Dickinson Wright PLLC is pleased to announce that the firm has received six practice rankings and several attorneys in Michigan have been listed in this year's The Legal 500 United States 2021.
The Legal 500 United States 2021 recognized Dickinson Wright in the following practice areas:
Dispute Resolution - General Commercial Disputes
Industry Focus - Cannabis
Labor and Employment - Labor and Employment Disputes (including Collective Actions): Defense
M&A/Corporate and Commercial - M&A: Middle-Market (sub-$500m)
Real Estate - Construction
Real Estate
The Legal 500 United States 2021 recognized the following local Dickinson Wright attorneys in their editorial as "Recommended Lawyers":
• Dispute Resolution General Commercial Disputes
Thomas McNeill (Detroit)
Daniel Quick (Troy)
• Labor and Employment Labor and Employment Disputes (including Collective Actions): Defense
Timothy Howlett (Detroit)
Kathryn Wood (Detroit)
• M&A/Corporate and Commercial M&A: Middle-Market (sub-$500m)
Richard Bolton (Detroit)
Mark High (Detroit)
Andrew MacLeod (Detroit)
• Real Estate Construction (including Construction Litigation)
Peter Webster (Troy)
• Real Estate
Erin Johnson (Troy)
Monica Labe(Troy)
Michael Lusardi (Troy)
Katheryne Zelenock (Troy)
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Associate attorney Marisa R. Brunetti recently joined the Torts and Litigation Practice Group of Plunkett Cooney.
A member of the firm's Bloomfield Hills office, Brunetti has experience handling claims involving business disputes, toxic torts, product liability and class actions. Her litigation practice also includes defending major pharmaceutical companies in state and federal opioid actions and representing clients in consumer default matters and foreclosures.
Admitted to practice in West Virginia and Michigan (application pending), Brunetti is a 2016 graduate from Western Michigan University Cooley Law School. She graduated from the University of Charleston in 2013.
The members of Plunkett Cooney's Torts and Litigation Practice Group focus on the defense of all manner of civil litigation, including construction disputes, motor vehicle negligence, liquor liability, product liability, toxic torts and premises liability, including slip, trip and falls, as well as open and obvious dangers. Their clients include the policyholders of some of the world's largest insurance providers and other businesses that become the target of litigation.
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Lawrence Opalewski, a zoning, land use, and religious property attorney at Dalton & Tomich, has been named an Up and Coming Lawyer by the legal trade publication Michigan Lawyers Weekly. Opalewski and his fellow honorees were recognized in a virtual awards ceremony on June 10 and in a special Michigan Lawyers Weekly section profiling the Class of 2021.
After eight years out of law school, Opalewski was named a partner at Dalton & Tomich in 2021 where he started his legal career as a law clerk. He represents religious organizations in land use disputes, private property owners in zoning, site plan and easement disputes, and privately held businesses as general counsel, and is the author of Dalton & Tomich's practical guide, "How to Win Planning Commission Approval."
Opalewski's interest in the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) of 2000 has helped the firm's religious land use practice garner a national reputation in the pursuit of religious freedom for all faiths by furthering their faith community missions and representing their RLUIPA property rights against township and city zoning laws.
Opalewski additionally leads client engagements in a variety of niche legal areas including the firm's riparian (water rights) practice-an area that has grown significantly as second homeowners fled to their lake houses during the pandemic-and the firm's new surplus proceeds practice, an effort that came about following the Michigan Supreme Court case of July 2020, Rafaeli LLC v Oakland County. The ruling held that in situations where properties were seized by the county for lack of property tax payments, the county could not keep surplus proceeds when the property was sold at auction. As a result, Opalewski is working with clients to regain their often-significant amounts of money lost in the tax foreclosure process.
Opalewski is a member of the State Bar of Michigan and the Detroit Bar Association; he is admitted to practice in the Sixth Circuit and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeal. While he enjoys advocating for his clients through litigation, he also seeks to solve problems less contentiously outside the courtroom as a State of Michigan certified civil mediator. He has been listed as a Michigan Super Lawyer-Rising Star since 2017.
Opalewski received his law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law in 2013. He received his undergraduate degree from Oakland University.
Opalewski has been a member of the Clinton Township Planning Commission since 2017 and enjoys guiding the planning efforts of the community where he lives. He is active in his church, Woodside Bible Church of Romeo, and regularly participates in volunteer community efforts organized by Woodside.
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Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer, & Weiss PC recently welcomed new attorney Lauren Edelman Willens to the firm's Southfield office. She joins the firm's team of experienced professionals as Of Counsel to the Intellectual Property & Information Technology practice group. Jaffe CEO Jeffrey M. Weiss made the announcement.
Willens brings expertise in protecting, defending, and enforcing intellectual property rights. She counsels clients on the use and enforcement of trademarks, as well as advising on worldwide brand development, domestic and international trademark clearance and prosecution, trademark due diligence, trademark licensing, and online copyright matters. She also represents clients in cases involving trademark and trade dress infringement, copyright infringement, false advertising, and misappropriation of trade secrets, as well as opposition and cancellation actions before the USPTO Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. She has represented clients from a wide range of industries, including pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, apparel, medical devices, software, automotive and other Fortune 500 and non-profit organizations.
Willens volunteers with several community organizations including Lakeshore Legal, and Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund. She is also a guest lecturer for Wayne State University Law School.
She earned her law degree from Wayne State University Law School in 2015. Prior to law school, she graduated from Wayne State University's Honors College with a bachelor's degree in 2011.
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Laura N. You, a partner with the law firm Warner Norcross + Judd LLP, has been elected to the Inforum board of directors.
You's three-year term, which begins in July, was announced as part of Inforum's 59th annual meeting. You and her fellow board members will work to maximize the effectiveness of the organization, which combines strategic connections, proven professional development programs, a respected forum for new ideas and original research to accelerate careers for women and boost talent initiatives for companies. You previously completed Inforum's executive leadership program.
At Warner, You concentrates her practice on complex commercial disputes in the automotive, aerospace and industrial manufacturing industries. A former mortgage banker, You is also a member of the firm's Financial Services Industry Group. She practices in Warner's new Detroit office.
Active professionally and in the community, You is a member of the Federal Bar Association, State Bar of Michigan, Detroit Bar Association, and Oakland County Bar Association. She is a member of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, a graduate of Leadership Oakland and serves on the Sky Foundation Inc.'s Young Professionals Group.
You has been recognized as a Rising Star by Michigan Super Lawyers each year since 2016.
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Butzel Long attorney and shareholder Laura E. Johnson has been named to DBusiness magazine's 2021 Class of "30 in Their Thirties," which profiles metro Detroit business professionals who have achieved notable success in their respective fields. Johnson is profiled in the June 2021 edition.
Johnson practices in the area of business and corporate law. She practices primarily in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, nonprofit organizations, corporate governance, entity formation and general corporate and business law. She advises clients in venture capital and private equity transactions.
Johnson is the co-chair of Butzel Long's Pro-Bono Committee and a member of the firm's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. She serves as a council member of the State Bar of Michigan Business Law Section. She previously served as a member of OESA's Young Leadership Council 3 and a member of its Talent Retention subcommittee.
She is admitted to practice in Michigan state courts, New York state courts and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Johnson is a member of the Federal Bar Association and the State Bar of Michigan.
Johnson is a graduate of Michigan State University College of Law (2009). She also graduated from the University of Michigan (2006).
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