Legal People

The Best Lawyers in America has named two local Bodman attorneys “Lawyers of the Year” for 2019: Barbara A. Bowman and Ralph E. McDowell.

Barbara A. Bowman was named 2019 Banking and Finance Law Lawyer of the Year for Troy. She represents clients in complex financial transactions and securities law matters, including acting as bond counsel and underwriter’s counsel in bond transactions at the state and local levels. She has counseled clients on compliance with federal and state securities laws with respect to a variety of matters, including initial public offerings, secondary offerings, private investment companies, acquisitions and mergers. Bowman served in leadership roles with Michigan Women in Finance (past president and member, board of directors) and the Detroit Bar Association Foundation (past co-chair and member, board of directors).

Ralph E. McDowell is the 2019 Detroit Bet-the-Company Litigation Lawyer of the Year. He is former Lawyer of the Year for Bankruptcy and Creditor-Debtor Rights and Litigation-Bankruptcy. McDowell is chairman of Bodman’s Executive Committee, which guides firm operations and business strategy. He assists clients primarily in the areas of commercial bankruptcy and related litigation, debtors’ and creditors’ rights, and workouts. He has represented the interests of banks and other financial institutions in pre-bankruptcy workout situations, commercial bankruptcy cases, and troubled credit situations. He serves on the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law Dean’s Advisory Board, the Detroit Institute of Arts Audit Committee, Detroit Bar Association Debtor-Creditor Rights Committee, and the State Bar of Michigan Debtor-Creditor Rights Subsection (Business Law and Real Property Law Section).

In addition, Bodman PLC is pleased to announce that Christine L. Phillips has joined the firm as a senior attorney in the Banking Practice Group in the Detroit office.

Phillips represents lenders in the structuring, negotiation, and documentation of real estate and general commercial loans. She has experience representing for-profit and non-profit project owners and developers and lenders in real estate finance matters, including applications for loans insured by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

She has years of experience in general real estate law, including matters involving 1031 exchanges, leases, acquisitions, and sales of industrial, commercial, and multi-family residential properties. She has drafted and negotiated all manner of real estate-related legal documents, including reciprocal easement agreements, purchase agreements, construction agreements, leases, tenancy in common agreements, and operating agreements, among others.

Phillips’ diverse background includes experience working as a real estate sales agent and as an in-house attorney for a commercial development company where she handled a wide range of real estate transactions, conducted real estate due diligence, coordinated closings, and collaborated with outside counsel on construction and corporate litigation matters. She also worked as an in-house attorney for a publicly-traded Fortune 500 company focusing on regulatory compliance and employment matters.

Phillips is a member of the State Bar of Michigan (Real Property Law and Young Lawyers sections). While in law school, she served as an intern with the National Labor Relations Board and as a law clerk with the Michigan State Housing Development Authority.

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The Levin Center at Wayne State University Law School has named Associate Professors Kirsten Matoy Carlson and Lance Gable the inaugural Levin Center Research Scholars.

The research award will be presented on an annual basis to a member of the Wayne Law faculty in an effort to support scholarship central to the mission of the Levin Center, which is to promote bipartisan, fact-based legislative oversight; advance good governance; and promote civil discourse on current issues of public policy.

Carlson focuses her research on the empirical study of how legislative advocacy by American Indian nations advances the formation of federal policies affecting Indians. Her research, which is funded by the National Science Foundation and Social Science Program, seeks to develop a more comprehensive understanding of how, when and with what success the 573 Indian nations in the United States use the political process to change law and policy.

As a part of this larger project, Carlson is investigating how Indian nations have used legislative advocacy to oversee Congress’ commitment to the Tribal Self-Determination Policy, to encourage Congress to monitor closely the implementation of the policy by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and other agencies, and to persuade Congress to extend the policy to housing and other government programs.

Most recently, she presented her paper “Lobbying Against the Odds,” at the Yale/Stanford/Harvard Junior Faculty Forum. The paper is forthcoming in the Harvard Journal on Legislation.

Gable is focusing his research on the various approaches to achieving accountability for governmental officials and carefully analyzing the relative merits of each approach. Approaches may include legal mechanisms of accountability, accountability via the democratic process and in some cases accountability through external criticism. He will use this analysis to develop a hierarchy of accountability useful to both scholars and government officials in thinking about government decision-making, and incentivizing civil discourse and good governance.

