Legal People ...

Butzel Long attorneys Beth S. Gotthelf and Claudia Rast will be featured speakers during the Michigan Chapter of the National Association for Surface Finishers (MINASF) Midwest Conference September 12-14 at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island.

Gotthelf was instrumental in developing the conference and will serve as a moderator for a presentation titled, “Launching into the Future. Is Space the Next Frontier for Surface Finishers?” She also will serve as a panelist for a program titled, “PFAS Update, Environmental Issues and Government Relations.”

Rast will participate in a presentation titled, “Cyber Security – The Number of Attacks on Small Business Will Shock You – Are You Protected? What to do if You’ve Been Hacked?”

Gotthelf is Butzel Long’s director of Innovation and External Relations. She brings a pragmatic and holistic approach to clients’ issues, assisting them in reaching their business goals, often matchmaking clients’ needs and acting as an outside general counsel. She counsels clients in governmental contracting, and related topics such as ITAR, EAR, Foreign Military Financing and Foreign Military Sales. Gotthelf also is a leader in environmental law, bringing creative solutions to remediation, redevelopment, tax incentives, and waste management.

Rast is the chair of Butzel Long’s Intellectual Property, Cybersecurity and Emerging Technology Group and a frequent speaker on issues of data security and privacy. She blends her expertise in law, business, and science to assist companies in their strategic use of technology, counseling clients in the areas of privacy, cybersecurity, data theft, intellectual property licensing and registration, and the forensic preservation and analysis of data.

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Maddin, Hauser, Roth, & Heller PC is pleased to announce that Best Lawyers® has recognized Charles M. Lax as the 2020 Detroit Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law “Lawyer of the Year.”

Lax is a shareholder of the firm who practices primarily in the areas of employee benefits, taxation, corporate law, and mergers and acquisitions. He has written numerous articles appearing in legal and public accounting journals and has lectured extensively on qualified retirement plans and other tax topics before the Michigan Institute of Continuing Legal Education, Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants, American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries, and other professional groups. Lax has experience in representing clients in tax controversy matters before the Internal Revenue Service and Tax Court of the United States.

Selected by his peers for inclusion in the annual edition of Best Lawyers in America® since 2006 in the area of Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law, Lax was also named the 2011, 2016 and 2018 Detroit “Lawyer of the Year” in employee benefits law. He has also been recognized by Chambers USA, selected for inclusion in the Michigan edition of Super Lawyers® since 2006 (one of the top 100 lawyers in the State of Michigan for 2008), and named a Top Lawyer by DBusiness Magazine.

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Bodman PLC is pleased to announce that Mary E. Comazzi has been named chair of the State Bar of Michigan’s Aviation Law Section.

As chair, Comazzi will lead the governing council for the 130-member Aviation Law Section. The section’s mission is to research, educate, share, and disseminate information about all legal matters concerning aviation.

Comazzi focuses her legal practice in the areas of general business law and aviation law. She helps clients structure, negotiate, and document mergers, acquisitions, reorganizations, joint ventures, and other complex commercial transactions, including transactions involving business and personal aircraft.

Before joining Bodman, Comazzi served as in-house general counsel to CHI Aviation, a Michigan-based helicopter services company. As general counsel, she developed, implemented, or managed programs involving all aspects of CHI’s business, including human resources, import/export regulatory compliance, Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration regulatory compliance, and facility/employee security clearances. She also managed complex corporate transactions, including a variety of asset purchases and sales, contract review and negotiation, and corporate finance matters.

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In order to serve a growing client base and expanding attorney roster, Varnum has opened a fourth Southeast Michigan office. The new office is located in Birmingham at 260 E. Brown Street in the central business district.

At just over 8,000 square feet, the new space includes 15 private offices, several conference rooms, and a large open-style multi-work station area for support personnel. Seven attorneys from the firm’s Novi and Detroit locations have moved to the new office, which opened August 12. They are joined by a veteran estate and business planning attorney from a Detroit-based firm.

“Our new Birmingham office, together with our downtown Detroit, Novi and Ann Arbor locations, is strategically positioned to serve our growing client base in Southeast Michigan,” said Ron DeWaard, chair of the firm. “Our goal is to double the size of the office in the coming year. Moving attorneys from the Novi and Detroit locations also opens up space in those offices, which had been at capacity.

