar of Michigan, Buford received her undergraduate degree in 2012 from Bard College at Simon’s Rock, which is located in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.

In addition, attorney Joseph A. Campbell recently joined Plunkett Cooney as a member of its Medical Liability Practice Group. 

A member of the firm’s Detroit office, Campbell focuses his practice primarily in the area of medical malpractice defense. He represents physicians, health systems and hospitals in claims of alleged professional liability and commercial litigation.

Campbell also provides corporate legal services to his healthcare industry clients in the areas of business transactions, compliance and fraud, HIPAA compliance, licensing issues, among others.

Admitted to practice in Michigan’s state and federal courts, Campbell received his law degree from Michigan State University College of Law in 2011 and his undergraduate degree from the University of
Colorado in 2005.

•            •            •

McKeen & Associates is pleased to announce that two of its attorneys have been selected to the DBusiness 2017 Top Lawyers list for Medical Malpractice Law.

Brian McKeen, managing partner, along with attorney Norman Rosen, were among those selected by their peers for the list.

•            •            •

Collins, Einhorn, Farrell PC is pleased to announce that it has been honored as a 2016 Top Workplaces National Standard by the Detroit Free Press. The list includes the best places to work in the State of Michigan, of which only 135 companies achieved the level of National Standard. Collins Einhorn was only one of ten law firms in the state to receive this distinction.

Neil W. MacCallum, chairman of Collins Einhorn, shared his enthusiasm over the announcement. “A company is only as good as its employees. We take pride in our culture which in turn strengthens the delivery of the legal services we provide to our clients,” stated MacCallum. “To be formally recognized by our employees is the best possible award.”

Collins Einhorn continues to prioritize the satisfaction of our employees. Some employee “extras” include monthly company luncheons, holiday parties, drawings for sporting event tickets and airline tickets, and other perks. In the last two years alone, Collins Einhorn has seen tremendous growth with the addition of over 25 new employee positions.

•            •            •

Wayne State University Law School Associate Professor John A. Rothchild has edited a book, “Research Handbook on Electronic Commerce Law,” which examines the legal issues raised by doing business via the internet. He also authored one of the chapters appearing in the book.

Electronic commerce accounts for 7.5 percent of all retail sales in the United States and continues to expand at double-digit annual rates. This steady growth of internet commerce over the past 20 years has raised many new legal issues spanning a wide range of fields.

The book, published by Edward Elgar Publishing, consists of chapters by nearly 30 scholars and experts in internet commerce. Topics include contracting, payments, intellectual property, extraterritorial
enforcement, alternative dispute resolution, social media, consumer protection, network neutrality, online gambling, domain name governance and privacy.

Rothchild joined the Wayne Law faculty in 2001 and teaches courses including Electronic Commerce, Copyright Law, Constitutional Law, Ancient Greek and Roman Law, and Trademarks and Unfair Competition.

He is a co-author of “Internet Commerce,” a law school casebook published by Foundation Press.

Prior to joining Wayne Law, Rothchild was an attorney at the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, specializing in law enforcement efforts addressing internet-based fraud and online compliance issues. He led the commission’s international consumer protection program and served as chair of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Consumer Protection Guidelines Project, which developed guidelines for controlling fraudulent and misleading conduct in electronic commerce.

Rothchild also has worked in private practice and served as a law clerk for U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Arlin M. Adams, Third Circuit.

Rothchild earned his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and his bachelor of arts from Princeton University.

•            •            •

Farmington Hills-based Young & Associates has hired attorney Dan Paluga to join its professional legal team. Young & Associates founder Rodger D. Young made the announcement.

Paluga will represent both plaintiffs and defendants in actions across the country, executing day-to-day responsibilities for a variety of multi-million dollar cases focused on complex business litigation in areas ranging from automotive and antitrust to complex contract and intellectual property.

Prior to joining Young & Associates, Paluga served as a law clerk for Justice Joan Larsen and Justice Mary Beth Kelly at the Michigan Supreme Court. He also completed a post-graduate fellowship with the Center for Disability and Elder Law in Chicago, worked for the Ohio Attorney General’s Antitrust Division and served in the Seventh District Court of Appeals under Judge Gene Donofrio in Youngstown, Ohio.

