Miller Canfield is pleased to announce that A. Michael Palizzi will become the firm’s chief executive officer. He will assume his new duties on April 1.
Palizzi is a trial lawyer and co-leader of the firm’s Litigation and Dispute Resolution and Intellectual Property Groups. For more than 30 years, Palizzi has represented clients in complex commercial litigation, intellectual property counseling and litigation, and other commercial matters. He was elected by the firm’s principals in 2021 to serve on the Board of Managing Directors.
“I am honored to take on this new role and humbled by the trust placed in me,” Palizzi said. In terms of priorities, he said that “we intend to remain exceptionally client focused. This is the foundation upon which our firm was built and why it has flourished over its storied 170+ year history.”
Palizzi acknowledged that the legal industry has changed dramatically over the past several years: “We expect that change will only accelerate, and therefore we remain committed to adapting through strategic growth, practice innovations, and building our exceptional and diverse talent base and areas of expertise. But the one thing that has remained constant is what clients expect from their law firm: exceptional legal counsel, responsiveness, and value.
We have not, and will never, lose sight of that constant as we adapt to market changes.”
Palizzi added, “Fortunately, I’m surrounded by an unparalleled group of lawyers, professionals, and firm leaders, all of whom are committed to these principles. With their help, I am confident that we will become an even stronger,
more diverse, and market-leading law firm.”
Palizzi will succeed Megan Norris, who is stepping down after serving as CEO since February 2021. Prior to her role as CEO, Norris served as the chair of the firm’s Board of Managing Directors and as the leader of Miller Canfield’s large and nationally acclaimed Employment and Labor Group.
Palizzi lauded Norris’ steady leadership, especially post-pandemic and during the firm’s return to the office.
“Megan served as a selfless and stalwart leader during one of the most challenging times in recent history. I hope to build upon many of the initiatives that began under her leadership and am grateful for her commitment,” Palizzi said.
Michelle Crockett will continue to serve as the firm’s deputy executive officer and chief diversity officer.
• • •
Butzel attorneys Beth S. Gotthelf and Susan L. Johnson will be featured presenters during EV Battery Recycling & Reuse USA: Achieving A Circulator Economy on Wednesday, March 27, in Detroit. The presentation is titled, “Regulatory Obstacles and Requirements for Recycling EV Batteries.”
They will discuss the following and more:
• Environmental and safety compliance when recycling batteries
• Protection from liability if a battery recycler does not properly recycle the batteries
Gotthelf is Butzel’s director of Innovation and External Relations and co-chair of Butzel’s Energy & Sustainability Practice.
She is an environmental expert with more than 30 years of experience. Gotthelf has extensive environmental renewable energy and sustainability expertise to assist with remediation, redevelopment, permitting, and compliance. She is renowned as a problem-solver and best known for bringing creativity and practicality to situations while forming true partnerships with each of her clients.
Gotthelf is chair of the Michigan Manufacturers Association Environmental Policy Committee (2022-present) and general counsel to the Michigan Chapter of the National Association of Surface Finishers (1990-present).
Johnson is recognized as a leading environmental attorney in Michigan with more than 40 years of experience. Her areas of practice include all aspects of environmental law with an emphasis on environmental and regulatory compliance; the siting and permitting of solid and hazardous waste landfills and treatment facilities, scrap and other recycling facilities; environmental due diligence, as well as municipal and environmental contracting.
Prior to joining Butzel, Johnson’s experience included positions as senior in-house counsel in the private sector and assistant corporation counsel to the City of Detroit Water and Sewerage Department.
• • •
Collins Einhorn Farrell PC is pleased to announce that attorney Michael D. Calvert has joined the firm.
Calvert is an associate attorney focusing on defense litigation for the firm’s General and Automotive Liability Practice. His practice includes the defense of personal injury, general and automotive liability, and premises liability claims.
Before joining Collins Einhorn, Calvert was an associate attorney at another defense firm where he handled motor vehicle litigation including both first- and third- party auto liability cases.
Calvert earned his law degree from Michigan State University College of Law. Prior to that, he received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Theory and Constitutional Democracy from the James Madison College at Michigan State University.
• • •
On March 8, International Women’s Day, Professional Resolution Experts of Michigan LLC (PREMi) member Paul Monicatti was recognized by the International Academy of Mediators “for outstanding achievements in elevating the visibility of women in the dispute resolution profession and encouraging gender equality for women worldwide.”
