On Behalf of the firm, the Secrest Wardle Executive Committee is pleased to announce that effective January 1, 2021, the following attorneys were promoted:
To the position of executive partner: John L. Weston.
To the position of partner: Kristine A. Horn, Christina K. Korkes, Kaitlynn M. Milroy, and Robert J. Penrod.
- - -
Warner Norcross + Judd partner Homayune A. Ghaussi has been elected to the firm's Management Committee. He will serve a three-year term on the 10-member committee, which oversees the firm's strategic vision and day-to-day operations. The committee is chaired by Douglas A. Dozeman, Warner's managing partner.
Ghaussi, who practices in the firm's Detroit office, focuses his practice on supply chain litigation and commercial contract negotiation and chairs the firm's Supply Chain Litigation Practice Group. He is recognized as one of the Best Lawyers in Americain commercial litigation and as a Michigan Super Lawyer. Ghaussi serves on the board of Friends of the Public Private Partnership for Justice Reform in Afghanistan.
- - -
Attorney Mary Kucharek of Beier Howlett PC was recently nominated and selected as a 2021 "Notable Woman in Law" by Crain's Detroit Business.
Kucharek was recently named a shareholder of Beier Howlett. She holds the position of city attorney for the City of Birmingham, the City of Orchard Lake Village, and the Village of Lake Orion. She also served the Oakland Community Health Network Board of Directors with pride for the organization as their mission is to "Inspire hope, empower people, and strengthen communities."
Kucharek is also a frequent speaker to community groups and high schools regarding alcohol, drugs, and underage substance abuse, and she contributes to the local police and fire departments by regularly updating them on changes in the law.
- - -
Hirzel Law PLC was presented first place in the Detroit Free Press Community Choice Awards for Best Law Firm in Metro Detroit on April 15.
"This award would not have been possible without our clients' support and trust in the work that we do," said Kevin Hirzel. "Hirzel Law prides itself on providing peace of mind to our clients in condominium, HOA, and real estate law matters.
"I am proud of the Hirzel Law attorneys and staff members who continue to provide great customer service," said Hirzel. "Hirzel Law understands that a law firm's strengths come from its people, and we are committed to providing responsive and high quality legal representation to individuals, corporations and homeowners associations."
The attorneys at Hirzel Law have received numerous other awards from Best Lawyers, the Community Association Institute's College of Community Association Lawyers, Leading Lawyers, Michigan Top Lawyers, and Super Lawyers, for representing clients in condominium, HOA, and real estate law matters.
"Unlike many other awards, which are based on peer recognition, the Best of the Best Awards are special as this recognition comes from our clients," said Hirzel.
- - -
Jennifer Dukarski, Butzel Long attorney, shareholder and leader of the firm's Connected Car and Autonomous Vehicle Specialty team, has been appointed to the Transportation Research Board's (TRB) Standing Committee on Emerging Technology Law. Her term runs through April 14, 2024.
The Transportation Research Board is one of seven program units of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, which provides independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation and conducts other activities to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions. The Standing Committee on Emerging Technology Law seeks to investigate and provide a forum for the discussion of legal and public policy issues arising from the identification, development, and application of emerging technology to transportation systems. The Committee's work includes addressing legal issues associated with the creation of appropriate public institutions, legal authority, procurement, contracting for innovation, data rights, public access to information, liability and risk allocation, public/private partnering, and related concerns.
Dukarski focuses her practice at the intersection of technology and communications with an emphasis on emerging and disruptive issues: digital media and content, cybersecurity and privacy, infotainment and shared mobility, and connected and autonomous cars. She assists clients on compliance with various industry regulations, functional safety requirements, and voluntary technical standards. She has become a national leader in legal issues facing emerging automotive technology.
A self-titled "recovering engineer," Dukarski was named one of the 30 Women Defining the Future of Technology in January 2020 by Warner Communications for her innovative thoughts and contributions to the tech industry.
Dukarski is a graduate of the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law (2010). She's also a graduate of the University of Detroit Mercy College of Engineering and Science, (B.S., Mechanical Engineering, 1996).
- - -
Howard & Howard is pleased to announce that attorney Evonne Xu was selected to Crain's Detroit Business "Notable Women in Law" 2021.
Xu represents an international roster of companies in M&A initiatives, commercial lending, and general corporate matters. She has experience in a wide range of mergers and acquisitions and other complex strategic transactions, including stock and asset acquisition and sales, entity structuring, corporate restructuring, joint venture and strategic alliance, and debt and equity finance matters.
As an attorney licensed in the U.S. and China and fluent in both the English and Chinese languages, Xu regularly assists Chinese companies in conducting and investing in businesses throughout the United States. Similarly, she has helped multiple U.S. enterprises navigate legal and business issues in China. She has advised over one hundred Chinese entrepreneurs and business owners on a full range of legal issues, including business formation, corporate governance and compliance, labor and employment issues, immigration matters, purchase and sale of businesses, drafting and negotiation of commercial contracts, greenfield projects, and joint ventures.
