Legal People ...

Gov. Rick Snyder recently announced the appointment of James Robert Redford to the Michigan Court of Appeals, 3rd District.

Redford is currently the director of the Military and Veteran’s Affairs Agency within the Michigan Department of Military and Veteran’s Affairs. In that role, he has managed a comprehensive turnaround of the operation and functionality of Michigan’s homes for veterans. He has also spearheaded the creation and establishment of the new Veteran’s Facility Authority.

Redford received his law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law in 1985 after earning his undergraduate degree from John Carroll University. He served active duty in the Navy for five years as an attorney and military judge before joining the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Michigan.

After four years as a partner at Plunkett & Cooney in Grand Rapids, he was elected as judge of the Kent County Circuit Court, serving from 2003 through 2015, including time as chief judge pro tem. He left the bench to serve as legal counsel to the governor for one year before taking a position as director of the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency.

He is a lifelong Boy Scout, having attained the rank of Eagle Scout.

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Maddin, Hauser, Roth, & Heller PC is pleased to announce that James M. Reid IV has been elected to the Executive Council of the Michigan Society for Human Resource Management (MISHRM).

Beginning in 2019, Reid will serve as the MISHRM director-elect for two years, followed by two years as the council’s director, then as immediate past director for an additional two-year term.

Throughout his six-year term, Reid will assist in establishing policies, strategies and objectives consistent with SHRM policies and provide guidance to MISHRM council members and other volunteers to assist in supporting the organization’s objectives of providing service, leadership and development opportunities to human resource professionals in Michigan.

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

A shareholder, Reid serves on Maddin Hauser’s Executive Committee, as co-chairman of its Corporate and Employment Practice Group, and as 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 is a frequent local and national presenter on a wide range of employment topics. Along with providing regular advice and counsel to clients, he conducts tailored trainings for staff, management, and executive teams to guide them through the landmines and best practices for hiring, managing, and separating employees. He has also written several articles on topics including strategies for updating employee handbooks and successfully challenging claims for unemployment benefits.

Elected Labor and Employment Law Section Council for the State Bar of Michigan, Reid is a member of its Labor and Employment Law Section e-News Committee. He serves as MISHRM’s director of Resource Partners and was previously chair of the Oakland County Bar Association’s Employment Law Committee.

Reid has been named as a Michigan Super Lawyers® Rising Star, listed as a Top Lawyer by DBusiness Magazine and received the Oakland County Bar Association’s 2014 Distinguished Service Award for exceptional voluntary services benefiting the organization.

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Simon PLC Attorneys & Counselors, a law firm with locations across the United States, has won the 2018 M&A Advisor Award for M&A Deal of the Year ($10MM-$25MM) for the restructuring of Arcadia Health Services of Michigan Inc. The M&A Advisor is a news source for the world’s leading mergers and acquisitions, financing and restructuring professionals.

Frank R. Simon, managing member of Simon PLC, was appointed by the court as Receiver of Arcadia Health Services of Michigan Inc. in June 2017; over the course of approximately one year, Simon, with the help of Simon PLC’s dedicated receivership team, hired new top-level management, oversaw day-to-day operations, and assisted with the sale of the company in spring 2018.

“We are so thrilled to be honored with an M&A Advisor Award for our work in the restructuring of Arcadia Health Services of Michigan,” said Frank R. Simon, who has been appointed more than 100 times on various types of receiverships. “Our team worked very hard and is extremely deserving of this award.”

In addition to court-appointed receiverships, Simon PLC’s area of coverages include banking law and mortgage foreclosures, commercial workouts, loan documentation and closing of commercial loans, corporate law and shareholder rights, uniform commercial code, real estate law, bank workouts, creditors rights and commercial litigation, bankruptcy on behalf of creditors, and more.

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After they recently passed the Michigan Bar exam, Plunkett Cooney has added the talents of four new attorneys.

Taher K. Ali, Matthew J. High, Celeste C. Kinney, and Kelly J. Shefferly have joined the firm as associates. They will handle matters involving insurance coverage, employment law, business law and torts, and litigation.

Ali is a member of the firm’s Bloomfield Hills office who practices primarily in the area of insurance law. He represents major property and casualty insurance companies in coverage cases throughout the Midwest. His coverage work includes research and coverage opinions regarding general liability policy issues.

Ali received his law degree from the University of Minnesota Law School. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan in 2015.

A member of the firm’s Torts & Litigation and Labor & Employment Law practice groups, High handles matters involving premises liability, employment law and general negligence, including allegations of discrimination, sexual harassment, breach of contract and civil rights claims. An associate in the Bloomfield Hills office, he also assists with
municipal law matters, including zoning issues, telecommunications matters, charter revisions, and annexations issues on behalf of municipalities.

High recently received his law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law.  He received his undergraduate degree from Western Michigan University in 2015.

A member of the firm’s Detroit office, Kinney will spend approximately the next two years working as a judicial law clerk at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. She will return to Plunkett Cooney in September 2020.

Kinney is a member of the Detroit Bar Association, the Wolverine Bar Association and the State Bar of Michigan. Admitted to practice in Michigan, she graduated earlier this year from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan in 2015.

The final associate to join the firm is Kelly J. Shefferly who is a member of the Banking, Bankruptcy & Creditors’ Rights and Transactional Law practice groups. Shefferly handles contracts and litigation, including collections and breach of contract claims. He also represents business clients in mergers and acquisitions and real estate law.

Shefferly is a former judicial extern for Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Wendy Lynn Potts in the Business Court. He also worked as a judicial extern for U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Deborah L. Thorne, Northern District of Illinois in Chicago. A 2018 graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law, Shefferly received master’s degrees from The George Washington University in 2014 and DePaul University in 2010. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan in 2007.