Monicatti also presented on advanced mediation skills at a recent all day training. Topics included mediating with pro se litigants, managing, apologies, mediated settlement agreements and sundry other topics of interest to mediators.
In addition, PREMi member Earlene Baggett-Hayes recently spoke at the National Bar Association’s 44th Annual Mid-Year Conference & Gertrude Rush Awards in Houston, Texas, on “ ‘Slam Dunk’ Strategies for Attorneys During Mediation.”
Coming up on May 9, PREMi members Mike Leib and Shel Stark are part of a panel: “Mediation Advocacy: A Best Practices Review” with the Alternative Dispure Resolution Section of the State Bar of Michigan (https://connect.michbar.org/adr).
• • •
Bodman PLC is pleased to announce new leadership appointments in the firm’s Banking and Workplace Law practice groups.
The new appointments include the following:
• Hebba Aref of the Detroit office has been appointed co-chair of the Banking Practice Group.
• Rebecca C. Seguin-Skrabucha of the Troy office has been appointed vice chair of the Workplace Law Practice Group.
Aref represents financial institutions in commercial lending transactions, including the structuring, negotiating and documenting of loan transactions, including syndicated loans, bilateral loans, subordinated loans and participations.
She also has experience assisting corporate clients, including private equity firms, with borrowing and re-financing transactions, including secured and unsecured credit facilities, asset-based lending facilities, leveraged lending facilities, mezzanine financings, project financings, aircraft financings, acquisition financings, and lease financings.
Seguin-Skrabucha concentrates her practice in advising employers, including municipal governments and businesses of all sizes, on compliance with state and federal employment and labor laws. She handles a wide variety of employment matters and helps employers establish best practices for all stages of employment, including hiring and onboarding, disciplinary actions and termination procedures, and leave administration. She also conducts workplace investigations and management training.
Bodman is also pleased to announce the launch of its first annual Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Report, spotlighting the firm’s ongoing efforts to achieve its DEI Strategic Plan goals while celebrating its many accomplishments in 2023.
“I am proud of the progress we’ve made thus far in building a welcoming and inclusive culture, but we know that there is always work to be done,” said Bodman Chair Carrie Leahy. “We hope that our DEI Report provides you with a clear understanding of what we do to in support of our workplace environment and why we are doing it.”
Accomplishments shared in the report include:
• Bodman was awarded Mansfield Rule 6.0 Certification Plus status, the highest level of designation in the Mansfield program, after joining the program in 2022 and completing a rigorous 12-month certification process in collaboration with Diversity Lab.
• Michigan Lawyers Weekly recognized Bodman with its inaugural Empowering Women award. This award recognizes law firms and legal departments that have shown a strong commitment to considering women for hiring and promotion, providing mentoring and professional advancement opportunities to women and other attorneys, and establishing programs and policies to help women and other attorneys thrive professionally.
• Bodman’s Damali Sahu was named a 2023 Notable Leader in DEI by Crain’s Detroit Business. The honorees selected as Notable Leaders were selected by Crain’s Detroit Business editors based on their career accomplishments and contributions to their fields and communities.
• Bodman’s DEI Committee hosted eight DEI-focused presentations through its 2023 bInclusive speaker series. Topics covered throughout the year related to Black History Month, Women’s History Month, Arab American History Month, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, and National Disability Employment Awareness Month, among others.
• Bodman’s Women’s Forum hosted several in-person social and educational events, creating a comfortable space for women attorneys to freely discuss topics related to their professional advancement and personal wellbeing in an informal and supportive environment.
• • •
Detroit Corporation Counsel Conrad Mallett recently announced veteran city attorney James Noseda as his deputy corporation counsel. Noseda joined the city’s Law Department on May 1, 1995 as a commercial litigator. During his time working for the city, Noseda has also served as the liaison to Detroit City Council and supervising assistant corporation counsel for Commercial/Tort litigation, where he led a team of six other lawyers.
