Legal People

Dickinson Wright PLLC

Dickinson Wright PLLC is pleased to announce that attorney Howard J. Gourwitz has joined the firm’s Troy office.

Gourwitz specializes in the practice of personal and business planning, tax law, estate and financial planning, real estate, and sports and entertainment law. Since 1980, he has been a practice consultant for the Midwest Transaction Guide, a 14-volume set of books published by Matthew Bender & Company, Inc. He has also authored many articles and has participated as a speaker in many Institute of Continuing Legal Education seminars and lectured on “Conducting Effective Negotiations.”  Since 1986, he has been a registered agent with the National Hockey League Players’ Association and a member of the Sports Lawyers Association. He is AV-Preeminent Rated by Martindale-Hubbell.

Gourwitz is a member of the Board of Governors at Cranbrook Schools (where he also serves as chair of the Development Committee which in 2017 achieved its most successful fundraising year on record). On November 9, 2017, after being nominated by Cranbrook Schools, he was recognized as a “Distinguished Volunteer” by the Association of Fundraising Professionals at the National Philanthropy Day Dinner.  He is a member of the Board of Directors of the University of Michigan Band Alumni Association, The Elbel Club…The Friends of the Michigan Marching Band, the National Leadership Council for the Michigan State University College of Music, the Jewish Hospice & Chaplaincy Network, and a member of the Detroit Institute of Arts Tannahill Estate Planning Council.  Gourwitz is a past-president of both the University of Michigan Band Alumni Association and the Michigan Jewish Sports Foundation. He has also commissioned many important additions to the Symphonic Band literature which are being performed around the world. On January 26, 2018, he was awarded Honorary Member status by the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association in recognition of his significant contributions to the field of instrumental music.

Gourwitz received his B.A. from the University of Michigan and his law degrees from Wayne State University Law School and New York University.

In addition, Dickinson Wright is pleased to announce that Chambers USA has ranked six of the firm’s practices in Michigan and 24 of the firm’s Michigan attorneys in the 2018 Chambers USA Guide.

Below is a list of Dickinson Wright practices that were listed in Chambers USA 2018:

• Corporate/M&A

• Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation

• Intellectual Property

• Labor & Employment

• Litigation: General Commercial

• Real Estate

Below is a list of local Dickinson Wright attorneys who were listed in Chambers USA 2018:

—Banking and Finance

Craig W. Hammond, Troy

William P. Shield Jr., Detroit

Rachel Wolock, Detroit

—Banking and Finance: Bankruptcy

Steven G. Howell, Detroit

James A. Plemmons, Detroit

Theodore B. Sylwestrzak, Detroit

—Corporate/M&A

Richard M. Bolton, Detroit

Mark R. High, Detroit

Michael T. Raymond, Troy

—Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation

Cynthia A. Moore, Troy

—General Commercial Litigation

Kenneth J. McIntyre, Detroit

Thomas G. McNeill, Detroit

Edward H. Pappas, Troy

Daniel D. Quick, Troy

—Intellectual Property

John S. Artz, Troy

—Labor & Employment

Timothy H. Howlett, Detroit

—­Real Estate Law

James N. Candler, Jr., Detroit

Stephen E. Dawson, Troy

Monica J. Labe, Troy

Katheryne L. Zelenock, Troy

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Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss, P.C.

Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer, & Weiss PC recently hired Michelle M. Younger as an associate in the firm’s Family Law Practice Group. Younger will focus on matters including routine and complex divorces, custody, child support, paternity, property division, and post judgment matters.

Prior to joining Jaffe, Younger served as a staff attorney at the Legal Aid Society, Juvenile Rights Practice from 2009 to 2018, where she represented children in matters involving child abuse and neglect, termination of parental rights, juvenile delinquency, custody and guardianship, and persons in need of supervision.

Younger earned a law degree from Fordham University School of Law in New York.  During law school, she served as a legal intern for a number of organizations, including the Legal Aid Society’s Juvenile Rights Practice, Lincoln Square Legal Services Inc.’s Fordham Family Advocacy Clinic and Ramius Capital Group.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Barnard College, Columbia University in New York.  Younger currently serves as a board member of NEXTGen Detroit.

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United States District Court

The U.S. District Court, Eastern Michigan, has voted to appoint Matthew Schneider as United States attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, the Court announced today.

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions initially appointed Schneider as interim U.S. attorney on Jan. 3, creating a 120-day deadline for President Donald Trump to formally nominate Schneider or someone else to fill the post. The deadline expired on Friday, May 4.

Schneider now will serve as U.S. attorney until the Senate confirms Trump’s nominee for the post.

Schneider, former chief deputy Michigan attorney general, replaced Daniel Lemisch, who served as interim U.S. Attorney following the departure of U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade. She stepped down in March 2017.

The court voted at its April 2018 regular monthly judges’ meeting to make the appointment effective May 4, 2018, absent a nomination by the president and confirmation of a United States attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. The court made the appointment pursuant to 28 United States Code 546(d). 

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Ogletree Deakins

Ogletree Deakins is pleased to announce that two attorneys from the firm’s Detroit office have been included in the 2018 edition of Chambers USA. Those from the Detroit office include: Meg Alli and Tom Cattel.
In total, the firm’s offices in 26 states and the District of Columbia, as well as 86 of the firm’s attorneys, have been included in the 2018 edition.

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Secrest Wardle

Secrest Wardle Executive Partner Sarah L. Walburn has authored Chapter 15, “Attorney Fees,” in the Institute for Continuing Legal Education (ICLE) handbook “Michigan Law of Damages and Other Remedies, 3rd Edition.” Chapter 15 touches on general principles, attorney fee requests and determining reasonable attorney fees. Walburn has contributed to various editions of ICLE publications throughout her career.
Walburn has defended insurance companies and their insureds in all aspects of motor vehicle, premises liability, and construction litigation for more than nine years. Walburn’s expertise includes first-party, third-party, and provider litigation. She has represented several nationally-known auto insurance companies. Additionally, Walburn is a published author in the DRI Magazine, Michigan Lawyers Weekly, and the Michigan Bar Journal. She is also a presenter in an ICLE webinar, “Ins and Outs of Informal Discovery.”

Walburn has been named to the list of Michigan Rising Stars in Super Lawyers magazine for 2014-2017. She has also been recognized among the Michigan Lawyers Weekly Class of 2016 “Women in the Law.”

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Child Abuse and Neglect  Prevention Board

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder recently announced the appointment of Michael Talbot to the Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Board.

The 11-person board promotes the health, safety, and welfare of Michigan’s children and families by funding local programs and services that help prevent child abuse and neglect.

Talbot recently retired from the Michigan Court of Appeals with 40 years of service on the bench. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University and a law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. He will represent the legal community and fill a vacancy.

Talbot will serve the remainder of a three-year term expiring Dec. 19, 2019. His appointment is subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.