Legal People ...

Macomb County Probate Court Judge Kathryn A. George has announced her retirement after nearly 20 years serving on the bench.

George is the second judge to announce such a decision in recent months. In late September, Macomb County Circuit Court Judge Mark Switalski also said he was retiring.

Both retirements take effect in January.

“My time on the bench was the highlight of my professional career and I will greatly miss serving the people of Macomb County,” George said in a statement released by the court. “Unfortunately, medical issues caused by an auto accident have forced my retirement.”

George said she was grateful to fellow Probate Court Judge Sandra Harrison “for her collegiality and tremendous assistance” and expressed gratitude as well to current and former Macomb County probate and circuit court judges.

“It has been an honor to have served alongside all of you.”

George has been absent from the bench for a year recovering from injuries sustained in a 2019 traffic accident.

She was first elected to Macomb County Probate Court in 2002. Prior to her election, she served as councilwoman and mayor pro tem for the city of Sterling Heights.

George earned her law degree degree from the University of Idaho in 1988.

She was raised in Macomb County, earning her RN degree from Harper Hospital School of Nursing in 1973 and a BSN in Nursing from Oakland University in 1985.

She worked as an acute care nurse before launching her legal career.

George was appointed to the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board by Gov. James Blanchard and later worked as a general practitioner with an emphasis on probate and family law.

A news release issued by the court noted that George has received numerous accolades, including awards from the Macomb County Probate Bar Association and the Macomb County Bar Association.
In 2005, the Michigan National Guard presented George with an award for her support of U.S. military members and their families.

In 2007, George was inducted into the Macomb County Hall of Fame for her outstanding community service. She also received a Certification of U.S. Congress Special Recognition for valuable and dedicated assistance to Macomb County and its communities.

In her retirement announcement, George expressed gratitude to her staff, the Macomb County Probate Court staff, and court administrators.

“Their professionalism and commitment throughout my time on the bench has been exceptional,” she said. “A special thanks to the Macomb County legal community for their exemplary service to Macomb County.”

A replacement for both George and Switalski will be announced by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

•            •            •

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer recently announced the following appointments to the Oakland University Board of Trustees and the State of Michigan Retirement Board:

—Oakland University Board of Trustees 

David Kramer is the founding principal of Gemini Risk Partners. Kramer previously served as the senior vice president of Oswald Companies and vice president of Alliant. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Michigan and a law degree from The George Washington University. Kramer is an officer with Hebrew Free Loans of Metropolitan Detroit and a board member with the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit and the Detroit Jewish News Foundation.

Kramer is appointed for a term commencing December 6, 2021 and expiring August 11, 2024. He succeeds Tonya Allen who has resigned.

The Oakland University Board of Trustees provides general supervision of the university, including control and direction of all expenditures from the institution’s funds. The board also appoints the university president as well as the secretary to the board and treasurer.

This appointment is subject to the advice and consent of the Senate. 

—State of Michigan Retirement Board

Leo Bowman is a recently retired judge from Oakland County Circuit Court. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Oakland University and a law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. Bowman is appointed to represent a member or retirant of the Judges Retirement System for a term commencing January 1, 2022 and expiring December 31, 2025. He succeeds Judge David Sawyer whose term expires December 31, 2021. 

Felipe B. Karian-Torres is an assistant prosecuting attorney for Wayne County and a judge advocate for the Michigan Army National Guard 46th Military Police Command. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan and a law degree from Wayne State University Law School. Karian-Torres is appointed to represent a current or former officer or enlisted person in the Michigan Military Establishment who is a member or retirant under the Military Retirement Provisions. He will serve for a term commencing December 6, 2021 and expiring December 31, 2022. Karian-Torres succeeds Col. John Wojcik who has resigned.

The State of Michigan Retirement Board was created by Executive Order No. 2015-13, and consolidated the State Employees’ Retirement System Board, the Judges’ Retirement System Board, and the Military Retirement Provisions. Housed in the Department of Technology, Management, and Budget, in the Office of Retirement Services, the Retirement Board will provide oversight of the three systems that service nearly 88,000 active and retired employees.

These appointments are not subject to the advice and consent of the Senate. 

•            •            •

The Wayne County 19th District Court announces the appointment of Gene Hunt as chief judge. The Michigan Supreme Court has appointed Hunt as chief judge of Wayne County’s second largest district court, effective January 1, 2022. This is Hunt’s third appointment to the position.