“We’re excited about this additional location and the opportunity it presents for continued growth of the firm,” DeWaard said. “There is a demand for our brand of client-focused legal service in this market.”

Varnum’s client base in Southeast Michigan has grown more than 50 percent in the past five years. In addition to a growing number of clients, the new office serves an expanding attorney roster. Since last year, 12 of the 18 attorneys who have joined the firm are based in the firm’s Southeast Michigan offices.

Varnum is currently the fourth largest Michigan law firm, according to the 2019 directory of law firms published by Michigan Lawyers Weekly, and is the only West Michigan-based firm to be included in Crain’s 2019 list of 20 largest law firms, based on number of attorneys in Southeast Michigan.

Mike Romaya, a senior attorney in Varnum’s finance group, serves as the lead partner for the Birmingham office.

“We have a significant client base in Birmingham and this location allows us to better serve their needs,” Romaya said. “We’re very excited about the new location and looking forward to being part of the Birmingham community.

“While this office will have a strong focus on working with business and finance clients, we are a full service law firm offering an array of sophisticated legal offerings, no matter which office you visit,” Romaya added.

Joining Romaya in Birmingham are attorneys Anthony Akins, Tom Bergh, Brad Defoe, Barbara Buchanan, Lena Gionette, and Casey Koppelman. Practice areas represented in the new office include finance, litigation, labor and employment, employee benefits, trusts and estates and corporate services.

Estate and business planning attorney Stephen C. Rohr will also practice in the Birmingham office. Rohr recently joined Varnum from Miller Canfield, where he led the Personal Services Practice Group.

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Best Lawyers has named Brian McKeen, founder and managing partner of McKeen & Associates (www.mckeenassociates.com) as one of its 2020 Best Lawyers in the practice areas of Medical Malpractice Law-Plaintiff; and Personal Injury Litigation-Plaintiffs.

Jody Aaron and Norman Rosen of the firm were also recognized as 2020 Best Lawyers in the practice area of Medical Malpractice Law-Plaintiff.

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Plunkett Cooney was recently named by Crain’s Detroit Business as one of its 2019 Cool Places to Work in Michigan.

This is the firm’s first appearance on the annual Crain’s list, which recognizes the state’s top 100 coolest workplaces based on such factors as employee satisfaction, employee benefits, company policies and more. Plunkett Cooney’s President & CEO Thomas P. Vincent said landing on the list is, well ... pretty cool.

“We’re really excited to be selected by Crain’s as a Cool Place to Work,” Vincent said. “We work hard for our clients, but it’s important to take time out to have some fun too. Our management team is focused on making the firm the kind of place where people want to spend their careers.”

Plunkett Cooney maintains a firm wide “Great Place to Work” program to enhance the work experience for all employees. This program goes beyond compensation and the traditional benefits packages offered by most companies. The program includes opportunities for continuing education, special events, employee convenience services, diversity recruitment and retention, mentoring, wellness programs and much more.

Plunkett Cooney has also been recognized by other organizations for its ongoing efforts to create a better workplace, including the Detroit Free Press, which previously named the firm to its list of “Top Places to Work” and the Michigan Business & Professional Association, which named the firm one of its “101 Best & Brightest Places to Work For.”

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Howard & Howard is pleased to welcome Kory Steen to the firm. He will practice out of the Royal Oak office.

“I am a litigator who draws on my experiences clerking for a federal judge to effectively resolve business disputes,” Steen said.

Before pursuing a legal career, Steen worked in the hospitality industry. Through managing staff on a Japanese cruise line and opening a restaurant in Caesar’s Windsor Hotel & Casino, Steen developed an understanding of effective business practices.

While in law school, Steen worked as a judicial intern to U.S. District Court Judge Marianne O. Battani (2016), Eastern District of Michigan. He also worked as an intern for Michigan’s Attorney Grievance Commission (2017). After law school, Steen worked as a judicial clerk to U.S. District Court Judge Avern Cohn (2018-2019), Eastern District of Michigan. While working for Cohn, he worked part-time as an adjunct professor for the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law’s Moot Court program.