Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer recently announced the appointment of David M. Cohen to the Oakland County Circuit Court.
Cohen currently serves as an administrative law manager with the Detroit office of the Michigan Office of Administrative Hearings and Rules, providing supervision to 21 administrative law judges in the areas of unemployment and MERC. Previously, Cohen served as an administrative law judge in the field of general adjudication. Prior to his role as an administrative law judge, Cohen was an attorney at The Samuel Bernstein Law Firm, where he practiced in personal injury, ADA disability rights, and administrative legal matters. He also worked as a personal injury attorney at Rothstein, Erlich, & Rothstein.
Cohen earned his law and Bachelor of Arts degrees from Wayne State University. He currently serves as an alternate hearing officer for the Michigan Attorney Discipline Board and previously served as a member of the Michigan Bar Journal Publication Committee.
"It is a privilege and honor to be selected to serve the citizens of Oakland County and State of Michigan," said Cohen. "I will treat all who appear before me, with impartiality, respect, and dignity."
This appointment was made to fill a partial term, which expires at twelve o'clock noon on January 1, 2023, after Judge Shalina D. Kumar was appointed to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan effective December 21, 2021. If Cohen wishes to serve the remainder of Kumar's term, expiring January 1, 2027, he would be required to run for reelection in November of 2022.
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Honigman LLP is pleased to announce that eleven attorneys have been elected to serve four-year terms on the firm's board of directors. Five attorneys are new to the board and six of the attorneys have previously served. Terms began January 1, 2022 and end December 31, 2025.
The local newly elected board members are:
Gabriel E. Bedoya is a partner in the firm's Litigation Department. He serves as co-leader of the Emerging Companies Group and is the firm's assistant hiring partner for associates and summer associates. He concentrates his practice on complex commercial litigation matters related to private equity litigation, securities litigation, and government investigations.
Kimberly A. Dudek is a vice chair of the firm's Corporate Department. She focuses her practice on representing public and private companies with respect to corporate governance and general corporate matters including mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, private equity transactions and joint ventures.
Chauncey C. Mayfield II is a partner in the firm's Corporate Department and is the firm's hiring partner for associates and summer associates. He focuses his practice on representing entrepreneurs and private and public companies on a variety of matters, including acquisitions and dispositions, financings, commercial contract negotiations, supply-chain management, out of court restructurings, commercial bankruptcy, and general corporate law.
The local re-elected board members are:
Michael D. DuBay is a partner in the firm's Corporate Department. He serves as co-leader of the Private Equity Practice Group and is the firm's business development partner. He concentrates his practice on complex business transactions, with a particular focus on structuring and negotiating acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, mergers, joint ventures, recapitalizations, growth equity investments, restructurings, and workouts.
Nick Gorga is vice chair of the firm's Litigation Department. He focuses his practice on complex commercial litigation matters related to securities litigation, private equity litigation, government investigations, and class action defense
Anessa Kramer is a partner in the firm's Intellectual Property Department and is the firm's co-lateral hiring partner. She focuses her practice on managing U.S. and global trademark enforcement work for a number of prominent and famous trademarks. Kramer is skilled in the implementation of cost-effective trademark clearance, procurement, and protection strategies.
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Miller Canfield is pleased to announce that Julianne Cassin Sharp has been selected to be part of Class XLII of Leadership Detroit.
Sharp is a principal attorney and leads Miller Canfield's Immigration practice.
Her areas of expertise include but are not limited to immigrant petitions, nonimmigrant petitions, foreign labor certification, adjustment of status applications, waivers, naturalization, consular processing, and advising companies on corporate compliance audits and risk assessment.
Leadership Detroit is an initiative of the Detroit Regional Chamber and focuses on regional community leadership.
Sharp has been recognized by Chambers USA as a "Band 1" lawyer for Immigration, was named a Michigan Lawyers Weekly Woman in the Law and is named in U.S. News and World Report's Best Lawyers in America and DBusiness' "Top Lawyers."
She is a member of the State Bar of Michigan and the Hispanic Bar Association of Michigan and serves on the Executive Committee for the Michigan Chapter for the American Immigration Lawyers Association. She is a member of and nationally recognized frequent speaker for the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
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Howard & Howard is pleased to welcome Rui Lu who joins the Business and Corporate Law Group, continuing her practice at Howard & Howard's Royal Oak office.
Lu brings international experience with her after working in a variety of industries and fields in China for the last decade. While there, Lu served global, publicly traded pharmaceutical companies in addition to international and domestic law firms.
Lu focuses her practices on transactional and general corporate matters, as well as international corporate affairs, specifically in the life science industry and in cross-border transactions.
Prior to joining Howard & Howard, she managed and executed mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, restructuring, technology transaction alliances, and financing transactions on behalf of a research organization supporting global pharmaceutical companies, while also providing counsel on general corporate matters.
Lu earned her law degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School and East China University of Politics and Law.
