Legal People

Plunkett Cooney

In its annual review of the state’s top young attorneys, Michigan Super Lawyers magazine has awarded 11 lawyers from Plunkett Cooney its “Rising Star” honor.

Below is a list of local Plunkett Cooney attorneys who have received the 2020 Michigan Super Lawyer Rising Star designation:

Bloomfield Hills office
• Hilary A. Ballentine – Appellate
• Abe Barlaskar – Personal Injury: Defense
• Ryan P. Bourjaily – Estate & Trust Litigation
• Ashley S. Dickey – Personal Injury: Defense
• Chase M. Kubica – Personal Injury: Defense
• Patrick C. Lannen – Banking
• Scott W. Malott – Civil Litigation: Defense
• Courtney L. Nichols – Employment & Labor
• Nicole C. Ruggirello – Insurance Coverage (New to the list)

Detroit office
• Kimberly K. Seibert – Civil Litigation: Defense

Plunkett Cooney is also pleased to announce that attorney Nicholas W. Siewert recently joined the Transportation Law Practice Group.

A member of the firm’s Bloomfield Hills office, Siewert focuses his practice on insurance-related work involving No-Fault law and motor vehicle litigation, as well as on coverage disputes, entitlement issues and catastrophic injuries. He also represents ride sharing companies directly, and he serves as defense panel counsel for the policyholders of some of the nation’s largest insurance providers.

In addition to his transportation law practice, Siewert has expertise handling construction law claims involving fire and water damage, including arson and staged water losses.  He has also handled assignments pertaining to business law, premises liability, labor and employment law, contract law and commercial litigation.

Siewert received his law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law in 2014, and he received his undergraduate degree from Wayne State University in 2008.

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Maddin, Hauser, Roth,  & Heller PC

Maddin, Hauser, Roth, & Heller PC is pleased to announce that 17 of its attorneys have been included in the 2021 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America®.

Eleven of the 17, David M. Eisenberg, Earle I. Erman, Harvey R. Heller, Robert D. Kaplow, Kathleen H. Klaus, Charles M. Lax, Richard F. Roth, Steven D. Sallen, Julie Beth Teicher, Steven M. Wolock, and Craig E. Zucker, were recognized in multiple practice areas.

Best Lawyers has named Robert D. Kaplow as the 2021 Detroit Trusts and Estates Law “Lawyer of the Year.”  Also, Jesse L. Roth has been named in the inaugural edition of the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, for his work in Insurance Law.

Maddin Hauser’s 2021 Best Lawyers recipients, respective categories, and years honored include:

• Stuart M. Bordman, shareholder and chairman of Franchise and Distribution Practice Group: Franchise Law (2013-2021)

• David M. Eisenberg, shareholder: Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law; Litigation - Bankruptcy (2020-2021)

• Earle I. Erman, shareholder and chairman of Bankruptcy, Restructuring and Debtor-Creditor Rights Practice Group: Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law; Commercial Litigation; Litigation - Bankruptcy (1995-2021)

• David H. Freedman, shareholder: Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law (2012-2021)

• Mark R. Hauser, firm co-founder, CFO and Executive Committee member: Real Estate Law (1999-2021); named Best Lawyers 2018 Detroit Real Estate Law “Lawyer of the Year”

• Harvey R. Heller, shareholder, Executive Committee member and chairman of Defense and Insurance Coverage Practice Group: Insurance Law; Legal Malpractice Law - Defendants (2003-2021); named Best Lawyers 2015 Detroit Insurance Law “Lawyer of the Year” and 2019 Detroit Legal Malpractice Law - Defendants “Lawyer of the Year” 

• Robert D. Kaplow, shareholder: Tax Law; Trusts and Estates Law (2013-2021); named Best Lawyers 2021 Detroit Trusts and Estates Law “Lawyer of the Year”

• Kathleen H. Klaus, shareholder: Legal Malpractice Law – Defendants; Professional Malpractice Law - Defendants (2013-2021); named Best Lawyers 2019 Detroit Professional Malpractice Law - Defendants “Lawyer of the Year”

• Charles M. Lax, shareholder and chairman of Tax Practice Group: Corporate Law; Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law (2006-2021); named Best Lawyers 2011, 2016, 2018, and 2020 Detroit Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law “Lawyer of the Year”