In his role as supervising assistant corporation counsel, Noseda played a major role in the city’s efforts to reform the troubled police towing process. Due to a pattern of corruption involving the police towing process, which had been run by the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners, the Administration sought to reform towing policies by running the process through the same rigorous process as all other city procurement. Noseda played a critical role in answering
constitutional questions regarding towing and notifying towing companies operating under the BOPC process that all tow permits were void since they did not comply with state law. As a result of Noseda’s efforts, Detroiters now have a police towing system they can trust and that operates transparently and fairly.
Noseda earned a bachelor’s degree in 1982 from the University of Michigan and graduated from DePaul University College of Law in 1988. He has worked with the Corporation Counsel under five mayors.
“I am honored to be entrusted the responsibilities of deputy corporation counsel and to continue serving the City of Detroit,” said Noseda. “My time working for the city’s Law Department has shaped much of who I am as an attorney. Through many experiences, I have gained the robust skills necessary to navigate the high exposure and complex litigation of many city agencies.”
• • •
Miller Johnson has elected Stephen T. Reaume to its membership. Reaume is a Mergers and Acquisitions/Corporate attorney in the firm’s Detroit office.
Reaume represents private equity funds and privately held companies in complex buy and sell side stock and asset transactions, divestitures, leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, reorganizations, and private equity investments. He has represented clients across manufacturing, financial advisory, healthcare, marine, and many other industries. He also works with clients on their business strategies including entity formation, corporate governance, shareholder agreements and other ownership agreements.
Reaume was named as a 2024 Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch for Corporate Law and Mergers and Acquisitions Law. He earned his law degree from the Wayne State University Law School and his Bachelor’s from DePaul University.
• • •
Dykema is proud to announce that the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) Detroit will award Thomas S. Vaughn with its Lifetime Achievement Award at its 9th Annual M&A All Star Awards. Vaughn will be honored at the M&A All Star Awards event on Monday, May 6, at The Townsend Hotel.
Vaughn has long been involved as a leader with ACG Detroit, which celebrates its 40th Anniversary this year. He has chaired its annual M&A Awards Ceremony for the last eight years while also serving on the organization’s board of directors.
Vaughn joined Dykema in 1980 and practices as part of the firm’s Corporate Finance Group, including serving as co-chair of its M&A Group until 2023. During the past 43 years, he has focused his practice on representing a wide variety of middle market buyers and sellers in their mergers and acquisition transactions, helping them grow their businesses through strategic acquisitions or achieving a favorable exit for company owners. His clients have included numerous multigenerational family-owned companies, small publicly traded companies, international companies entering the U.S. market, venture-backed companies, and start-up companies. The M&A transactions Vaughn has worked on include businesses involved in the mobility, technology, business services, and healthcare industries.
He is also a well-established thought leader in the M&A sector. Since its launch in 2005, he has researched patterns and trends in the M&A space and served as a principal driver for Dykema’s noted Annual Mergers & Acquisitions Outlook Survey.
Recognized among top lawyers in Michigan by Chambers USA 2023, Vaughn has been listed in Chambers each year since 2017, and he’s been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America each year since 2007—including being named “Lawyer of the Year” in Securities/Capital Markets Law twice. He earned his law degree and a B.S. from Georgetown University.
Vaughn also has served on the Grosse Pointe Woods City Council since 2021 and currently serves on its Election Commission and as its representative to the Planning Commission and to the Southeastern Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG). Prior to that, he served on its Planning Commission and Senior Citizens Advisory Commission since the 1980s.
Dykema is also proud to announce that Mark Chutkow became a member of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers (IATL).
Chartered in 1954, the IATL’s general purposes are to cultivate the science of jurisprudence, promote reforms in the law, facilitate the Administration of Justice, and elevate the standards of integrity, honor, and courtesy in the legal profession.
Chutkow serves as the leader of Dykema’s Government Investigations and Corporate Compliance team. In his practice, he helps companies and executives navigate complex, high-stakes government enforcement and civil litigation matters. A former federal prosecutor, Chutkow has more than 20 years of service and leadership with the Department of Justice, including having served as lead of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Detroit.
Chutkow is also a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.
• • •
Honigman is pleased to announce that Tracy Larsen has been recognized as a Top 50: Americas M&A Lawyer by Global M&A Network.
Larsen’s inclusion underscores his skill, dedication, and contributions to his clients. He represents clients in a wide array of mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, recapitalization, restructuring and corporate finance transactions. Larsen has led hundreds of M&A transactions, both domestic and international, involving tens of billions of dollars in trade value.
