Legal People

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder recently announced the initial appointments of Steven Haddad, Shaun Mansour, and Paul Weisberger to the Marihuana Advisory Panel.

Housed within the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) and established by the Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act (MMFLA), the 17-member panel was created to make recommendations to the LARA and to the Medical Marihuana Licensing Board concerning the
administration, implementation and enforcement of the MMFLA and the Marihuana Tracking Act.

Haddad is the managing member and chief operating officer of Capitol Sales Distributing. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Detroit Mercy and a law degree from Wayne State University Law School. He will represent secure transporters.

Mansour is an attorney at Shaun A. Mansour PLLC., advising businesses and individuals who seek MMFLA licensure through the state and municipalities who have elected to opt-in to the MMFLA. He earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Wayne State University and a law degree from Wayne State University Law School. He will represent provisioning centers.

Weisberger serves as general counsel for Wild Bill’s Tobacco and as vice president and general counsel of Oasis Wellness Center. He earned a bachelor’s degree in physiology from Michigan State University and a law degree from Wayne State University Law School. He will represent processors.

Members will serve terms expiring Dec. 20, 2019.

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Foster Swift attorney Lisa J. Hamameh is one of five attorneys elected to serve on the 2018-19 State Bar of Michigan’s (SBM) Board of Commissioners. The SBM Board of Commissioners provides oversight to the State Bar on finance, public policy, professional standards and member services and communications.  SBM is the governing body for the 42,000-plus lawyers in the State of Michigan.

Hamameh was elected to serve District I, representing Oakland County and will serve a three year term starting late September 2018 after the SBM
Annual Conference.

A graduate of Wayne State University Law School, Hamameh is a shareholder with Foster, Swift, Collins, and Smith PC, where she practices primarily public entity law, zoning and land use, liquor licensing law and condominium and homeowners’ association law.

Hamameh’s term as chair of the SBM Character and Fitness District I Committee concludes in December of this year and she previously served on the SBM Young Lawyers Section Executive Council.  Also active in the Oakland County Bar Association, she chaired the OCBA’s Municipal Law Committee, chaired the OCBA’s Membership Committee, and is a past director of the New Lawyers Committee.

Michigan Lawyers Weekly honored Hamameh as a 2014 “Woman in the Law.”  She has been recognized by Michigan Super Lawyer Magazine since 2011, first as a “Rising Star” and now as a “Super Lawyer” for Government, Cities and Municipalities. She was also selected for Best Lawyers in America® for Municipal Law and as a “Top Lawyer” for DBusiness Magazine.

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Bodman PLC is pleased to announce that Sarah L. Cylkowski, Nathan D. Dupes, and Thomas J. Rheaume Jr., all members of the firm’s Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution Practice Group, have been named to Benchmark Litigation’s 40 & Under Hot List, a comprehensive listing of the most talented litigation attorneys age 40 and under in the United States and Canada.  Cylkowski, Dupes, and Rheaume are among only 10 attorneys in the State of Michigan to earn placement on the 2018 Hot List.

Cylkowski, of 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 is a member of the Detroit Bar Association, the Oakland County Bar Association, and Inforum. She has been listed since 2016 in Michigan Rising Stars for business litigation.

Dupes, of Bodman’s Detroit office, represents clients involved in complex commercial and environmental litigation and counsels clients on a wide variety of environmental matters, including permitting, regulatory compliance, and environmental risk in real estate transactions. He is a former assistant city attorney for the City of Grosse Pointe Park. Dupes currently serves as an executive board member of the Federal Bar Association, Eastern District of Michigan Chapter, as vice president and secretary of the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center, and as vice president of the Grosse Pointe Newcomers Club.

Rheaume, of Bodman’s Detroit office, focuses his practice on complex commercial and insurance litigation. He has served as local counsel for national and international law firms. He is president of the Michigan Chapter of the Federalist Society. He serves on the Alumni Board of the Sigma Chi Fraternity of Michigan State University and is a board member of the Detroit Economic Club’s Young Leader Program. Rheaume is a volunteer mentor to students at Cornerstone Schools, a Christ-centered chartered K-12 school system located in Detroit. He has been listed since 2013 in Michigan Rising Stars for business litigation.

