Legal People ...

Rain BDM Founder and Chief Consultant John Reed has been elected to the Board of Trustees for Leader Dogs for the Blind.

From white cane training to matching people with a guide dog to youth summer camps, Leader Dog reintroduces people across North America to a life of independence, confidence, and companionship.

Reed has been an active supporter of the organization’s fundraising events, including the “Double Dog Dare” in which participants rappel down a 15-story building.

Rain BDM is a Bloomfield Hills-based business development and marketing consultancy that helps law firms and attorneys across the country build outstanding client relationships.    

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The International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (IACP), a global organization promoting client-centered conflict resolution, has named Metro Detroit family law attorney Alisa Peskin-Shepherd to its new Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

Since 2001, IACP has worked to promote the international growth of collaborative practice, which brings together attorneys, counselors, and health practitioners to resolve conflicts, especially divorce and custody issues, in a results-oriented, client-focused process.

The Diversity and Inclusion Committee, the association’s newest body, was the focus of a plenary session at IACP’s 2018 educational and networking forum. The committee’s members are from all over the world and will meet by videoconference monthly, expanding IACP’s mission to lead, integrate, and promote collaborative practice by ensuring it encompasses an ever wider group of individuals.

“I am proud to help foster inclusion and diversity in collaborative family law,” Peskin-Shepherd said. “Nothing could fit better with our goal of ensuring everyone gets a seat at the table to resolve situations to total satisfaction.”

With more than 30 years of experience as a family law, divorce and custody attorney, mediator, and collaborative divorce practitioner, Peskin-Shepherd brings a “mediative” approach to her practice, a term she coined to refer to a permanent state of doing what is best for all involved – rather than letting anger and emotions lead the way.

She founded her Birmingham-based law firm, Transitions Legal, in 2013 and has been recognized as a Super Lawyers honoree every year since 2015, and DBusiness Magazine Top Lawyer for three years running, for excellence in legal practice and one of the top female lawyers in Michigan.

An approved mediator statewide, Peskin-Shepherd is specially trained in a variety of legal focuses that aid her work with families. The firm also offers guardian-ad-litem services, protecting the interests of children and vulnerable individuals within the legal system, and Peskin-Shepherd has special training in domestic violence through the State Bar of Michigan Open Justice Commission. Recognized for her work in the Detroit Jewish News Best of Michigan awards, Peskin-Shepherd speaks widely and leads workshops on topics related to divorce, counseling and mediation.

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After 10 years at the helm of Collins, Einhorn, Farrell PC, Neil MacCallum and Mike Sullivan are passing the torch. Effective May 1, 2019, Dan Collins and Theresa Asoklis will take over as the firm’s co-managing shareholders.

The firm traces its origins to 1971, when the late Mort Collins asked Brian Einhorn and then Clay Farrell to join forces. Over the next 48 years, the firm grew to more than 60 attorneys. With support staff, Collins Einhorn now includes a client-focused team of 120 employees.

Asoklis is one of the leaders of the firm’s Professional Liability practice group. And Collins—the son of firm founder Mort Collins—is one of the leaders of the firm’s nationally known Asbestos and Toxic Tort practice. Asoklis and Collins will be the third generation of firm leadership, and will look to build on the firm’s long track record of success and stellar client service.

Sullivan will remain a key member of the firm’s Professional Liability team, and will focus the next phase of his career on client service and quality control. MacCallum will continue his role in the firm’s Asbestos and Toxic Tort practice group, focusing on client relationships and client service.

Both Sullivan and MacCallum will work to ensure that the next generation of CEF lawyers is steeped in the culture that has made the firm a home
for talented lawyers and staff, many of whom have spent their entire careers at CEF.

“It was our great honor to lead this firm over the last 10 years, as it more than doubled in size,” said Sullivan, a past president of the Oakland County Bar Association.

MacCallum, a former adjunct professor at Western Michigan University Cooley Law School, added, “The firm is well positioned, and we have every confidence that this new team is ready to lead the firm into the future. The firm’s partners have chosen well in selecting Theresa and Dan as co-managers.”

Collins, Einhorn, Farrell PC is a multi-specialty defense litigation firm, serving clients in the areas of Appellate Practice, Asbestos/Toxic Tort, Employment Practices Liability, Fire and Explosion Litigation, General and Automotive Liability, Attorney/Judicial Ethics and Grievance Defense, Insurance Coverage, Medical Malpractice, Product Liability, and Professional Liability.

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Bodman PLC is pleased to announce that David C. Bosman, a member of the firm’s Banking Practice Group, has been honored as one of Oakland County Executive’s Elite 40 under 40 Class of 2019.

Bosman is based in the firm’s Troy office. From his work with banks and financial institutions, to involvement in charitable and civic groups including Hope Water International and the Troy Foundation for Educational Excellence, Bosman is committed to the success of the community in which he lives and works.

About 250 applications and nominations were reviewed by a panel of judges, looking for the top 40 young professionals and thought leaders who live or work in Oakland County. The 40 honorees have achieved excellence in their field and contributed to the quality of life in their communities.
This is the eighth year of the Elite 40 program.

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The law firm of Dean & Fulkerson is pleased to announce that Sarah J. Brutman has been promoted to shareholder at their Troy office.

Brutman joined the firm over a year ago and concentrates her practice on commercial insurance coverage and liability defense. She handles complex coverage litigation in both state and federal courts across the country, with an emphasis on property damage, construction and premises liability. She is an astute analyst of coverage and strategic issues.

Dean & Fulkerson is a full-service law firm providing personalized services and solutions to businesses, municipalities, financial institutions, and individuals.

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Liss, Seder & Andrews, an experienced team of No-Fault attorneys specializing in representing clients who have suffered significant brain and spinal cord injuries, recently announced that they have been named to the Best Law Firms list by U.S. News and World Report and that Arthur Liss, Karen Seder and Nick Andrews have all been certified as Lawyers of Distinction. Founder Arthur Liss made the announcement.

“We are so honored that both our firm and individual attorneys have received prestigious acknowledgements by such highly respected
organizations,” said Liss. “These awards set our  firm apart and are reflective of the hard work, dedication, and determination that our attorneys put into their work fighting for clients’ rights every single day.”

Arthur Liss, Karen Seder, and Nick Andrews have all been certified as Lawyers of Distinction. The Lawyers of Distinction is recognized as a small and prestigious community of distinguished lawyers in the U.S. Membership is limited to the top 10 percent of attorneys in the United States. Members are accepted based on objective evaluation of an attorney’s qualifications, license, reputation, experience, and disciplinary history.