• • •
McDonald Hopkins LLC is pleased to announce the addition of Mackenzie ‘Mac’ Burns to its Litigation Department.
“I’m thrilled to be at McDonald Hopkins. It has an excellent reputation among peers in the legal field. I think it says a lot about a law firm when people talk highly about, not only, the skills and experience the attorneys have to offer but the quality of their character, too,” said Burns. “I’m excited to develop my own practice while having a collaborative and innovative team to lean on in the Litigation Department.”
Burns’ practice focuses on commercial litigation and general litigation covering a variety of legal and business disputes, including those related to intellectual property and contract matters.
Burns has provided counsel to a wide variety of clients—from startups to Fortune 500 businesses—on negotiating settlements, developing defense strategies, and alternative dispute resolution. He noted that he enjoys working through challenges that come with litigation, meeting new clients and learning the nuances of their business.
“I make it my priority to understand the nuances of the client’s business, getting the details is absolutely key. It allows me to anticipate our potential weakness while playing to our strengths, and I find it instills a sense of confidence in the client who may be going through a challenging time,” Burns said.
In addition to his litigation practice, Burns has experience advising clients on intellectual property, including protecting trademarks; and addressing general data privacy and cybersecurity issues. He is accredited by the International Association of Privacy Professionals as a Certified Information Privacy Professional for the United States.
Burns earned his law degree from the University of Miami School of Law and his Bachelor of Arts from Michigan State University.
• • •
Harness IP is pleased to announce that associate Jewell Briggs has been included by Michigan Lawyers Weekly in its 2024 listing of the state’s Up and Coming Lawyers.
Briggs’ practice includes preparing and prosecuting patent applications for a range of new technologies, providing litigation support, conducting trademark clearance searches, and handling the full spectrum of discovery.
As a person with a hearing impairment, Briggs has a particular interest in helping healthcare innovators develop and protect intellectual property that improves disease outcomes and patient quality of life. Her background in nursing, her knowledge of the hard sciences, and her firsthand understanding of the value of innovation give her a unique perspective on intellectual property protection.
————————
To submit an announcement for the next Legal People section, e-mail: editor@legalnews.com.
Palizzi is a trial lawyer and co-leader of the firm’s Litigation and Dispute Resolution and Intellectual Property Groups. For more than 30 years, Palizzi has represented clients in complex commercial litigation, intellectual property counseling and litigation, and other commercial matters. He was elected by the firm’s principals in 2021 to serve on the Board of Managing Directors.
“I am honored to take on this new role and humbled by the trust placed in me,” Palizzi said. In terms of priorities, he said that “we intend to remain exceptionally client focused. This is the foundation upon which our firm was built and why it has flourished over its storied 170+ year history.”
Palizzi acknowledged that the legal industry has changed dramatically over the past several years: “We expect that change will only accelerate, and therefore we remain committed to adapting through strategic growth, practice innovations, and building our exceptional and diverse talent base and areas of expertise. But the one thing that has remained constant is what clients expect from their law firm: exceptional legal counsel, responsiveness, and value.
We have not, and will never, lose sight of that constant as we adapt to market changes.”
Palizzi added, “Fortunately, I’m surrounded by an unparalleled group of lawyers, professionals, and firm leaders, all of whom are committed to these principles. With their help, I am confident that we will become an even stronger,
more diverse, and market-leading law firm.”
Palizzi will succeed Megan Norris, who is stepping down after serving as CEO since February 2021. Prior to her role as CEO, Norris served as the chair of the firm’s Board of Managing Directors and as the leader of Miller Canfield’s large and nationally acclaimed Employment and Labor Group.
Palizzi lauded Norris’ steady leadership, especially post-pandemic and during the firm’s return to the office.
“Megan served as a selfless and stalwart leader during one of the most challenging times in recent history. I hope to build upon many of the initiatives that began under her leadership and am grateful for her commitment,” Palizzi said.
Michelle Crockett will continue to serve as the firm’s deputy executive officer and chief diversity officer.
• • •
Butzel attorneys Beth S. Gotthelf and Susan L. Johnson will be featured presenters during EV Battery Recycling & Reuse USA: Achieving A Circulator Economy on Wednesday, March 27, in Detroit. The presentation is titled, “Regulatory Obstacles and Requirements for Recycling EV Batteries.”
