Legal People ...

Collins Einhorn Farrell PC is pleased to announce that attorney Hannah R. Brefeld has joined the firm.

Brefeld is a member of the firm’s Insurance Coverage Practice Group. Her practice focuses on insurance coverage litigation and providing coverage opinions and advice to clients. Brefeld’s practice also includes handling of general and automotive liability and employment practices liability matters. Before joining Collins Einhorn, She served as an associate attorney at a private practice firm where she assisted in litigation of employment law matters.

Brefeld graduated from Michigan State University College of Law.

In addition, Collins Einhorn Farrell is pleased to announce that attorney Veronica G. Prange has joined the firm.

Prange focuses her practice on defense litigation for the firm’s General and Automotive Liability Practice Group. Her practice includes a wide array of general liability matters. Prange has developed specific subject matter expertise that has allowed her to advise and represent clients with regard to the post-reform application of the No-Fault Act. Prange has provided service to her clients in pre- and post-suit matters involving diverse personal injuries and wrongful death claims.

Prange earned her law degree from University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. During law school, she worked as a judicial intern at the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan.

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Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer recently announced the appointment of Abril Valdes Siewert to the Hispanic Latino Commission of Michigan.

Valdes Siewert is an attorney at Valdes Law PLLC. She formerly worked as an immigrant rights attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan.
She received her law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law and her Bachelor of Arts in English from California State University Los Angeles. Valdes Siewert is reappointed for a term commencing April 13, 2023, and expiring December 10, 2024.

The Hispanic/Latino Commission of Michigan was created to develop a unified policy and plan of action to serve the needs of Michigan’s Hispanic and Latino people. The law directs the Commission to advise the governor, the Legislature, and the office concerning the coordination and administration of state programs serving the Hispanic and Latino population.

Whitmer also announced the appointment of Rhonda Welburn to the State Transportation Commission.

Welburn is a retired member of Dickinson Wright PLLC where she began practicing of law in 1995. Her primary practice areas were public finance and municipal law, but she is also experienced in the areas of banking and financial services, real estate and education law. During her 25-year legal career, she was consistently ranked by her peers as one of the Best Lawyers in America®, Michigan Super Lawyers, and recognized as a Top Lawyer by DBusiness Magazine.

Before joining Dickinson Wright, Welburn had a 13-year career at General Motors, beginning her automotive career as a mathematician developing computer aided design technology and ultimately serving in a managerial position at GM’s financial staff.

Welburn serves on the board of the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation, and the DMC Foundation. She attended Howard University in Washington, D.C. where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics. She earned her Master of Business Administration from the University of Detroit Mercy and her law degree from the University of Michigan Law School.

Welburn is appointed to represent Independents for a term commencing April 18, 2023 and expiring December 21, 2025. She replaces Todd Wyett, whose term has expired.

The Commission establishes policy for the Michigan Department of Transportation in relation to transportation programs and facilities and other such works as related to transportation development, as provided by law. Responsibilities of the Commission include the development and implementation of comprehensive transportation plans for the entire state, including aeronautics, bus and rail transit, providing professional and technical assistance, and overseeing the administration of state and federal funds allocated for these programs.

These appointments are subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.

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A partner at Plunkett Cooney, Mark S. Kopson was recently elected president-elect designate of the American Health Law Association (AHLA).

Kopson, who leads Plunkett Cooney’s Health Care Industry Group, will take over as president of AHLA on July 1, 2025. He will play a role in guiding the association’s strategic efforts and provide leadership and support for the association in the years to come.

Resident in Plunkett Cooney’s Bloomfield Hills office, Kopson joined the AHLA Board of Directors in 2017 and has been a member of the association since 1987. He serves as chair of the Education Committee, and as a member of the Executive Committee. His previous leadership roles include chair of the Governance Committee, chair and vice chair of the Payers, Plans, and Managed Care Practice Group, and chair of the Managed Care Contracting Affinity Group. He has also served as a member of the Finance, Membership, Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA), and Nominating Committees. In addition, Kopson frequently speaks at AHLA programs and is a contributing author for several AHLA publications.

Kopson has practiced health care law for more than 35 years, representing health facilities, health plans, medical and behavioral health providers, nonprofits, integrated delivery systems and managed care organizations in Michigan and across the United States.

He has experience and expertise in the areas of commercial and governmental managed care contracting, regulation, compliance and dispute resolution, sales, mergers and acquisitions of hospitals, ASCs, nursing homes and professional practices, the conversion of nonprofits to for-profit, and certificates of need.

