Legal People

Fabrizio & Brook P.C.

Troy law firm of Fabrizio & Brook PC is pleased to announce the addition of attorney Larry E. Powe to its team of full legal services to mortgage industry professionals, including loss mitigation, residential and commercial foreclosure, REO, evictions, bankruptcy, real estate, curative title and defense litigation, including federal agencies related thereto and financial institution deposit insurance underwriters.   The announcement was made by the firm’s president, Rose Marie Brook, a primary shareholder of the women-owned law firm.   

Powe brings with him more than 40 years of practical legal expertise, including financial institution receiverships throughout the state, creditors rights, bankruptcy and insolvency-related matters, creditor-related matters, contract disputes, alternative dispute resolutions, general circuit court and federal court receiverships, and secured and unsecured creditors.  

AV-rated in Martindale Hubbell and based upon his practical experience, Powe continues to be an invited lecturer for industry continuing education, as well as continuing legal education seminars for the Real Property Law Section and Probate Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan, with emphasis in the areas of real estate, mortgages, foreclosure, title exceptions and disputes, intestacy, easement disputes, and priority of secured liens. 

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Kostopoulos Rodriguez PLLC

Kostopoulos Rodriquez PLLC is excited to announce that Ryan C. Plecha has been promoted to the position of partner.  Plecha’s becoming partner is another exciting milestone for KO|RO as is it celebrates its 10-year anniversary.  Plecha is the first attorney to be internally promoted to the position of partner. 

Plecha is an accomplished litigator who has received many honors and awards, including, but not limited to, Crain’s Detroit Business “40 Under 40,” Michigan Lawyers Weekly “Up & Coming Lawyer,” DBusiness Top Young Lawyer, and Detroit Bar Association Barrister’s President’s Award.  In addition, Plecha has been selected as a Rising Star for the past 5 years and is AV Preeminent rated by Martindale-Hubble.  Plecha is very active in the legal community, local and national bar associations and volunteers with various charitable organizations. 

Currently, Plecha is running for the Oakland County Bar Association Board of Directors.  

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Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss, P.C.

Lee Kellert, partner at Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer, & Weiss PC, offered insight into today’s M&A (mergers & acquisitions) due diligence environment at the upcoming MICPA (The Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants) Anti-Fraud Issues, Litigation & Business Valuation, Mergers & Acquisitions Conference held at Laurel Manor in Livonia.  Kellert discussed key M&A trends and issues during the “Beyond What is Due (Diligence)” panel on Thursday, May 17.

Kellert is the co-chair of the firm’s Corporate Practice Group and represents a wide range of clients in the areas of M&A, corporate finance, complex business transactions, securities and general corporate matters.

In addition, Jaffe Raitt Partner Jennifer Miller Oertel spoke at several industry events. Passionate about impact investing and philanthropy, Oertel serves as co-chair of the Nonprofit Corporations Committee (Business Law Section) of the State Bar of Michigan and was appointed by the Council on Foundations as a legal reviewer for National Standards for accreditation of community foundations.

From May 13 to 16, Oertel served as one of three lawyers chosen to answer attendees’ legal questions as part of the “Lawyer is in” program at the Mission Investors Exchange 2018 Annual Conference. Held in Chicago, MIE’s 2018 National Conference is an investing conference for foundations and other stakeholders in impact investing.

On May 17, she discussed community foundation legal issues for a tri-state gathering of members of the Council of Michigan Foundations, Indiana Philanthropy and Philanthropy Ohio. Hosted in Fort Wayne, Oertel discussed legal issues relevant to community foundations, including traps for the unwary and updates on the effects of tax reform and other proposed legislation affecting community foundations.

On June 5, Oertel will present on incorporating social purpose in law firm practice at the Impact Investing Legal Working Group / Grunin Center for Law and Social Entrepreneurship’s 2018 Conference on “Legal Issues in Social Entrepreneurship and Impact Investing – in the U.S. and Beyond.” This year’s conference will take place at NYU School of Law in New York City.

Oertel has also been invited to participate in the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition State Leaders Summit from June 18 to 19 in Washington D.C., where she’ll join top leaders from business, government, the for-impact sector and the military to discuss expanding access to development finance and impact investing. She will also participate in a private reception with Ray Washburne, president and CEO of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and private meetings with members of Congress.

Oertel leads Jaffe’s Tax-exempt Organizations and Impact Investing Group, where she represents impact investors, impact funds, social enterprises, family and corporate foundations, community foundations, public charities, regional associations, trade associations and chambers of commerce in all aspects of their business. Notably, in 2015, the National Law Journal highlighted her impact investing practice in electing Jaffe as one of 20 firms across the country (the only one in Michigan) to its “Mid-Size Hotlist.”