They will discuss the following and more:
• Environmental and safety compliance when recycling batteries
• Protection from liability if a battery recycler does not properly recycle the batteries
Gotthelf is Butzel’s director of Innovation and External Relations and co-chair of Butzel’s Energy & Sustainability Practice.
She is an environmental expert with more than 30 years of experience. Gotthelf has extensive environmental renewable energy and sustainability expertise to assist with remediation, redevelopment, permitting, and compliance. She is renowned as a problem-solver and best known for bringing creativity and practicality to situations while forming true partnerships with each of her clients.
Gotthelf is chair of the Michigan Manufacturers Association Environmental Policy Committee (2022-present) and general counsel to the Michigan Chapter of the National Association of Surface Finishers (1990-present).
Johnson is recognized as a leading environmental attorney in Michigan with more than 40 years of experience. Her areas of practice include all aspects of environmental law with an emphasis on environmental and regulatory compliance; the siting and permitting of solid and hazardous waste landfills and treatment facilities, scrap and other recycling facilities; environmental due diligence, as well as municipal and environmental contracting.
Prior to joining Butzel, Johnson’s experience included positions as senior in-house counsel in the private sector and assistant corporation counsel to the City of Detroit Water and Sewerage Department.
• • •
Collins Einhorn Farrell PC is pleased to announce that attorney Michael D. Calvert has joined the firm.
Calvert is an associate attorney focusing on defense litigation for the firm’s General and Automotive Liability Practice. His practice includes the defense of personal injury, general and automotive liability, and premises liability claims.
Before joining Collins Einhorn, Calvert was an associate attorney at another defense firm where he handled motor vehicle litigation including both first- and third- party auto liability cases.
Calvert earned his law degree from Michigan State University College of Law. Prior to that, he received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Theory and Constitutional Democracy from the James Madison College at Michigan State University.
• • •
On March 8, International Women’s Day, Professional Resolution Experts of Michigan LLC (PREMi) member Paul Monicatti was recognized by the International Academy of Mediators “for outstanding achievements in elevating the visibility of women in the dispute resolution profession and encouraging gender equality for women worldwide.”
Monicatti also presented on advanced mediation skills at a recent all day training. Topics included mediating with pro se litigants, managing, apologies, mediated settlement agreements and sundry other topics of interest to mediators.
In addition, PREMi member Earlene Baggett-Hayes recently spoke at the National Bar Association’s 44th Annual Mid-Year Conference & Gertrude Rush Awards in Houston, Texas, on “ ‘Slam Dunk’ Strategies for Attorneys During Mediation.”
Coming up on May 9, PREMi members Mike Leib and Shel Stark are part of a panel: “Mediation Advocacy: A Best Practices Review” with the Alternative Dispure Resolution Section of the State Bar of Michigan (https://connect.michbar.org/adr).
• • •
Bodman PLC is pleased to announce new leadership appointments in the firm’s Banking and Workplace Law practice groups.
The new appointments include the following:
• Hebba Aref of the Detroit office has been appointed co-chair of the Banking Practice Group.
• Rebecca C. Seguin-Skrabucha of the Troy office has been appointed vice chair of the Workplace Law Practice Group.
Aref represents financial institutions in commercial lending transactions, including the structuring, negotiating and documenting of loan transactions, including syndicated loans, bilateral loans, subordinated loans and participations.
She also has experience assisting corporate clients, including private equity firms, with borrowing and re-financing transactions, including secured and unsecured credit facilities, asset-based lending facilities, leveraged lending facilities, mezzanine financings, project financings, aircraft financings, acquisition financings, and lease financings.
Seguin-Skrabucha concentrates her practice in advising employers, including municipal governments and businesses of all sizes, on compliance with state and federal employment and labor laws. She handles a wide variety of employment matters and helps employers establish best practices for all stages of employment, including hiring and onboarding, disciplinary actions and termination procedures, and leave administration. She also conducts workplace investigations and management training.
Bodman is also pleased to announce the launch of its first annual Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Report, spotlighting the firm’s ongoing efforts to achieve its DEI Strategic Plan goals while celebrating its many accomplishments in 2023.