• Michael W. Maddin, founder, president emeritus and Executive Committee member: Real Estate Law (2003-2021)

• Julie Chenot Mayer, shareholder: Professional Malpractice Law - Defendants (2015-2021)

• Richard F. Roth, shareholder: Real Estate Law; Trusts and Estates Law (2013-2021)

• Steven D. Sallen, president, CEO, Executive Committee member, and co-chairman of Real Estate Practice Group: Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships); Real Estate Law (2010-2021)

• Ronald A. Sollish, managing director/vice president and chairman of Corporate/Employment Practice Group: Employment Law - Individuals (2013-2021)

• Julie Beth Teicher, shareholder: Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law; Commercial Litigation; Litigation - Bankruptcy (2010-2021); named Best Lawyers 2019 Detroit Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law “Lawyer of the Year”

• Steven M. Wolock, shareholder: Legal Malpractice Law – Defendants; Professional Malpractice Law - Defendants (2008-2021)

• Craig E. Zucker, shareholder: Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law; Litigation - Bankruptcy (2010-2021)

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Dickinson Wright PLLC

Dickinson Wright PLLC is pleased to announce that Aaron Burrell (member, Detroit) has been named 2020 Black Leaders Worth Watching™ by Profiles in Diversity Journal.

The inaugural list of 2020 Black Leaders Worth Watching™ honors outstanding leaders within various fields who demonstrate their leadership through their careers, mentoring and supporting the next generation, and their commitment to the larger community. Each honoree will be profiled in the Profiles in Diversity Journal’s fall 2020 issue, which will be available online in late November at www.diversityjournal.com.

Burrell is a business lawyer who focuses his practice in the areas of complex commercial litigation, appellate law, labor and employment law, and minority business enterprises. He has prevailed in numerous complex, commercial-litigation cases in a number of state and federal trial courts and courts of appeals. He has also successfully defended clients in a wide range of discrimination and unfair-labor-practice claims in state and federal courts and administrative agencies, and he has counseled clients on all aspects of the employment relationship.

Burrell is recognized as a leader in his field by Crain’s Detroit Business, Michigan Lawyers Weekly, DBusiness Magazine, and Michigan Super Lawyers.

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Butzel Long

Butzel Long attorney and shareholder Geaneen M. Arends has been named Practice Department chair for the firm’s Corporate and Real Estate Practice Departments effective October 1.

Arends will be responsible for the management and oversight of the firm’s Corporate and Real Estate attorneys who will report to her as well as for the strategic goals, budgeting, forecasting, and direction of the practice groups.

Based in the firm’s Detroit office, Arends concentrates her practice in mergers and acquisitions, business formation, general business and commercial real estate transactions. 

“I am honored to take on this leadership role at Butzel Long,” said Arends. “As an African-American woman, I certainly understand the significance of this achievement, given that, nationally, less than 3.5% of equity partners in multi-tiered law firms are women of color. While the statistics of how many of those women serve in leadership positions is largely unreported, I am sure that the numbers are not reflective of this group’s leadership capabilities. I look forward to having an even greater opportunity to have an impact on the next generation of attorneys from all backgrounds.”

Arends’ long-time commitment to pro-bono work and community service is well-known. She serves as first vice-chair of the Board of Trustees of the Detroit Historical Society (Detroit Historical Museum and Dossin Great Lakes Museum) and is a trustee of the Detroit Educational Television Foundation/Detroit Public Television (Detroit PBS). She also serves on the Steering Committee for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Classical Roots Celebration. 

Arends is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, serves on the Real Estate Advisory Board for the Institute of Continuing Legal Education, and is an alumna of Leadership Detroit, Class XXVII. She also is the chair of Butzel Long’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee.

Arends is a graduate of Michigan State University and of Boston College Law School. She is admitted to the State Bar of Michigan and the United States District Court of the Eastern District of Michigan.

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State Bar of Michigan Business Law Section Council

Shanna M. Kaminski has been named to the State Bar of Michigan Business Law Section Council. The mission of the Business Law Section is to foster the highest quality of professionalism and practice in business law and enhance the legislative and regulatory environment for conducting business in Michigan.

Kaminski and the other council members were officially elected at the Business Law Section: Annual Meeting and Council Meeting Teleconference held via Skype on October 1. As a council member, she will serve a three-year term overseeing the Business Law Section of the State Bar.