Oertel, the founding vice chair of the Michigan chapter of Social Enterprise Alliance, has judged “Crain’s Best Managed Nonprofits” and regularly judges social enterprise business plan competitions. She has spoken and published both locally and nationally on impact investing and philanthropy, as well as served as a director and on the advisory boards of several for-impact organizations, winning several awards for her volunteerism.

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Miller Canfield

Miller Canfield is pleased to announce that Gregory D. DeGrazia has joined the firm as a principal attorney in the Intellectual Property Group. The announcement was made by CEO Michael McGee.

DeGrazia has nearly 20 years of experience in intellectual property law. He has focused his practice on the protection of trade secrets and intellectual property nationwide and in Asia and Europe. Before he was a licensed as an attorney, he was an automotive manufacturing engineer. This practical experience prior to law school gives him unique perspective into the issues his clients face.

DeGrazia will work in Miller Canfield’s Detroit office, where the global firm of more than 220 attorneys is headquartered.

DeGrazia earned his law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, his M.B.A. from University of Detroit Mercy,  and a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from Michigan State University.

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Butzel Long

Butzel Long attorneys and practice areas have been recognized by Chambers USA 2018 – America’s Leading Lawyers for Business 2018 – The Client’s Guide. Butzel Long’s Immigration Department has been recognized nationally.

Moreover, Butzel Long President and CEO Justin Klimko has been recognized as an Eminent Practitioner. Separately, David F. DuMouchel is one of three Michigan-based attorneys to be ranked Tier One in White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations.

In addition, firm attorney Mark W. Jane is recognized among associates to watch. Also, Stephen A. Bromberg and David W. Hipp are recognized as Senior Statesmen.

At the same time, Butzel Long attorneys James Bruno, Jennifer Consiglio, Lynn McGuire, Brett Miller and Nicholas J. Stasevich have been named to Chambers USA 2018 for the first time.

Butzel Long practice areas included in Chambers USA are:

• Immigration – Recognized Practice—Nationwide

• Corporate/ Mergers and Acquisitions – Michigan

• Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation—Michigan

• Labor & Employment – Michigan

• Litigation: General Commercial  – Michigan

• Real Estate – Recognized Practice – Michigan

Local Butzel Long attorneys ranked and highlighted in Chambers USA 2018 include:

• Stephen A. Bromberg – Real Estate

• James C. Bruno – Corporate/ Mergers and Acquisitions

• Jennifer E. Consiglio – Corporate/ Mergers and Acquisitions

• Carey A. DeWitt – Labor and Employment

• Arthur Dudley II – Corporate/ Mergers and Acquisitions

• David F. DuMouchel – Litigation, White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations

• John P. Hancock Jr. –Labor and Employment

• David W. Hipp – Real Estate

• Thomas Kabel – Real Estate

• Justin G. Klimko – Corporate/ Mergers and Acquisitions

• Brett J. Miller – Labor & Employment

• James S. Rosenfeld – Labor & Employment

• Bruce Sendek – Litigation: General Commercial

• Nicholas J. Stasevich – Corporate/ Mergers and Acquisitions

• Daniel B. Tukel – Labor and Employment

Stephen A. Bromberg is counsel to Butzel Long and based in the firm’s Bloomfield Hills office. He served as a director and president of Butzel Long. Bromberg has represented borrowers and institutional lenders, purchasers and sellers, non-profit entities and contractors and owners in all kinds of office, commercial shopping center, apartment and subdivisions matters, major construction and zoning matters and workouts, reorganizations and foreclosures, with years of specialization in real estate transactions and litigation.  

James C. Bruno is a shareholder practicing in Butzel Long’s Detroit office and has served on the firm’s Board of Directors. His primary practice includes corporations and limited liability companies; the Uniform Commercial Code; sales representatives and distributorships; automotive and other industry supplier relations; international business law and foreign employment; closely held business; mergers and acquisitions; and joint ventures. This includes counseling, negotiations, drafting, and dispute resolution. He has been active in the firm’s foreign practice, including oversight of the firm’s Mexican alliance office.

Jennifer E. Consiglio is a shareholder in Butzel Long’s Bloomfield Hills office. She is part of the firm’s Business Law Department, where she is an advisor to both private and public clients in all aspects of formation, governance, contracting, and other operations; complex business transactions such as mergers, acquisitions, dispositions, restructurings, private debt and equity financings, and private and public offerings; and securities law compliance.

