Legal People

Bodman PLC

Bodman PLC is pleased to announce that Laurence B. Deitch, a member of the firm’s Business and Real Estate practice groups and chair of the Automotive and Industrial Team, has received the 2018 Client Choice Award from Lexology/International Law Office, a global publisher and media partner of the Association of Corporate Counsel.

Deitch received the award at a ceremony held in London on February 1 and winners were announced publicly on February 8. He is one of three lawyers in Michigan, and one of only 163 lawyers in all of the United States and Canada, to be selected for a 2018 Client Choice Award.

Deitch, who maintains a national practice focused on corporate and M&A law, was recommended for the Client Choice award by multiple in-house counsel at major corporate and financial institution clients.

The Client Choice Award is the latest in a series of accolades for Deitch. He has been listed for years in Chambers USA and The Best Lawyers in America as a leading practitioner of corporate and M&A law. Los Angeles-based publication Lawdragon has named him one of the “Top 500 Dealmakers” in the United States and he appears perennially in Michigan Super Lawyers and the DBusiness Top Lawyers lists as a leader in the business law community.

Outside of the firm, Deitch has a record of civic and philanthropic work. He is an emeritus member of the Board of Regents of the University of Michigan, having served as a regent for 24 years. He served previously as a member of the National Advisory Board to the University of Michigan Museum of Art, as a member of the Board of Directors of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, as vice chair of the Michigan Civil Service Commission, as treasurer of the Michigan Democratic Party, as vice chair of the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Welfare Reform, as a member of the National Advisory Council to the U.S. Small Business Administration, as a trustee of the Michigan Cancer Foundation, and as a director of the National Conference for Community and Justice.

In addition, Bodman is pleased to announce that Sarah L. Cylkowski and Bridget M. Hathaway have been admitted as members of the firm. Both attorneys were previously senior associates with Bodman.

Cylkowski, who is based in Bodman’s Detroit office, litigates complex matters in state and federal courts, with a particular focus on commercial health care disputes, class actions, e-discovery and antitrust cases. Her clients include insurance companies, banks, automotive manufacturers and various other corporate commercial litigants. She has experience counseling clients through large-scale discovery, including multidistrict litigation discovery.

Cylkowski is listed in Michigan Rising Stars 2017 under Business Litigation and was named one of Michigan’s “Most Valuable Millennials” by Corp! magazine.  She is an active participant in Bodman’s pro bono program and a member of a Bodman team that is seeking resentencing for three Michigan inmates who received life sentences for crimes committed as juveniles.  The Detroit Bar Association recognized her efforts in 2017 with the Barristers Pro Bono Award.  She is also the co-founder of TechRead, a charitable organization that partners with various community programs to provide students with access to a wider range of reading materials.
She is a graduate of the University of Michigan and the University of Michigan Law School.

Hathaway, who is based in Bodman’s Detroit office, represents clients in a broad range of commercial and business disputes involving contracts, lender liability, breach of warranty, insurance coverage and claims litigation, and ERISA. She has a background in criminal law and has served as assistant city attorney for the City of Grosse Pointe Park prosecuting criminal misdemeanors.

She serves as secretary of the board of directors of the Detroit Bar Association Barristers and is involved in Barristers outreach programs for students in the Detroit Public Schools. She received the 2017 Barrister of the Year Award for outstanding commitment to service. Hathaway is also a member of the alumni board at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan and an active volunteer with the Huntington’s Disease Society of America, Michigan Chapter.

She is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Wayne State University Law School.

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Dickinson Wright PLLC

Dickinson Wright PLLC is pleased to announce that attorney Timothy H. Howlett received the 2018 Distinguished Service Award during the State Bar of Michigan’s Labor and Employment Law Section Mid-Winter Meeting on February 9.

The Distinguished Service Award is awarded to an individual lawyer who has made major contributions to the practice of labor and employment law, reflects the highest ethical principles, has advanced the development of labor and employment law, has a long-established commitment to excellence, and is recognized and respected by all constituents in the labor and employment community.

Howlett is a member in Dickinson Wright’s Detroit office and the firm’s Labor & Employment Practice Leader. He focuses his practice on labor & employment counseling and labor & employment litigation.

Howlett is a former chairperson of the State Bar of Michigan’s Labor and Employment Law Section, and he is a Fellow of the Michigan State Bar Foundation and the Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association Foundation. He is an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association’s Panel of Employment Arbitrators.

Howlett is a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and is recognized as a leader in his field by Chambers USA, Legal 500, Best Lawyers in America, and Michigan Super Lawyers.

Howlett received his B.A. from Kalamazoo College and his law degree from the University of Michigan School of Law.

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Dykema

Dykema recently announced that its Executive Board elected several new members to the firm’s local offices effective January 1, 2018. Dykema’s new partners, their resident office and practice descriptions are listed below:

Courtney F. Kissel – Government Policy, Bloomfield Hills

Kissel’s practice primarily focuses on state constitutional law, insurance law, Indian law, election law, and public utility law. Kissel has represented a number of universities in relation to a variety of constitutional issues, including issues related to university funding, constitutional autonomy, and academic freedom. She has also represented a variety of clients in analyzing issues under the Open Meetings Act and the Freedom of Information Act, including applicability and compliance issues. In addition, Kissel has acted as a special attorney general to the State of Michigan on several projects as well as advised the governors of the State of Wisconsin and the State of Indiana on different issues related to State-Tribal relations and federal Indian law.