“I am proud of the progress we’ve made thus far in building a welcoming and inclusive culture, but we know that there is always work to be done,” said Bodman Chair Carrie Leahy. “We hope that our DEI Report provides you with a clear understanding of what we do to in support of our workplace environment and why we are doing it.”
Accomplishments shared in the report include:
• Bodman was awarded Mansfield Rule 6.0 Certification Plus status, the highest level of designation in the Mansfield program, after joining the program in 2022 and completing a rigorous 12-month certification process in collaboration with Diversity Lab.
• Michigan Lawyers Weekly recognized Bodman with its inaugural Empowering Women award. This award recognizes law firms and legal departments that have shown a strong commitment to considering women for hiring and promotion, providing mentoring and professional advancement opportunities to women and other attorneys, and establishing programs and policies to help women and other attorneys thrive professionally.
• Bodman’s Damali Sahu was named a 2023 Notable Leader in DEI by Crain’s Detroit Business. The honorees selected as Notable Leaders were selected by Crain’s Detroit Business editors based on their career accomplishments and contributions to their fields and communities.
• Bodman’s DEI Committee hosted eight DEI-focused presentations through its 2023 bInclusive speaker series. Topics covered throughout the year related to Black History Month, Women’s History Month, Arab American History Month, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, and National Disability Employment Awareness Month, among others.
• Bodman’s Women’s Forum hosted several in-person social and educational events, creating a comfortable space for women attorneys to freely discuss topics related to their professional advancement and personal wellbeing in an informal and supportive environment.
• • •
Detroit Corporation Counsel Conrad Mallett recently announced veteran city attorney James Noseda as his deputy corporation counsel. Noseda joined the city’s Law Department on May 1, 1995 as a commercial litigator. During his time working for the city, Noseda has also served as the liaison to Detroit City Council and supervising assistant corporation counsel for Commercial/Tort litigation, where he led a team of six other lawyers.
In his role as supervising assistant corporation counsel, Noseda played a major role in the city’s efforts to reform the troubled police towing process. Due to a pattern of corruption involving the police towing process, which had been run by the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners, the Administration sought to reform towing policies by running the process through the same rigorous process as all other city procurement. Noseda played a critical role in answering
constitutional questions regarding towing and notifying towing companies operating under the BOPC process that all tow permits were void since they did not comply with state law. As a result of Noseda’s efforts, Detroiters now have a police towing system they can trust and that operates transparently and fairly.
Noseda earned a bachelor’s degree in 1982 from the University of Michigan and graduated from DePaul University College of Law in 1988. He has worked with the Corporation Counsel under five mayors.
“I am honored to be entrusted the responsibilities of deputy corporation counsel and to continue serving the City of Detroit,” said Noseda. “My time working for the city’s Law Department has shaped much of who I am as an attorney. Through many experiences, I have gained the robust skills necessary to navigate the high exposure and complex litigation of many city agencies.”
• • •
Miller Johnson has elected Stephen T. Reaume to its membership. Reaume is a Mergers and Acquisitions/Corporate attorney in the firm’s Detroit office.
Reaume represents private equity funds and privately held companies in complex buy and sell side stock and asset transactions, divestitures, leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, reorganizations, and private equity investments. He has represented clients across manufacturing, financial advisory, healthcare, marine, and many other industries. He also works with clients on their business strategies including entity formation, corporate governance, shareholder agreements and other ownership agreements.
Reaume was named as a 2024 Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch for Corporate Law and Mergers and Acquisitions Law. He earned his law degree from the Wayne State University Law School and his Bachelor’s from DePaul University.
• • •
Dykema is proud to announce that the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) Detroit will award Thomas S. Vaughn with its Lifetime Achievement Award at its 9th Annual M&A All Star Awards. Vaughn will be honored at the M&A All Star Awards event on Monday, May 6, at The Townsend Hotel.
Vaughn has long been involved as a leader with ACG Detroit, which celebrates its 40th Anniversary this year. He has chaired its annual M&A Awards Ceremony for the last eight years while also serving on the organization’s board of directors.