Carey A. DeWitt is a shareholder and past chair (and practice group leader, 1995-2003) of the firm’s Labor and Employment Department. He has 32 years of experience representing employers and enterprises in all phases of litigation, including employment discrimination matters, employment contract and executive termination cases, both commercial and employment trade secret, anti-raiding, and unfair competition cases, as well as in labor arbitration, collective bargaining, and other matters.

Arthur Dudley II is a shareholder who practices in Butzel Long’s Detroit and New York offices. He has experience in nearly all aspects of corporate law. He has practiced law for more than 35 years. He specializes in mergers and acquisitions, securities law, representation of emerging growth companies and general corporate representation.

David F. DuMouchel is a shareholder practicing in Butzel Long’s Detroit office. He chairs the firm’s Corporate Compliance, Internal Investigations and Criminal Defense practice. DuMouchel’s practice includes white collar criminal defense, professional licensure and criminal health care, criminal IRS investigations of both taxpayers and professionals, SEC enforcement of corporate executives, public corruption, as well as grand jury investigations, internal corporate investigations and compliance. 

John P. Hancock Jr. is a shareholder based in Butzel Long’s Detroit office. His practice focuses on collective bargaining negotiations and arbitrations as well as counseling of both public and private employers.  He also has performed employment litigation and OSHA litigation. Hancock has served as chief negotiator in numerous collective bargaining negotiations. A good portion of his practice is devoted to counseling clients on employment issues. 

David W. Hipp is counsel and practices in Butzel Long’s Bloomfield Hills office. He concentrates his practice in real estate and real estate finance, including loan originations for lenders, representation of borrowers, purchases and sales of real estate, leasing, construction, and development.

Thomas A. Kabel is a shareholder based in Butzel Long’s Bloomfield Hills office. He is chair of the firm’s corporate and real estate departments. He concentrates his practice in the area of commercial real estate and real estate-related finance. Kabel has been involved in all facets of acquisition, disposition, leasing, financing and development of real property throughout his career.

Justin G. Klimko is Butzel Long’s president and CEO and a member of its board. He is based in the firm’s Detroit office. Klimko has experience in corporate financing, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, securities regulation for publicly and privately held clients, and general corporate matters, fields in which he has practiced since 1980.

Brett J. Miller is a shareholder practicing in Butzel Long’s Detroit office and is the chair of the firm’s Employment Practices Liability Insurance Sub-Practice. He focuses his practice on employment and labor law as well as fair housing litigation.

James S. Rosenfeld is a shareholder practicing in Butzel Long’s Detroit office. He practices in the area of labor and employment law and is the manager of the firm’s Labor and Employment Practice Group. 
Bruce L. Sendek is a shareholder based in Butzel Long’s Detroit office and serves as chair of the firm’s Litigation Department. He represents corporations and individuals in complex disputes involving a wide range of corporate and commercial matters. He regularly appears before the federal and state courts, as well as arbitration tribunals.

Nicholas J. Stasevich is a shareholder based in Butzel Long’s Detroit office. In 2002, he was appointed H.M. Consul-Honorary of the United Kingdom to the State of Michigan. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America (Corporate Law).He practices in the areas of international, corporate, antitrust, technology, and labor and employment law.

Daniel B. Tukel is a shareholder practicing in Butzel Long’s Detroit office and serves as chair of the firm’s Labor and Employment Law Department. His practice is devoted to representing both public and private employers in state and federal discrimination and wrongful discharge litigation, as well as traditional labor matters such as collective bargaining and union organizational drives.

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Western Michigan University Cooley Law School

Western Michigan University Cooley Law School was honored in the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on May 8, when the Center for Plain Language awarded the school its ClearMark Award in the Legal category. The recognition was for the school’s restyled bylaws, which were recently redrafted by Emeritus Professor Joseph Kimble and Research & Writing Department Chair Mark Cooney.

Each May, the Center for Plain Language celebrates forward-thinking North American companies, governments, and organizations with its ClearMark Awards. The center sets a high standard for clarity and simplicity in the documents its judges evaluate. The annual awards dinner brings together some of North America’s greatest plain-language champions, all devoted to improving public communication.

The center has held the ClearMark Awards since 2010. Previous winners include the American Bar Association, Aetna, AARP, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

For the 2018 awards, the Legal category was narrowed to three finalists, and WMU–Cooley was chosen over Anthem Inc. and Health Literacy Media.

