Strobl Sharp PLLC is excited to announce the addition of two new attorneys to their team of lawyers, Paul Rzepka Jr. and Anthony Cimini.
Rzepka brings a background in business law to the team with his previous estate planning experience at Mitzel Law Corp PLLC and his merger, acquisitions, and tax knowledge from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Rzepka joined Strobl Sharp PLLC last month and will focus his practice on estate planning and administration, business and corporate law, business transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, and tax law.
Rzepka received his law degree from Wayne State University Law School in 2019. In addition, he completed a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in financial accounting from Wayne State University as part of the dual JD/MBA program. Prior to law school, Rzepka graduated from Grand Valley State University with a degree in Business Administration and worked in portfolio management for several years with a local bank.
Rzepka is on the board of directors for Careers Through Faith, a non-profit organization that offers job coaching and career discernment from a Christian perspective.
Cimini will focus his practice on business bankruptcy and reorganization, tax law, and general litigation. In addition, he will handle banking and finance, commercial contracts, mergers and acquisitions, as well as real estate transactions.
Cimini graduated with his law degree from University of Detroit Mercy School of Law in May 2022 and is awaiting the results of the July 2022 bar exam. Prior to law school, Cimini graduated from Western Michigan University double majoring in Biomedical Sciences and Comparative Religion.
Cimini is also the founder of Vision of Hope Charities, a non-profit organization that provides assistance to and promotes long-term recovery for individuals who suffer from substance use disorders.
- - -
Work/Life balance is key to Butzel's culture as the law firm of the future. Its comprehensive Work/Life programs set the firm apart. As a result, Butzel has been named to Crain's 2022 Cool Places to Work for the second straight year, ranking 53rd and the highest ranked law firm.
For Butzel, employee satisfaction is essential to client satisfaction. Butzel has a history of offering eligible employees a wide array of quality employee benefits and firm-designed programs. Butzel conferred with employees on its recent office redesigns, which reflect function, flexibility and culture.
As a Crain's 2022 Cool Places to Work, Butzel was recognized for having a strong financial incentive bonus structure, meditation rooms, and adoption assistance. These are a few examples of Butzel's Work/Life Programs.
Butzel has a long list of perks including: the "Better Butzel" wellness program, virtual wellness platform, flexible work schedule, lawyer flexible practice/reduced schedule program, employee assistance program with onsite counseling, paid time-off, unlimited vacation for attorneys, paralegals, and managers, parental leave, pregnancy loss paid leave, discounted home office equipment, and work anniversary recognition.
Additional Butzel benefits include a 401(k) with firm employer contribution, paid parking, professional dues, associate attorney student loan repayment assistance program, IVF/fertility coverage, and available pet insurance program, to name a few.
"While Butzel has a long and proud history, we are very focused on the future," said Justin G. Klimko, president and CEO. "We have built a foundation in line with our core values, prioritizing clients and always striving to meet and exceed their expectations. Our employees are the key to our success and our ability to serve our clients. We value them and want to provide a workplace in which they can thrive."
- - -
Dickinson Wright is pleased to announce that Mark Heusel, member and East Asia Practice Group chair - China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, ASEAN Region, has been elected to the Japan America Society of Michigan and Southwestern Ontario's Board of Directors.
The Japan America Society is a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening the ties of friendship between the Japanese people and the citizens of the Greater Detroit and Windsor area and to assist in developing a common understanding of economic, political, and cultural diversity. As a director, Heusel will serve as an ambassador of the Society by enhancing and enriching the organization's overall image through actively participating and promoting the Society's events throughout the community.
"I'm honored to join the Japanese American Society Board of Directors and I look forward to working with my colleagues to further the Society's mission within the business community," Heusel said.
Heusel is a commercial business attorney and serves as chair of the firm's East Asia Practice Group, (China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, ASEAN Region). He has more than 25 years of experience in representing multi-national companies in a variety of industries, including automotive, retail, technology, industrial and manufacturing. Heusel's experience includes advising foreign companies in the areas of foreign direct investment in the United States, business formation, Greenfield investment, international trade, commercial transactional matters, and dispute resolution.
In his role as East Asia Practice Group chair, he serves as general counsel to companies throughout the East Asia region, directing the firm's resources to better assist his clients.
- - -
Maddin Hauser is pleased to announce that Mark V. Breaugh has joined the firm as an associate attorney.
Breaugh is a member of our Complex Litigation and Risk Advisory group, where he will work on a broad range of business and civil litigation matters.
Before joining Maddin Hauser, Breaugh was an attorney with a boutique firm litigating matters in state and federal court for individuals and corporate clients.
Breaugh graduated from Wayne State University Law School in 2020 and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Albion College in 2017.
- - -
Attorney Shelly Lee Griffin recently joined the Insurance Coverage Practice Group of Plunkett Cooney.
A partner in Plunkett Cooney's Bloomfield Hills office, Griffin is an experienced trial attorney who has over 25 years of experience resolving litigation involving property coverage, first- and third-party property casualty insurance, coverage disputes, and fraud and arson investigations.
Admitted to practice in state and federal courts in Michigan and Illinois, Griffin is a 1993 graduate from University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. She graduated from Michigan State University in 1989.
Griffin is a member of the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance, DRI The Voice of the Defense Bar, Property & Liability Resource Bureau, Michigan Defense Trial Counsel, and Women Lawyers of Michigan. She is also a longtime member of the International Association of Special Investigation Units (IASIU). Her involvement in IASIU includes the organization's U.S. chapter, and she serves as the legal adviser to the Michigan chapter.
- - -
Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer, & Weiss PC has welcomed attorney Jill S. Schloff as a partner in the firm's Real Estate practice group. Jaffe CEO Mark Cooper made the announcement.
Schloff has experience representing clients in all areas of real estate including acquisitions, dispositions, development, and financing, and has drafted and negotiated complex commercial agreements in connection with such representation. Additionally, she has advised clients with respect to real estate entitlements, development incentives, and governmental approvals.
Schloff was recognized as a Super Lawyers® Rising Star each year from 2008-2012 and is an IPMA (International Project Management Association) Level D®: Certified Project Management Associate. She currently serves as a LEO intermittent lecturer at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, teaching real estate business law to undergraduate and graduate level students.
Schloff earned her bachelor's degree in History and Biopsychology from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and her law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School. She is currently an MBA candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