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Southfield law firm Maddin, Hauser, Roth, & Heller PC is pleased to announce that Michelle C. Harrell and James M. Reid IV have been appointed to the firm’s Executive Committee.

The announcement was made by the firm’s president and CEO, Steven D. Sallen.

Harrell is an experienced litigator, shareholder, Executive Committee member and chair of Maddin Hauser’s Complex Litigation and Risk Advisory Practice Group. She is a barrister emeritus in the American Inn of Court, Oakland County Chapter, a mentor in the Oakland County Bar Association
Mentor Program, and an Oakland County Circuit Court case evaluator.

An approved Alternative Dispute Resolution provider for Macomb County and Oakland County, Harrell has also been approved as a commercial arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association. In 2014, she was appointed to the Grosse Pointe Woods Planning Commission for a three-year term and to the Board of Directors of Living Arts.

Harrell has been recognized as a Michigan Leading Lawyer and as a Top Lawyer by DBusiness Magazine. In 2017, she was named as one of the 2017 Most Notable Women Lawyers in Michigan by Crain Content Studio, the custom publishing division of Crain’s Detroit Business.

Reid is a shareholder, Executive Committee member, co-chairman of Maddin Hauser’s Corporate/Employment Practice Group, and a member of its Franchise and Distribution Practice Group. He works mainly with employers on a spectrum of employment issues including counseling and advising human resource professionals and business owners. 

Reid frequently presents at local and national webcasts, podcasts and conferences regarding best employee handbook practices, strategies for complying with the National Labor Relations Act, and responding to union activity.  He has been elected Labor and Employment Law Section Council for the State Bar of Michigan and is a member of its Labor and Employment Law Section e-News Committee.

Reid serves as the director of Resource Partners at the Michigan Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) and was previously chair of the Oakland County Bar Association’s Employment Law Committee. He has been named as a Michigan Super Lawyers® Rising Star and listed as a Top Lawyer by DBusiness Magazine.

Maddin Hauser is also pleased to announce that Kaitlin A. Brown has been named the recipient of the 2018 Regeana Myrick Outstanding Young Lawyer Award from the State Bar of Michigan Young Lawyers Section.

This award annually recognizes a Michigan lawyer under the age of 36 who has demonstrated an overwhelming commitment to public service, service to the bar and exceptional leadership.

The announcement was made by the firm’s president and CEO, Steven D. Sallen.

Brown is a shareholder in Maddin Hauser’s Corporate and Employment practice group. Specializing in employment law, she focuses primarily on counseling employers to take proactive measures to prevent more costly claims of wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment and improper payment of wages.

She has been recognized among Michigan Lawyers Weekly’s 2016 Up and Coming Lawyers, named a Rising Star by Michigan Super Lawyers® from 2014-2017, received a Pro Bono Accomplishment Award from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, and was recognized in 2017 with the Member of the Year Award from the Women’s Bar Association.

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Ogletree Deakins is pleased to announce Meg Alli has been named managing shareholder of the firm’s Detroit (Metro) office. Alli was elected to the position during Ogletree Deakins’ annual Shareholders Meeting. She succeeds Tom Cattel who retired from practice.

In her practice, Alli represents and counsels management on the umbrella of employment laws and regulations affecting corporate clients, not-for-profit organizations, and educational institutions. She has defended employers, schools, and colleges in state and federal courts, administrative agencies, and arbitration proceedings. Alli has also served as select counsel for employment practices liability insurance carriers and represented employers in wage/hour litigation and “class” challenges to pay practices and exempt classifications.

In addition to litigation, Alli focuses her practice on preventative counseling, auditing, and training for management on a wide range of issues, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and complex wage and hour requirements under state and federal law, including collective actions under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

Active in her community, Alli served on the Board of Directors of a private educational institution and was the reporter for the Governor of Michigan’s Task Force on Domestic Violence. She received her law degree from Wayne State University Law School and her B.A. from Michigan State University.

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Erin Mette, a 2018 graduate of Wayne State University Law School, is the recipient of a prestigious Equal Justice Works Fellowship.

During her two-year fellowship, Mette is working for the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center to provide legal counseling and representation to families affected by home-based environmental health hazards in Detroit and Flint. She also will advocate for policy that advances environmental justice. Mette’s fellowship is supported by Munger, Tolles, & Olson LLP and an anonymous sponsor.