Under Hunt’s leadership the 19th District Court navigated the challenges of the global pandemic while continuing to deliver first-class service to the public. Court operations continued without interruption during this period, due in large part to Hunt’s collaborative leadership approach, and willingness to embrace and expand new methods of delivering services.

“We’ve adapted our operation to ensure continuing access to justice, notwithstanding the challenges posed by the pandemic,” Hunt said. “Everyone involved in our organization, judges, court staff, attorneys and police, made it possible to continue operating at a high level.”

Hunt has expanded the role of technology in the court, implementing online dispute resolution that allows court users to negotiate traffic violations and address outstanding bench warrants remotely. He also continues to serve as the presiding judge for the Veteran’s Treatment Court and the Drug/Sobriety Court, grant-funded programs based on a holistic approach directed towards treatment and recovery for participants.

Hunt has plans to expand the Drug/Sobriety Court to increase the number of participants. “There is a desperate need for these types of programs in our community, and the court is uniquely positioned to help individuals with substance abuse challenges,” said Hunt. “It is my goal to provide as many opportunities as possible for members of our community to get the help they need.”

Hunt has been an important advocate for the creation of the Regional Managed Assigned Counsel Office, a collaborative venture amongst district courts and municipalities in Wayne County, and the first of its kind in the State of Michigan. The office will centralize and streamline the administration of indigent defense services as required by the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission.  

Off the bench, Hunt is dedicated to serving the community and is engaged in numerous local civic groups. He is a member of the Dearborn Exchange Club, the Optimist Club, American Legion, Marine Corp League and the Dearborn Allied War Veterans Council.

“I am extremely proud of our team’s accomplishments at the court, and I am honored by the opportunity to continue serving as chief judge.  I’m very fortunate to have such incredible partners on the bench. Judge Salamey and Judge Somers are true professionals who care deeply for our community. I am optimistic about the future at the 19th District Court.”

•            •            •

John J. (J.J.) Conway, a nationally recognized employee benefits and Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) attorney and founder of Royal Oak-based J.J. Conway Law, has been named to the Leaders in the Law Class of 2021 by the legal trade publication, Michigan Lawyers Weekly.

With more than 22 years of experience, Conway fights for his clients to secure the employee benefits rightfully owed to them. In legally navigating the complexities of disability and retirement benefits, he has led his clients to recover more than $65 million in benefits and won landmark class-action lawsuits in favor of families and retirees.

Conway is a trailblazer in securing healthcare benefits for children. He successfully litigated the first federal autism benefits healthcare action against an employee benefit plan where the court held that denying medical treatment for autism was “arbitrary and capricious.” He has also been co-lead class action counsel for multiple cases, including the first autism class action settlement that provided a specific course of healthcare treatments for children with autism, two nationwide class actions against insurers for their denial of healthcare benefits for children with autism, and a class action counsel for a nationwide class action of 22,000 military families seeking healthcare treatment for children with autism.

Conway served as co-lead class action counsel for 9,000 pension plan participants against the City of Detroit’s Pension Fund, its trustees, and advisors seeking protection of the funds themselves which resulted in a multi-million-dollar settlement and major structural reforms concerning the investment of pension monies in unregulated investments. He has been involved in similar class action litigation protecting the pension rights of police, fire, and sheriff deputies from improper financial investments by their pension plan trustees.

Additionally, he has represented hundreds of employees, including physicians, attorneys and investment professionals who have been deemed occupationally disabled in securing their monthly disability benefits from their insurance companies and plans.

Conway is the author of “Hitting You When You Least Expect It: A Basic Guide to ERISA for Non-ERISA Lawyers,” which is a top-searched piece about employee benefits claims. He is also a co-author of the “Michigan Basic Practice Handbook” published by the Institute for Continuing Legal Education.

In addition to Leaders in the Law, Conway has been the recipient of multiple awards throughout his career, including the Thomas P. Moore Leadership in Philanthropy Award from the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and the State Bar of Michigan Champion of Justice Award. He has also been recognized as a Michigan Super Lawyer and Leading Lawyer.