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Dykema is proud to announce that Sheryl Toby (Bloomfield Hills office) was included in the Lawdragon 500 Leading U.S. Bankruptcy and Restructuring Lawyers.
As a bankruptcy and restructuring attorney, Toby is known for her creativity and tenacity on behalf of creditors, debtors, and lenders who find themselves addressing precarious financial situations. She has decades of experience as lead counsel in numerous significant bankruptcy cases throughout the country. She's consistently recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® and Super Lawyers.
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Butzel attorney Kurtis T. Wilder has been named to the Executive Committee of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. The Michigan Chamber of Commerce is Michigan's leading statewide business advocacy organization with more than 5,000 members.
A former Michigan Supreme Court justice, Wilder is a shareholder with Butzel. He concentrates his practice in litigation, appeals, and mediation and facilitation. He serves as a Neutral Mediator/Arbitrator with New Era ADR, a digital advanced dispute resolution platform, as Senior Lecturing Fellow at Regent University School of Law, and has appeared as a commentator on Dan Abrams Live.
He served on the Michigan Supreme Court following his appointment by Governor Rick Snyder on May 9, 2017. Prior to that time, Wilder served as a judge on the Michigan Court of Appeals from December 1998 to May 2017 and a judge of the Washtenaw County Trial Court from March 1992 to December 1998.
Wilder graduated from the University of Michigan with an A.B. degree in Political Science in 1981, and from the University of Michigan Law School in 1984.
Wilder was named to Michigan Lawyers Weekly's Hall of Fame Class of 2021. Also in 2021, Wilder was elected chair of the Interlochen Center for the Arts Board of Trustees. Previously, he served as first vice-chair and chair-elect.
In 2020, Wilder was elected secretary of the Board of Directors of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Wilder also serves on the boards of the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan, Detroit Regional Dollars for Scholars, and The Children's Foundation.
Wilder is an elder and Chancel Choir member at First Presbyterian Church of Plymouth, and has memberships in the Fellows of the Michigan State Bar Foundation and the Wolverine Bar Association.
He is a past president of the Michigan Judges Association, and Past Chairman of the State Bar of Michigan Judicial Conference.
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Attorney Lawrence P. Nolan Sr. has been appointed by Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer to the State Officers Compensation Commission, effective immediately.
The president of Nolan, Thomsen, & Villas, Nolan earned his degree from Westersn Michigan University Cooley Law School and a bachelor of arts from Western Michigan University. He is a past president of the State Bar of Michigan and the Ingham County Bar Association.
His term on the Compensation Commission expires January 1, 2026. The panel determines the salaries and expense allowances of the members of the Legislature, the governor, the lieutenant governor, the attorney general, the secretary of state, and the justices of the Supreme Court.
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Bowman and Brooke LLP is proud to announce that Tom Branigan has been elected to the firm's six-person Executive Committee where he will serve as executive managing partner. Additionally, Jodi M. Schebel has been elected as managing partner of the Detroit office. The firm is also excited to announce three new associates have joined the team: Geetha P. Selvam, Jasmine J. Owens, and Matin Fallahi.
Branigan, executive managing partner, has spent his entire legal career in the courtroom, where he has tried cases from coast-to-coast. He returns to the Executive Committee after previously serving in that role before assuming the Detroit managing partner role in 2014. Branigan has appeared as trial or lead counsel in more than 30 states through his national trial practice. He has obtained major verdicts and judgments for automotive OEMs and suppliers, major financial institutions and international franchisors. He also serves as the co-leader of the Firm's Automotive Practice Group.
Schebel, managing partner, also the leader of the firm's Discovery and eDiscovery Practice Group, focuses her practice on automotive product liability defense litigation. She has experience with discovery coordination and eDiscovery in commercial and business cases, complex litigation and class action matters. Schebel develops and implements protocols for handling all aspects of case discovery including case strategy, case management conferences, clawback agreements, deposition protocols, ESI agreements, protective orders, privilege logs and document collection and review.
Selvam, associate, assists clients in product liability and commercial litigation disputes. With both U.S. and Canadian law degrees, she often works on cross-border matters. Selvam previously served as a law clerk at Bowman and Brooke and is a graduate of University of Detroit Mercy School of Law.
Owens, associate, advises clients in automotive product liability cases and class actions. She has experience advising major auto manufacturers on discovery and pretrial matters for automotive warranty and lemon law cases. Owens is a graduate of University of Detroit Mercy School of Law.
Fallahi, associate, defends manufacturers in product liability litigation. She has represented clients in insurance litigation, including defense of both first-party and third-party bodily injury claims, negligence claims brought against trucking companies, premises liability claims, and construction defect matters involving product liability. Fallahi is a graduate of Michigan State University College of Law.
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John Decker, partner at Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer, & Weiss PC, was named chair of the firm's Corporate and Mergers & Acquisitions practice groups. Jaffe CEO Jeffrey M. Weiss made the announcement.
