Electronic Recording Commission
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced the appointment of Brian P. Henry to the Electronic Recording Commission.
Henry is the chief counsel for eTitle Agency. He earned his law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law and Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Michigan. Henry is reappointed to represent individuals engaged in the land title profession for a term commencing February 18, 2022 and expiring January 1, 2024.
This appointment is not subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.
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Dickinson Wright PLLC
Dickinson Wright PLLC is pleased to announce that John S. Artz (member and Intellectual Property Litigation Practice Group co-chair) has been named a “Go To Lawyer” for Intellectual Property Law by Michigan Lawyers Weekly.
“I am honored to be selected by Michigan Lawyers Weekly as a ‘Go To Lawyer’ for Intellectual Property law. This list is filled with such talented and accomplished attorneys,” said Artz.
Artz has more than 25 years of experience and practices in all areas of intellectual property litigation. He also has experience in the acquisition, management, and prosecution of patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret assets. He serves as lead counsel for many companies in federal courts across the country, including the U.S. Court of Appeals, the U.S. Patent Office and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Artz is recognized as a leader in his field by Chambers USA, Managing Intellectual Property’s IP Stars, Best Lawyers in America, and DBusiness Top Lawyers. He is past president of the Michigan Intellectual Property Law Association and is currently a co-chair of the Intellectual Property Section of the Federal Bar Association for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Artz received his law degree from the Detroit College of Law, now known as Michigan State University College of Law.
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Zausmer, P.C.
Zausmer is pleased to announce that shareholder Heidi D. Hudson has been named to the Michigan Lawyers Weekly 2022 Hall of Fame.
Hudson has a varied litigation practice that includes labor and employment law, school law, and insurance defense and fraud claims, representing clients in state and federal trial and appellate courts as well as before government administrative agencies such as the Michigan Department of Civil Rights and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
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Miller Canfield
Miller Canfield is pleased to announce that it ranks first among Michigan bond counsel firms, 14th among Illinois law firms, sixth among Midwestern firms and 42nd nationwide in the 2021 Bond Counsel Rankings by Refinitiv. Miller Canfield completed 105 long-term new bond issues in 2021, totaling $2.38 billion.
Included in Miller Canfield’s 2021 municipal finance work was the City of Detroit’s 2021 Neighborhood Improvement Bonds program, which was recognized as the Midwest Deal of the Year in The Bond Buyer. The program expands on the city’s successful plan to demolish more than 15,000 blighted properties.
Other highlights of Miller Canfield’s work in 2021 include:
• Serving as bond counsel on more than 240 bond issues for local government issuers totaling over $2.75 billion, including certain private placement issues and issues sold to USDA Rural Development and the Michigan Finance Authority’s revolving fund loan programs, which are not all taken into account in the Refinitiv rankings
• Serving as bond counsel to the Michigan Finance Authority, Michigan Strategic Fund and State Building Authority on various refunding and new money financings totaling over $400 million
• Assisting school districts throughout Michigan as bond counsel on 31 school finance transactions totaling over $1.3 billion
• Serving as bond counsel to Illinois local government and school issuers on 14 transactions totaling over $674 million
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Maddin, Hauser, Roth, & Heller PC
Ronald A. Sollish has been selected to Michigan Lawyers Weekly’s 2022 “Hall of Fame” class. Sollish is a shareholder with Maddin Hauser and serves as an executive committee member and chairman of its Corporate/Employment Group.
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Reiter & Walsh PC
On February 13, Jesse Reiter, owner of Reiter & Walsh PC, which focuses on catastrophic birth injury claims, spoke at the Birth Trauma Litigation Group Seminar at the Winter AAJ Convention in Palm Springs. He presented on the topic of: “Myth Busting – How the Facts Refute Common Misbeliefs about Electronic Fetal Heart Monitoring (EFM).”
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Dykema
Dykema is proud to announce that Thomas Moga was selected by Michigan Lawyers Weekly as a “Go To Lawyer” for Intellectual Property Law. Moga will be profiled in a Michigan Lawyers Weekly special supplement.
Moga has more than 30 years’ experience in domestic and international IP portfolio development and enforcement. His experience includes the development of domestic and foreign patent portfolios primarily through the drafting and prosecution of patent applications for filing in the United States and abroad. It also includes the acquisition of registrations for trademarks and copyrights, licensing, and IP policy development both at home and abroad. Moga is an experienced patent prosecutor in the mechanical, chemical, biochemical, and pharmaceutical arts and testifies as an expert witness in patent disputes.
He is a pioneer in protecting and enforcing IP rights in China and has represented foreign companies there since the 1980s. He oversees a team that specializes in receiving and filing patent applications with the USPTO on behalf of foreign applicants. In addition, he manages a team responsible for patent enforcement and anti-counterfeiting, primarily in Asia, through the identification, monitoring, and halting of counterfeiting activity.
Moga earned a law degree from St. Louis University School of Law, a M.A. from the University of Michigan, a B.S. from Madonna University, and a B.A. from the University of Michigan.
In addition, Dykema is proud to announce that Sherrie Farrell has been named to Savoy magazine’s 2022 Most Influential Black Lawyers list. This marks the third time Farrell was included in Savoy’s annual listing.
Farrell is the office managing member of Dykema’s Detroit office and chair of the firm’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee. A member of the firm’s Litigation Department, she advises clients on all aspects of business disputes, including a broad range of complex litigation and bankruptcy matters. Farrell has experience serving as a national coordinating counsel and serves as national discovery counsel for a Fortune 25 manufacturer in asbestos and other toxic tort litigation.