Mette is one of 67 fellows selected this year from 446 applications. The Equal Justice Works Fellowship class of 2018 includes graduates from 40 law schools serving 64 nonprofit legal services organizations sponsored by law firms, corporate and foundation sponsors, as well as individual supporters.

In the first six months of her fellowship, Mette will survey city, county and state agencies, community organizations and legal service providers to document the legal needs of families facing home-based environmental health hazards; identify families in need of immediate legal assistance accessing in-home lead testing, enrolling in water bill financial assistance programs and filing appeals of water bills and service shutoffs; and begin developing educational materials for compliance assistance workshops and legal services clinics.

Before attending law school, Mette worked with children and families in Detroit and Flint as an environmental educator. She earned her bachelor’s from Kalamazoo College and master’s from the University of Michigan.

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Maureen Rouse-Ayoub has joined Varnum’s Novi office as a member of the firm’s Labor and Employment Practice Team.

Rouse-Ayoub has experience representing employers in all areas of labor and employment law, including counseling clients on legal compliance and development of enforceable policies for the workplace. Rouse-Ayoub is also an experienced litigator, representing employers in state and federal courts, administrative proceedings, arbitration and before the National Labor Relations Board.

Rouse-Ayoub joins the firm from Bodman, where she has practiced since a 2008 merger with The Fishman Group. While at Bodman, she served as co-chair and chair of the workplace law practice group.

Rouse-Ayoub is recognized by both DBusiness Magazine as a Top Lawyer in Labor and Employment and by Michigan Super Lawyers. Within the community, she is a volunteer with Northern Michigan Adaptive Sports and Recreation Program.

In addition, Steve Cappellino has joined Varnum’s Detroit office as a member of the Tax Planning, Compliance and Litigation Practice Team.

Cappellino’s previous experience includes over 12 years with the IRS, as well as positions at a large law firm and as a CPA with an international accounting firm.

Cappellino has knowledge in tax planning and controversy at the federal, state and local level. During his career with the IRS, Cappellino served as a special trial attorney in the Office of Chief Counsel, handling large business tax cases of national significance. Prior to that, he was a senior attorney, advising IRS auditors, managers and executives on domestic and international issues, as well as tax procedure. As a CPA with Ernst & Young, Cappellino provided compliance consulting and controversy services. He also has a background in sales, use and personal property taxes.

In addition to his tax experience, Cappellino formerly served as a corporate attorney at a large law firm where he advised clients in all aspects of business, including taxation, startups, private equity, and mergers and acquisitions.

Cappellino is a graduate of Wayne State University Law School and Georgetown University Law Center. He attended Miami University for his undergraduate degree, majoring in accounting and finance.

Cappellino has also served as an adjunct professor of international taxation at Wayne State University Law School, and in his free time serves as a coach for various youth basketball, baseball and football leagues.

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The Michigan State Bar Foundation is pleased to announce its 2018 Award Recipients. The Founders Award, which recognizes lawyers who exemplify professional excellence and outstanding community contributions, will be presented to Thomas W. Linn. The Access to Justice Award, which honors persons who significantly advanced access to justice for the poor in Michigan, will be presented to Lorray S.C. Brown. The Founders Award will be presented on behalf of the Foundation at the State Bar of Michigan’s Awards Banquet and the Access to Justice Award will be presented during the Michigan State Bar Foundation’s Fellows Reception. Both events will be held on September 26th during the NEXT Conference in Grand Rapids.

Linn has provided leadership to ensure that everyone, regardless of income, receives access to justice. As chairman emeritus of Miller Canfield, he has instilled a culture of pro bono throughout the firm. He has been a frequent volunteer in various legal service clinics sponsored by Lakeshore Legal Aid, the Capuchins and others, and has provided more than 200 hours per year for many years. He has also assisted organizations and agencies that facilitate pro bono service and legal service to low-income and underserved communities.

Linn regularly participates in the State Bar of Michigan’s American Bar Association Day trip to Washington, D.C. to advocate for increased federal funding for civil legal aid. He has also provided leadership and assistance to the Michigan State Bar Foundation to increase financial resources from the legal community through the Access to Justice Campaign.