Paluga earned his bachelor’s degree in political science and theology from the University of Notre Dame in 2011, and earned his law degree from Notre Dame Law School in 2014. He is a member of the Michigan and Illinois state bars.

•            •            •

DBusiness has recognized Neuman, Anderson, Grieco, McKenney partner Jennifer M. Grieco as a 2017 Top Lawyer in Michigan for commercial litigation and professional malpractice law.

This year, Grieco was recognized for her work in two separate categories, including commercial litigation and professional malpractice law.

Grieco possesses more than 19 years of trial experience and focuses her practice in the areas of complex commercial litigation, professional malpractice and coverage disputes. Additionally, she has been awarded multiple high-profile verdicts and arbitration awards, as well as routinely being granted summary judgment/disposition in favor of her clients as both the plaintiff and the defendant.

Grieco has been recognized as a Super Lawyer for the past four years in a row, including recognition as one of the Top 50 Women Lawyers, one of the Top 100 Lawyers, one of the Top 50 Business Lawyers and one of the Top 25 Women Business Lawyers in Michigan.

Grieco was most recently re-elected to the State Bar of Michigan Board of Commissioners in 2015 and elected to serve as vice-president for the 2016-2017 term. In addition, she serves as treasurer of the State Bar of Michigan Negligence Council, a member of the Board of Directors of Lakeshore Legal Aid, and a member of the American Bar Association, the Oakland County Bar Association and the Michigan Association for Justice.

In addition, DBusiness has recognized Neuman Anderson Grieco McKenney partner Leif K. Anderson as a 2017 Top Lawyer in Michigan for construction litigation.

Anderson was recognized for his work in construction litigation.

Anderson specializes in complex commercial litigation, with a focus on business, corporate, real estate and construction, banking, bankruptcy, legal malpractice and contract disputes. He also provides representation in personal injury, tort and criminal matters. He has more than 19 years of experience in the courtroom and has tried numerous civil and criminal jury trials, bench trials and arbitrations.

Anderson has been named a Michigan Super Lawyer for seven consecutive years and a 2016 Best Lawyer by U.S. News. He is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, Oakland County Bar Association (OCBA), Macomb County Bar Association, Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association and is an Oakland County Bar Foundation Fellow.

Additionally, Anderson serves as an Oakland County Circuit Court case evaluator and volunteers for the OCBA Pro Bono Mentor Match Program providing guidance to new lawyers.

•            •            •

The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers is proud to announce the election and induction of William E. Altman as a new Fellow. 

Altman practices in the areas of labor, employment, and benefits litigation on behalf of employers at The Murray Law Group PC in Bingham Farms.  He has experience representing employers in cases involving anti-discrimination laws, whistle-blower and retaliation actions, ERISA actions, non-competition agreements, trade secrets, fiduciary duty actions, and class actions.  He has expertise in defending and advising employers in employee benefits matters and serves as a national benefit litigation counsel for a Detroit automaker. 

Altman is a member of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan and the American Bar Association, the ABA’s Employee Benefits Committee, and the Eastern District of Michigan Federal Bar Association.  He is also a member of the American Employment Law Council and has been recognized by Michigan Super Lawyers since 2011.  Altman has served as an editor of the Michigan Employment Law Letter since 1997.  He has also served as a co-author of “Employment Law in Michigan, An Employer’s Guide,” ICLE from 1997 through the present.  He graduated from Detroit College of Law (now Michigan State University College of Law) and the University of South Carolina. 

Prior to joining The Murray Law Group PC, Altman served as a law clerk to U.S. District COurt Judge Robert E. DeMascio, Eastern District of Michigan.

The twenty-first installation of Fellows was held November 12 in Chicago, coincident with the American Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Section’s Continuing Legal Education Conference.  With the current installation, the College is represented by more than fourteen hundred members in forty-eight states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and eight Canadian Provinces.