Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer recently reappointed Brittany Schultz to the Board of Law Examiners.
Schultz is a current in-house counsel for Ford Motor Company where she represents Ford in a variety of civil litigation and commercial matters. Additionally, she serves as a member of the Michigan Supreme Court Justice For All Commission. Schultz received a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from the University of Michigan and her law degree from Wayne State University Law School.
Schultz is reappointed to represent the nominee of the Michigan Supreme Court for a term commencing July 1, 2024, and expiring June 30, 2029.
The Board of Law Examiners is responsible for investigating and examining all persons who initially apply for admission to the State Bar of Michigan. The Board may adopt suitable regulations, subject to approval by the Supreme Court, concerning the performance of its functions and duties.
This appointment is not subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.
In addition, Gov. Whitmer also appointed Ahmed Hassouna to the Michigan Board of Chiropractic.
Hassouna is a partner at Novara, Tesija, Catenacci, McDonald, & Baas. He received a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Michigan State University and a law degree from the University of Toledo College of Law.
Hassouna is appointed to represent the general public for a term commencing May 9, 2024, and expiring December 31, 2027. Hassouna succeeds Michael Connelly who has resigned.
The Michigan Board of Chiropractic was originally formed with the enactment of Public Act 145 of 1933. On September 30, 1978, this authority was transferred to the Public Health Code, Public Act 368 of 1978, as amended. The Board also has the obligation to take disciplinary action against licensees who have adversely affected the public’s health, safety, and welfare. The board works with the department to oversee the practice of approximately 2,863 chiropractors.
This appointment is subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.
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Williams, Williams, Rattner, & Plunkett is pleased to announce that shareholder Jerome Pesick has been admitted to the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL).
Pesick’s legal career has focused on commercial real estate, with specialties in eminent domain and condemnation law and property tax appeals and land use. Pesick served as lead counsel on what remains the largest eminent domain verdict in Michigan history—rendering $25 million in a case that involved a 6.3-acre parcel on the Detroit River with an original government offer of $13.7 million.
Pesick has successfully represented clients in many high profile eminent domain and condemnation projects including the Gordie Howe International Bridge, Comerica Park and Ford Field, Poletown, Detroit Waterfront Casino and Reclamation Project, I-696, M-59 (Hall Road), M-5 (Haggerty Connector), Northwestern Connector, Van Dyke Highway, Detroit Metropolitan Airport Expansion, Wayne State University Welcome Center, Wayne County Pinnacle Aeropark, Ypsilanti Water Street Redevelopment, and Orchard Lake Road widening, along with numerous other highway and roundabout projects and class actions.
As a member of WWRP’s tax appeal team, Pesick also actively represents clients in the commercial property tax appeals process, regularly appearing before the Michigan Tax Tribunal.
Pesick presents to the legal profession and at commercial real estate events on corporate and legal trends in the industry. He has held a variety of leadership roles in the State Bar of Michigan Real Property Law Section, including serving as chair of the Eminent Domain Committee for seven consecutive years and as chair of the Section from 2009 to 2010.
Prior to joining WWRP in 2022, Pesick led his own boutique commercial real estate law firm, Steinhardt Pesick & Cohen, for 20 years. He has received numerous legal awards throughout
his career, including multiple years as a Michigan Super Lawyer, DBusiness Top Lawyer, and Best Lawyers, as well as Best Lawyers’ regional Lawyer of the Year in both real estate law and eminent domain. He was also named to the Michigan Lawyers Weekly Leader of the Law Class of 2019.
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Butzel attorney Beth S. Gotthelf participated in a panel program during the Women in Defense (WID) Michigan Defense Leadership Summit May 16 at the MSU Management Education Center in Troy. The program was titled, “Large and Small Business Perspectives on Connectedness within the Defense Community.”
Gotthelf is a shareholder based in Butzel’s Troy office. She is the firm’s director of Innovation and External Relations, co-chair of the Energy & Sustainability Practice, and chair of the Aerospace & Defense Industry Team.
