University of Detroit Mercy School of Law announced that Nicholas Schroeck will serve as interim dean as of June 1. Schroeck joined Detroit Mercy Law in 2018 as the director of Clinical Programs and associate professor of law. He was appointed associate dean of Experiential Education in 2019.
“I look forward to working with the Detroit Mercy Law community in this new capacity,” said Schroeck. “We will build on our school’s momentum under Dean Jelani Jefferson Exum and continue to provide our students an exceptional legal education rooted in our mission and traditions.”
Schroeck will succeed Dean Jefferson Exum, who served as dean of the law school since 2021 and is moving into the deanship at St. John’s University School of Law in Queens, New York.
Schroeck is an environmental law expert. His research focuses on reducing air and water pollution, working towards environmental justice, promoting mass transportation, and advancing citizen suit enforcement of our environmental laws. In addition to his role as associate dean overseeing the Detroit Mercy Law clinical and externship programs, he directs the environmental law clinic and teaches upper-level environmental law courses.
Before joining the faculty at Detroit Mercy Law, Schroeck was executive director of the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center. He has litigated cases for several environmental advocacy organizations. He previously directed the Transnational Environmental Law Clinic at Wayne State University Law School.
• • •
Butzel attorney Shanika A. Owens received the Detroit Bar Association’s Pro Bono Service Award on May 1.
Owens focuses her practice on helping clients navigate mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, and real estate law. Her experience includes a wide range of transactions in a variety of industries.
In 2022, Owens, along with her colleagues, represented the seller in an acquisition worth over $400 million. She and the team received the 2023 Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) Detroit Chapter’s M&A Deal of the Year award in recognition of their legal expertise in navigating the transaction.
Before joining the firm, Owens served as a legislative assistant to the Detroit City Council where she advised policymakers on issues including economic development, budgeting, and matters leading up to the Detroit bankruptcy. She interned with U.S. District Court Judge Avern Cohn, Eastern District of Michigan.
More recently, Owens has been named to The Best Lawyers in America, Ones to Watch, Corporate Law and Real Estate Law, 2023. She was named to the list of Michigan Lawyers Weekly Up & Coming Lawyers in 2021. She also has been named a Michigan Chronicle 40 under 40 Honoree.
Owens is a member of the State Bar of Michigan (SBM) Business Law and Young Lawyers sections. She is elected to the SBM Representative Assembly and also serves on The Institute of Continuing Legal Education’s (ICLE) Business Law Advisory Board.
Owens serves on the Board of Directors of Avalon Healing Center in Detroit, a non-profit organization that provides compassionate and trauma-informed care to survivors of sexual assault.
In addition, Owens is a member of the Board of Directors of Great Lakes Environmental Law Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing environmental justice for marginalized populations in Michigan.
Butzel is also pleased to note that attorneys Bushra A. Malik and Reginald A. Pacis were guest speakers during the 2024 American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Michigan Conference on May 10 in Southfield.
Malik participated in a panel program titled, “Consular Practice: Stateside Visa Processing Updates, Latest Issues and Practice Trends.” Pacis was featured during a panel discussion titled, “Getting Started in Immigration Law: New Attorney and Law Student Recruitment, Basic Skills and Networking.”
Malik practices in the area of immigration law, focusing on the representation of multinational and domestic clients’ inbound and global migration needs. Her experience includes Employment based (Extraordinary Ability, Outstanding Researcher, Multinational Manager, and PERMs) and Family based Permanent Residence Petitions Non-Immigrant Petitions (H-1B/Specialty Occupation, J-1/ Exchange Visitor, L-1/Intracompany Transfers, O-1/Extraordinary Ability, TN/ NAFTA); Employer Compliance (I-9 Audits and H-1B Public Access File Audits); J-1 waivers; Compliance under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI); U.S. Passports; complex naturalization matters; and currency seizures.
Malik has experience in securing work and residence permits for numerous countries around the globe. She also routinely represents clients at U.S. Ports of Entry, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services District Office, U.S. Embassies and Consulates abroad, as well as various Foreign Embassies and Consulates.
Malik was named “Lawyer of the Year” (2022) and is listed in The Best Lawyers in America (Immigration Law), was named one of DBusiness magazine’s Top Lawyers in the field of immigration law and was recognized as a Who’s Who Legal Thought Leader for Corporate Immigration 2021.
