Bodman PLC is pleased to announce that Marc M. Bakst, a member of the firm practicing in the Detroit office, has been named chair-elect of the board of directors of Jewish Family Service of Metropolitan Detroit (JFS).
Bakst, who has served for several years as a JFS board member, will also continue his service as treasurer, as a member of the Executive Committee of the board of directors, and as chair of the Finance Committee. He is scheduled to begin a two-year term as chair of the board of directors in June 2022.
Established more than 90 years ago, JFS provides critical health and social services to more than 12,000 Jewish and non-Jewish people throughout metro Detroit each year. The organization's services are uniquely tailored to the specific needs of each individual or family, and center around three core areas: services for older adults, mental health and wellness, and safety net services.
Bakst has a long history of service to charitable, community, and professional organizations. He served previously on the Advisory Board to Michigan Israel Business Accelerator, on the Community Advisory Board for the Detroit Jewish News, on the board of directors of the Detroit chapter of the American Jewish Committee, and on the City of Oak Park Zoning Board of Appeals. He also volunteers through Lakeshore Legal Aid to provide pro bono representation to individuals entitled under Michigan law to expungement of criminal records.
His legal practice is focused on creditors' rights, bankruptcy, reorganization, and insolvency matters, representing major financial institutions, automotive suppliers, health care providers, and a variety of other business clients. Bakst has been recognized as a distinguished practitioner in his field of specialty by the leading journals that rank business attorneys, including The Best Lawyers in America, Michigan Super Lawyers, and DBusiness Top Lawyers.
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Butzel attorney and Shareholder Claudia Rast was a featured guest on the National Security Law (NSL) Today podcast on October 5. A significant portion of the podcast focused on the Frances Haugen Senate hearing on Facebook.
NSL Today is a weekly podcast from the American Bar Association (ABA) Standing Committee on Law and National Security (www.americanbar.org/groups/law_national_security/nslt/). The podcast features interviews with practicing attorneys, legal experts and thought leaders on the most current national security law issues, predictions for future legal trends, and career advice for those looking to break into the field.
Rast, who chairs Butzel's Intellectual Property, Cybersecurity and Emerging Technology Practice Department, blends her expertise in law, business, and science to assist companies in their strategic use of technology, counseling clients in the areas of privacy, cybersecurity, data security and governance, intellectual property licensing and registration, and the forensic preservation and analysis of electronically stored information.
With the rise of cyber events, and the vulnerability of business as their workforce connects from home in response to COVID-19, her background in forensics, IT environments and security has proved invaluable to both defend against and respond to cyber attacks and to conduct cybersecurity awareness and response training sessions.
Similarly, over the past several years, she has worked within both the IT entrepreneur community and the automotive supplier network to negotiate contracts covering innovative technologies associated with autonomous and connected vehicles, addressing security, privacy, IP ownership, and to the impacts of new laws and regulations, ranging from the General Data Protection Regulation in the EU to the California Consumer Privacy Act.
Rast was appointed to co-chair the American Bar Association (ABA) Cybersecurity Legal Task Force in 2020. Prior to that, she had been appointed to successive one-year terms since 2013.
She is a frequent national speaker on matters ranging from cybersecurity, privacy, and data governance. In addition, she has published numerous articles including an online privacy course for CPA's to receive CPE credit.
In 2017, she co-authored a chapter to the second edition of "The ABA Cybersecurity Handbook." A third edition of the handbook will be published in February 2022, in which Rast co-authored a chapter on incident response. In May 2021, she was a featured contributor to the Cybersecurity Legal Task Force's Vendor Contracting Project, which published the second edition of its Cybersecurity Checklist.
She is a graduate of the University of Michigan (B.S., Natural Resources) and the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. In 2014, Rast completed the four-week online program, "Tackling the Challenges of Big Data," developed and taught by the faculty of the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory in collaboration with MIT Professional Education.
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Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer, & Weiss PC has welcomed new attorney Summer Moukalled to its team of experienced legal professionals. Moukalled joins the firm's mergers and acquisitions practice group as an associate. Jaffe CEO Jeffrey M. Weiss made the announcement.
Moukalled has experience as a law clerk drafting briefs and handling legal filings on different legal issues including civil, criminal and administrative matters. She has conducted in-depth legal research on various banking and finance compliance issues and has experience analyzing and evaluating civil litigation, business, property, municipal and tax law matters. She sharpened her skills in college as a teaching assistant at Michigan State University, providing students with one-on-one tutoring sessions to better comprehend material.
