Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss, P.C.
Jeremy D. Bisdorf, partner at Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer, & Weiss PC, was named practice group leader of the firm's Intellectual Property & Information Technology Practice Group. Jaffe CEO Jeffrey Weiss made the announcement.
In his new role, Bisdorf will manage the firm's professionals and resources with the goal of providing clients with high-quality and insightful legal counsel in the increasingly important fields of intellectual property and information technology while, maintaining an enthusiastic culture among the firm's professionals that provide these services.
Bisdorf, who is also a member of Jaffe's Corporate, Health Care and Franchising / Licensing Practice Groups, specializes in providing strategic legal advice and business consultation services to clients with an emphasis on maximizing the value of their intellectual property.
He currently serves as a Law Advisory Board member for the Institute of Continuing Legal Education. Bisdorf has been repeatedly included in the Michigan Super Lawyers and DBusiness Top Lawyers lists. Bisdorf was a previous chairperson of the State Bar of Michigan's Information Technology Law Section.
Bisdorf earned law degrees from the University of Michigan Law School and Wayne State University Law School, and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree in finance and business economics from Wayne State University Mike Ilitch School of Business. Bisdorf was admitted to the State Bar of Michigan in May 1999 and has been a partner at Jaffe since September 2005.
-----
Dinsmore & Shohl LLP
Dinsmore & Shohl LLP is expanding its Detroit office with the addition of associate of counsel Gary Donohue.
Donohue comes to the firm with 20 years of experience, most notably in trademark law. His clients have ranged from Fortune 500 companies down to small businesses, all of whom relied on Gary to deftly protect their brands.
Donohue spent the past five years as a senior attorney with Brooks Kushman in Southfield. His prior 15 years were with Ally Financial, formerly known as GMAC (General Motors Acceptance Corporation), where he provided counsel during the company's rebrand and was responsible for its international trademark portfolio, patent litigation and management of outside counsel.
Donohue earned his law degrees from Wayne State University Law School and Western Michigan University Cooley Law School and his B.A. in history from Michigan State University.
-----
Butzel Long
Mark Lezotte, a southeast Michigan health care attorney with Butzel Long, received the 2019 United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) National Chair's Award on March 25 during the nonprofit's national conference in Chicago.
The award is bestowed upon a person who has been particularly and uniquely supportive to the Chair of United Cerebral Palsy in providing volunteer leadership to UCP or through support of the UCP mission that has made an impact on the lives of the people served. During the conference, Lezotte also led a roundtable discussion on the role of volunteer board members and board recruitment.
He has long served UCP in various roles, including as chair of UCP's national public policy committee. He has played a key role in guiding UCP staff and volunteers in defining the national public policy work, meeting with Congressional leaders, and consulting with advocates on formation of a national policy agenda in partnership with other national organizations. In 2016, he completed 11 years of service on the UCP National Board of Trustees, and he has also previously served as a board member and president of the UCP/Detroit affiliate.
This is the second time Lezotte has been the recipient of this award, having received it in 2004 as well. In addition, in 2017 he received the Richard L. Beer Volunteer Award from UCP/Detroit for his longstanding commitment to UCP/Detroit and the disability community.
Lezotte also has served in leadership roles on many other civic and nonprofit boards, and has substantial experience in corporate, health care, tax, and exempt organization matters, including corporate and nonprofit governance, business transactions, tax-exempt issues, hospital-physician ventures, and regulatory investigations.
He has been active in numerous bar and professional organizations. He has been recognized in "The Best Lawyers in America" (health care law), published by Woodward/White Inc. since 2013; and has been selected to Michigan Super Lawyers, published by Thomson Reuters, since 2008.
In addition, Butzel Long attorney and shareholder Geaneen M. Arends has been named to serve on the Advisory Board for the Detroit Board Leadership Program (DBLP). The DBLP was formed by the Detroit Regional Chamber in partnership with Central Michigan University and Grand Valley State University and aims to connect business leaders, who have the right mix of skills and a desire to help Detroit's kids succeed academically, with open seats on public charter school boards.
The DBLP's comprehensive training provides interested board applicants with a deep-dive into board governance and responsibilities; a broad understanding of the current education landscape; insight into how public charter school boards work with their school authorizers and operators, and; the importance and value of boards being connected to the communities that they serve.
Based in the firm's Detroit office, Arends concentrates her practice on general business law and commercial real estate transactions.
Arends assists business clients with general business planning, entity formation and maintenance, mergers, acquisitions, private placements, woman-owned/minority-owned/disadvantaged business certification, and general business contracts. She also advises business clients on a variety of real estate transactions, including financing, acquisition, development and leasing of multi-family residential, retail, office and industrial properties.
Arends is a graduate of Michigan State University (1994) and of Boston College Law School (1998). She is admitted to the State Bar of Michigan and the United States District Court of the Eastern District of Michigan.
She is an alumna of Leadership Detroit, Class XXVII. She also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Detroit Historical Society and Detroit Public Television. Arends also is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.