Malik is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), the American Bar Association, the South Asian Bar Association, the Michigan Muslim Bar Association, and the Japanese Business Society of Detroit. She is currently serving on the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Department of State National Liaison Committee. She previously served as chair of the AILA Michigan Chapter; on the AILA Board of Governors; chair of AILA’s Global Migration Section; and speaks regularly at AILA national and international conferences. Malik speaks Hindi, Japanese and Urdu.
Pacis concentrates his practice in immigration law and has handled a variety of matters including H-1B specialty occupation cases, L-1 Intracompany transfers, Labor Certification matters, Immigrant Visa Petitions/Adjustment of Status applications and interviews, TN Free trade cases, H-1B Department of Labor Investigations, I-9 employer verification compliance, and U.S. Port of Entry airport and land port interviews.
Pacis is listed in The Best Lawyers in America and Michigan’s Super Lawyers (Immigration Law). He was recognized as “Lawyer of the Year” in Immigration Law in 2013 and again in 2023 by Best Lawyers and he continues to maintain an AV rating in the Martindale Hubbell publication.
Pacis is a member of the American Bar Association, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), and the Samahang Pilipino Ng Oakland Filipino organization. He served two consecutive terms from 2003 to 2004 and 2004 to 2005 as chairperson of the Michigan Chapter of AILA and was a member of the AILA National Board of Governors for those terms. He
previously served as secretary (2001 to 2003) and membership chairperson of the Michigan Chapter of AILA (1998 to 2003).
Pacis completed an appointment by former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm for service on the Advisory Committee for Asian Pacific American Affairs (ACAPAA). He served on the Michigan AILA Advocacy Committee from 2007 to 2010. He was appointed by former Governor Rick Snyder to serve on the Michigan Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission (MAPAAC) for a four-year term from 2019 to 2022.
Pacis previously served as chairperson of the Michigan AILA Committee responsible for liaison with the Michigan Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Agency, a division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security presiding over inspections and security of the U.S. border, from 2005 to 2007. His service expanded to the AILA National CBP liaison Committee as a member, vice chair and chairperson of the AILA National CBP liaison Committee. He also served as vice chair on the AILA United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Field Operations Liaison committee, the AILA education “Distance Learning” committee, the USCIS/ AILA Nebraska Service Center Liaison committee, and on the USCIS/ AILA National Benefits Center liaison committee.
• • •
Ogletree Deakins is pleased to welcome Richard Warren as a shareholder in the firm’s Detroit office. Warren joins Ogletree Deakins from Miller Canfield, where he was a principal and the Employment and Labor deputy group leader.
A litigator, Warren has a record of successful results at trial, arbitration, and before administrative agencies. He served as the lead attorney in numerous class and collective action lawsuits on behalf of employers. Warren is also an advisor to management and human resource professionals relative to compliance with increasingly complex labor and employment matters, including hiring, layoffs, discipline, and termination.
Warren has experience assisting employers in their strategic planning and growth, as well as in innovation and the adoption of artificial intelligence. At his prior firm, he led a committee on the use of generative artificial intelligence in hiring, assessment, and retention, as well as the firm’s Industry Task Force on the usage of generative artificial intelligence.
Warren has been honored with recognitions in The Best Lawyers in America®, Michigan Super Lawyers, and DBusiness Magazine’s Top Lawyers lists. He often dedicates time to pro bono service and is an ultra marathon runner. Warren earned his law degree from the Michigan State University College of Law and earlier received his B.A. from James Madison College at Michigan State University.
• • •
Attorney Courtney A. Lavender recently joined the Appellate Law Practice Group of Plunkett Cooney.
Lavender, who is a member of the firm’s Bloomfield Hills office, focuses her appellate practice in the areas of commercial litigation, governmental law, first- and third-party motor vehicle negligence and insurance coverage disputes. She also has litigation experience defending No-Fault and third-party claims, as well as premises liability, pet liability and defamation matters.
Lavender received her law degree from Wayne State University Law School in 2021. Following law school, she worked as a research attorney at the Michigan Court of Appeals. Lavender received her undergraduate degree in 2017 from the University of Michigan.