As part of his expanded role as Corporate practice group leader, Decker will oversee the firm's team of corporate and M&A experts in providing high-quality and strategic legal counsel to clients needing assistance navigating the complexities of large business transactions. Jaffe's Corporate Group includes the Mergers & Acquisitions, Emerging & Growth Business and Securities & Corporate Governance practice groups.
Decker's practice is mostly in complex business transactions, mergers, acquisitions, financings, private equity and venture capital investment, cross-border transactions, general contracts, securities, entrepreneurial ventures, and start-up companies. Since joining Jaffe in 2003, Decker has built relationships with a diverse client base across a variety of industries. His clientele ranges from individual entrepreneurs and professional athletes to private equity firms, private foundations, and global businesses. He also serves as outside general counsel to several firm clients in support of their day-to-day and strategic, long-term operations. Decker serves on the firm's Finance Committee and previously served on its Recruiting Committee.
Decker earned his BBA from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. He then completed his law degree at Harvard Law School and earned a Masters in Finance from the London Business School. He was named to Michigan Lawyers Weekly's list of Leaders in the Law in 2020 and earned recognition as 40 Under 40 from Crain's Detroit Business in 2010. He currently serves as the chair of the Board of Trustees of the Detroit Historical Society, an organization he's been a part of since 2011.
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Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer recently announced the appointments of Judges Kristina Robinson Garrett, and Noah P. Hood to the Michigan Court of Appeals District 1 and Sima Patel to the Michigan Court of Appeals District 2.
Garrett currently serves as a judge with the 36th District Court of Detroit, appointed by Whitmer in 2019. In her role, she serves as a judge for various specialty courts including the Street Outreach Court Detroit, Mental Health Treatment Court, Drug Treatment Court, and Veterans Treatment Court. Garrett also presides over traffic cases involving misdemeanor citations, city ordinance violations, and civil infractions. Before her appointment to the bench, Garrett served as general counsel for the Wayne County Sheriff's Office.
Garrett earned her law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law and Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Michigan. She currently serves as a member of the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission, Judicial Education Board, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.
"I am truly grateful to Governor Whitmer for this opportunity to further serve the citizens of the State of Michigan," said Garrett. "I will continue to uphold my commitment to listen, learn, and ensure that our state's legal system is fair and accessible in the pursuit of justice."
This appointment was made to fill a partial term, which expires at twelve o'clock noon on January 1, 2023, after the retirement of Judge Cynthia Stephens effective March 31, 2022. If Garrett wishes to seek a full six-year term, she would be required to run for reelection in November 2022.
Hood currently serves as a judge with the Third Judicial Circuit of Michigan where he presides over felony cases and the Veterans Treatment Court. Prior to his appointment to the bench by Whitmer in 2019, Hood served as an assistant U.S. attorney and received the U.S. Treasury Department's FinCEN Director's Law Enforcement Award for effective use of Bank Secrecy Act data in safeguarding the financial system. He also received a certificate of appreciation from the United States Secret Service director for his superior efforts and contributions to the Secret Service's law enforcement responsibilities. Hood previously worked as a litigation associate at Miller, Canfield, Paddock, and Stone and was recognized by Michigan Community Legal Resources for his pro bono work in Detroit.
Hood earned his law degree from Harvard Law School and Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from Yale College. He currently serves a member of the State Council for Interstate Adult Offender Supervision, the Association of Black Judges, and the Third Circuit Court Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
"I am grateful for this appointment and the opportunity to continue to serve our community more broadly and with a longer lasting impact," said Hood. "In recent years, we have seen the role that courts serve as both a barometer and a bulwark for fairness, equality, and the rule of law. I hope to safeguard these ideals as long as I serve."
This appointment is made to fill a partial term, which expires at twelve o'clock noon on January 1, 2023, after the passing of Judge Karen Fort Hood. If Judge Noah Hood wishes to serve the remainder of Judge Karen Fort Hood's term, expiring January 1, 2027, he would be required to run for reelection in November of 2022.
Patel currently serves as a senior appellate attorney at Fieger Law. In this role, Patel represents victims in complex plaintiffs' personal injury and civil rights appellate litigation before the Michigan Supreme Court, Michigan Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit. Prior to joining Fieger Law, Patel served as a clerk for the Michigan Supreme Court and taught as an adjunct professor at Northwestern Michigan College.
Patel earned her law degree from Western Michigan University Cooley Law School and Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Colorado. She is a member of the Michigan Association for Justice, South Asian Bar Association, and Women Lawyers' Association of Michigan.
"How the law is interpreted has a profound impact on every Michigander's life and is a weighty responsibility," said Patel. "I am humbled and honored that Governor Whitmer has entrusted me with this work, and I look forward to serving the people of Michigan."
This appointment was made to fill a partial term, which expires at twelve o'clock noon on January 1, 2023, after the passing of Judge Jonathan Tukel. If Patel wishes to serve the remainder of Tukel's term, expiring January 1, 2027, she would be required to run for reelection in November of 2022.
Judicial appointments are not subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.
