Bodman PLC is pleased to announce that corporate attorney Jack F. Petroskey has joined the firm as an associate in the Detroit office.
Petroskey is a member of Bodman's Business Practice Group. He represents business clients in connection with M&A and other complex commercial transactions and in general corporate law matters. Before joining Bodman, Petroskey was an associate attorney with another large Michigan business law firm where he represented a variety of clients in corporate and commercial law matters, in residential and commercial real property litigation, and in estate planning and probate litigation.
Petroskey is a graduate of Wayne State University Law School and earned his undergraduate degree from Michigan State University.
As a law student, Petroskey interned with U.S, District Court Judge Arthur Tarnow, Eastern District of Michigan. Before attending law school, he worked as an intern and aide to members of the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate.
Petroskey is a member of the City of Royal Oak Civil Service Commission and a member of the Michigan Chapter of the American Constitution Society.
Bodman is also pleased to announce that attorney Alexis A. Smith-Scott has joined the firm as an associate in the Detroit office.
Smith-Scott is a member of Bodman's Business Practice Group. She represents business clients in connection with M&A and other complex commercial transactions and in general corporate law matters.
Smith-Scott is a 2021 graduate of Wayne State University Law School. She also earned her undergraduate degree from WSU.
Before becoming an attorney, Smith-Scott had a varied business career, including co-founding a public relations and marketing firm, serving as vice president of marketing & business development for a marketing and advertising firm, and serving as marketing director for the City of Detroit's Homeland Security and Emergency Management Department. She also worked as a court appointed guardianship reviewer for the Oakland County Probate Court.
Smith Scott is an active community volunteer and currently serves as fundraising co-chair with Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy and as a motivational speaker with Matrix Off the Street-For Homeless Teens. She is a member of Jack and Jill of America (Motor City Chapter), the Public Relations Society of America, and the Birmingham Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce.
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Reising Ethington is proud to announce the addition of Dr. Randy Shoemaker as a senior attorney at the firm. Shoemaker has nearly twenty-five years of experience servicing the patent needs of several different multi-national chemical corporations. He received a Ph.D. in pharmacology from the Wayne State University School of Medicine, a law degree from the University of Michigan Law School, and a B.S. in biology with a minor in biochemistry from Calvin College.
Shoemaker has prepared and prosecuted patent and trademark applications worldwide covering a wide variety of technologies including chemical inventions, especially polymer chemistry, biochemical applications, materials coating technology and processes, biotechnological applications, surgical and medical devices, food processing equipment and technology, and a wide variety of basic mechanical technologies. He also drafts freedom to operate and infringement opinions as part of his practice.
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Plunkett Cooney recently welcomed attorney Kaitlin M. Gant to its Transportation Law Practice Group.
An associate attorney in Plunkett Cooney's Bloomfield Hills office, Gant has experience handling first- and third-party motor vehicle liability cases. Many of the motor vehicle negligence cases involve the investigation of fraudulent and suspicious claims. Gant has also handled Indian law and data privacy matters.
Gant received her law degree from Michigan State University College of Law in 2020 and her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan in 2017.
Plunkett Cooney's Transportation Law Practice Group includes the talents of more than 40 attorneys who provide an array of litigation and risk management services, including expertise in the areas of first- and third-party auto liability, cross-border claims with Canada, trucking liability, fraud investigations and emergency accident response.
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Dickinson Wright PLLC is pleased to announce that Aaron Burrell has been named to the American Bar Association Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession.
The commission serves as a catalyst promoting diversity and inclusion within the legal profession and the ABA by facilitating the entry, participation and retention of diverse lawyers. The commission administers and develops substantive programs and services, including the ABA Model Diversity Survey and the Collaborative Bar Leadership Academy, in which diverse lawyers, law firms and law students actively participate in throughout the year.
Burrell is a member of Dickinson Wright and serves as co-chair of the firm's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. He serves on the board of directors of Western Michigan University Cooley Law School and the Oakland County Bar Association. He has served in leadership positions in numerous organizations including the State Bar of Michigan Representative Assembly, the State Bar of Michigan Board of Commissioners, the State Bar of Michigan Equal Access Initiative, the D. Augustus Straker Bar Association, and the National Bar Association. He is a fellow of the Oakland County Bar Foundation, Michigan State Bar Foundation, and American Bar Foundation.
Burrell is recognized by numerous publications as a leader in his field including Diversity MBA Magazine, Profiles in Diversity Journal, Crain's Detroit Business, Michigan Lawyers Weekly, and Michigan Super Lawyers Rising Stars.
Dickinson Wright is also pleased to announce that local attorneys within the firm are listed as "2021 IP Stars" by Managing Intellectual Property and the firm's Trademark practice in Michigan received a "Recommended" rating.
Below are the local Dickinson Wright attorneys who are listed as "2021 IP Stars":
TROY OFFICE
• William H. Honaker, Patent, Copyright and Trademark Star
• Daniel D. Quick, Copyright and Trademark Star
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Howard & Howard is pleased to welcome back George M. Cobane. He first joined Howard & Howard in 2019 as a summer associate and will practice out of the firm's Royal Oak.
Cobane concentrates his practice in business and corporate law. He assists on a wide variety of corporate and transactional matters, including the formation and organization of business entities, the drafting and review of a variety of agreements and governance documents, and the legal research of potential issues that arise at different stages throughout the business lifecycle.
In 2020, Cobane received both his law degree from Wayne State University Law School and his M.B.A. from Wayne State University, Mike Ilitch School of Business. He also earned his B.A. from the University of Michigan in 2015.
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Harness Dickey is pleased to welcome four summer associates to the firm's Troy office for the next several months. The four law students will work closely with patent and trademark attorneys across the firm as they gain first-hand experience and insight into practicing intellectual property law.
The firm welcomes the following summer associates:
• Hamad Mirza, 3L at Wayne State University Law School
• Stacey Posadas, rising 3L at Michigan State University College of Law
• Justin Stoner, rising 3L at Santa Clara University School of Law
• Colette Verch, rising 2L at Wayne State University Law School
Harness Dickey's Summer Associate Program begins each year with IP Law Boot Camp for all summer associates. They will then begin gaining real-world experience by working directly with one or more attorneys and handling a range of assignments, such as conducting prior art searches, drafting patent and trademark applications, preparing litigation documents, and other legal assignments. A primary goal of the Summer Associate Program is to expose law students to as many areas of IP law as possible and allow them to guide their own career development.
No specific experience is necessary to be eligible for the Summer Associate Program. Due to the high volume of resumes received, however, the firm only considers those who demonstrate a high level of achievement in previous educational and/or work experience, as well as those who possess excellent communication skills.