Kaminski is a member of Varnum’s Detroit Litigation and Trial Practice Team and Banking, Finance and Restructuring Practice Team, representing clients in a wide range of litigation, bankruptcy-related litigation, which includes defending individuals and businesses in adversary proceedings.

In addition, Kaminski specializes in business litigation, representing businesses and individuals in complex business disputes, including shareholder and partnership disputes, breach of contract disputes, supply chain disputes and business torts. She has tried several matters in both state and federal courts, including bankruptcy court, and also has arbitration experience.

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Wayne State University  Law School

Wayne State University Law School welcomes new faculty members Khaled Beydoun and Heather Walter-McCabe.

Beydoun is a critical race theorist and internationally renowned expert on national security, the War on Terror, and civil rights. Through his research, he investigates modern modes of policing and its impact on Arab and Muslim communities.

He is co-editor of “Islamophobia and the Law” (Cambridge University Press) and the author of multiple books including the critically acclaimed “American Islamophobia: Understanding the Roots and Rise of Fear” (University of California Press). His forthcoming chapter in the “Oxford Handbook of Race and Law in the United States” discusses “The War on Terror: The Faces and Phases of a Changing Campaign.” Beydoun’s work appears or is forthcoming in law journals including the California Law Review, Northwestern Law Review, UCLA Law Review, Minnesota Law Review, and the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review. He is the recipient of an Open Society Foundations Soros Equality Fellowship.

He joins Wayne Law as an associate professor and associate director of civil rights and social justice for the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights. Prior to Wayne Law, he was a faculty member at the University of Arkansas – Fayetteville School of Law.

An experienced social worker and a national voice on public health law, Walter-McCabe works at the intersection of law, social work, and public health. She leads research examining law and policy impacting LGBTQ+ health equity and well-being. Walter-McCabe has received several respected fellowships, including the Centers for Disease Control Program in Public Health Law Visiting Scholar fellowship and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Fellowship in Public Health Law Teaching. She frequently appears on national media to explain core issues of public health policy.

Walter-McCabe serves on the Executive Board of the American Public Health Association and is a contributing editor to the journal Social Work. She joins Wayne State as an associate professor and holds a joint appointment in the Law School and the School of Social Work. She previously was a faculty member at Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law and Indiana University School of Social Work.

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Michigan State Housing Development Authority

After 18 years of public service, Corina Peña Andorfer, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s chief compliance officer, is retiring on November 30. Prior to her role in the governor’s office, Andorfer served as chief compliance officer for the Michigan State Housing Development Authority and as deputy legal counsel in the office of Governor Jennifer M. Granholm.

“I am proud to have served under two strong women governors during my service to the state, and as I begin this new chapter of my life, I am grateful for all of my friends and colleagues in state government,” said Andorfer. “I want to thank Governor Whitmer for her leadership during this time and wish the best of luck to her and the rest of our team moving forward.”

Prior to her service to the state, Andorfer served as a corporate and finance attorney for Dykema Gossett PLLC and a consultant for health policy at Public Sector Consultants in Lansing. She received an Associate Degree from Lansing Community College, a Bachelor of Arts Degree from James Madison College at Michigan State University, and a law degree from the University of Michigan Law School.

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Bodman PLC

Randolph C. Becker has joined Bodman PLC as chief operating officer.  In his new role, Becker will lead strategic projects for the firm.

Becker has more than 30 years of experience in law firm management. He has served in senior executive roles with several large national and international law firms.

Immediately before joining Bodman, Becker was executive director with Richards, Kibbe, & Orbe LLP in New York. His previous positions include director of administration with Bingham McCutchen LLP (New York office), regional director with Dorsey & Whitney LLP (New York office), manager of reporting and budgeting with Clifford Chance US LLP (New York office), and chief financial officer with Hall, Dickler, Kent, Goldstein, & Wood LLP (New York office), among others.

Becker earned an M.B.A. in Accounting/Controllership from St. John’s University and a B.B.A. in Accounting from Siena College in Albany, New York.

He is a long-time member and officer of the Association of Legal Administrators (ALA)-New York Chapter. He has been a frequent presenter on law firm management issues to local and national ALA groups and to the New York State Bar Association.