Gable, a public health law expert, has focused in his prior work on the design of emergency preparedness and response systems, particularly how law and the legal environment impact the ability of governments and others to stage successful responses to public health emergencies. He recently co-authored the article “Criticized, Fired, Sued, or Prosecuted: Hindsight and Public Health Accountability” which discusses using criminal law to seek accountability in the Flint water crisis. The article was published in Public Health Reports. He previously served as associate dean of Wayne Law and was interim dean from September 2016 to August 2017.

Launched in March 2015, the Levin Center at Wayne Law is named in honor of former U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, Michigan’s longest-serving U.S. senator, who retired at the beginning of 2015 after 36 years in the Senate. Levin serves as chair of the Levin Center and on the Law School’s faculty as distinguished legislator in residence. For more information on the center’s work, visit law.wayne.edu/levincenter.

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William C. Lentine has joined the law firm of Warner, Norcross, & Judd LLP as a partner.

Lentine concentrates his practice in taxation, business law and estate planning for high net worth individuals. His business law experience includes advising on buy and sell side mergers and acquisitions, corporate planning and taxation, business entity formation and planning and federal and state taxation. He acts as outside general counsel and outside tax counsel for businesses in mortgage, hospitality and food-related industries. A licensed CPA in Illinois, he will practice in the firm’s Southfield office.

Prior to joining Warner, Lentine was a partner at Dykema Gossett PLLC where he was recognized as an Up & Coming Lawyer by Michigan Lawyers Weekly, a Rising Star by Michigan Super Lawyers and a Top Lawyer for DBusiness Magazine.

Active professionally, Lentine is vice chair of the Mergers & Acquisitions Committee of the Michigan Association of CPAs and serves on the Joint Trial Board for the American Institute of CPAs. He is a member of the State Bar of Michigan and serves as an officer on the Tax Council. He writes and presents regularly on tax law, estate planning and other legal matters.

He earned a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University and a law degree from the MSU College of Law.

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Maddin, Hauser, Roth, & Heller PC is pleased to announce that Best Lawyers® has recognized Harvey R. Heller as the 2019 Detroit Legal Malpractice Law - Defendants “Lawyer of the Year,” Kathleen H. Klaus as the 2019 Detroit Professional Malpractice Law - Defendants “Lawyer of the Year,” and Julie Beth Teicher as the 2019 Detroit Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law “Lawyer of the Year.”

Heller is a shareholder, managing director and chairman of Maddin Hauser’s Defense and Insurance Coverage Practice Group. He developed the firm’s Result Focused Case Management System®. In addition to being an active litigator, Heller is a member of the Michigan State Bar Foundation Fellows and the Michigan Defense Trial Council. On a national level, he is a member of the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Lawyers’ Professional Liability, the Defense Research Institute, the International Association of Defense Counsel, and the Claims & Litigation Management Alliance. Heller has authored articles on the subject of professional liability and has been a featured speaker at professional liability seminars. He has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America® since 2003 and was named its 2015 Detroit “Lawyer of the Year” for insurance law. He has also been recognized in the Michigan edition of Super Lawyers®, as a Top Lawyer by DBusiness Magazine and as a Michigan Leading Lawyer.

Klaus is a shareholder and member of Maddin Hauser’s Defense and Insurance Coverage Practice Group. She specializes in complex professional liability defense, employment defense and appellate practice, with an emphasis on handling cases seamlessly from initial intake through trial and appeal. Licensed to practice law in Michigan and Illinois, Klaus is admitted to the United States Courts of Appeals for the Third, Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Circuits, the United States Tax Court and the United States Supreme Court. She has been invited to speak at numerous trade and professional organizations on various topics including the application of the federal RICO statute and insurance claims handling procedures. Klaus has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America® since 2013 in the area of legal malpractice law - defendants. She has also been recognized in the Michigan edition of Super Lawyers®, as a Top Lawyer by DBusiness Magazine, as a Michigan Leading Lawyer, and named one of Michigan’s top female attorneys by HOUR Detroit Magazine.

Teicher is a shareholder in Maddin Hauser’s Creditor Rights, Bankruptcy and Insolvency Practice Group. Recognized for her expertise in insolvency-related matters, Teicher concentrates her practice on business-related insolvency and bankruptcy matters, handling cases in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, U.S. District Court and State court proceedings. A Certified Bankruptcy Court Mediator, she has periodically served as an adjunct professor at University of Detroit Mercy School of Law since 2006 and has presented at numerous seminars. Teicher has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America® since 2010. She has been listed as a Top Lawyer by DBusiness Magazine and in the Michigan edition of Super Lawyers®. Teicher was also recognized by Super Lawyers® as one of the Top Women Lawyers for Business Bankruptcy. She is AV rated in Martindale Hubbell and is included in its registry of preeminent women lawyers.

