Legal People ...

Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced the appointment of David W. Jones to the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission.

Jones is a partner with Allen Brothers PLLC. He earned a law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law and a Bachelor of Science in Corporation Finance from Wayne State University.

Jones is reappointed to represent members submitted by the State Bar of Michigan for a term commencing September 19, 2022, and expiring April 1, 2026.  

The Michigan Indigent Defense Commission was created as a result of efforts to improve legal representation for indigent criminal defendants. The commission develops and oversees the implementation, enforcement, and modification of minimum standards, rules, and procedures to ensure that indigent criminal defense services providing effective assistance of counsel are delivered to all indigent adults in this state consistent with the safeguards of the U.S. Constitution, the State Constitution of 1963, and with the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission Act.?????

This appointment is not subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.

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Foster Swift welcomes associate Toi J. Thomas to the firm’s Southfield office as a member of the general litigation practice group. Thomas joins Foster Swift as a lateral hire, previously having been in private practice since 2018.

Thomas focuses her practice in Family Law, Estate Planning, Criminal Law, and Entertainment Law including:

• Drafting and filing motions to stay evictions in Landlord-Tenant disputes

• Drafting and executing Wills, Trusts, and Power of Attorney documents

• Appearing and advocating on behalf of clients regarding custody, parenting time and child support disputes

Thomas earned her law degree from Western Michigan University Cooley Law School.  She volunteers at the Philippine American Community Center for the Pro Bono Services: Naturalization Workshop, filling out applications for immigrants looking to become U.S. citizens and expungement fairs for many different organizations.

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Honigman LLP is proud to announce that Ira Jaffe has recently joined the law firm as distinguished counsel in its corporate and private client practices. Jaffe will be based in the firm’s Bloomfield Hills office.

“Ira has over 50 years of experience working with and advising some of the nation’s most sophisticated and successful individuals, businesses, foundations and non-profit community organizations, a background and skill set that will prove invaluable to the many Honigman clients he will come to serve,” Honigman CEO and Chair David Foltyn noted.  “He also has led numerous non-profits, foundations and other community organizations, and his considerable insight, experience, knowledge and judgment in these areas and as a law firm founder and leader will assist Honigman leadership as we continue to strategically grow our business in an increasingly competitive legal marketplace.”  

Jaffe retired in 2021 from both the law firm Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer, & Weiss, which he founded in 1968, and The Fisher Group LLC, the Max and Marjorie Fisher family office where Jaffe served as The Fisher Group’s CEO and president for more than 10 years.  

Upon retirement, he formed his own consulting business, Ira Jaffe Consulting LLC. Through Ira Jaffe Consulting, and based on his background and experience, Jaffe consults with a small group of high-net-worth clients on the non-legal family-driven aspects of succession planning, business planning, estate planning, family and trust disputes, nonprofit and foundation involvement and corporate board membership.

Jaffe has also served on numerous foundation and nonprofit boards over the years, including The Fred A. & Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation; Cranbrook Educational Community; Cranbrook Institute of Science; McGregor Fund; The Parade Company; and the Detroit Zoological Society. He currently serves on the advisory boards of Beyond Basics; eLab Ventures; Michigan Capital Advisors and as chairman of the Board of REDICO.

“Honigman has an innovative, highly respected, and growing legal presence,” said Jaffe. “I am looking forward to partnering with many of my long-time friends and colleagues in this next step in my career and to contributing to this outstanding institution.”

Honigman is also pleased to announce Nick Winters has joined as a partner in its Real Estate Department. Winters supports his clients in real estate matters in various industries, with experience in leasing, telecommunications, electric vehicles, and the resolution of complex title and survey issues. He focuses on developing long-term relationships with his clients so that he can understand, protect, and advance their priorities.
Winters joins Honigman from Dykema, where he served as senior counsel in its Real Estate and Commercial Leasing Practice. He earned his law degree from Wayne State University Law School in 2006 and his B.A. from Bob Jones University in 2003.

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The Professional Liability Defense Federation (PLDF), a national organization of more than 500 lawyers and insurance professionals who focus on the defense of professional liability claims, has named David Anderson, a partner at the Southfield firm of Collins Einhorn Farrell, as its president-elect for 2022-2023. Anderson was installed as president-elect during the organization’s annual meeting in Chicago, September 14-16.

Anderson has defended a variety of professional liability claims, ranging from legal malpractice to claims against accountants, insurance agents, architects and engineers, real estate/title agents and even fine art appraisers. Anderson has also defended numerous corporations against product liability claims, including death cases.

The mission of the PLDF is to enhance the stature and effectiveness of professional liability defense professionals through education, training, and the exchange of information. For more information on the PLDF, visit www.pldf.org.

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Butzel attorney and shareholder Debra A. Geroux has been named as one of Michigan Lawyers Weekly’s 2022 Honorees for “Influential Women of Law.”

Geroux is one of 32 women attorneys who will be honored during a luncheon on September 23 and profiled in Michigan Lawyers Weekly.

Geroux is a co-chair of Butzel’s Health Care Industry Team. She also is a member of the firm’s Cybersecurity and Privacy Specialty Team, Government & Internal Investigations Team, and Litigation and Dispute Resolution Team.

Her healthcare practice focuses on health care compliance, cybersecurity and privacy, and statutory reporting obligations. She also assists health care practitioners in defense of state and federal debarment, fraud, waste and abuse investigations and litigation, licensing and credentialing, government and commercial payor audits and a host of other health care issues.