• • •
Dykema recently announced that Antonia R. Giles was selected for the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) Detroit’s “Igniting Inspiration” Award. Giles will be honored at the Inspire & Ignite:
Women’s Forum Luncheon on Friday, May 17, at the Cambria Hotel in Detroit.
According to ACG, this award program is dedicated to “acknowledge the contributions and achievements of women in the M&A community.”
Giles works with M&A clients in a variety of sectors, including tech, manufacturing, aerospace and defense, and funeral and cemetery services.
Giles earned a law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law and a B.A. from Davidson College.
• • •
Bodman PLC is pleased to share that Adomas N. Rauckis has joined the firm as a senior associate in the Business Practice Group.
Rauckis has experience counseling corporate clients on mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance matters, securities offerings, and venture capital financing.
Before joining Bodman, Rauckis practiced with an AmLaw 100 law firm where he served as lead associate on complex M&A transactions and drafted transaction documents including purchase agreements, subscription documents, due diligence memoranda, disclosure schedules, reorganization packages, and other ancillary agreements. He also served as lead attorney on venture capital financing transactions where he drafted transaction documents and guided startup companies through the due diligence and close phases.
Rauckis is a graduate of Wayne State University Law School and received an undergraduate degree from Eastern Michigan University.
In addition, Bodman is pleased to share that Kelly M. Burnell, member and co-chair of Bodman’s High Net Worth Practice Group, has been appointed to CATCH’s Board of Trustees.
CATCH (Caring Athletes Team for Children’s and Henry Ford Hospitals) is a children’s charity founded in 1987 by the late Detroit Tigers Manager Sparky Anderson. CATCH raises funds for items and services that improve the quality of life of sick, injured and economically disadvantaged pediatric patients from Children’s Hospital of Michigan and Henry Ford Health.
As a board member, Burnell will help guide the organization’s operations and fundraising activities, which include the CATCH Golf Classic, CATCH Night of Champions, The Detroit News/CATCH Outstanding High School Graduate Awards program, as well as various other third-party functions. She has a three-year renewable term and will be up for reappointment in 2027.
As co-chair of Bodman’s High Net Worth Practice Group, Burnell serves as an advisor to high net worth individuals and families and assists them with managing many aspects of their personal and financial affairs. She advises clients on estate planning, trust and estate administration, wealth transfer and tax planning matters, business succession planning, and the formation and administration of private foundations. She was recently recognized by Crain’s Detroit Business as a Notable Women in Law. Burnell has been listed in Chambers HNW for Private Wealth Law since 2021 and in DBusiness Magazine Top Lawyer for Trusts and Estates since 2020.
• • •
McDonald Hopkins is proud to congratulate member and Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Co-Chair Dominic Paluzzi on his selection to Cybersecurity Docket’s Incident Response 50 for 2024.
Paluzzi was also recognized by Cybersecurity Docket in 2016, 2018, 2022, and 2023. He advises organizations on data privacy and cybersecurity risks on both a national and international basis, including pre-breach services, incident response strategies and management, and defense of regulatory enforcement actions and single-plaintiff and class action litigation.
• • •
Dickinson Wright is pleased to announce that Erin Pawlowski (member, Troy) has been named a “Go To Lawyer” for Business Transactions by Michigan Lawyers Weekly.
“I am honored to be selected by Michigan Lawyers Weekly as a ‘Go To Lawyer’ for Business Transactions. It is a privilege to be included with such a talented and accomplished group of attorneys,” Pawlowski said.
Pawlowski focuses her practice on complex corporate transactions. She has a diverse M&A practice and serves as outside general counsel for businesses in a variety of industries and stages of growth. She represents private equity sponsors, portfolio companies, venture capital funds, strategic buyers and sellers, and other privately held businesses.
Pawlowski is recognized as a leader in her field by The Legal 500 and Best Lawyers in America. She is a member of various organizations, including the Association for Corporate Growth, the American Bar Association, and the State Bar of Michigan. She received her law degree from Wayne State University Law School.
• • •
Robert S. Bick, a shareholder with Birmingham-based full-service business law firm Williams, Williams, Rattner, & Plunkett (WWRP), has been named to the Michigan Lawyers Weekly 2024 list of
“Go To Lawyers in Business Transactions.”