For more than a decade, Gotthelf has been active in the Aerospace and Defense industries, advising clients in the various legal issues including governmental contracting, ITAR, EAR, bids and bid protests, and Foreign Military Sales, to name a few.
She is chair of the Michigan Manufacturers Association Environmental Policy Committee and National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Board Directorship Certified.
• • •
Secrest Wardle welcomes attorneys Caroline Grech and L. Charlynn Turner to the firm.
Grech joins Secrest Wardle’s Troy office as an executive partner and member of the firm’s General Negligence, and Premises Liability Practice Groups. Grech is a litigator whose practice includes the full range of employment issues, civil rights violations, and discrimination/disability issues. Grech also has experience in business and commercial litigation.
Turner joins Secrest Wardle’s Troy location as a partner and member of the firm’s Appellate Practice Group. Turner is a litigator and appellate practitioner whose experience includes working at the Michigan Court of Appeals, the Michigan Supreme Court, and the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office. Through her appellate practice, Turner handles a wide variety of issues on appeal, including no-fault, tort, premises liability, business and commercial litigation, municipal law, and criminal law. She is licensed to practice in the State of Michigan, and the U.S. Eastern District of Michigan.
• • •
Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Chandra W. Baker-Robinson, Criminal Division, has joined the Board of Directors of the Wayne County Jail Outreach Ministry (WCJOM).
“With her extensive experience as a prosecutor and judge, Judge Baker-Robinson understands how important it is to prepare incarcerated persons for successful re-entry into society,” said U.S. District Court Judge Stephen J. Murphy III, Eastern District of Michigan, who chairs the WCJOM board. “Judge Baker-Robinson has worked with both defendants and crime victims, and has great insight into the issues faced by returning citizens.”
WCJOM is an interfaith 501(c)3 nonprofit, supporting religious services for inmates during their stay at the Wayne County Jail, regardless of denomination. The ministry also helps returning citizens rejoin society with clothing, food, job placement, and mentoring.
An alumna of the University of Michigan, where she graduated with a degree in Communications, Baker-Robinson earned her law degree from Wayne State University Law School. While a law student, she served as an intern for U.S. District Court Judge Victoria Roberts. After law school, she joined the Detroit law firm of Miller Canfield as an associate attorney specializing in labor and employment law.
Baker-Robinson then joined the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office as assistant prosecutor, litigating hundreds of cases over a 12-year career, including serving as lead attorney for the Wayne Arson Reduction (WAR) Unit, prosecuting arson crimes in which victims were killed or injured. For her work in WAR, in 2018 she was honored as “Prosecutor of the Year” by the International Association of Arson Investigators.
In November 2020, Baker-Robinson was elected to the Wayne County Circuit Court. In addition to her normally assigned duties as a trial judge, Baker-Robinson presided in the court’s Drug Court program. Drug courts are specialized programs that target defendants’ addictions as a contributing cause of criminal behavior, using a mix of intensive treatment, oversight by judges, and graduated sanctions to maintain accountability. As a drug court judge, Baker-Robinson managed and helped to motivate defendants who chose to overcome their addictions.
Baker-Robinson has served in numerous professional organizations, including Association of Black Judges of Michigan, Black Women Lawyers Association of Michigan, Wolverine Bar Association, Wayne State University Black Law Students Association, and Barristers of the Detroit Bar Association, being named “Barrister of the Year” in 2005. In 2012, she was appointed by the Michigan Supreme Court as an attorney member of the State of Michigan’s Attorney Grievance Commission, which investigates and prosecutes attorney misconduct; she served two three-year terms on the panel.
Baker-Robinson’s community activities include the Michigan chapter of SKIP (Save Kids of Incarcerated Parents) and serving on the board of the Citadel Community Development Corporation. In 2006, she was recognized with the “Impact on Domestic Violence Award” by the Legal Aid and Defender Association, and is also the recipient of the Cornelius Pitts Criminal Defense Award.