Vaughn joined Dykema in 1980 and practices as part of the firm’s Corporate Finance Group, including serving as co-chair of its M&A Group until 2023. During the past 43 years, he has focused his practice on representing a wide variety of middle market buyers and sellers in their mergers and acquisition transactions, helping them grow their businesses through strategic acquisitions or achieving a favorable exit for company owners. His clients have included numerous multigenerational family-owned companies, small publicly traded companies, international companies entering the U.S. market, venture-backed companies, and start-up companies. The M&A transactions Vaughn has worked on include businesses involved in the mobility, technology, business services, and healthcare industries.
He is also a well-established thought leader in the M&A sector. Since its launch in 2005, he has researched patterns and trends in the M&A space and served as a principal driver for Dykema’s noted Annual Mergers & Acquisitions Outlook Survey.
Recognized among top lawyers in Michigan by Chambers USA 2023, Vaughn has been listed in Chambers each year since 2017, and he’s been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America each year since 2007—including being named “Lawyer of the Year” in Securities/Capital Markets Law twice. He earned his law degree and a B.S. from Georgetown University.
Vaughn also has served on the Grosse Pointe Woods City Council since 2021 and currently serves on its Election Commission and as its representative to the Planning Commission and to the Southeastern Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG). Prior to that, he served on its Planning Commission and Senior Citizens Advisory Commission since the 1980s.
Dykema is also proud to announce that Mark Chutkow became a member of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers (IATL).
Chartered in 1954, the IATL’s general purposes are to cultivate the science of jurisprudence, promote reforms in the law, facilitate the Administration of Justice, and elevate the standards of integrity, honor, and courtesy in the legal profession.
Chutkow serves as the leader of Dykema’s Government Investigations and Corporate Compliance team. In his practice, he helps companies and executives navigate complex, high-stakes government enforcement and civil litigation matters. A former federal prosecutor, Chutkow has more than 20 years of service and leadership with the Department of Justice, including having served as lead of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Detroit.
Chutkow is also a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.
• • •
Honigman is pleased to announce that Tracy Larsen has been recognized as a Top 50: Americas M&A Lawyer by Global M&A Network.
Larsen’s inclusion underscores his skill, dedication, and contributions to his clients. He represents clients in a wide array of mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, recapitalization, restructuring and corporate finance transactions. Larsen has led hundreds of M&A transactions, both domestic and international, involving tens of billions of dollars in trade value.
• • •
McDonald Hopkins LLC is pleased to announce the addition of Mackenzie ‘Mac’ Burns to its Litigation Department.
“I’m thrilled to be at McDonald Hopkins. It has an excellent reputation among peers in the legal field. I think it says a lot about a law firm when people talk highly about, not only, the skills and experience the attorneys have to offer but the quality of their character, too,” said Burns. “I’m excited to develop my own practice while having a collaborative and innovative team to lean on in the Litigation Department.”
Burns’ practice focuses on commercial litigation and general litigation covering a variety of legal and business disputes, including those related to intellectual property and contract matters.
Burns has provided counsel to a wide variety of clients—from startups to Fortune 500 businesses—on negotiating settlements, developing defense strategies, and alternative dispute resolution. He noted that he enjoys working through challenges that come with litigation, meeting new clients and learning the nuances of their business.
“I make it my priority to understand the nuances of the client’s business, getting the details is absolutely key. It allows me to anticipate our potential weakness while playing to our strengths, and I find it instills a sense of confidence in the client who may be going through a challenging time,” Burns said.
In addition to his litigation practice, Burns has experience advising clients on intellectual property, including protecting trademarks; and addressing general data privacy and cybersecurity issues. He is accredited by the International Association of Privacy Professionals as a Certified Information Privacy Professional for the United States.
Burns earned his law degree from the University of Miami School of Law and his Bachelor of Arts from Michigan State University.
• • •
Harness IP is pleased to announce that associate Jewell Briggs has been included by Michigan Lawyers Weekly in its 2024 listing of the state’s Up and Coming Lawyers.
Briggs’ practice includes preparing and prosecuting patent applications for a range of new technologies, providing litigation support, conducting trademark clearance searches, and handling the full spectrum of discovery.
As a person with a hearing impairment, Briggs has a particular interest in helping healthcare innovators develop and protect intellectual property that improves disease outcomes and patient quality of life. Her background in nursing, her knowledge of the hard sciences, and her firsthand understanding of the value of innovation give her a unique perspective on intellectual property protection.
————————
To submit an announcement for the next Legal People section, e-mail: editor@legalnews.com.