-----
Oakland County Circuit Court
Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Michael Warren recently presented at the Annual Conference of the Michigan Council for Social Studies held at Hope College in Holland, Michigan. Attended by K-12 social studies teachers from across Michigan, his presentation was well received. His address, "The Michigan Constitution & Complying with the PA 391 Mandate," involved reviewing the history, structure, and content of the Michigan Constitution.
PA 391 of 2016, codified into MCL 380.1166(1), provides: "In all public and nonpublic schools in this state regular courses of instruction shall be given . . . in the constitution of Michigan, and in the history and present form of government of . . . Michigan, and its political subdivisions . . ." In addition, MCL 380.1166(2) provides that a high school must require a semester of civics that includes "the form and functions of . . . state, and local governments. . . and shall stress the rights and responsibilities of citizens." An anecdotal review of the audience revealed that none of the teachers believed that this mandate is being met well, if at all. Warren's presentation was to intended to help teachers bridge the divide between PA 391's requirements and the reality of the classroom.
His presentation explained that federalism is an indispensable part of Americans' conception of liberty, dividing the sovereignty of the people into two governments-the federal government and the states. To meaningfully participate in civic life, Michiganians must understand their fundamental governing document.
"Comparing the characters of our two Constitutions reveals startling differences reflective of the principles, values, and history of Michiganians and Americans writ large." Warren reflected. "The age, source of authority, governmental structure, methods of representation, amendment process, and the scope and breadth of power significantly differ between the constitutions; and those differences should be fully comprehended to ensure that our liberties and freedoms are protected on both the state and federal level."
Warren relied heavily on his book, "America's Survival Guide, How to Stop America's Impending Suicide by Reclaiming Our First Principles and History," which focuses on the First Principles of Declaration of Independence, the American Revolution, the Constitution, Civil War, Civil Rights Struggles, and suggestions for renewing the spirit of America. To learn more, visit www.AmericasSurvivalGuide. com.
Warren is a former member of the State Board of Education and assisted in drafting Michigan's current K-12 content standards in the Social Studies. He more recently assisted in recommending changes to the standards which should be addressed by the State Board of Education in coming months.
He is also the co-creator of Patriot Week, which spans from 9/11 (the anniversary of the terrorist attacks)-9/17 (the anniversary of the signing of the Constitution-Constitution Day). Patriot Week renews the spirit of America by deepening our appreciation of our founding First Principles, key documents and speeches, founding fathers and other great patriots, and flags from our history. The week was co-founded by Warren with his then 10-year-old daughter Leah. For more information, visit www.PatriotWeek.org.
Warren was awarded Judge of the Year 2018 by the International Association of Top Professionals.
-----
Moss & Colella PC
Moss & Colella PC, a Southfield-based civil rights and personal injury law firm, announces that Melanie J. Duda has joined the firm as an associate attorney. The announcement was made by Managing Partner A. Vince Colella.
Immediately prior to joining Moss & Colella, Duda was an attorney with Fieger, Fieger, Kenney, & Harrington, where she litigated cases involving civil rights, sexual assault, medical malpractice and negligence. She also operated her own law firm, the Law Office of Melanie J. Duda PLLC, for two years, where she worked on criminal defense, family law and real estate matters. During law school, she was a law clerk at Giarmarco, Mullins, & Horton PC.
Duda received a law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law in 2012. She earned a Master of Arts degree and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology, both from Wayne State University.
At Moss & Colella, Duda will focus her legal practice on litigation involving first and third-party auto law, negligence, medical malpractice, civil rights, discrimination, gross negligence and governmental immunity cases.
Duda is a member of the State Bar of Michigan and is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. She is active in professional and civic activities and is a member of the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan.
-----
Children's Services Agency
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Director Robert Gordon recently announced the appointment of JooYeun Chang as senior deputy director for the Children's Services Agency. Chang has more than 17 years of experience in child welfare and human service practice and policy.
Chang will lead MDHHS' Children's Services Agency, which oversees the state's child welfare system, including Children's Protective Services, the foster care system that serves approximately 13,500 children, adoption services and juvenile justice programs.
Chang is currently managing director at Casey Family Programs, the nation's largest operating foundation focused on improving the child welfare system. She has led work to identify, develop and disseminate information about the most promising best practices in child welfare, including work in partnership with Michigan's Children's Services Agency.
She previously served as head of the Children's Bureau in the Administration of Children of Families. The Children's Bureau is the first federal agency within the U.S. government to focus exclusively on improving the lives of children and families. In leading the Children's Bureau, Chang administered more than $7 billion in federal programming to support national child protection, foster care, guardianship and adoption programs.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from North Carolina State University and a law degree from the University of Miami School of Law.
Chang is expected to start her position on May 20, 2019.
-----
Goodman Acker P.C.
Goodman Acker PC announces that Partner and Co-founder Barry Goodman has been appointed to the Mackinac Island Commission by Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
This is Goodman's second term on the Commission. He previously served from 2007-2013.
"It is truly an honor to be re-appointed to the Mackinac Island Commission," said Goodman. "Public service is part of our mission at Goodman Acker, and I can think of no better public service than helping to preserve one of the most important and most visited places in our beautiful state. I look forward to working with the other commissioners to keep Mackinac beautiful for the next generation."