Kopson is a member of the Health Law Section of the American Bar Association and a Fellow of the State Bar of Michigan’s Health Care Law Section, previously serving as its chair and secretary. A recipient of numerous honors, Kopson has been named a Best Lawyer in America® for Health Care Law, a Michigan Super Lawyer in Health Care by Michigan Super Lawyers magazine, a Leading Lawyer in Health Law by Leading Lawyers magazine Michigan, and a Top Lawyer in Health Care Law by DBusiness magazine. Kopson also has received the highest peer review rating – AV® Preeminent™ – awarded by Martindale Hubbell, an international legal industry directory.

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Foster, Swift, Collins, & Smith welcomes Bryan Cermak to its litigation practice group in the firm’s Southfield office.

Cermak brings more than 40 years of litigation experience in both Michigan and Ohio and with more than two decades in private practice as well as serving as general counsel. He assists individuals and organizations with their personal legal needs including small companies attempting to grow their business including mid to large corporations with complex legal matters.

Cermak has handled cases across the country, his legal expertise ranges from the boardroom to the courtroom. His appellate court experience includes the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit as well as the Michigan Court of Appeals.

Cermak earned his B.S. from Baldwin Wallace University in Berea, Ohio prior to attending the University of Toledo College of Law where he received his law degree.

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Warner Norcross + Judd LLP is the only Michigan-headquartered firm to be recognized as one of the top 200 law firms in the nation for various areas of client service.
Conducted by BTI Consulting Group, the recent Client Service A-Team survey evaluates individual law firm performance through the eyes of the client.

“Client service is one of our guiding principles at Warner, and it’s gratifying to have that commitment recognized at the national level by our clients,” said Managing Partner Mark Wassink. “We strive to get to know and understand our clients and their industries in real and meaningful ways so we can offer practical, proactive legal and business counsel. Providing exceptional client service is part of our DNA.”

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On April 12, Laura Witty, Laura Sherbrook, and Matthew Faiver of Kitch, Drutchas, Wagner, Valitutti & Sherbrook presented to second year OB/GYN residents at the annual Southeast Michigan Center for Medical Education (SEMCME) event at Beaumont Hospital Royal Oak. During the event, the attorneys led interactive attorney/physician sessions focused on current medical legal practice issues facing obstetrical residents.

Witty is a principal attorney and senior member of the firm’s birth injury and medical malpractice defense practices. A member of the firm since 1994, she has experience representing hospitals, physicians and other healthcare professionals in perinatal injury, complex catastrophic and other neurological claims on a local and national basis.

Sherbrook is a principal in the firm’s Detroit office and focuses her practice on birth trauma and medical malpractice defense litigation. Sherbrook was named a Rising Star by Super Lawyers in 2022. Rising Stars are attorneys who are 40 years old or younger or those who have practiced for ten years or less.

Faiver is a principal in the firm’s Detroit office. As a member of the firm’s birth injury and medical malpractice defense practices, he specializes in the defense of hospitals, physicians, and other healthcare professionals in complex, catastrophic medical malpractice litigation on both a local and national basis. He has been named a Rising Star annually since 2017 by Super Lawyers.

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Brooks Kushman attorney Erin Bowles represented the firm in the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) Sustainable Partnership Program (SPP) in the Midwest this month.

The LCLD SPP program provides opportunities for diverse, newly elected law firm partners and senior associates to reach the next step on the professional development ladder.

Bowles is a registered patent attorney with 15 years of experience preparing and prosecuting patent applications for mechanical and electrical products and preparing patent clearance opinions. She is also a member of Brooks Kushman’s post-grant practice group.

Bowles is active with the firm’s diversity and inclusion efforts including the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD), serving as a Fellow, Detroit City Lead, and Pathfinder Mentor.

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Taft is pleased to announce it has been named to the Am Law 100 for the second consecutive year, increasing its ranking by 18 spots as reported by The American Lawyer. Taft is ranked as the 82nd largest law firm in the United States by revenues.

Taft increased its 2022 revenues by 32% over its 2021 revenues. The increased revenues resulted from 15% organic growth and 17% from its merger with Detroit-area firm Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer, & Weiss, effective on Dec. 31, 2022. This growth has allowed Taft to invest in strategic lateral hires and modern initiatives, including its focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion, and innovative solutions to better serve its clients.

With Taft’s 2022 expansion into the Detroit market through the Jaffe merger, together with its organic growth, the firm is now comprised of approximately 825 attorneys in eight primary Midwest markets and the District of Colombia.