Geroux has experience in supply chain and source contracting for a large Michigan-based health system, including negotiations of its IT contracts. In September 2018, she earned her Certified in Healthcare Privacy Compliance (CHPC) designation from the Compliance and Certification Board. She also earned a Certified in Healthcare Compliance (CHC) designation, which she received in November 2012. Her representative clients include individual practitioners and group practices, hospitals, community mental health authorities, home health agencies, pharmacies and pharmaceutical manufactures, ambulatory surgery centers, physical therapy centers, and DMEPOS suppliers.

Geroux’s professional memberships include: the American Bar Association (including the Health Law and Litigation Sections), the Federal Bar Association, the Oakland County Bar Association, and the Health Care Compliance Association. She assisted with numerous pro bono projects for Community Legal Services (n/k/a Michigan Community Resources), which resulted in the publication of various white papers and primers as well as a manual regarding malpractice and liability issues facing non-profit healthcare facilities such as free clinics, FQHCs and FQHC look-alikes and low-cost clinics.

Geroux is actively involved within the community. Currently, she serves on the Board of Directors for Honor Community Health, an FQHC serving Oakland County, Michigan, and as the vice president of the Board of Directors for the Historical Society for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Geroux also has served as an adjunct professor of Healthcare Law at Michigan State University College of Law and previously taught Healthcare Insurance Law in the Paralegal Program at Baker College of Auburn Hills.

She has been recognized as a leading lawyer by the following:

• Best Lawyers in America, Lawyer of the Year, Health Care Law, 2022

• Best Lawyers in America, Health Care Law, 2018 - 2022, Commercial Litigation, 2021-2022

• Michigan Super Lawyers, Health Care, 2017-2022

• DBusiness Top Lawyers in Metro Detroit, Health Care Law, 2012, 2014, 2017-2021

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Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer recently announced the appointment of Christina V. Kennedy to the Wayne County 36th District Court in Detroit.  

Kennedy is a senior assistant corporation counsel with the City of Detroit Law Department. In her current role, she serves as general counsel to the Detroit Board of Ethics. Kennedy has been with the City of Detroit since 2014, beginning as an assistant corporation counsel representing the city in defense of civil lawsuits. She later moved to the role of law department liaison for the Detroit City Council where she advised the council on legal matters. Kennedy is also the chief union steward for the UAW Local 2211 where she advises members of the collective bargaining unit and resolves labor disputes.

Early in her career, Kennedy was a solo practitioner representing clients in family matters, misdemeanor and felony defense, and juvenile court proceedings. She began her legal career as a judicial clerk in the Wayne County Circuit Court.   

Kennedy earned her law degree from the Michigan State University College of Law, and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Wayne State University. Kennedy is a board member with Northwest Community Programs Inc., and is a member of the Black Women Lawyers Association of Michigan, the Woman Lawyers Association of Michigan, and the Wolverine Bar Association.  

“I would like to thank Governor Whitmer for appointing me to the 36th District Court,” said Kennedy. “It is truly an honor to be able to serve the citizens of the city where I was born, raised, and am now raising my children. I promise to treat everyone with dignity and respect while seeking to uphold the rules of law and justice.”

This appointment was made to fill a partial term, which will commence on October 17, 2022 and expire at twelve o’clock noon on January 1, 2025, following the appointment of Judge Christopher Blount to the 3rd Circuit Court effective April 18, 2022. If Kennedy wishes to serve a full six-year term, she would be required to run for reelection in November of 2024.

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

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Lee Hornberger, a Michigan arbitrator and mediator, is pleased to announce that he has received the Distinguished Service Award from the Alternative Dispute Resolution Section of the State Bar of Michigan in recognition of significant contributions to the field of dispute resolution.

Hornberger has a national practice. He is a former chair of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Section of the State Bar of Michigan, editor emeritus of The Michigan Dispute Resolution Journal, former member of the State Bar’s Representative Assembly, former president of the Grand Traverse-Leelanau-Antrim Bar Association, and former chair of the Traverse City Human Rights Commission. He is a member of the Professional Resolution Experts of Michigan (PREMi), an invitation-only group of Michigan’s top mediators, and a diplomate member of The National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals. He is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. He is also a Fellow of the Michigan State Bar Foundation.

Hornberger has received the Distinguished Service Award from the ADR Section in recognition of significant contributions to the field of dispute resolution. He has received the George N. Bashara, Jr.. Award from the ADR Section in recognition of exemplary service. He has received Hero of ADR Awards from the ADR Section.

Hornberger is included in The Best Lawyers of America 2018 and 2019 for arbitration, and 2020 to 2023 for arbitration and mediation. He is on the 2016 to 2022 Michigan Super Lawyers lists for alternative dispute resolution. He has received a First Tier ranking in Northern Michigan for Mediation by U.S. News – Best Lawyers® Best Law Firms in 2022; and he has received a Second Tier ranking in Northern Michigan for Arbitration by U.S. News – Best Lawyers® Best Law Firms in 2022. He has received a Second Tier ranking in Northern Michigan for Mediation by U.S. News – Best Lawyers® Best Law Firms in 2020. He has received a First Tier ranking in Northern Michigan for Arbitration by U.S. News – Best Lawyers® Best Law Firms in 2019.

While serving with the U.S. Army in Vietnam, he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and Army Commendation Medals. The unit he was in was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation and the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm.

Hornberger earned his B.A. from the University of Michigan and his law degrees from U-M Law School and Wayne State University Law School.