Besides Baker-Robinson and Murphy, other WCJOM board members include Thomas Adams, CEO, Chance for Life; Sara Aly, outreach committee co-chair, Islamic Association of Greater Detroit; Maura D. Corrigan, former chief justice of the Michigan Supreme Court; Sr. Peggy Devaney, IHM, founder, Oakland County Jail and Outreach Ministry; Regina Greear, deputy chief financial officer/director, City of Detroit; Minister Anthony Jones, MDiv, chaplain, Trinity Health, Livonia; Timothy M. Kenny, former chief judge, Wayne County Circuit Court; Brandy Phillips, director, Wayne County Sheriff’s Office (ex officio); Jessica Taylor, executive director, Chance for Life; and attorney Mark Zausmer, past chair and current member, board of directors, City Year Detroit.
For additional information about WCJOM, visit www.waynecountyoutreach.org. For additional information about Chance for Life, visit https://chanceforlifeonline.org.
• • •
Six Zausmer attorneys participated in the 12th Annual Michigan Energy Innovators Conference, contributing their expertise to advance discussions on Michigan’s evolving clean energy legislation and policy.
The 12th Annual Michigan Energy Innovators Conference was a nexus for energy efficiency advocates, industry experts, and policymakers. The event showcased Michigan’s strategic moves in clean energy legislation, emphasizing the state’s role in driving economic innovation in the energy sector.
Led by Shareholder Stephen Estey, Zausmer attorneys, including Breanne Patton, Danielle DePriest, John Lewsley, Doug Johnson, and Brenden Prather, were at the forefront of discussions on navigating the latest legal landscapes that shape the future of energy. They engaged in critical conversations about legislative advancements and strategies to address existing challenges to sustainable energy practices.
• • •
Varnum attorney Jailah Emerson was recently recognized as vice president of the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan – Wayne Region. Emerson was sworn in to her new position at the annual meeting on April 25.
Emerson was elected to the VP post after serving on the Board of Directors for several years, including as social media director.
Emerson is a member of Varnum’s Litigation and Trial Practice Team. She focuses her practice on complex commercial, family law, tax, and insolvency litigation. Her experience includes assisting clients with a wide variety of commercial litigation issues, ranging from standard breach of contract claims to complex real estate disputes. She represents clients throughout the litigation process, including at hearings, depositions, trial, and appellate proceedings.
• • •
Miller Canfield proudly announces that Marc Swanson has been elected by the firm’s principals to join its five-member Board of Managing Directors.
Swanson joined Miller Canfield in 2007 and has cultivated a bankruptcy practice with a national reputation. He currently leads Miller Canfield’s Bankruptcy, Restructuring and Insolvency Group.
Swanson is a graduate of Leadership Detroit, where he refined his expertise in adaptive leadership and systemic change. His proactive approach in challenging the status quo has proven invaluable in his numerous leadership roles.
Swanson is currently the co-chair of the Debtor/Creditor Rights Committe of the State Bar of Michigan’s Business Law Section, the president of Cass Community Social Services, a non-profit organization based in Detroit, and previously served as president of the Detroit Chapter of the Turnaround Management Association.
• • •
On May 8, Kitch’s Lindsay Rose, Laura Sherbrook, and Michael Geraghty presented to second-year OB/GYN residents at the annual Southeast Michigan Center for Medical Education (SEMCME) session entitled, “Medical and Legal Considerations in OB/GYN” at Corewell Health Hospital Royal Oak.
Rose, Sherbrook, and Geraghty presented on topics including fetal heart tracing interpretation, GYN surgical complications, defending a lawsuit, and shoulder dystocia deliveries.
SEMCME is the largest community-based medical education consortium in the Midwest, comprised of 13 member hospitals with 277 accredited residency and fellowship programs in 90 specialties and sub-specialties, 3,636 approved residency and fellowship positions and over 4,000 university and community faculty.