Conway obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from Marquette University before going on to obtain his law degree at University of Detroit Mercy School of Law.  He is a member of the American Bar Association, Federal Bar Association, State Bar of Michigan, and State Bar of Arizona. He has also been elected to membership in the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation and the Fellows of the Michigan State Bar Foundation.

•            •            •

Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer, & Weiss PC recently welcomed a new attorney to its team of legal professionals. Diane Slinger joins the firm as a partner, with more than 30 years of industry experience. She will be part of the estate & wealth planning practice group. Jaffe CEO Jeffrey M. Weiss made the announcement.

Slinger brings a set of skills and technical experience to Jaffe, including more than three decades of providing estate planning counsel and examining changes in legal policies related to estate & wealth planning. Her defined specialties include estate planning and probate law, corporate law, contract law, business planning and real estate law. She’ll also support the estate & planning group in matters involving estate and gift tax preparation, tax planning, mergers and acquisitions and transactional matters.

Before joining Jaffe, Slinger spent 27 years at a smaller estate planning law firm, where she honed her expertise. During that time, she also served for more than seven years on the City of Birmingham Board of Review and five years on the Independence Township Board of Review.

Slinger earned her law degrees from the Emory University School of Law and the University of Santa Clara School of Law, and her bachelor’s degree from Eastern Michigan University.

In addition, Jaffe recently welcomed new associate Scott Assenmacher to the firm’s litigation practice group. Jaffe CEO Jeffrey M. Weiss made the announcement.

Assenmacher has more than a decade of experience practicing various areas of law as an attorney and law clerk for private companies, public authorities, and major firms in the area. Through this experience, he has litigated cases in a range of practice areas including land use, no-fault, employment, premises liability, and general negligence.

Assenmacher received his bachelor’s degree as a dual major in German and International Business from Aquinas College. Following graduation, he earned his law degree from Wayne State University Law School.

•            •            •

Butzel law firm continues to grow to meet evolving client needs. The firm recently added associate attorneys Joseph Kuzmiak, Maya Smith, and Barrett R. H. Young.

Based in Butzel’s Detroit office, Kuzmiak concentrates his practice primarily in the areas of business and commercial litigation.

He received his law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. While in law school, Kuzmiak externed for Michigan Supreme Court Justice Brian K. Zahra.

Prior to law school, Kuzmiak gained business analytical experience by holding cost accounting and analytical roles in multiple industries in the metro Detroit area. He earned a Master of Science in Finance and Bachelor of Business Administration degrees from the University of Michigan-Dearborn.

Smith, based in Butzel’s  Detroit office, concentrates her practice in the areas of intellectual property and emerging technology, including data protection and cybersecurity.

She assists clients on compliance and enforcement matters, managing cyber risk, breach investigations and response, and emerging technologies. She also assists on trademark prosecution, copyright filing, technology licensing and intellectual property litigation.

Smith graduated from the Western Michigan University Cooley Law School.  Prior to law school, she worked as a legislative aide for the Georgia State Representative of the 62nd District. Smith was also a paralegal at a Georgia based bankruptcy firm.

Based in Butzel’s Detroit office, Young concentrates his practice in commercial and appellate litigation.

Young clerked for Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Richard Allen Griffin. Before his clerkship, he was the senior counselor to Deputy Secretary of Labor Patrick Pizzella. Prior to his time at the Labor Department, he was an associate in King & Spalding LLP’s Washington, D.C. office.

He earned his law degree from The University of Chicago and his undergraduate degree from Harvard University.

•            •            •

University of Detroit Mercy School of Law announced that Karen McDonald Henning, associate professor of law, will be the next associate dean for Academic Affairs beginning in January 2022.

“I am honored to serve the school in this new role,” McDonald Henning said. “I look forward to working with Dean Jefferson Exum and my colleagues to continue to offer the best legal education possible to our students.”

McDonald Henning joined the faculty at Detroit Mercy Law in 2008 and was granted tenure in 2016. She is the co-author of multiple textbooks and author of numerous articles. Her scholarship focuses primarily on remedies available for violations of constitutional rights. She teaches a wide range of courses including Civil and Criminal Procedure, Advanced Advocacy, Federal Jurisdiction, and Applied Legal Theory and Analysis. She is also an expert on law school pedagogy and a leader among the faculty with respect to increasing assessments and feedback to produce bar exam ready students and practice ready practitioners.