Related to corporate law, Moukalled has represented publicly and privately held companies in mergers, acquisitions, divestures, and other general corporate transactions. She has managed the due diligence process, including a comprehensive review of corporate records, business transactions and has also drafted and negotiated corporate agreements and documents.
Moukalled earned her law degree from Michigan State University College of Law in 2019. She earned a bachelor's degree in international relations from Michigan State University.
In addition, Best Lawyers has named several Jaffe attorneys to the 2022 class of "Best Lawyers in America." Jaffe CEO Jeffrey M. Weiss made the announcement.
The following Jaffe attorneys have been recognized as part of the 2022 class of "Best Lawyers in America:"
Peter M. Alter, Commercial Litigation, Litigation-Banking and Finance, Litigation-Real Estate
Christopher A. Andreoff, Criminal Defense-White Collar
Trey Brice, Land Use and Zoning Law
Mark G. Cooper, Insurance Law, Litigation-Insurance
Joel S. Golden, Trusts and Estates
Jeffrey G. Heuer, Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Litigation-Construction
Lawrence R. Jordan, Copyright Law, Entertainment Law-Motion Pictures and Television, Entertainment Law-Theater, Litigation-Intellectual Property, Technology Law, Trademark Law.
Shirley A. Kaigler, Trusts and Estates
Mark L. Kowalsky, Litigation-Securities
Mark P. Krysinski, Real Estate Law
Susan S. Lichterman, Family Law
Eli Maroko, Immigration Law
Judith Greenstone Miller, Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law
Brian S. Raznick, Real Estate Law
Mark D. Rubenfire, Real Estate Law
Brian G. Shannon, Appellate Practice
Aaron H. Sherbin, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, Trusts and Estates
William E. Sider, Tax Law
Arthur H. Siegal, Litigation-Environmental
Peter Sugar, Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, Securities / Capital Markets Law, Securities Regulation
Susan M. Sutton, Trusts and Estates
Holli Targan, Information Technology Law
Arthur A. Weiss, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, Real Estate Law, Tax Law
Jay L. Welford, Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Litigation-Bankruptcy
Richard A. Zussman, Real Estate Law
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Varnum is pleased to announce that Jeffrey Stefan has re-joined the firm as a partner based in Detroit.
Stefan is a technology-focused attorney with broad legal authority in data privacy and advanced mobility matters. He is credentialed as a U.S. Certified Information Privacy Professional by the IAPP and regularly assists some of the world's leading technology companies with regulatory and data privacy issues. He also helps navigate the evolving legal and public policy landscape for new and emerging mobility technologies
Stefan re-joins Varnum from electric vehicle automaker Rivian, where he served as associate general counsel, leading a wide range of privacy-related matters in connection with the company's development and production of the world's first fully electric truck.
In addition to his technology practice, Stefan handles a wide range of corporate transactions including mergers and acquisitions, supply chain agreements and other commercial transactions. He also serves as outside general counsel for companies in the construction, fintech, and mobility sectors.
Stefan's background includes serving as autonomous vehicle counsel at a major global automaker, where he worked closely with the product development and business operation teams. He also served in a public policy role, addressing issues impacting the company's emerging technology portfolio including data privacy, cybersecurity and various telematics-related legal and public policy matters.
Stefan is a graduate of Wayne State University Law School. He received his undergraduate degree from Eastern Michigan University.
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Kemp Klein Law Firm is pleased to announce that the firm welcomed three new attorneys this fall.
Beth Schlosser joined the probate and guardianship group to manage court appointed Guardianship, Conservatorships, and decedent's estates. She is talented in the areas of estate planning and probate law.
Casey W. Callahan has joined Kemp Klein Law Firm as an associate to practice in the areas of estate planning, business and corporate planning, and post-death administration. Callahan is experienced in working with clients to implement estate plans tailored to their goals. Callahan graduated from University of Georgia Law School in 2019.
Edward Sadik has joined Kemp Klein Law Firm as a shareholder and brings talent in the areas of tax planning, commercial litigation, estate planning and trust administration. Sadik previously practiced as a CPA and has experience in tax compliance, research and analysis that helps inform his legal practice. Sadik graduated from UCLA School of Law in 2008.
