Maddin, Hauser, Roth, & Heller PC is pleased to announce that its attorneys have formed its new committee, the Maddin Hauser Success through Empowerment and Engagement ("SEE") Committee, which will be focused on promoting diversity and inclusion at the firm. The mission of the SEE Committee is to maintain and enhance a law firm environment and culture where attorneys from diverse backgrounds can succeed, achieve and lead internally at the firm and externally in the community, to improve recruitment, retention and advancement of attorneys from diverse backgrounds, and to promote business and personal develegree opment, business connections and networking activities.
As an initial initiative, the SEE Committee has activated its women attorneys, who have been engaging in conversations that are building community, leadership and business in line with the goals of the SEE Committee. The SEE Committee is chaired by Michelle C. Harrell and Kaitlin A. Brown.
The announcement was made by the firm's President and CEO Steven D. Sallen who said, "As part of our firm's long-standing efforts to support societal equity and fairness, we remain committed to increasing and honoring the diversity of our attorneys and other employees, and supporting initiatives for inclusion in the legal community and in society. The formation and activities of our SEE Committee are an action step forward towards honoring our commitment."
Harrell is an equity shareholder, Executive Committee member and chair of the firm's Complex and General Litigation Practice Group. She received her law degree from Wayne State University Law School in 1993.
Harrell has been recognized as a Michigan Leading Lawyer in the areas of Commercial Litigation, Land Use, Zoning & Condemnation Law and Real Estate Law: Commercial, and was named a Top Lawyer by DBusiness Magazine for successive years since 2010 in the areas of Real Estate and Litigation.
She has also been named one of the 2017 Most Notable Women Lawyers in Michigan by Crain's Detroit Business, and has been recognized among Michigan Lawyers Weekly's "Women in the Law" for 2020 and Leading Lawyers (2016 2021), and Corp! Magazine's Most Valuable Professionals in 2021.
Harrell obtained one of the largest jury verdicts and settlements in Michigan in 2018 as reported by Michigan Lawyers' Weekly. She is an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association, and a case evaluator, and ADR provider in Oakland, Macomb, and Wayne Counties.
Harrell is also active with community social organizations such as The Arc, Living Arts Detroit, American Red Cross for Southeastern Michigan, and the Hydrocephalus Association.
Brown is a shareholder in the firm's Corporate and Employment practice group and member of the Executive Committee. Specializing in employment law, Brown focuses primarily on counseling employers to take proactive measures to prevent more costly claims of wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, and improper payment of wages.
She was recognized in the Oakland County Executive's Elite 40 Under 40 Class of 2020, was named the 2018 Regeana Myrick Outstanding Young Lawyer by the State Bar of Michigan Young Lawyers Section, has been recognized among Michigan Lawyers Weekly's 2016 Up and Coming Lawyers, and named a Michigan Super Lawyers® Rising Star from 2014 to 2020.
As chair of the Oakland County Bar Association's Diversity and Inclusion Committee, Brown has coordinated a series of monthly presentations on topics related to diversity, equity and inclusion, and also worked with a team of attorneys to develop a series of three upcoming workshops to increase awareness of unconscious bias, micro-aggressions and allyship.
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A former law clerk for two U.S. District Court judges, attorney Erik Johnson recently joined the Commercial Litigation Practice Group of Plunkett Cooney.
Johnson's practice focuses on the resolution of litigation involving business torts, real estate disputes and other claims on behalf of clients from various industries. He is admitted to practice law in Illinois and his application with the State Bar of Michigan is pending.
Prior to joining the firm, Johnson worked as a law clerk to Judges Mark A. Goldsmith and David M. Lawson of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Johnson received his law degree from the University of California, Irvine School of Law in 2015 and his undergraduate degree from the University of La Verne, which is also located in California, in 2011.
Plunkett Cooney's Commercial Litigation Practice Group represents a range of clients in litigation, arbitration and other forms of alternative dispute resolution concerning matters that arise while conducting business. Practice group members have experience in matters involving contract disputes, business torts, real estate disputes, business ownership conflicts, bankruptcy, antitrust claims, corporate compliance issues, tax and finance issues, commercial collections, commercial landlord/tenant disputes, civil RICO, ERISA, intellectual property claims and many other areas of litigation.
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Howard & Howard has selected R. Saleha Mohamedulla as a member of the 2021 class of Fellows, participating in a landmark program created by the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) to identify, train, and advance the next generation of leaders in the legal profession. Saleha is one of 418 new Fellows, a group of talented and diverse, mid-career attorneys who have been selected by 293 LCLD member corporations and law firms to participate in this career development program.
According to LCLD President Robert J. Grey Jr., the LCLD Fellows Program offers participants "a year-long, in-depth program devoted to relationship-building, leadership training, and extensive contact with LCLD's prestigious members and the best teachers in the business."
Incoming Fellows will have access to several new virtual event series this year, which will provide numerous opportunities for small-group interaction and relationship building with their peers. This is in addition to the exclusive leadership and professional development curriculum-adapted to the virtual environment-that has always been a hallmark of the LCLD Fellows Program. This year's participants will also have access to a range of additional programming that was developed for the LCLD community in 2020.
Celebrating 10 years, the LCLD Fellows Program has built a reputation for helping to launch participants into chief legal positions. More than 50 alumni of the program have become general counsel, managing partners, judges, or opened their own firms since their fellowship year.
Fellows are selected by the general counsel and managing partners at LCLD member corporations and law firms. Within their organizations, Fellows have distinguished themselves from others by being deeply engaged, indispensable to key clients and teams, invested in attorney mentoring and professional development, and on a trajectory towards leadership positions.
Founded in 2009, LCLD is a growing organization of more than 350 corporate chief legal officers and law firm managing partners who are personally committed to creating a more diverse and inclusive legal profession. The LCLD Fellows Program, which has trained nearly 2,000 mid-career attorneys since 2011, is one of LCLD's most important initiatives. For additional information, visit www.lcldnet.org.
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Dickinson Wright PLLC is pleased to announce that Timothy Howlett (member and Labor & Employment Practice leader, Detroit) has been selected as a member of the Michigan Lawyers Weekly Class of 2021 Hall of Fame.
"I am honored to be selected by Michigan Lawyers Weekly as a member of their 2021 Hall of Fame Class. This list is filled with such talented and accomplished attorneys," Howlett said.
Howlett has counseled employers for more than 45 years on workplace issues. During that time, he has successfully resolved numerous litigation matters involving substantial financial and non-financial risks. This experience has given Howlett the litigation skills, judgment, and common sense necessary to guide clients facing complex workplace issues and disputes.
He is a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, the Michigan State Bar Foundation and the Detroit Metropolitan Bar Foundation. He is an Arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association's Panel of Employment Arbitrators.
Howlett received the Distinguished Service Award in 2018 from the State Bar of Michigan's Labor and Employment Law Section. He is recognized as a leader in his field by Chambers USA, Best Lawyers in America, The Legal 500, Benchmark Litigation, Super Lawyers, and DBusiness Top Lawyers.
Howlett received his law degree from the University of Michigan School of Law.
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Emily Traister has been named the director of operations for Detroit-headquartered Dalton & Tomich. She joined the firm in 2018 and previously served as office manager and executive assistant. The announcement was made by Dalton & Tomich co-founder Daniel Dalton.
As director of operations, Traister is charged with all administrative aspects of the firm and will also take on a broader role in firm marketing and business development activities.
Prior to joining Dalton & Tomich, Traister held administrative positions in Detroit, New York, and Connecticut. She earned a Bachelor of Applied Arts in integrated public relations from Central Michigan University.