Bick’s practice focuses on corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, and business transactions. A dealmaker with more than 30 years as an attorney, he counsels and represents public and private companies, entrepreneurs, venture capital and private equity groups, boards of directors and business owners on matters related to corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, private placements, private equity, securities, tax, commercial and private lending (senior, mezzanine and subordinated credit facilities), corporate governance (counsel to corporate officers and board members) and related business law matters.
Bick’s other recognitions include being named a Corporate Law Lawyer of the Year by The Best Lawyers in America®, the M&A Attorney of the Year by the Association for Corporate Growth, the Dealmaker of the Year by the M&A Advisor, and a Leader in the Law by Michigan Lawyers Weekly. Since 2007, he has been recognized on the annual lists of Michigan Super Lawyers and DBusiness Top Lawyers.
Bick is involved with several organizations, including the Association for Corporate Growth, where he has served on the programs committee and as a judge for the ACG Cup Competition and the M&A All Stars Awards. Bick’s community activities include membership in the American Jewish Committee, where he served on the board of directors for the Detroit Regional Office, and the Anti-Defamation League, where he served on the board of directors of the Detroit Regional Office. He has also provided multi-year service as a mentor to at-risk children at Haven of Oakland County through his participation on the ACG Cares committee.
Bick earned a law degree from the University of Michigan Law School and a B.B.A. from the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross School of Business.
• • •
Tiffany McLean, training + learning manager at Warner Norcross + Judd LLP, has been recognized as one of the top 50 learning and development professionals in the country by OnConferences.
McLean was chosen among more than 250 finalists in the learning and development category.
Since joining Warner in 2022, McLean has developed a learning culture at the firm through the implementation of a new learning management system, enhanced training and a mentorship program geared toward non-attorney employees. McLean is also developing a partnership readiness program for the firm.
In addition to her role at Warner, McLean is actively involved in a number of professional organizations and committees, including the Association for Talent Development, Inforum Southeast Michigan Mosaic and Downtown Detroit Luncheon affinity groups, Association of Legal Administrators Professional Development Advisory Council, Professional Development Consortium’s Summer Conference Planning Committee as well as the International Legal Technology Association’s Women Who Lead Committee and Leadership and Development Content Creation Team.
McLean earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial and organizational psychology from Loyola University Chicago.
“I look forward to working with the Detroit Mercy Law community in this new capacity,” said Schroeck. “We will build on our school’s momentum under Dean Jelani Jefferson Exum and continue to provide our students an exceptional legal education rooted in our mission and traditions.”
Schroeck will succeed Dean Jefferson Exum, who served as dean of the law school since 2021 and is moving into the deanship at St. John’s University School of Law in Queens, New York.
Schroeck is an environmental law expert. His research focuses on reducing air and water pollution, working towards environmental justice, promoting mass transportation, and advancing citizen suit enforcement of our environmental laws. In addition to his role as associate dean overseeing the Detroit Mercy Law clinical and externship programs, he directs the environmental law clinic and teaches upper-level environmental law courses.
Before joining the faculty at Detroit Mercy Law, Schroeck was executive director of the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center. He has litigated cases for several environmental advocacy organizations. He previously directed the Transnational Environmental Law Clinic at Wayne State University Law School.
• • •
Butzel attorney Shanika A. Owens received the Detroit Bar Association’s Pro Bono Service Award on May 1.
Owens focuses her practice on helping clients navigate mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, and real estate law. Her experience includes a wide range of transactions in a variety of industries.
In 2022, Owens, along with her colleagues, represented the seller in an acquisition worth over $400 million. She and the team received the 2023 Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) Detroit Chapter’s M&A Deal of the Year award in recognition of their legal expertise in navigating the transaction.
Before joining the firm, Owens served as a legislative assistant to the Detroit City Council where she advised policymakers on issues including economic development, budgeting, and matters leading up to the Detroit bankruptcy. She interned with U.S. District Court Judge Avern Cohn, Eastern District of Michigan.
More recently, Owens has been named to The Best Lawyers in America, Ones to Watch, Corporate Law and Real Estate Law, 2023. She was named to the list of Michigan Lawyers Weekly Up & Coming Lawyers in 2021. She also has been named a Michigan Chronicle 40 under 40 Honoree.
