Warner Norcross + Judd LLP recently welcomed several new attorneys to the firm.
Scott M. Carter, Joshua M. Hoebeke, Livia Khemmoro, and Molly K. Williams have been admitted to the State Bar of Michigan. They are gaining experience in a variety of legal matters before selecting a practice group.
Carter, Hoebeke, and Williams are based in Warner's Detroit office, and Khemmoro is based in the Macomb County office.
Carter received his law degree from Wayne State University Law School. He earned a bachelor's degree from Adrian College in accounting. Carter previously served as a judicial intern for U.S. District Court Judge Sean F. Cox, Eastern District of Michigan.
Hoebeke received his law degree from Michigan State University College of Law. He has a bachelor's degree in political science and communication from Saginaw Valley State University. Hoebeke previously served as legislative director for state Sen. Winnie Brinks and as a legislative fellow for former state Rep. Jon Hoadley.
Khemmoro received her law degree from University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. She has a bachelor's degree in business administration from Walsh College in Troy. She previously served as a legal extern for the Michigan Department of Attorney General.
Williams received her law degree from University of Michigan Law School. She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan. Williams previously served as a legal intern for the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center.
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Dykema recently announced the addition of Brett M. Gelbord as senior counsel to its Labor and Employment Practice Group in the the firm's Detroit office.
Gelbord joins Dykema after practicing at Troutman, Pepper, Hamilton, Sanders LLP for seven years, prior to which he clerked for U.S. District Court Judge Nancy G. Edmunds, Eastern District of Michigan. His practice focuses on providing practical and efficient guidance to employers on all manner of workforce-related issues. In addition to providing day-to-day employment counseling, Gelbord also represents employers in administrative proceedings and lawsuits at both the state and federal level on issues ranging from claims of employment discrimination and wrongful termination to the enforcement of non-competition agreements and the protection of trade secrets. He is licensed to practice in Michigan and New York.
He has represented clients in a variety of industries, with a particular focus on the cannabis, automotive, and technology sectors. Gelbord also has experience with automotive supply chain disputes; acting as both a counselor and an advocate on matters ranging from payment disputes to complex quality, warranty, and indemnification claims.
He earned his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School and B.A.s in English and Anthropology from Queens College, City University of New York. He is a member of Leadership Detroit Class XXXVIII.
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The law firm of Foster, Swift, Collins, & Smith PC elected Michael R. Blum as an officer to serve on its executive committee for 2022.
Blum will serve as vice president of the firm's Southfield office. Blum represents both private and public employers in employment litigation and alternative dispute resolution.
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Alexander McGee, a partner at Howard & Howard, was recently named to Michigan Lawyer's Weekly "Up & Coming Lawyers" for 2022.
McGee has spent the last eight years with Howard & Howard as a member of the Intellectual Property Group. He focuses his practice in the automotive and medical industries, frequently working on patent preparation, prosecution, and clearance work. McGee holds memberships to the Michigan IP Inn of Court and the Michigan Intellectual Property Law Association.
Prior to joining Howard & Howard, McGee worked as an engineer, materials scientist, and legal aid at various Fortune 500 medical technologies firms and Tier-1 automotive suppliers. Additionally, he served as a volunteer firefighter for more than 16 years.
McGee graduated from Kettering University with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, which included study abroad at the Swinburne University of Technology in Australia. He earned his law degree at Western Michigan University Cooley Law School.
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Dickinson Wright PLLC is pleased to announce that the firm's Trademark practice in Michigan along with John Nishi (member) have all been ranked in the 2022 edition of the WTR 1000.
Below are Dickinson Wright's rankings for the 2022 edition of the WTR 1000:
Michigan
Trademark Practice Recommended
John Nishi Gold
Dickinson Wright's Trademark practice works with clients regionally, nationally and internationally, helping them select, register and monitor enforcement of their valuable trademarks, trade names and service marks. From filing and prosecuting trademark applications to resolving disputes, we help clients secure, optimize and protect their trademarks, trade names, service marks, and Internet domain names worldwide.
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Butzel attorney and shareholder Javon R. David has been named to Oakland County's 2022 Class of 40 Under 40. In its tenth year, 40 Under 40, honors young professionals who live and/or work in Oakland County.
David is among young professionals who exemplify Oakland Together, Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter's vision for a community working together to leverage its strengths, address its challenges, and find value in working with regional partners. Members of Oakland County's 40 Under 40 Class of 2022 will be honored at a reception preceding Coulter's State of the County address on March 15. Approximately 125 candidates applied for the honor.
David is a member of Butzel's Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice Group, one of the firm's largest practices areas. She concentrates her practice in the areas of commercial litigation, media and entertainment law, and products liability. She has litigation experience, successfully handling matters from the onset of suit through trial.
In 2021, David was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Michigan Defense Trial Counsel Association (MDTC). She accepted this appointment after serving as co-chair of the Trial Practice Section of the MDTC.