In addition to statewide leadership, Linn currently serves on the Board of Michigan Community Resources and is board chair of Lakeshore Legal Aid. He has been involved in transitions with both organizations and provided wisdom and support. Linn was chair of the Miller Canfield Pro Bono Committee from 2010 to 2016.

Brown is a devoted, passionate and knowledgeable consumer advocate. She has devoted her career to helping vulnerable consumers and homeowners. Brown has been the consumer law specialist at the Michigan Poverty Law Program since 2001 and serves as co-director of the Michigan Statewide Advocacy Services.

Brown has provided leadership and has served as the director of the Michigan Foreclosure Prevention Program (“MFPP”) since inception in 2009.

The MFPP is a statewide project and a partnership with legal aid offices and housing counselors throughout Michigan. MFPP provides legal representation to homeowners facing foreclosure, collaborates with housing counselors to resolve foreclosure early in the process and coordinates statewide policy advocacy. Since inception, MFPP attorneys have served approximately 41,000 households and saved over 16,000 homes. Brown regularly trains legal aid attorneys and pro bono attorneys on consumer law and foreclosure issues.

In 2015, Brown was honored with the National Consumer Law Center’s Vern Countryman Award for her special contributions in the area of consumer law.

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Dickinson Wright PLLC is pleased to announce that Blake Atler has joined the firm as director of finance.

As director of finance, Alter will manage all financial reporting, budgeting, and forecasting for the firm. He will also oversee day-to-day operations of the firm’s accounting department including treasury, tax, audit review, billing, and risk management.

Atler has more than 20 years of experience in accounting and finance management within privately held and private equity as well as global, Tier 1 organizations. He is a Certified Public Accountant with eight years of experience working in the Big Four environment and has demonstrated an ability to streamline accounting operations.

Atler received his B.B.A. from Eastern Michigan University and is a Six Sigma Certified Green Belt.

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Jenna Wright Greenman, partner at Kitch, Drutchas, Wagner, Valitutti, & Sherbrook, has joined Noticed©, an invitation-only service for distinguished professionals. Wright Greenman has been chosen as a Distinguished Lawyer™ based on peer reviews and ratings, dozens of recognitions, and accomplishments achieved throughout her career.

After receiving her Biomechanic Kinesiology and Science Education from the University of Michigan in 1997, Wright Greenman went on to earn her law degree from the Western Michigan University Cooley Law in 2000.

With nearly 20 years dedicated to law, Wright Greenman brings a wealth of knowledge to her industry, and, in particular to her area of specialization, medical malpractice and liability defense claims.

When asked why she decided to pursue a career in law, Wright Greenman said: “I have wanted to go into medicine since middle school, but I had a change of heart in college that led me to law. My original intention was to go to law school first and then to medical school afterwards—I never actually wanted to be a lawyer. But when I started practicing law, I found that I really enjoyed it, and so I decided to stay in law and not pursue medicine.”

Now in a leadership role in Kitch’s birth trauma and medical malpractice defense practice, Wright Greenman combines her understanding of medicine with extensive legal acumen.

“When doing medical malpractice defense, you have to understand medicine, read the latest studies, and be familiar with the literature,” Wright Greenman said. “I can humbly say that I feel comfortable talking with providers about the issues in their case or what I think the other side might present in their case.”

In addition to her legal practice, Wright Greenman is engaged by numerous insurance carriers and institutions as an educator, including with the Detroit Medical Center, to help develop plans for better patient care. She has been invited to give hundreds of lectures and presentations in the field of obstetrics, pediatrics, neurology and brain injury, physician practice guidelines, electronic medical records, legal issues, and other topics. In 2009, she was asked to co-author and publish a book chapter on Forensic Neuropsychological Assessment of the pediatric patient in Clinical Psychology.
Wright Greenman has served in leadership roles in many legal and medical organizations. Among others, she was invited to serve as co-chair of the American Conference Institute on Traumatic Brain Injury Conference in 2012 and 2013, where she presented on birth injury and brain injury issues. Wright Greenman was also nominated and selected as a member of the Federation of Defense and Corporation Counsel (FDCC) and currently serves as the president of the Michigan Society for Health Risk Management.

In 2016, Wright Greenman was honored by Michigan Lawyer’s Weekly who selected her as one of its “Women in the Law.”