Farrell serves as a board member for Gift of Life-Michigan and Black Family Development Inc., as well as mentor for the Legal Profession Diversity Pipeline Program of the Just the Beginning Foundation. For more than a decade, she has been a member of the State Bar of Michigan Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee and is a past president for both the Wolverine Bar Association and the Women’s Lawyers Association of Michigan.
Throughout her career, Farrell has received numerous professional accolades, including the D. Augustus Straker Bar Association Trailblazer Award, being named to Lawyers of Color’s Inaugural “Nation’s Best List,” the Wolverine Bar Association President’s Award for promotion of diversity in the legal profession, and also being honored as a Michigan Chronicle Woman of Excellence. In addition, African-American Managing Partners & General Counsel named her its Pathfinder Managing Partner of the Year award in 2015.
Farrell earned a law degree from the Detroit College of Law and (now Michigan State University College of Law) and a B.A. from Wayne State University.
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Brooks Kushman P.C.
Brooks Kushman PC is pleased to announce John S. LeRoy has been named one of “Michigan’s Go-To Lawyers” for Intellectual Property law by Michigan Lawyers Weekly. LeRoy is one of 24 lawyers in Michigan to earn this award.
“It is an honor to be named among a great group of lawyers in Michigan,” LeRoy states. “I strive to do my best by my clients, giving them honest and strategic protection of their IP needs, and am proud to be recognized for these efforts.”
LeRoy practices intellectual property nationally and represents clients on in a variety of matters patent, trademark and trade dress infringement. He has software litigation experience and leads the firm’s FRAND licensing and Open Source Software audit and compliance practice. With respect to FRAND licensing, he works with automotive OEMs and suppliers to address licensing standard essential patents for wireless communication technology.
LeRoy is a member of Michigan Inns of Court, Intellectual Property Owners Association, and Michigan Intellectual Property Law Association. He has been recognized as a “Leader in the Law” by Michigan Lawyers Weekly (2016), “Michigan’s Outstanding IP Litigator of the Year,” Managing Intellectual Property (2018), “IAM Patent 1000 Recommended Individual,” Intellectual Asset Management (2017 – 2021), and Best Lawyers in America (2015-2022).
LeRoy earned his law degree from the University of Dayton, M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan, and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Buffalo.
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Howard & Howard Attorneys PLLC
Jake Grove, a partner at Howard & Howard, has been named as one of the Michigan Lawyers Weekly “2022 Go To IP Lawyers for Intellectual Property Law.”
Grove is an intellectual property law attorney with 30 years of experience. He specializes in intellectual property litigation and has successfully represented dozens of Fortune 500 clients in a wide range of patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret matters.
Grove has been professionally recognized by Michigan Super Lawyers (2006-21); DBusiness Top Lawyers (2012-2014, 2018-2022); Michigan Leading Lawyers (2014, 2018-2021), and The Best Lawyers in America (2013-2022).
He is a member of the Federal Bar Association, Michigan Intellectual Property Law Association, and Michigan Intellectual Property Inn of Court.
Grove has also been an adjunct professor at University of Detroit Mercy School of Law for 15 years, where he teaches trademark law and unfair competition. In addition, he has served as a co-author of several textbooks on patent law, trade secrets, copyrights, and trademarks.
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Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss, P.C.
Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer ,& Weiss PC has welcomed attorney Sal Amodeo to the firm. Amodeo joins the firm’s Litigation practice group as an associate attorney. Jaffe CEO Jeffrey M. Weiss made the announcement.
Amodeo brings experience in civil litigation to Jaffe, having litigated cases across the State of Michigan at the trial and appellate levels. He has provided counsel to public school districts and municipalities in lawsuits involving employment, personal injury, contract, civil rights and constitutional claims. Additionally, Amodeo has experience representing clients in the healthcare field including physicians, nurses and their practice groups in medical malpractice lawsuits. He has frequently defended lawsuits on behalf of healthcare providers in Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne Counties, and others throughout the state.
Amodeo has been recognized as a Super Lawyers® Rising Star each year from 2018-2021 and was acknowledged as a finalist for the Regeana Myrick Outstanding Young Lawyer Award presented by the State Bar of Michigan. He is involved in the legal community as well, where he is a member of the Barristers Section of the Detroit Bar Association, the Treasurer of the Italian American Bar Association, and volunteers at pro bono and expungement clinics.
Amodeo earned his bachelor’s degree in History from the University of Michigan and his law degree from Wayne State University Law School.
In addition, Michigan Lawyers Weekly recently announced that Jaffe associate Paige Szymanski has been named to the Up & Coming Lawyers Class of 2022. Jaffe CEO Jeffrey M. Weiss made the announcement.
Szymanski started as an associate in Jaffe’s Litigation & Dispute Resolution practice group in 2021 and focuses on all aspects of securities disputes, complex commercial litigation, and employment discrimination claims—including discovery, depositions, hearings, mediations, arbitrations, and trials. She has represented a wide range of clients, including automotive suppliers, investment entities, publicly traded companies, large corporations, closely-held businesses, and individuals through all phases of litigation. By 2021, Szymanski successfully completed ten commercial litigation trials and arbitrations, including multiple FINRA arbitrations, an impressive feat for even a seasoned attorney.
Szymanski is the vice chair of the Madison Heights Human Relations & Equity Commission, which advises the City Council on programs, policies, and activities that promote positive human relations and equitable outcomes and opportunities for residents, particularly issues affecting minority communities within Madison Heights. She is also a member of the Young Catholic Professionals of Detroit, the Birmingham Racquet Club, Oakland County Bar Association, and State Bar of Michigan. In August 2021, Szymanski was recognized as one of “Michigan’s Rising Stars” by Super Lawyers®.
Szymanski graduated from the University of Michigan with a bachelor’s degree in political science before earning her law degrees from Michigan State University College of Law and Georgetown University Law Center.