Owens is a member of the State Bar of Michigan (SBM) Business Law and Young Lawyers sections. She is elected to the SBM Representative Assembly and also serves on The Institute of Continuing Legal Education’s (ICLE) Business Law Advisory Board.
Owens serves on the Board of Directors of Avalon Healing Center in Detroit, a non-profit organization that provides compassionate and trauma-informed care to survivors of sexual assault.
In addition, Owens is a member of the Board of Directors of Great Lakes Environmental Law Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing environmental justice for marginalized populations in Michigan.
Butzel is also pleased to note that attorneys Bushra A. Malik and Reginald A. Pacis were guest speakers during the 2024 American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Michigan Conference on May 10 in Southfield.
Malik participated in a panel program titled, “Consular Practice: Stateside Visa Processing Updates, Latest Issues and Practice Trends.” Pacis was featured during a panel discussion titled, “Getting Started in Immigration Law: New Attorney and Law Student Recruitment, Basic Skills and Networking.”
Malik practices in the area of immigration law, focusing on the representation of multinational and domestic clients’ inbound and global migration needs. Her experience includes Employment based (Extraordinary Ability, Outstanding Researcher, Multinational Manager, and PERMs) and Family based Permanent Residence Petitions Non-Immigrant Petitions (H-1B/Specialty Occupation, J-1/ Exchange Visitor, L-1/Intracompany Transfers, O-1/Extraordinary Ability, TN/ NAFTA); Employer Compliance (I-9 Audits and H-1B Public Access File Audits); J-1 waivers; Compliance under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI); U.S. Passports; complex naturalization matters; and currency seizures.
Malik has experience in securing work and residence permits for numerous countries around the globe. She also routinely represents clients at U.S. Ports of Entry, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services District Office, U.S. Embassies and Consulates abroad, as well as various Foreign Embassies and Consulates.
Malik was named “Lawyer of the Year” (2022) and is listed in The Best Lawyers in America (Immigration Law), was named one of DBusiness magazine’s Top Lawyers in the field of immigration law and was recognized as a Who’s Who Legal Thought Leader for Corporate Immigration 2021.
Malik is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), the American Bar Association, the South Asian Bar Association, the Michigan Muslim Bar Association, and the Japanese Business Society of Detroit. She is currently serving on the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Department of State National Liaison Committee. She previously served as chair of the AILA Michigan Chapter; on the AILA Board of Governors; chair of AILA’s Global Migration Section; and speaks regularly at AILA national and international conferences. Malik speaks Hindi, Japanese and Urdu.
Pacis concentrates his practice in immigration law and has handled a variety of matters including H-1B specialty occupation cases, L-1 Intracompany transfers, Labor Certification matters, Immigrant Visa Petitions/Adjustment of Status applications and interviews, TN Free trade cases, H-1B Department of Labor Investigations, I-9 employer verification compliance, and U.S. Port of Entry airport and land port interviews.
Pacis is listed in The Best Lawyers in America and Michigan’s Super Lawyers (Immigration Law). He was recognized as “Lawyer of the Year” in Immigration Law in 2013 and again in 2023 by Best Lawyers and he continues to maintain an AV rating in the Martindale Hubbell publication.
Pacis is a member of the American Bar Association, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), and the Samahang Pilipino Ng Oakland Filipino organization. He served two consecutive terms from 2003 to 2004 and 2004 to 2005 as chairperson of the Michigan Chapter of AILA and was a member of the AILA National Board of Governors for those terms. He
previously served as secretary (2001 to 2003) and membership chairperson of the Michigan Chapter of AILA (1998 to 2003).
Pacis completed an appointment by former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm for service on the Advisory Committee for Asian Pacific American Affairs (ACAPAA). He served on the Michigan AILA Advocacy Committee from 2007 to 2010. He was appointed by former Governor Rick Snyder to serve on the Michigan Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission (MAPAAC) for a four-year term from 2019 to 2022.
Pacis previously served as chairperson of the Michigan AILA Committee responsible for liaison with the Michigan Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Agency, a division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security presiding over inspections and security of the U.S. border, from 2005 to 2007. His service expanded to the AILA National CBP liaison Committee as a member, vice chair and chairperson of the AILA National CBP liaison Committee. He also served as vice chair on the AILA United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Field Operations Liaison committee, the AILA education “Distance Learning” committee, the USCIS/ AILA Nebraska Service Center Liaison committee, and on the USCIS/ AILA National Benefits Center liaison committee.