Rose is a principal with Kitch and shares a leadership role with Jenna Wright Greenman’s team. She concentrates her practice on birth trauma and medical malpractice litigation, and has successfully handled numerous cases to resolution or through trial with Wright Greenman. She collaborates frequently on educational presentations to medical providers on risk management issues. Additionally, she is also actively involved in Pro Bono Work.
Sherbrook is a principal in the firm’s Detroit office. She focuses her practice on birth trauma and medical malpractice defense. Sherbrook was named a Rising Star by Super Lawyers in 2022 and 2023. Sherbrook is a member of the Michigan Society of Healthcare Risk Management, Detroit Bar Association, and Women Lawyers Association of Michigan.
Geraghty has been a practicing attorney for 25 years, and, for the past decade and a half, he has been dedicated to defending health professionals and hospitals in medical malpractice and catastrophic birth injury cases. He also represents healthcare facilities in premises liability cases. Geraghty spent years representing clients as a former plaintiff’s attorney. This “both sides of the courtroom” background provides him with the knowledge and experience necessary to give his defense clients a penetrating analysis of both the law and the medicine and to identify the pertinent issues and strengths of their cases.
• • •
Howard & Howard Attorneys is pleased to welcome Bridget L. Underhill to the firm’s Royal Oak office.
Underhill has experience in a range of commercial real estate matters. She regularly advises clients in the acquisition, disposition, development, and leasing of various types of properties.
In addition, her practice includes corporate and bankruptcy law in which she works closely with corporate entities, debtors, and creditors to navigate their business needs.
• • •
Brooks Kushman shareholder Michael Turner spoke on “Design Patent Obviousness: Federal Circuit Rehearing and Examiner AI Searching” at the Michigan Intellectual Property Law Association’s gathering in Birmingham on May 16.
Turner’s presentation examined the recent federal circuit en banc rehearing of LKQ v. GM, regarding design patent obviousness. The presentation discussed design patent obviousness, how the law may change, addressing AI-assisted design patent rejections, and strategies for maintaining a design patent portfolio while the law and procedure evolve.
Turner focuses his practice on domestic and foreign patent prosecution for mechanical matters, electromechanical matters, systems, methods, and designs. His industry background in robotics and automation provides him with experience in various technologies and manufacturing processes.
Turner counsels clients on procedures for filing domestic patent applications that meet the varying requirements for both domestic and international protection and enforcement, particularly addressing the various international nuances associated with design patents. This counseling includes generating procedures for efficient collection of invention and design disclosures to streamline internal processes.
Turner’s experience includes preparing, prosecuting, and managing international patent and industrial design portfolios, including developing strategies for obtaining strong patent protection in many countries.
Schultz is a current in-house counsel for Ford Motor Company where she represents Ford in a variety of civil litigation and commercial matters. Additionally, she serves as a member of the Michigan Supreme Court Justice For All Commission. Schultz received a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from the University of Michigan and her law degree from Wayne State University Law School.
Schultz is reappointed to represent the nominee of the Michigan Supreme Court for a term commencing July 1, 2024, and expiring June 30, 2029.
The Board of Law Examiners is responsible for investigating and examining all persons who initially apply for admission to the State Bar of Michigan. The Board may adopt suitable regulations, subject to approval by the Supreme Court, concerning the performance of its functions and duties.
This appointment is not subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.
In addition, Gov. Whitmer also appointed Ahmed Hassouna to the Michigan Board of Chiropractic.
Hassouna is a partner at Novara, Tesija, Catenacci, McDonald, & Baas. He received a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Michigan State University and a law degree from the University of Toledo College of Law.
Hassouna is appointed to represent the general public for a term commencing May 9, 2024, and expiring December 31, 2027. Hassouna succeeds Michael Connelly who has resigned.