Goodman's appointment is subject to the advice and consent of the Senate and his term expires April 12, 2025.
-----
Plunkett Cooney
Plunkett Cooney has increased the horsepower to its Transportation Law Practice Group with the recent addition of attorney Matthew J. Zmijewski.
A member of Plunkett Cooney's Bloomfield Hills office, Zmijewski focuses his litigation practice in the areas of first- and third-party motor vehicle liability and no fault law. Zmijewski has experience handling first-party claims, third-party auto negligence matters, as well as cases involving bodily injury and uninsured and under insured motorist claims. He also has extensive experience investigating and resolving fraudulent motor vehicle liability suits.
Zmijewski graduated from Wayne State University Law School in 2010. He received his undergraduate degree from Michigan State University in 2007.
Admitted to the State Bar of Michigan and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan, Zmijewski is a member of several professional organizations, including the Association of Defense Trial Counsel, the Michigan Defense Trial Counsel and the Central Michigan Adjusters Association, as well as the State Bar of Michigan, the Detroit, Oakland County, and Macomb County bar associations.
-----
Dickinson Wright PLLC
Dickinson Wright PLLC is pleased to announce that it received a perfect score of 100 on the 2019 Corporate Equality Index (CEI), the nation's premier benchmarking survey and report on corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ workplace equality, administered by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation. Dickinson Wright joins the ranks of over 560 major U.S. businesses that also earned top marks this year.
"Once again, we are pleased to have participated in the 2019 Corporate Equality Index and to achieve a perfect 100 for the second year in a row," said Harlan Robins, deputy CEO Finance & Diversity. "This recognition reflects the firm's commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive culture for all of our lawyers and employees. At Dickinson Wright, we understand that hiring and retaining a diverse workforce is a core component of the firm's values and it is instrumental to providing our clients with the best legal service."
The 2019 CEI evaluates LGBTQ-related policies and practices including non-discrimination workplace protections, domestic partner benefits, transgender-inclusive health care benefits, competency programs, and public engagement with the LGBTQ community. Dickinson Wright's efforts in satisfying all of the CEI's criteria results in a 100 percent ranking and the designation as a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality.
For more information on the 2019 Corporate Equality Index, or to download a free copy of the report, visit www.hrc. org/cei.
-----
Howard & Howard
Howard & Howard has announced the official formation of an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Practice Group. The practice group's attorneys assist parties in resolving disputes out of court. The announcement was made by firm President and CEO Mark A. Davis
"ADR is a steadily-expanding area of the law which we've embraced for a long time. Having a formal ADR practice group enables us to better focus our considerable resources on the needs of parties who want alternatives to the courts," said Davis.
The firm's Alternative Dispute Resolution Practice has experienced attorneys, acting as neutrals (mediators and arbitrators), offering services related to:
- Arbitration
- Mediation
- Summary jury trials
- Early neutral evaluation
- Private facilitation
- Pre-suit negotiation
- Special Master
Howard & Howard's ADR lawyers also have experience mediating and arbitrating a wide range of matters, including:
- Complex business disputes
- Business/partnership disputes, dissolution, and tor
- Construction disputes
- Employment disputes
- Fiduciary duties
- Franchise disputes
- Fraud, misrepresentation, and RICO actions
- Personal injury disputes
- Trade secrets
- Unfair trade practices, competition, and restrictive covenants
The ADR Practice Group will be led by attorneys Jim Kohl, Brian Pezzillo, Brad Rayle, and Jay Young. All have significant experience in mediation, arbitration, and other types of alternative dispute resolution.
-----
Bodman PLC
BTI Consulting has named Bodman PLC attorney Courtland W. Anderson as a "BTI Client Service All-Star" for 2019.
Anderson is one of only 335 attorneys nationwide, and one of only two in Southeast Michigan, to be nominated for the All-Star designation this year. According to the publication, a financial institution client nominated Anderson based on his superior client focus, unmatched client experience, understanding of the client's business, legal skills, and innovative thought leadership.
Anderson is a founding member of Bodman's Enterprise Procurement Group in the Troy office. He is a member of Bodman's Business, Data Privacy and Security, Emerging Companies and Venture Capital, Enterprise Procurement and Intellectual Property practice groups.
He represents clients in a range of commercial transactions, including business process and information technology outsourcing arrangements, commercial and governmental debit card programs, and manufacturing, procurement, and supply arrangements. Anderson helps clients appropriately structure all forms of commercial contracts, ensuring that the client's risks are mitigated, that the contract contains appropriate remedies for the client, and that the client secures the best possible financial terms. He serves clients in a range of industries, with a particular focus on financial services, construction, automotive, and healthcare.
He is a member of the State Bar of Michigan's Arts, Communication, Entertainment and Sports Section. Anderson is admitted to practice before the United States District Courts for the Eastern District of Michigan and the Northern District of Illinois. He has been recognized by Michigan Super Lawyers 2007-2018 under Intellectual Property and by DBusiness magazine as a Top Lawyer for Commercial Law and Franchise Law from 2007-2018.
Published: Mon, Apr 01, 2019