Cooney chairs WMU-Cooley’s Research and Writing Department. He is editor in chief of The Scribes Journal of Legal Writing and has served as a plain-language consultant on the Michigan Supreme Court’s Model Criminal Jury Instructions Committee and the State Bar’s Standard Criminal Jury Instructions Committee. Cooney’s book, “Sketches on Legal Style,” is a collection of his “Plain Language” columns from the Michigan Bar Journal. His articles on legal writing have also appeared in The Scribes Journal, Student Lawyer, and TRIAL magazine. Before teaching, Cooney spent 10 years in private practice and chaired the State Bar’s Appellate Practice Section.

Kimble is the longtime editor of the “Plain Language” column in the Michigan Bar Journal and the senior editor of The Scribes Journal of Legal Writing, published by Scribes (the American Society of Legal Writers). Kimble has published dozens of articles on legal writing and written two acclaimed books — “Lifting the Fog of Legalese: Essays on Plain Language” and “Writing for Dollars, Writing to Please: The Case for Plain Language in Business, Government, and Law.” Kimble joined WMU-Cooley in 1984. He is a past president of Clarity, an international organization promoting plain legal language in law, and a founding director of the Center for Plain Language, which rewards clear communication and shames “complex, confusing or just plain bad writing and the companies that produce them.”

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Varnum LLP

Tax attorney Angelique Neal has joined Varnum’s tax practice team. She will be based in the firm’s Novi office.

Neal joins the firm from her established tax practice in Brighton. Before entering private practice, Neal served as a trial attorney with the Office of Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service. She also served as special assistant U.S. attorney for the Department of Justice.

Neal focuses on civil tax controversy and tax planning. She works with clients throughout Michigan, as well as across the country. She also represents clients with international interests in Great Britain, Dubai UAE, Kuwait, Switzerland, Mexico, the Caribbean, and New Zealand.

Neal received her law degree from Michigan State University College of Law. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).

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Criminal Defense  Attorneys of Michigan

Elizabeth A. LaCosse of Marquette has been elected president of the Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan. LaCosse has been part of CDAM’s leadership for more than eight years.

Said LaCosse, “Decades of work and dedication by many people has culminated in significant changes in indigent criminal defense. While our work in indigent defense is vital, we will continue to offer all of Michigan’s criminal defense attorneys top-notch education, networking opportunities, and mentoring to our newer members. Our hard work in Lansing will also remain steadfast as we uphold the Constitution and provide a voice for those accused of a crime.”

Karl P. Numinen (Marquette) was elected first vice president; Nicole Smith (Detroit) was chosen second vice president; Rhonda B. Ives (Coldwater) was re-elected treasurer; and Arthur Jay Weiss (Farmington Hills) was elected secretary.

Daniel W. Grow (St. Joseph), Victor Mansour (Farmington Hills), and Steven I. Moss (Southfield) were elected to at-large three-year terms. Nadine Hatten (Troy) and John Holmes (Bloomfield Hills) were elected to at-large two-year terms.

William Swor (Detroit) was re-elected District 1 representative, while Takura Nyamfukudza (Lansing) was elected District 2 representative and Patrick Cherry (Cadillac) was chosen as District 3 representative.
CDAM is Michigan’s leading criminal defense organization whose mission is to promote expertise in criminal law; to educate the bench, bar and public of the need for quality and integrity in defense services and representation; and to promote enlightened thought-concerning alternatives to the present criminal justice system.

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Reiter & Walsh PC

Reiter & Walsh PC birth injury attorneys Jesse M. Reiter and Emily G. Thomas published an article in the May 2018 American American Association for Justice (AAJ) Trial Magazine.  The title of the article is “Understanding Fetal Monitoring Evidence.”

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Dickinson Wright PLLC

On Thursday, May 10, Dickinson Wright attorney James P. Spica addressed the American Bar Association (ABA) Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section 2018 Spring Symposia in Orlando, Florida as a member of the Symposia CLE faculty. His topic was the Uniform Directed Trust Act (UDTA). The UDTA has been promulgated by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, also known as the Uniform Law Commission (ULC).

Spica is a ULC commissioner (appointed by the State of Michigan’s bipartisan Legislative Council) and served as the ABA advisor to the ULC Drafting Committee that developed the UDTA. He is also the chair of the Divided and Directed Trusteeships Committee of the Council of the Probate and Estate Planning Section of the State Bar of Michigan, which has developed a legislative proposal to enact the UDTA in Michigan as an amendment to the Michigan Trust Code. (That proposal is currently being prepared in the form of bill requests by the Michigan Legislative Service Bureau.)