The Michigan Board of Chiropractic was originally formed with the enactment of Public Act 145 of 1933. On September 30, 1978, this authority was transferred to the Public Health Code, Public Act 368 of 1978, as amended. The Board also has the obligation to take disciplinary action against licensees who have adversely affected the public’s health, safety, and welfare. The board works with the department to oversee the practice of approximately 2,863 chiropractors.
This appointment is subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.
• • •
Williams, Williams, Rattner, & Plunkett is pleased to announce that shareholder Jerome Pesick has been admitted to the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL).
Pesick’s legal career has focused on commercial real estate, with specialties in eminent domain and condemnation law and property tax appeals and land use. Pesick served as lead counsel on what remains the largest eminent domain verdict in Michigan history—rendering $25 million in a case that involved a 6.3-acre parcel on the Detroit River with an original government offer of $13.7 million.
Pesick has successfully represented clients in many high profile eminent domain and condemnation projects including the Gordie Howe International Bridge, Comerica Park and Ford Field, Poletown, Detroit Waterfront Casino and Reclamation Project, I-696, M-59 (Hall Road), M-5 (Haggerty Connector), Northwestern Connector, Van Dyke Highway, Detroit Metropolitan Airport Expansion, Wayne State University Welcome Center, Wayne County Pinnacle Aeropark, Ypsilanti Water Street Redevelopment, and Orchard Lake Road widening, along with numerous other highway and roundabout projects and class actions.
As a member of WWRP’s tax appeal team, Pesick also actively represents clients in the commercial property tax appeals process, regularly appearing before the Michigan Tax Tribunal.
Pesick presents to the legal profession and at commercial real estate events on corporate and legal trends in the industry. He has held a variety of leadership roles in the State Bar of Michigan Real Property Law Section, including serving as chair of the Eminent Domain Committee for seven consecutive years and as chair of the Section from 2009 to 2010.
Prior to joining WWRP in 2022, Pesick led his own boutique commercial real estate law firm, Steinhardt Pesick & Cohen, for 20 years. He has received numerous legal awards throughout
his career, including multiple years as a Michigan Super Lawyer, DBusiness Top Lawyer, and Best Lawyers, as well as Best Lawyers’ regional Lawyer of the Year in both real estate law and eminent domain. He was also named to the Michigan Lawyers Weekly Leader of the Law Class of 2019.
• • •
Butzel attorney Beth S. Gotthelf participated in a panel program during the Women in Defense (WID) Michigan Defense Leadership Summit May 16 at the MSU Management Education Center in Troy. The program was titled, “Large and Small Business Perspectives on Connectedness within the Defense Community.”
Gotthelf is a shareholder based in Butzel’s Troy office. She is the firm’s director of Innovation and External Relations, co-chair of the Energy & Sustainability Practice, and chair of the Aerospace & Defense Industry Team.
For more than a decade, Gotthelf has been active in the Aerospace and Defense industries, advising clients in the various legal issues including governmental contracting, ITAR, EAR, bids and bid protests, and Foreign Military Sales, to name a few.
She is chair of the Michigan Manufacturers Association Environmental Policy Committee and National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Board Directorship Certified.
• • •
Secrest Wardle welcomes attorneys Caroline Grech and L. Charlynn Turner to the firm.
Grech joins Secrest Wardle’s Troy office as an executive partner and member of the firm’s General Negligence, and Premises Liability Practice Groups. Grech is a litigator whose practice includes the full range of employment issues, civil rights violations, and discrimination/disability issues. Grech also has experience in business and commercial litigation.
Turner joins Secrest Wardle’s Troy location as a partner and member of the firm’s Appellate Practice Group. Turner is a litigator and appellate practitioner whose experience includes working at the Michigan Court of Appeals, the Michigan Supreme Court, and the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office. Through her appellate practice, Turner handles a wide variety of issues on appeal, including no-fault, tort, premises liability, business and commercial litigation, municipal law, and criminal law. She is licensed to practice in the State of Michigan, and the U.S. Eastern District of Michigan.