Xu has been named to Michigan Super Lawyers, "Rising Stars," Michigan Women Thrive Conference, "Rising Stars," Michigan Lawyers Weekly, "Up & Coming Lawyers," and was previously selected by Crain's Detroit Business for their "Twenty In Their 20s" recognition initiative in 2014.
Xu is a member of Howard & Howard's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. She also serves as a board member in the AAPI Advisory Board for Oakland County Executive's office and has served in various leadership roles for multiple organizations in the past, including Chinese in Michigan, SigularityU Detroit, and Detroit Chinese Engineer Association.
Xu received her law degrees from Fordham University School of Law and Shanghai University School of Law.
- - -
Kurt A. Olson and Kevin J. McGiness have joined the Birmingham law offices of Lippitt O'Keefe PLLC.
Olson will focus his practice as senior counsel on estate planning, probate and estate litigation and elder financial abuse, as well as real estate and commercial litigation. McGiness' practice as a Lippitt O'Keefe attorney will include litigation in commercial, civil, employment and family law. His legal experience also includes work as a human resources advisor and provider of in-house counsel.
Both attorneys are graduates of Wayne State University Law School and are members of the State Bar of Michigan.
Olson has more than 30 years of legal experience, primarily as a sole practitioner. He also holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and is a member of the Washtenaw County Bar Association.
Olson is a member of the Canton Downtown Development Authority Board and Plymouth Rotary Club. As a member of the State Bar of Michigan's Probate and Estate Council, he also chairs the council's Unauthorized Practice of Law and Ethics Committee.
McGiness is a member of the Oakland County Bar Association. He also holds a bachelor's degree in history from Wayne State.
McGiness has been named a Super Lawyers Rising Star for six consecutive years.
- - -
Plunkett Cooney appellate attorney Mary Massaron was recently named by Crain's Detroit Business as one of Michigan's 2021 Notable Women in Law.
Massaron, along with 46 other female attorneys and judges, were selected to the 2021 class for their work in establishing legal precedents, for relentlessly pursuing justice and for winning big cases on behalf of their clients. Winners were featured in an April 19 special section of Crain's Detroit Business.
Massaron was nominated for her career in the area of appellate law practice, her successful and award-winning amicus brief writing, her leadership positions with national legal organizations (serving as president of the DRI The Voice of the Defense Bar and Lawyers for Civil Justice), and for mentoring the firm's younger appellate attorneys.
Massaron is one of Plunkett Cooney's most accomplished appellate attorneys with more than 400 appeals to her credit, approximately 50 of which are published decisions. She has the distinction of being inducted into the prestigious American Academy of Appellate Attorneys.
Massaron is a past chair of the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Amicus Briefs, and she is perennially identified as a top appellate attorney in Michigan by Martindale-Hubbell, Best Lawyers in America and other leading peer review organizations.
- - -
Sara Gorman Rajan has joined the legal team as associate attorney and mediator at Transitions Legal, a family law firm with specialties in collaborative divorce, gray divorce, and mediation.
With 17 years of experience as a family law attorney with an expertise in litigation, Rajan has worked at firms throughout metro Detroit, served as a judicial law clerk to Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Helene J. White, and in law school, interned with the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office under Nancy J. Diehl.
Rajan graduated from Wayne State University Law School, where she also earned a master's degree in Political Science and a Graduate Certificate in Peace and Security Studies. Rajan has been recognized by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star, was named an Up-and-Coming Lawyer by Michigan Lawyers Weekly, and has an AV Preeminent Rating from Martindale-Hubbell.
Rajan is excited to join the Transitions Legal team because of its unique, compassionate approach to divorce as a transition, rather than inherently good or bad. She likes the non-judgmental perspective of client cases established by firm founder Alisa Peskin-Shepherd.
"I love family law because of the direct involvement with the client," Rajan says. "My obligation to my clients is not only to assist them with maneuvering the legal process but also to be a constant and reliable source of support as they deal with the inevitable and understandable range of emotions they feel when a marriage ends, and their family structure permanently changes. Being at their side during this process and period of transition continues to be an absolute privilege."
- - -
Reiter & Walsh PC is pleased to annonce the following:
• Jesse M. Reiter, of Reiter & Walsh PC, presented on "Exploring Obstetrical Catastrophes: Placental Abruption, Uterine Rupture and Breech Presentations" at the ACI's 19th annual advanced forum on Obstetric Malpractice Claims in November 2020.
• Rebecca Walsh, of Reiter & Walsh PC, was selected as co-chair of the Birth Trauma Litigation Group (BTLG) in July 2020.
• Jesse M Reiter, Anne Randal, and Jim McCullen, of Reiter & Walsh PC, published an article "Did the ACOG 2014 Consensus Recommendations on Labor Management Achieve Anything?" in the February 2021 edition of the Birth Trauma Litigation Group Journal.