During her 14 years at Detroit Mercy Law, McDonald Henning has served as the chair on many committees, including the Admissions Committee, the Student Success Task Force, and the Moot Court Committee. She received the University of Detroit Mercy Faculty Excellence Award, the Student Bar Association Professor of the Year Award, and the James T. Barnes Sr. Memorial Faculty Scholar Award. She twice received the Moot Court Faculty Coach of the Year Award.

•            •            •

The law firm of Couzens Lansky, located in Farmington Hills, is pleased to announce that Prerana R. Bacon has joined the firm’s employment and labor, business and corporate and litigation and dispute resolution groups.

Bacon is a member of the State Bar of Michigan and a member of the Insurance & Indemnity Law, Business Law, Administrative & Regulatory Law, and Labor & Employment Law Sections.

Bacon received a B.S. from Wayne State University and her law degree from Wayne State University Law School.  She was admitted to practice in the State of Michigan and the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, in 2006 and the U.S. District Court, Western District of Michigan, in 2007. 

She has successfully represented individual and business clients before federal and state tribunals and government agencies and has a track record of obtaining case dismissals, no?cause verdicts and negotiating favorable settlements.

•            •            •

For the third year in a row, Dickinson Wright PLLC is pleased to announce that the firm’s real estate practice is ranked as the number two real estate law group in the “Best of the Best” report, published by Midwest Real Estate News. This is the seventh year in a row that Dickinson Wright has been among the top three law firms on the list.

“We are thrilled to once again be named the number two law firm in the Best of the Best report. This year’s rankings, once again, demonstrate our success in working side-by-side with our clients to execute their real estate plans from conception to completion,” says Michael Lusardi, Dickinson Wright Real Estate Practice Group chair.

Dickinson Wright’s real estate practice includes more than 80 lawyers who are actively involved in real estate matters, regularly representing a wide variety of clients in all aspects of real estate investment, development, and financing. Many of its clients have portfolios that span North America, and they rely on the firm’s experience in nearly every U.S. state and Canadian province to help them maximize value and increase management efficiency.

•            •            •

Intellectual property specialty law firm Fishman Stewart PLLC is pleased to announce that Maxwell Goss has been named a partner in the firm. Goss, who joined Fishman Stewart earlier this year in an Of Counsel capacity, represents clients throughout the U.S. in intellectual property and business matters and brings his own brand of forceful advocacy and creative solutions to client engagements. The promotion announcement was made by Fishman Stewart co-founding Partner, Michael Stewart.

Experienced in a broad range of complex litigation matters, Goss focuses his intellectual property litigation practice on trademark misappropriation, trademark, patent, and copyright infringement, and IP licensing disputes. Goss also provides strategic advice to businesses and professionals on intellectual property, internet protections, technology, and business law matters.

Prior to joining Fishman Stewart, Goss managed his own successful firm in Birmingham. He started his career at Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer, & Feld LLP where he was trained by one of Texas’ premier business trial lawyers.

Goss is the creator and host of “The Litigation War Room,” a popular legal podcast featuring spirited interviews with litigators on topics of interest to courtroom lawyers in every area of law.

Goss is a member of the state bars of Michigan and Texas and is admitted to practice in multiple federal district and appeals courts around the country. He was named a DBusiness 2022 Top Lawyer in Intellectual Property & Patent Law and Litigation – Intellectual Property.  He is also among the 2022 Best Lawyers – Ones to Watch.  Additionally, Goss has been named a Michigan Super Lawyer since 2020 and was a Super Lawyers Rising Star in 2018 and 2019.

Goss earned his law degree from Notre Dame Law School. Prior to attending law school, he obtained a Ph.D. in philosophy at University of Texas at Austin and had the pleasure of teaching logic, ethics, and other subjects at several universities. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Western Michigan University.

•            •            •

Foster Swift welcomes new associate Anthony M. Dalimonte to the firm as a member of Foster Swift’s litigation practice group.

At a time when most firms cancelled their summer programs due to the severity of the pandemic, Dalimonte participated remotely as Foster Swift a summer associate at the firm in the summer of 2020.  He was sworn in at the Michigan Supreme Court in Lansing on November 16.

An alumni of Wayne State University Law School, Dalimonte practices from the firm’s Southfield office where his experience includes conducting legal research and drafting memos, briefs, and dispositive motions on matters concerning general and commercial litigation.