She earned a law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School, and an A.B. from the University of Michigan.

Michael R. Vogt – Real Estate, Bloomfield Hills

Vogt’s practice involves all aspects of real estate litigation, including land use and zoning, eminent domain, landlord/tenant, commercial foreclosures, and a variety of contractual disputes related to the purchase, sale, leasing, and management of commercial real estate. In addition to his real estate practice, he also has significant experience representing lenders in contractual claims against borrowers and guarantors in courts throughout Michigan, as well as representing judgment creditors in post-judgment collection actions.

Vogt earned a law degree from the John Marshall Law School, and a B.A. from Michigan State University.

Jeanne M. Whalen – Corporate Finance, Bloomfield Hills

Whalen’s practice focuses on general corporate, contracting, and acquisition matters, with an emphasis on technology and health care-related transactions, particularly with respect to dental service organizations, health systems, and assisted living facilities. Her experience includes public and private company mergers and acquisitions and joint venture transactions; representing technology companies and other companies engaging in technology-related transactions; and general corporate representation including counsel to Boards of Directors, entity formation and capitalization, shareholder agreements, and customer and supplier relationships.
Whalen earned a law degree from the University of Toledo, and a B.S.E. from the University of Michigan.

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Kerr Russell

Kerr Russell member Fred Herrmann (antitrust, litigation, dispute resolution) has been named among Michigan Lawyers Weekly’s “Leaders in the Law” Class of 2018.

Herrmann maintains a litigation and alternative dispute resolution practice across a wide range of industries. He has experience in class action defense, multidistrict litigation, antitrust, patent and other intellectual property litigation, attorney and other professional liability defense, and contract disputes, as well as supply chain and other disputes implicating the Uniform Commercial Code.  Herrmann has tried cases in state and federal courts, has filed briefs and argued cases in state and federal appellate courts, and has mediated resolutions for complex disputes on behalf of his clients. Herrmann is also available to serve as a neutral mediator.

Herrmann is the immediate past chair of the Representative Assembly, the final policymaking body of the State Bar of Michigan.  He has also served on the Board of Commissioners of the State Bar of Michigan, and is a Fellow of the Michigan State Bar Foundation.

In the federal arena, Herrmann is the secretary/treasurer of the Federal Bar Association, Eastern District of Michigan Chapter, and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.

Herrmann is listed in Best Lawyers in America© by Woodward/White Inc. for Antitrust Law.  He was named a Michigan “Super Lawyer” in Commercial Litigation, and a “Top Lawyer” in DBusiness Magazine.

Prior to practicing law, and following graduation from the United States Naval Academy, Herrmann served as a logistics officer in the United States Marine Corps, where he deployed overseas with Second Battalion, Ninth Marines, and then served on the logistics staff of the First Marine Division. He subsequently served as a reservist with Detroit’s own First Battalion, Twenty-fourth Marines, as a logistics officer and H&S Company Commander.

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Butzel Long

Butzel Long attorneys Joshua J. Chinsky and Michael C. Decker have been elected shareholders. Previously, Chinsky and Decker were associate attorneys.

Based in Butzel Long’s Detroit office, Chinsky focuses his practice on white collar criminal defense and Aerospace and Defense industry matters.

Most recently, Chinsky was named to Michigan Lawyers Weekly’s 2017 Class of “Up & Coming Lawyers.”

Prior to joining Butzel Long, Chinsky served as corporate counsel and deputy director, Studies and Analyses, for a Washington, D.C. area consulting company. He also served in the United States Marine Corps as a judge advocate. While on active duty, Chinsky prosecuted contested jury trials and served as a legal advisor to commanders, servicemembers, and dependents. Chinsky continues to serve as a judge advocate in the Marine Corps Reserve.

Chinsky is a graduate of the Duke University School of Law. He received his BA from the University of Michigan.

Chinsky is admitted to practice in the states of Michigan and Georgia, and before United States Courts-Martial.

Decker practices in Butzel Long’s Detroit and Lansing offices. He concentrates his practice in the areas of construction and construction litigation and business and business litigation.

Decker represents and counsels construction companies and contractors on all aspects of both public and private projects, from inception to completion of those projects. He has experience with drafting and negotiating contracts, subcontracts, and other agreements and prosecuting and defending performance, payment, and delay related claims on behalf of construction companies and contractors, as well as owners and sureties.

At the same time, Decker has experience prosecuting and defending claims concerning the Miss Dig Act and violations of the Miss Dig Act on behalf of construction companies and contractors. He has prosecuted and defended such claims before state and federal courts, state and public agencies, and arbitration and mediation panels.

Moreover, he has experience assisting owners and contractors with residential construction related matters. Specifically, Decker has assisted owners and contractors with drafting and negotiating residential construction contracts, subcontracts, and other agreements and resolving performance and payment related issues, as well as prosecuting and defending claims arising from such issues.

Decker also represents and counsels businesses and business professionals with day-to-day business related issues including: contract disputes and bankruptcy, corporate, collection, labor and employment, real estate, and trade secret related issues.

Decker has been recognized as a Rising Star in Business Litigation in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 by Super Lawyers. He also has been recognized as a Top Lawyer in Construction Litigation in 2017 and 2018 by DBusiness.

Decker earned his law degree from Wayne State University Law School in 2011 and his Bachelor of Science from Central Michigan University in 2007. He is a member of the State Bar of Michigan and the State Bar of Florida. Decker is admitted to practice in various courts in both Michigan and Florida.