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Jennifer Dukarski, Butzel Long attorney, shareholder and leader of the firm’s connected car working group, will be a featured speaker during the Autonomous Vehicle Safety Regulation World Congress from October 23-25 at The Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi.

She will participate in the Product Liability session (Oct. 23) on the “Litigating Automated Vehicle Product Liability Cases: Tackling the Tough Issues” panel discussion and will be a keynote speaker at the Privacy and Cybersecurity session (Oct. 24). The title of her keynote is, “Protecting Data Privacy (Including Bioprivacy) and the Liabilities if You Don’t.” Dukarski says that designing for various levels of autonomy and user experiences has led to an explosion of biometric data collection. Designing these technologies implicates a new moving target: bioprivacy. She will emphasize the importance for engineers and designers to take note of these trends to incorporate the proper protections mandated by law that will result in leaving a privacy-oriented fingerprint on the design.

Dukarski focuses her practice at the intersection of technology and communications with an emphasis on emerging and disruptive issues: digital media, cybersecurity, infotainment, vehicle safety and connected and autonomous cars.

In her practice, she has negotiated contracts for autonomous vehicle components, reviewed contracts involving wireless updates to in-vehicle technology, assisted companies in achieving successful Petitions for Inconsequential Noncompliance with NHTSA and has addressed multiple vehicle component recalls. Dukarski has become a national leader in legal issues facing emerging automotive technology and is the leader of Butzel Long’s connected car working group.  She also has spearheaded the reporting efforts for two national data breaches and focuses on the threat vectors facing automotive component design.

A self-titled “recovering engineer,” Dukarski serves as counsel to the OESA’s Product Development Council and has spoken on First Amendment issues ranging from newsgathering in the digital age to the impact of the FBI iPhone strategy.  She has been a panelist at the North American International Auto Show for the last two years, covering a broad variety of legal concerns focused on the autonomous and connected car.  She has appeared on several television programs, including Autoline and AutoBeat, and in many print interviews (including CIO Magazine, PC World, Bridge Magazine, Computer World and Automotive News) discussing automotive technology and its related legal issues.

Prior to joining Butzel, she gained automotive manufacturing and design experience as a result of high-level quality management and engineering positions.  She has worked extensively on successful automotive product launches, managing vendors and Tier One manufacturing facilities. A Six Sigma Master Black Belt, she applies her experience to create innovative approaches to the protection of IP assets and disruptive technology. 
Dukarski has experience with field recalls and was a representative to the University of Michigan’s CIREN (Crash Injury Research & Engineering Network) and UMPIRE (University of Michigan Program for Injury Research and Education). Working as a design engineer, she received multiple Record of Invention Awards for contributions to patents and trade secrets.

Dukarski has attained the distinction of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) senior member status, the highest grade for which IEEE members can apply.

Further, she was named a “2016 Honoree for Michigan Women in the Law” by Michigan Lawyers Weekly. She also is among Michigan Super Lawyers “Rising Stars” and DBusiness “Top Lawyers.”  She is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).  She is the IEEE Southeastern Michigan Vehicle Technology Society Treasurer and serves as a Working Group member with IEEE PAR 1912 (Privacy and Security Architecture for Consumer Wireless Devices) which is focused on setting standards for privacy and security protocols.  She also coaches and mentors’ women engineers.

At the same time, she is a co-chair of the Women in Communication Law committee of the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Forum on Communications Law and serves on the Forum’s Governing Committee. Moreover, Dukarski is an adjunct professor in the Paralegal Program, teaching Intellectual Property at Baker College. 

She is a graduate of the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law (2010). She’s also a graduate of the University of Detroit Mercy College of Engineering and Science (1996).

In addition, Butzel Long was a sponsor of a VIP reception hosted by the Michigan Aerospace Manufacturers Association and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation in advance of the Farnborough International Airshow (FIA). The reception took place on July 15 at the Radisson Blu Edwardian Hampshire Hotel in London, England.

The Farnborough International Airshow is a week-long, biennial event that combines a major trade exhibition for the aerospace and defense industries (attracting more than 73,000 industry professionals from across the globe) with a public airshow. The event is held in mid-July in even-numbered years at Farnborough Airport in Hampshire, United Kingdom.