• • •
Ogletree Deakins is pleased to welcome Richard Warren as a shareholder in the firm’s Detroit office. Warren joins Ogletree Deakins from Miller Canfield, where he was a principal and the Employment and Labor deputy group leader.
A litigator, Warren has a record of successful results at trial, arbitration, and before administrative agencies. He served as the lead attorney in numerous class and collective action lawsuits on behalf of employers. Warren is also an advisor to management and human resource professionals relative to compliance with increasingly complex labor and employment matters, including hiring, layoffs, discipline, and termination.
Warren has experience assisting employers in their strategic planning and growth, as well as in innovation and the adoption of artificial intelligence. At his prior firm, he led a committee on the use of generative artificial intelligence in hiring, assessment, and retention, as well as the firm’s Industry Task Force on the usage of generative artificial intelligence.
Warren has been honored with recognitions in The Best Lawyers in America®, Michigan Super Lawyers, and DBusiness Magazine’s Top Lawyers lists. He often dedicates time to pro bono service and is an ultra marathon runner. Warren earned his law degree from the Michigan State University College of Law and earlier received his B.A. from James Madison College at Michigan State University.
• • •
Attorney Courtney A. Lavender recently joined the Appellate Law Practice Group of Plunkett Cooney.
Lavender, who is a member of the firm’s Bloomfield Hills office, focuses her appellate practice in the areas of commercial litigation, governmental law, first- and third-party motor vehicle negligence and insurance coverage disputes. She also has litigation experience defending No-Fault and third-party claims, as well as premises liability, pet liability and defamation matters.
Lavender received her law degree from Wayne State University Law School in 2021. Following law school, she worked as a research attorney at the Michigan Court of Appeals. Lavender received her undergraduate degree in 2017 from the University of Michigan.
• • •
Dykema recently announced that Antonia R. Giles was selected for the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) Detroit’s “Igniting Inspiration” Award. Giles will be honored at the Inspire & Ignite:
Women’s Forum Luncheon on Friday, May 17, at the Cambria Hotel in Detroit.
According to ACG, this award program is dedicated to “acknowledge the contributions and achievements of women in the M&A community.”
Giles works with M&A clients in a variety of sectors, including tech, manufacturing, aerospace and defense, and funeral and cemetery services.
Giles earned a law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law and a B.A. from Davidson College.
• • •
Bodman PLC is pleased to share that Adomas N. Rauckis has joined the firm as a senior associate in the Business Practice Group.
Rauckis has experience counseling corporate clients on mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance matters, securities offerings, and venture capital financing.
Before joining Bodman, Rauckis practiced with an AmLaw 100 law firm where he served as lead associate on complex M&A transactions and drafted transaction documents including purchase agreements, subscription documents, due diligence memoranda, disclosure schedules, reorganization packages, and other ancillary agreements. He also served as lead attorney on venture capital financing transactions where he drafted transaction documents and guided startup companies through the due diligence and close phases.
Rauckis is a graduate of Wayne State University Law School and received an undergraduate degree from Eastern Michigan University.
In addition, Bodman is pleased to share that Kelly M. Burnell, member and co-chair of Bodman’s High Net Worth Practice Group, has been appointed to CATCH’s Board of Trustees.
CATCH (Caring Athletes Team for Children’s and Henry Ford Hospitals) is a children’s charity founded in 1987 by the late Detroit Tigers Manager Sparky Anderson. CATCH raises funds for items and services that improve the quality of life of sick, injured and economically disadvantaged pediatric patients from Children’s Hospital of Michigan and Henry Ford Health.
As a board member, Burnell will help guide the organization’s operations and fundraising activities, which include the CATCH Golf Classic, CATCH Night of Champions, The Detroit News/CATCH Outstanding High School Graduate Awards program, as well as various other third-party functions. She has a three-year renewable term and will be up for reappointment in 2027.