• • •
Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Chandra W. Baker-Robinson, Criminal Division, has joined the Board of Directors of the Wayne County Jail Outreach Ministry (WCJOM).
“With her extensive experience as a prosecutor and judge, Judge Baker-Robinson understands how important it is to prepare incarcerated persons for successful re-entry into society,” said U.S. District Court Judge Stephen J. Murphy III, Eastern District of Michigan, who chairs the WCJOM board. “Judge Baker-Robinson has worked with both defendants and crime victims, and has great insight into the issues faced by returning citizens.”
WCJOM is an interfaith 501(c)3 nonprofit, supporting religious services for inmates during their stay at the Wayne County Jail, regardless of denomination. The ministry also helps returning citizens rejoin society with clothing, food, job placement, and mentoring.
An alumna of the University of Michigan, where she graduated with a degree in Communications, Baker-Robinson earned her law degree from Wayne State University Law School. While a law student, she served as an intern for U.S. District Court Judge Victoria Roberts. After law school, she joined the Detroit law firm of Miller Canfield as an associate attorney specializing in labor and employment law.
Baker-Robinson then joined the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office as assistant prosecutor, litigating hundreds of cases over a 12-year career, including serving as lead attorney for the Wayne Arson Reduction (WAR) Unit, prosecuting arson crimes in which victims were killed or injured. For her work in WAR, in 2018 she was honored as “Prosecutor of the Year” by the International Association of Arson Investigators.
In November 2020, Baker-Robinson was elected to the Wayne County Circuit Court. In addition to her normally assigned duties as a trial judge, Baker-Robinson presided in the court’s Drug Court program. Drug courts are specialized programs that target defendants’ addictions as a contributing cause of criminal behavior, using a mix of intensive treatment, oversight by judges, and graduated sanctions to maintain accountability. As a drug court judge, Baker-Robinson managed and helped to motivate defendants who chose to overcome their addictions.
Baker-Robinson has served in numerous professional organizations, including Association of Black Judges of Michigan, Black Women Lawyers Association of Michigan, Wolverine Bar Association, Wayne State University Black Law Students Association, and Barristers of the Detroit Bar Association, being named “Barrister of the Year” in 2005. In 2012, she was appointed by the Michigan Supreme Court as an attorney member of the State of Michigan’s Attorney Grievance Commission, which investigates and prosecutes attorney misconduct; she served two three-year terms on the panel.
Baker-Robinson’s community activities include the Michigan chapter of SKIP (Save Kids of Incarcerated Parents) and serving on the board of the Citadel Community Development Corporation. In 2006, she was recognized with the “Impact on Domestic Violence Award” by the Legal Aid and Defender Association, and is also the recipient of the Cornelius Pitts Criminal Defense Award.
Besides Baker-Robinson and Murphy, other WCJOM board members include Thomas Adams, CEO, Chance for Life; Sara Aly, outreach committee co-chair, Islamic Association of Greater Detroit; Maura D. Corrigan, former chief justice of the Michigan Supreme Court; Sr. Peggy Devaney, IHM, founder, Oakland County Jail and Outreach Ministry; Regina Greear, deputy chief financial officer/director, City of Detroit; Minister Anthony Jones, MDiv, chaplain, Trinity Health, Livonia; Timothy M. Kenny, former chief judge, Wayne County Circuit Court; Brandy Phillips, director, Wayne County Sheriff’s Office (ex officio); Jessica Taylor, executive director, Chance for Life; and attorney Mark Zausmer, past chair and current member, board of directors, City Year Detroit.
For additional information about WCJOM, visit www.waynecountyoutreach.org. For additional information about Chance for Life, visit https://chanceforlifeonline.org.
• • •
Six Zausmer attorneys participated in the 12th Annual Michigan Energy Innovators Conference, contributing their expertise to advance discussions on Michigan’s evolving clean energy legislation and policy.
