Steven Gursten, Michigan Auto Law president and attorney, was recently named president of The Melvin M. Belli Society at its 72nd Annual Melvin M. Belli Society Seminar at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront.
Gursten was also a speaker at the seminar on the topic of "Let your Fitbit do the talking: Proving damages and liability."
While in San Diego, Gursten also moderated the Traumatic Brain Injury Litigatin track at the American Association for Justice (AAJ) 2019 Annual Convention at the San Diego Convention Center.
The Melvin M. Belli Society is an invitation-only organization of trial attorneys.
The AAJ provides trial attorneys with information, professional support and a national network that enables them to most effectively and expertly represent clients.
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Royal Oak-based law firm Howard & Howard is pleased to announce that Bill Blancke has joined the firm and will practice out of the Royal Oak office.
Blancke concentrates his practice in intellectual property law. In particular, he focuses his practice on assisting licensed patent attorneys in drafting patent applications related to technology in the mechanical and electro-mechanical arts. Additionally, he conducts clearance/freedom-to-operate investigations to assist clients in strategically navigating existing patent portfolios while meeting their own business needs.
Blancke joined Howard & Howard in 2014 as an intellectual property intern. Prior to his law career, Blancke worked in the industry at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) as a launch support engineer and a product engineer. During his time with FCA, he developed and designed vehicle interior components and ensured these components met design specifications during the production launch of new vehicles.
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Butzel Long attorney and shareholder Linda J. Armstrong has been named a "2019 Honoree for Michigan Women in the Law" by Michigan Lawyers Weekly.
She is one of 30 female attorneys who will be honored during a luncheon on Sept. 5 at the Detroit Marriott in Troy.
Armstrong is chair of the firm's Immigration Practice Department, leading one of the largest immigration practices in the state. She also is a member of the firm's Global Automotive Industry Group.
Armstrong concentrates her practice in the area of business and family immigration law, including all aspects involved with the international movement of personnel; immigration consequences of corporate restructuring, mergers and acquisitions; employer and workplace compliance issues, including I-9 and H-1B public access file investigations; inbound and outbound work-authorized immigrant and nonimmigrant matters; and labor certification. Armstrong is instrumental in helping businesses transfer employees with company specific expertise to the U.S., thereby allowing companies to grow and remain competitive.
She provides on-site training to business clients on numerous topics, including U.S. nonimmigrant visas; U.S. permanent resident processing; outbound general strategic planning, and employer compliance issues, including I-9 completion and compliance and H-1B public access file compliance. In addition to I-9 training she has developed action plans for companies to allow them to correct their I-9's in advance of a government audit all with the goal of putting the company in the best possible position prior to an audit. With the number of government audits doubling in recent years and the huge increase in possible fines for violations, this type of training had proven very successful in allowing companies to avoid liability.
Armstrong is a frequent speaker on business immigration to professional and business organizations, including the International Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan, Michigan Infrastructure & Transportation Association, Walsh College, and the Original Equipment Suppliers Association (OESA).
She also has helped organize and presented at Butzel Long's full-day Immigration Seminar and/or the Butzel Long's Annual Labor, Employment and Immigration Law Forum for more than 20 years.
Moreover, she is a member of the American Bar Association; Federal Bar Association, past Immigration Committee co-chair; State Bar of Michigan: International Law Section, past council member and chair, Immigration Committee; Detroit Bar Association; American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA); AILA Michigan Chapter and past Membership Committee chair and Department of Labor liaison.
As part of the State Bar of Michigan's International Law Section, Armstrong developed multiple programs that featured the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Detroit district director and the Detroit Field Office director. These programs provided members invaluable access to the highest ranking USCIS officials in the State of Michigan.
Prior to joining Butzel Long, Armstrong was an associate at another major Detroit law firm, where her practice was concentrated in the area of immigration law. She also was employed as associate general counsel with Federal-Mogul Corporation where she had responsibility for legal matters relating to employment relations, product liability, advertising, political action committees, and immigration.
Armstrong is listed in The Best Lawyers in America (Immigration Law).
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Dickinson Wright PLLC is pleased to announce that attorney Daniel Quick (member, Troy) has been elected Treasurer of the State Bar of Michigan.
"I am honored to be serving the State Bar of Michigan as Treasurer," said Quick. "I look forward to working with my fellow officers, the Board of Commissioners and the Representative Assembly along with our members to continue to advance and enrich the legal profession within the State of Michigan."
Quick is a commercial litigation trial attorney who specializes in business torts (including minority shareholder and "business divorce disputes," trade secrets, and noncompetes) and all facets of intellectual property litigation. He is a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America and is recognized as a leader in his field by Chambers USA, Best Lawyers in America, Michigan Super Lawyers, and DBusiness.
Quick is president of the Oakland County Bar Association. He also serves on the Board of Commissioners of the State Bar of Michigan and is on the Governing Council of the American Bar Association's Section of Litigation. He received his B.A. and law degree from the University of Michigan.
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Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer, & Weiss PC announced that Nicole Hertzberg was elected as a first time board member to the Jewish Federation's NEXTGen Detroit board of directors. In this role, she will be planning and executing programming and events, developing strategy and acting as an ambassador of Jewish Detroit. Hertzberg has also been appointed co-chair of EPIC, NEXTGen Detroit's largest and premiere annual fundraising event.
Hertzberg is an associate and member of the firm's Estate & Wealth Planning Practice Group, where she concentrates her practice in the areas of gift, estate and tax planning, wealth transfer and trust administration.
Hertzberg earned a law degree from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York City. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology with a crime and justice minor from the University of Michigan.
NEXTGen Detroit is on a mission to be the hub of a vibrant and dynamic Jewish community for young adults in Metro Detroit. By serving as a connector for all things young and Jewish, NEXTGen Detroit helps native Detroiters and newcomers find meaning and build relationships in all facets of life, from professional and religious to cultural and communal. For additional information, visit: https://jewishdetroit.org/nextgen/.
Published: Mon, Aug 05, 2019