As co-chair of Bodman’s High Net Worth Practice Group, Burnell serves as an advisor to high net worth individuals and families and assists them with managing many aspects of their personal and financial affairs. She advises clients on estate planning, trust and estate administration, wealth transfer and tax planning matters, business succession planning, and the formation and administration of private foundations. She was recently recognized by Crain’s Detroit Business as a Notable Women in Law. Burnell has been listed in Chambers HNW for Private Wealth Law since 2021 and in DBusiness Magazine Top Lawyer for Trusts and Estates since 2020.
• • •
McDonald Hopkins is proud to congratulate member and Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Co-Chair Dominic Paluzzi on his selection to Cybersecurity Docket’s Incident Response 50 for 2024.
Paluzzi was also recognized by Cybersecurity Docket in 2016, 2018, 2022, and 2023. He advises organizations on data privacy and cybersecurity risks on both a national and international basis, including pre-breach services, incident response strategies and management, and defense of regulatory enforcement actions and single-plaintiff and class action litigation.
• • •
Dickinson Wright is pleased to announce that Erin Pawlowski (member, Troy) has been named a “Go To Lawyer” for Business Transactions by Michigan Lawyers Weekly.
“I am honored to be selected by Michigan Lawyers Weekly as a ‘Go To Lawyer’ for Business Transactions. It is a privilege to be included with such a talented and accomplished group of attorneys,” Pawlowski said.
Pawlowski focuses her practice on complex corporate transactions. She has a diverse M&A practice and serves as outside general counsel for businesses in a variety of industries and stages of growth. She represents private equity sponsors, portfolio companies, venture capital funds, strategic buyers and sellers, and other privately held businesses.
Pawlowski is recognized as a leader in her field by The Legal 500 and Best Lawyers in America. She is a member of various organizations, including the Association for Corporate Growth, the American Bar Association, and the State Bar of Michigan. She received her law degree from Wayne State University Law School.
• • •
Robert S. Bick, a shareholder with Birmingham-based full-service business law firm Williams, Williams, Rattner, & Plunkett (WWRP), has been named to the Michigan Lawyers Weekly 2024 list of
“Go To Lawyers in Business Transactions.”
Bick’s practice focuses on corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, and business transactions. A dealmaker with more than 30 years as an attorney, he counsels and represents public and private companies, entrepreneurs, venture capital and private equity groups, boards of directors and business owners on matters related to corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, private placements, private equity, securities, tax, commercial and private lending (senior, mezzanine and subordinated credit facilities), corporate governance (counsel to corporate officers and board members) and related business law matters.
Bick’s other recognitions include being named a Corporate Law Lawyer of the Year by The Best Lawyers in America®, the M&A Attorney of the Year by the Association for Corporate Growth, the Dealmaker of the Year by the M&A Advisor, and a Leader in the Law by Michigan Lawyers Weekly. Since 2007, he has been recognized on the annual lists of Michigan Super Lawyers and DBusiness Top Lawyers.
Bick is involved with several organizations, including the Association for Corporate Growth, where he has served on the programs committee and as a judge for the ACG Cup Competition and the M&A All Stars Awards. Bick’s community activities include membership in the American Jewish Committee, where he served on the board of directors for the Detroit Regional Office, and the Anti-Defamation League, where he served on the board of directors of the Detroit Regional Office. He has also provided multi-year service as a mentor to at-risk children at Haven of Oakland County through his participation on the ACG Cares committee.
Bick earned a law degree from the University of Michigan Law School and a B.B.A. from the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross School of Business.
• • •
Tiffany McLean, training + learning manager at Warner Norcross + Judd LLP, has been recognized as one of the top 50 learning and development professionals in the country by OnConferences.
McLean was chosen among more than 250 finalists in the learning and development category.
Since joining Warner in 2022, McLean has developed a learning culture at the firm through the implementation of a new learning management system, enhanced training and a mentorship program geared toward non-attorney employees. McLean is also developing a partnership readiness program for the firm.
In addition to her role at Warner, McLean is actively involved in a number of professional organizations and committees, including the Association for Talent Development, Inforum Southeast Michigan Mosaic and Downtown Detroit Luncheon affinity groups, Association of Legal Administrators Professional Development Advisory Council, Professional Development Consortium’s Summer Conference Planning Committee as well as the International Legal Technology Association’s Women Who Lead Committee and Leadership and Development Content Creation Team.
McLean earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial and organizational psychology from Loyola University Chicago.