David holds several leadership positions in the legal field. She serves on the Business Court and Counsel Committee for the Oakland County Bar Association (OCBA). She also serves as deputy general counsel for the Michigan Press Association (MPA), and on the litigation, insurance, and advertising/commercial speech committees for the Media Law Resource Center (MLRC).
In addition, David serves on the Board of Governors for the Young Leaders Council, Original Equipment Suppliers Association Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (OESA-MEMA). She's also a member of the 2021-2022 (LOXXXII) Class of Leadership Oakland.
Moreover, she is an active member of the Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce and an advisor to the Shlama Foundation.
David has been named to the list of Michigan Rising Stars in Super Lawyers magazine for 2017-2021. She also was named among Michigan's Top Women Lawyers from 2017-2021. David was named as Ones to Watch in commercial litigation by Best Lawyers in America in 2020 and 2021.
She is admitted to practice law in the State of Michigan, the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, and the U.S. District Court, Western District of Michigan. She also is a certified mediator through the American Bar Association.
David earned a law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan-Dearborn, with concentrations in History, Political Science, and Psychology.
Butzel is also proud to announce that Justin G. Klimko, president and CEO, has been named to Michigan Lawyers Weekly's Hall of Fame Class of 2022. He is one of 20 attorneys who will be honored during a luncheon on April 8 at the Detroit Marriott Troy and profiled in an upcoming edition of Michigan Lawyers Weekly.
Klimko, based in the firm's Detroit office, has experience in mergers and acquisitions, corporate financing, securities regulation, corporate governance and general corporate matters, areas in which he has practiced since 1980.
He has received numerous awards and recognitions for business law matters and is ranked as one of Michigan's leading corporate and M&A lawyers. He is a past chair of the State Bar of Michigan Business Law Section and a past recipient of the Section's Stephen H. Schulman Outstanding Business Lawyer Award.
He co-chairs the State Bar of Michigan Business Law Section's Corporate Laws Committee, responsible for development of Michigan's corporate statute. He also has chaired the Section's Ad Hoc Committee on Legal Opinions, which has issued reports to address opinion issues in business transactions, including issues specific to Michigan law, and is a member of the TriBar Opinion Committee, a prominent national committee addressing opinions in business transaction.
In 2021, Klimko received the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) Detroit Lifetime Achievement Award. He is a board member and secretary of ACG Detroit. He is a past recipient of the Schulman Outstanding Business Lawyer Award from the State Bar of Michigan Business Law Section.
Klimko previously taught corporation law as an adjunct professor at the University of Detroit Mercy Law School, frequently lectures and authors articles on business law subjects and has served as general editor of a treatise on Michigan Business Forms and as a contributing author for a treatise on Michigan contract law.
Klimko is included in the publication The Best Lawyers in America and enjoys an "AV" rating from the Martindale-Hubbell rating system. Klimko is rated one of Michigan's top Corporate/M&A attorneys by Chambers USA Guide of America's Leading Lawyers for Business and is listed in Michigan Super Lawyers (Mergers and Acquisitions).
In addition, Butzel attorney Sarah L. Nirenberg has been named one of 22 attorneys in the state named to Michigan Lawyers Weekly's 2022 Class of "Up & Coming Lawyers." The attorneys will be honored during a luncheon on April 8 at the Detroit Marriott Troy and profiled in an upcoming edition of Michigan Lawyers Weekly.
Nirenberg, based in Butzel's Troy office, specializes in representing employers for litigation in all areas of employment law, including statutory claims under federal and state law for discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and payment of wages.
She has experience representing large and small business across different industries, as well as public institutions. She advises employers on various matters where the law is constantly evolving, such as employment applications, arbitration agreements, and workplace drug policies. She also helps guide employers through complex wage and hour law as well as investigations conducted by the Department of Labor.
Nirenberg brings trial advocacy and investigatory skills to her practice from having served as an assistant prosecuting attorney in the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office. Outside the courtroom, she uses these skills to conduct sensitive workplace investigations for her clients. Her use of technology and ingenuity has led to obtaining information critical to successfully disposing cases.
Nirenberg earned a law degree from Washington University in St. Louis, School of Law in 2013. She received a B.A. from Michigan State University's James Madison College and Honors College in 2009.
Butzel also notes that Mark R. Lezotte, a co-chair of the firm's Health Care Industry Team, will be a featured during a webinar on Wednesday, March 23. The webinar is titled "Healthcare Entities and LLCs: Leveraging IRS Guidance on Requirements for LLCs to Qualify as Tax-Exempt Entities" and is presented by Strafford Publications Inc.
Based in Butzel's Detroit office, Lezotte has experience in corporate, healthcare, exempt organization, and tax matters, including corporate and nonprofit governance, hospital-physician ventures and other healthcare transactions, regulatory investigations, tax exemption matters, and a wide range of business and commercial transactions.
He has conducted presentations on topics involving health law, nonprofit organizations, and tax matters, including: healthcare reform issues; board duties and responsibilities; hospital-physician transactions; HIPAA and patient privacy provisions; compliance programs; informed consent in patient care and in clinical research; advance directives and healthcare powers of attorney; charitable giving; and tax aspects of business acquisitions and dispositions.
