LEGAL PEOPLE

Butzel attorneys Eric Flessland, Mike Decker, Louis Ronayne, and Jim Urban will discuss, “How to Handle a Utility Claim,” during the Michigan Infrastructure & Transportation Association’s (MITA) Annual Conference on January 19 in Mount Pleasant.

Flessland’s practice focuses primarily on representing heavy construction contractors and their trade associations in the public and private sectors. He has experience representing construction contractor clients on public and private works projects from inception through close out.

His experience extends to insurance and suretyship issues affecting the construction industry and has drafted a wide range of contract agreements for project owners, contractors, and subcontractors. His representation of firm clients covers a wide range of public and private matters including enforcement of competitive bidding procedures on local- and state-funded public works projects; project level claims analysis, claim preservation and avoidance counseling; complex construction claims litigation; and contract dispute resolution. He provides legal and legislative consultation on issues affecting the heavy civil construction industry.

Decker concentrates his practice in the areas of construction and construction litigation and business and business litigation. He represents and counsels construction companies and contractors on all aspects of both public and private projects, from inception to completion. Decker has experience drafting and negotiating contracts, subcontracts, and other agreements and prosecuting and defending performance, payment, and delay related claims on behalf of construction companies and contractors, as well as owners and sureties. He also has experience prosecuting and defending claims concerning the Miss Dig Act and violations of the Miss Dig Act on behalf of construction companies and contractors. He has prosecuted and defended such claims before state and federal courts, state and public agencies, and arbitration and mediation panels.

Ronayne focuses his practice primarily in the areas of commercial and appellate litigation. He is a former judicial law clerk for Michigan Supreme Court Justice Brian K. Zahra and research attorney for the Michigan Court of Appeals.

Urban is the managing shareholder of Butzel’s Lansing Office and manager of the firm’s State Capitol Practice Group.  He has concentrated his practice in the representation of infrastructure contractors and their trade associations for more than 30 years. He has experience representing infrastructure contractors in the public and private sectors in a wide variety of challenges facing those contractors ranging from being part of contractor bidding teams, to claims recognition, claims avoidance and claims development during the construction process, claims prosecution in the administrative process and in the state and federal courts and arbitration, competitive bidding disputes, Federal False Claims Act investigations, construction liens, surety matters and performance and payment bond claims on state, municipal and federal projects, public utility disputes and contract drafting and negotiation. Urban also has served as an arbitrator and as a mediator in construction disputes on both public and private projects.

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Strobl PLLC is pleased to announce its new name and accompanying branding effective immediately. In addition, Strobl has moved its offices to 33 Bloomfield Hills Parkway, Suite 125, just east of Woodward and south of Long Lake Road.

The new office space is better suited for a modern law firm, designed for versatility of its workspace and more multi-purpose meeting space and conference rooms. While the move is just down the road, the new space and fresh look symbolize the innovative and forward-looking approach that the firm brings to client matters.

“We have been at our current location since the early nineties, so the timing of a move to updated space within same geographic area made sense to coincide with our re-branding,” said Tom Strobl, founder and member, Strobl PLLC.  Strobl PLLC, formerly Strobl Sharp PLLC, has rebranded to reflect the current leadership of the firm after the passing of one of its founding members, John Sharp, in 2020.

The company website, StroblLaw.com, and email domain names remain unchanged.

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Zausmer attorneys recently hosted a panel discussion for Damon J. Keith Scholars at Wayne State University Law School.

Managing Shareholder Mark Zausmer and Shareholder Cinnamon Plonka led the discussion, which focused on the “dos and don’ts” of interviewing, approaching interviews, and asking professional questions. Associates Kyle Warwick, Eula Johnson, and Shelby Avery assisted in answering any questions the students had.

The Wayne State University Law School’s Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights is a civil rights teaching, research, and action hub. Wayne State University also has the Damon J. Keith Scholarship Program, which is available to first-year law students in amounts up to full tuition.

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Attorney Briana L. Combs recently joined the Appellate Law Practice Group of Plunkett Cooney.

Combs, who is a member of the firm’s Bloomfield Hills office, focuses her appellate practice in the areas of commercial litigation, government law, employment litigation, first- and third-party motor vehicle negligence and medical malpractice. She also has experience resolving insurance coverage disputes.

Combs is a 2021 graduate of Wayne State University Law School.  She received her undergraduate degree and her Master of Business Administration from Bowling Green State University in 2016 and 2017, respectively.