Howard & Howard Attorneys PLLC is pleased to announce that Alex G. Cavanaugh, Alexander S. McGee, Joseph P. Michniacki, and Christopher J. Worrel have all become shareholders in the firm. All four attorneys practice out of the firm's Royal Oak office.
Alex G. Cavanaugh concentrates his practice in commercial litigation. He has experience defending and prosecuting business litigation cases involving contract disputes, automotive supply controversies, construction disputes, sales representative commission claims, patent infringement claims, restrictive covenants, shareholder disputes, trade secret misappropriation, employer-side labor and employment issues, products liability claims, and other business torts.
Alexander S. McGee concentrates his practice in the area of intellectual property law with a focus on patent preparation, prosecution, and clearance work primarily in the mechanical arts.
Joseph P. Michniacki concentrates his practice in the areas of mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures (domestic and international); entity formation; corporate and partnership law; real estate law; business and commercial law; contracts; finance; securities; and tax law.
Christopher J. Worrel concentrates his practice in intellectual property with a focus on the preparation and prosecution of mechanical and electrical patent applications and office action responses.
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Dickinson Wright PLLC is pleased to announce the election of three new member attorneys to the firm's Detroit and Troy offices, effective January 1, 2018.
Salina Hamilton is a member in the firm's Detroit office. She focuses her practice on the areas of commercial & business litigation, specializing in complex and large-scale eDiscovery practice. She has experience in all phases of commercial litigation in state and federal courts, including pretrial discovery, motion practice, alternative dispute resolution, and trial practice. She also has experience in negotiating, drafting and reviewing a variety of contracts.
Hamilton is a member of the Defense Research Institute, the Federal Bar Association, the Detroit Bar Association, and the State Bar of Michigan. She is recognized in Michigan Super Lawyer "Rising Star."
Hamilton received her B.A. from Alma College and her law degree from Michigan State University College of Law.
Jared Smith is a member in the firm's Troy office. He provides straightforward and effective advice to business entities and individuals in transactional, corporate and information technology matters. He has expertise in mergers and acquisitions, brewing regulations, joint ventures, corporate finance and securities, corporate governance and compliance matters.
He also regularly counsels clients regarding information technology issues, including cloud-based systems, software as a service, IT outsourcing, web hosting, data privacy and data security, enterprise resource planning, electronic medical records and e-billing software, social media metrics and digital marketing. He is recognized in DBusiness Top Lawyers.
Smith received his B.A. from Tufts University and his law degree from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.
Robert Zora is a member in the firm's Detroit office. His practice focuses on the area of commercial & business litigation, with particular experience and expertise advising clients regarding director and member disputes, shareholder oppression and fiduciary duty issues, and other disputes arising out of shareholder agreements. He also frequently counsels clients regarding various commercial contract matters, business and real estate disputes, non-compete and anti-solicitation agreements, and intellectual property and licensing disputes.
Zora is a member of the Federal Bar Association and serves on the Board of Directors of the Chaldean American Bar Association. Prior to joining the firm, he served as law clerk to U.S. District Court Judge Sean F. Cox, Eastern District of Michigan.
He received his B.A. from the University of Michigan and his law degree from Wayne State University Law School.
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To further support the firm's Real Estate Practice Group, Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer, & Weiss PC has named Ingrid Szura, partner, to deputy practice group leader.
Szura joined Jaffe in 2008 and was named a partner in 2012. She has an active real estate practice, representing clients involved in all aspects of commercial real estate transactions, including acquisition, disposition, financing, leasing and management of multifamily, retail, office and industrial properties.
She earned a law degree from Cornell Law School in Ithaca, New York and a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in accounting from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. Szura is a member of the State Bar of Michigan Real Property Law Section and the Commercial Real Estate Women's Detroit Chapter.
In addition, Jaffe recently announced that First Amendment and media law expert Herschel Fink is now Of Counsel to the firm, where he will continue his practice representing news organizations, media and entertainment companies.
Fink is currently legal counsel to USA Today Network's six Michigan newsrooms, including the Detroit Free Press that he has represented for almost 35 years, and will continue to represent separately. Previously, he was a senior partner at a leading Detroit law firm, where he headed its media law practice for 35 years. Prior, Fink spent a decade before and during law school as a reporter and editor on major daily newspapers.