Lezotte started his legal career with Butzel and then later served as general counsel of Oakwood Healthcare Inc. (now a part of Beaumont Health), where he was responsible for all of the system's legal services, supervision of in-house legal staff, supporting strategic initiatives and joint ventures, and the engagement and oversight of outside counsel.
Lezotte has been active in numerous bar and professional organizations. He is a former council member of the State Bar of Michigan Business Law Section and former co-chair of the Nonprofit Corporations Committee, as well as former co-chair of the Health Law Committee of the local Federal Bar Association chapter.
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For the eighth consecutive year, Brooks Kushman has been recognized as a WTR 1000 firm by the World Trademark Review. The guide recognizes the world's top trademark law firms and practitioners in key jurisdictions.
In addition to recognition of the firm, WTR also distinguished shareholders Robyn Lederman, Chanille Carswell, Elizabeth Janda, Molly Crandall, Hope Shovein, Rebecca Cantor, and Erica Klein as top trademark leaders in Michigan.
In addition, Tiffany Fidler, Brooks Kushman co-chair of Patent Prosecution, has been chosen to represent the firm as a member of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity's (LCLD) 2022 class of Fellows. This program focuses on the development of the industry's next generation of professional leaders. It offers participants virtual and in-person training, peer-group projects, and networking opportunities with LCLD's top leadership and industry professionals alike.
Brooks Kushman associates Reza Roghani Esfahani and Chelsea Pasquali have also been appointed to represent the firm in LCLD's 2022 Pathfinder Program. This program is designed to provide high-potential attorneys with the practical tools necessary to expand their internal professional networks through relationship-building skills, foundational leadership skills, and career development strategies.
Fidler's practice focuses on procuring domestic and foreign patents in the mechanical and electromechanical arts and coordinating international patent portfolios. She regularly advises clients regarding infringement and freedom-to-operate analyses, and the negotiation and preparation of various intellectual property agreements, including licensing agreements and joint development agreements. She also has experience in design patents.
Fidler received her doctorate in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan, and her law degree from Wayne State University Law School. She serves as co-chair of the firm's patent prosecution practice. Fidler is active in the firm's diversity committee and women leadership initiatives and is an Executive Committee Member for the Women in IP Law Committee for AIPLA.
Esfahani's practice concentrates on intellectual property litigation and involves a wide range of technologies including the mechanical, chemical, and pharmaceuticals arts. She also has experience with the preparation and prosecution of U.S. and foreign patent applications and intellectual property due diligence. Esfahani earned a law degree as well as a bachelor's and master's degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan.
Pasquali focuses her practice on intellectual property litigation including patent, trademark, trade dress, unfair competition, and copyright litigation, including counseling clients on false advertising, enforcement of trademarks and copyrights, domain name issues, and license agreements. She also represents trademark owners in opposition and cancellation proceedings before the United States Patent and Trademark Office's Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Pasquali represents Fortune 500 Corporations, small businesses, and individuals in a variety of intellectual property claims. Throughout her career, she has successfully litigated a variety of cases in State and Federal Courts and represented clients before the Michigan Court of Appeals. She earned her law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law.
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Harness IP is pleased to announce its inclusion in the 2022 edition of World Trademark Review 1000. The firm's offices in Michigan and Missouri are also ranked due to their depth of expertise and market presence.
The local Harness IP attorneys recognized by World Trademark Review 1000 include:
Beth Coakley, Metro Detroit
Lisa DuRoss, Metro Detroit
This marks Coakley's eighth year receiving recognition in the World Trademark Review 1000 list. She is included in the Gold level band of IP attorneys.
2022 is the first year for DuRoss, who is the chair of the firm's Trademark Practice Committee, to appear on the list. She additionally earned a Silver ranking in this year's report.
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Secrest Wardle is pleased to announce the following local promotions effective January 1:
To the position of executive partner: Justin A. Grimske, and Matthew C. Lindgren
To the position of partner: Brian W. Boyd
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Attorney Sean M. Colonna is the newest member of the Trusts & Estates Practice Group of Plunkett Cooney.
Colonna, who recently joined the firm as an associate in the firm's Bloomfield Hills office, focuses his practice on trust and estate planning matters, as well as probate litigation. He advises clients regarding revocable trust agreements, joint trusts, powers of attorney, funeral directives, retirement planning, charitable trusts and transfer tax planning. His litigation practice includes representation in claims involving alleged breach of fiduciary duty, undue influence and lack of mental capacity, as well as will/trust contests.
In addition to his estate planning and probate litigation practice, Colonna assists clients with business transactions and planning. He has created and implemented succession and management continuity plans for closely held businesses and corporations of various sizes, and he drafts and negotiates manufacturing contracts and agreements involving buy-sell, sales representatives, severances, licensing, redemption, pledges and suppliers.
A 2013 graduate of the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, Colonna received his undergraduate degree from Western Michigan University in 2010.