Spica is the principal author of the Michigan Personal Property Trust Perpetuities Act and of Michigan’s multi-statute “trust decanting” regime. In addition to serving as the ABA advisor to the ULC Directed Trust Drafting Committee, he served on the ad hoc committee of the ABA Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section that drafted the Section’s response to the Treasury Department’s request (IRS Notice 2011-101) for comments on the tax implications of trust decanting. He is a member of the ULC’s Fiduciary Income and Principal Act (UFIPA) Drafting Committee, a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), a former member of the ACTEC State Laws Committee, a Life Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, a member of the Michigan Commission on Uniform State Laws, chair of the UFIPA Committee of the Council of the Probate and Estate Planning Section of the State Bar of Michigan (Council), a former member of the Council (2006-2015), and a current member of the Probate and Estate Planning Advisory Board of Michigan’s Institute of Continuing Legal Education.

As a member in Dickinson Wright’s Detroit office, Spica focuses his practice on estate and tax planning, trust banking, and trust litigation. Listed in Chambers High Net Worth Guide, The Best Lawyers in America, Michigan Super Lawyers, Leading Lawyers, and DBusiness Top Lawyers, he is the author of the Commentaries on the Michigan Powers of Appointment Act, the Michigan Uniform Statutory Rule Against Perpetuities, and the Personal Property Trust Perpetuities Act in the Michigan Probate Sourcebook (3rd ed. 2018), of the decanting chapter in Trust Administration Under the Michigan Trust Code (2010 & Supp.), and of the wills chapters in the Michigan Estate Planning Handbook (3rd ed. 2016 & Supp.). He clerked for United States Tax Court Judge Richard C. Wilbur (1985) and taught jurisprudence, taxation, trusts, and decedents’ estates as an assistant/associate professor of law at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law (1989-2000, tenured 1996).

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Howard & Howard Attorneys PLLC

Howard & Howard Attorneys PLLC is pleased to announce that Nicholas T. Chapie has joined the firm. He will practice out of the firm’s Royal Oak office.

Chapie concentrates his practice in the areas of corporate law, real estate law, banking, employment and business transactions. He represents small to medium sized privately held companies, private equity firms, investors, mortgage lenders, and financial institutions.

Chapie has a broad range of experience spanning a variety of industries both domestic and international including, corporate business transactions related to mergers and acquisitions in asset sales and purchases, stock sales and purchases, and real estate acquisitions and divestments. He also represents local, regional and national financial institutions in structuring and documenting loan transactions.
Additionally, he represents a number of companies as outside general counsel assisting in their day-to-day needs.

Chapie began his legal career litigating business disputes, real estate issues and workout matters for various sized companies, national title companies and lending institutions. Prior to practicing law, he consulted Fortune 1000 companies throughout the U.S. and Europe focusing on management, strategy, operations and process improvement.

Chapie received his B.A. from Michigan State University in 1999 and his law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law in 2007. He is licensed to practice in the State of Michigan and before the United States District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

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Brooks Kushman P.C.

Brooks Kushman is pleased to announce the addition of Shareholder Erica D. Klein to the firm’s Southfield office. The move further expands the firm’s trademark practice. 

Klein brings more than 20 years of experience focused on the strategic development, management, and protection of intellectual property assets. Her practice covers a broad range of legal issues including trademark, copyright, social media, rights of publicity, and data privacy and protection. Klein has extensive experience structuring IP transactions, and regularly negotiates IP acquisition agreements, licenses, and other commercial arrangements implicating intellectual property rights. Klein’s work also includes managing domestic and international trademark portfolios, representing clients in proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, and general counseling.

Prior to joining Brooks Kushman, Klein was a partner with Kramer Levin, a general practice law firm in New York City, where she focused on global brand protection and IP transactional work. She represents clients in a broad range of industries, including fashion, entertainment, broadcasting, consumer products, and hospitality. 

“I am very excited to join the Brooks Kushman team,” said Klein. “The firm is globally renowned for its IP capabilities, and presents an excellent platform from which to optimally service clients’ needs. I’m particularly looking forward to being a part of the firm’s robust trademark practice, as they are a group of talented professionals who work with some of the world’s most recognizable brands.”

Klein earned a law degree from the University of Michigan Law School and a bachelors degree from Dartmouth College. She is the current chair of the Intellectual Property Law Section of the New York State Bar Association. She also served for several years as the co-chair of Kramer Levin’s Women’s Initiative Committee, is an active member of the International Trademark Association, and has been recognized by Thomson Reuters’ New York Super Lawyers for each of 2014-2017.