In his legal career, Fink has represented national television networks, local TV stations, national wire services, and numerous newspapers and national magazines in libel, privacy and related matters. He has successfully defended motion picture studios, authors and entertainment industry figures in numerous copyright, privacy and defamation cases.
He successfully defended rap music icon Dr. Dre in a 10-year long First Amendment fight, ultimately winning in the Michigan Supreme Court. In another high-profile case, he successfully defended documentary film maker Michael Moore in a libel suit over his Academy Award winning film, "Bowling for Columbine," against the brother of one of the Oklahoma City federal building bombers, who was featured in the film. In another case, lasting 12 years, he led the successful federal court defense of a Detroit Free Press reporter against efforts to force him to disclose a confidential source.
One of Fink's career highlights was successfully taking on the U.S. Justice Department on behalf of the Detroit Free Press over its post 9-11 secret deportation proceedings of persons deemed security threats, prompting Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Damon Keith to agree in a celebrated decision that "Democracies die behind closed doors."
Fink earned a law degree from Michigan State University College of Law and a bachelor's degree in journalism from Wayne State University in Detroit. He earned the Society of Professional Journalists National First Amendment Award "for extraordinarily strong efforts to preserve and strengthen the First Amendment." The Society's Michigan Chapter also awarded him a "Lifetime Achievement Award," the first time a non-journalist was honored. He has also been listed in every edition of America's Best Lawyers in First Amendment law during his private practice, was named a Crain's Detroit Business "Power Lawyers" and was honored by Michigan Lawyer's Weekly as one of its "Leaders in the Law."
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Bodman PLC is pleased to announce that business attorney Steven R. Cole has joined the firm as a member based in the Troy office.
Cole is a member of Bodman's Business and Tax practice groups. He represents corporate and individual clients, serving all facets of their diverse business and personal legal needs. He focuses his practice on the acquisition and development of real estate, leasing, mortgage financing, entity formations, conversions and dissolutions, LLC and joint venture structuring, buy/sell and business succession planning, and sophisticated trusts and estate planning.
Before joining Bodman, Cole practiced for more than 30 years with a highly regarded suburban Detroit business law firm where he was a principal and name shareholder.
Cole is a member of the State Bar of Michigan's Real Property Law, Probate and Trust Law, and Taxation sections. He has been published in Crain's Small Business, Michigan Lawyers Weekly, and Auto Age Dealer Business, and has contributed to Advising Closely Held Businesses in Michigan, an Institute of Continuing Legal Education publication.
Cole received the 2011 Jerusalem Peace Award from the American Committee for Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem. He has been listed in Michigan Super Lawyers since 2007 and is AV Preeminent® Peer Rated by Martindale-Hubbell.
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Attorney Sara D. Corbello recently joined the Insurance Law Practice Group of Plunkett Cooney.
A member of Plunkett Cooney's Bloomfield Hills office, Corbello represents several major property and casualty insurance companies in coverage cases throughout the Midwest. She handles a variety of issues, including claims of environmental contamination, construction defect and high-exposure product liability.
Corbello previously worked as an in-house insurance defense attorney for a global property and casualty insurer. She is also a former senior judicial clerk to Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Michael D. Warren.
A member of the State Bar of Michigan, Corbello is a 2010 graduate of Western Michigan University Cooley Law School, and she received her undergraduate degree from Michigan State University in 2005.
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Jesse Reiter was awarded the 2017 American Association for Justice Board of Governors Outstanding Achievement Award for his contributions to the AAJ's mission to protect the right by jury and strengthen the civil justice system, his effort, time, and energy as an organization leader, and his fulfillment of board member obligations and responsibilities.
Reiter, president and partner at Reiter & Walsh ABC Law Centers, handles cases involving pregnancy, delivery, and neonatal injury.
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Gov. Rick Snyder recently announced the appointment of Steven Berenbaum of Birmingham to the State 9-1-1 Committee.
The 21-member committee, housed within the Michigan State Police, promotes the successful development, implementation, and operation of 9-1-1 systems throughout Michigan.
Berenbaum is a regulatory manager for AT&T. He earned both a bachelor's and a master's degree from Wayne State University School of Business Administration, and a law degree from Wayne State University School of Law.
Berenbaum will represent commercial mobile radio service and replace Yvette Collins. He will serve a two-year term expiring Dec. 31, 2019.
Published: Mon, Jan 15, 2018