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Honigman, Miller, Schwartz, and Cohn LLP recently announced Scott Barnett has joined the firm as a partner in its Intellectual Property department and Intellectual Property Litigation practice. Barnett, who joins from Harness, Dickey, & Pierce, will be based in the firm’s Bloomfield Hills office.

Barnett counsels clients in the software, electrical and mechanical industries on a variety of IP matters ranging from trademark and copyright disputes to trade secrets litigation to patent prosecution and litigation. At his previous firm, Barnett’s practice focused on IP litigation in the technology and life sciences sectors.

Barnett is the sixth partner to join the firm’s IP department in 2018.

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Howard & Howard Attorneys PLLC is pleased to announce that twenty-nine of its attorneys were selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2019.

The local Howard & Howard attorneys and the practice area(s) under which they are listed in The Best Lawyers in America® 2019 are as follows:

Daniel H. Bliss, Patent Law and Trademark Law
Joseph J. DeVito, Corporate Law; Real Estate Law
Trent K. English, Patent Law (Selected as a “Lawyer of the Year” in Patent Law)
Lisa S. Gretchko, Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law; and Commercial Litigation
Andrew (Jake) Grove, Litigation - Intellectual Property
Kristopher K. Hulliberger, Litigation - Intellectual Property; Litigation - Patent; Patent Law; and Trademark Law (Selected as a “Lawyer of the Year” in Litigation - Patent)
Michael V. Kell, Commercial Litigation
Rodger A. Kershner, Energy Law
Jon D. Kreucher, Utilities Law
Henry P. Lee, Trusts and Estates
Miles T. Macik, Commercial Litigation
Gerald E. McGlynn III, Litigation – Intellectual Property; Litigation – Patent; and Patent Law
R. Saleha Mohamedulla, Trademark Law
Brad A. Rayle, Labor Law – Management
Jeffrey A. Sadowski, Litigation – Intellectual Property; Litigation – Patent; Patent Law; and Trademark Law

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Christina K. Korkes has joined Secrest Wardle as an associate at the firm’s Troy office. Korkes is a member of the firm’s Motor Vehicle Litigation, Family Law, General Negligence and Premises Liability Practice Groups.

Korkes received her Bachelor of Arts degrees in Criminal Justice (specialization in Courts) and Sociology from Oakland University. She earned her law degree from Western Michigan University Cooley Law School. She has previously served as a judicial law clerk, deputy law clerk, and probation clerk.

Korkes is licensed to practice law in Michigan. She was admitted to the State Bar of Michigan in 2018. She is a member of the State Bar of Michigan’s Young Lawyers Section. She is also an active member of the Oakland County Bar Association.

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Christopher J. Johnson, a co-founding shareholder of the law firm of Johnson, Rosati, Schultz, & Joppich, has retired from the firm and has joined the staff of the Michigan Municipal League as general counsel.

Johnson and Carol Rosati founded the firm in 1993 to specialize in representing local governments. The executive committee is composed of Rosati, Thomas Schultz, Steven Joppich, and Laura Amtsbuechler and they are joined by 23 other attorneys. They are a mix of generalists, serving as the primary counsel for communities, and specialists in nearly every element of municipal law.

Rosati said the firm will change its name to Rosati, Schultz, Joppich, Amtsbuechler.

The firm has offices in Farmington Hills and Lansing. Its clients include cities, villages, townships, local authorities and commissions and regional agencies. Through the Michigan Municipal Risk Management Authority, the firm provides litigation defense to communities across the state.

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Dickinson Wright PLLC is pleased to announce that the firm’s real estate practice has been ranked as the #3 real estate law group in the “2018 Best of the Best” report, published by Midwest Real Estate News. This is the fourth year in a row that Dickinson Wright has been among the top three law firms on the list.

Dickinson Wright’s real estate practice has more than 80 lawyers that are actively involved in real estate matters, regularly representing a wide variety of clients in all aspects of real estate investment, development and financing. Many clients have portfolios that span North America, and they rely on the firm’s experience in nearly every U.S. state and Canadian province to help them maximize value and increase management efficiency.