The 12th Annual Michigan Energy Innovators Conference was a nexus for energy efficiency advocates, industry experts, and policymakers. The event showcased Michigan’s strategic moves in clean energy legislation, emphasizing the state’s role in driving economic innovation in the energy sector.
Led by Shareholder Stephen Estey, Zausmer attorneys, including Breanne Patton, Danielle DePriest, John Lewsley, Doug Johnson, and Brenden Prather, were at the forefront of discussions on navigating the latest legal landscapes that shape the future of energy. They engaged in critical conversations about legislative advancements and strategies to address existing challenges to sustainable energy practices.
• • •
Varnum attorney Jailah Emerson was recently recognized as vice president of the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan – Wayne Region. Emerson was sworn in to her new position at the annual meeting on April 25.
Emerson was elected to the VP post after serving on the Board of Directors for several years, including as social media director.
Emerson is a member of Varnum’s Litigation and Trial Practice Team. She focuses her practice on complex commercial, family law, tax, and insolvency litigation. Her experience includes assisting clients with a wide variety of commercial litigation issues, ranging from standard breach of contract claims to complex real estate disputes. She represents clients throughout the litigation process, including at hearings, depositions, trial, and appellate proceedings.
• • •
Miller Canfield proudly announces that Marc Swanson has been elected by the firm’s principals to join its five-member Board of Managing Directors.
Swanson joined Miller Canfield in 2007 and has cultivated a bankruptcy practice with a national reputation. He currently leads Miller Canfield’s Bankruptcy, Restructuring and Insolvency Group.
Swanson is a graduate of Leadership Detroit, where he refined his expertise in adaptive leadership and systemic change. His proactive approach in challenging the status quo has proven invaluable in his numerous leadership roles.
Swanson is currently the co-chair of the Debtor/Creditor Rights Committe of the State Bar of Michigan’s Business Law Section, the president of Cass Community Social Services, a non-profit organization based in Detroit, and previously served as president of the Detroit Chapter of the Turnaround Management Association.
• • •
On May 8, Kitch’s Lindsay Rose, Laura Sherbrook, and Michael Geraghty presented to second-year OB/GYN residents at the annual Southeast Michigan Center for Medical Education (SEMCME) session entitled, “Medical and Legal Considerations in OB/GYN” at Corewell Health Hospital Royal Oak.
Rose, Sherbrook, and Geraghty presented on topics including fetal heart tracing interpretation, GYN surgical complications, defending a lawsuit, and shoulder dystocia deliveries.
SEMCME is the largest community-based medical education consortium in the Midwest, comprised of 13 member hospitals with 277 accredited residency and fellowship programs in 90 specialties and sub-specialties, 3,636 approved residency and fellowship positions and over 4,000 university and community faculty.
Rose is a principal with Kitch and shares a leadership role with Jenna Wright Greenman’s team. She concentrates her practice on birth trauma and medical malpractice litigation, and has successfully handled numerous cases to resolution or through trial with Wright Greenman. She collaborates frequently on educational presentations to medical providers on risk management issues. Additionally, she is also actively involved in Pro Bono Work.
Sherbrook is a principal in the firm’s Detroit office. She focuses her practice on birth trauma and medical malpractice defense. Sherbrook was named a Rising Star by Super Lawyers in 2022 and 2023. Sherbrook is a member of the Michigan Society of Healthcare Risk Management, Detroit Bar Association, and Women Lawyers Association of Michigan.
Geraghty has been a practicing attorney for 25 years, and, for the past decade and a half, he has been dedicated to defending health professionals and hospitals in medical malpractice and catastrophic birth injury cases. He also represents healthcare facilities in premises liability cases. Geraghty spent years representing clients as a former plaintiff’s attorney. This “both sides of the courtroom” background provides him with the knowledge and experience necessary to give his defense clients a penetrating analysis of both the law and the medicine and to identify the pertinent issues and strengths of their cases.
• • •
Howard & Howard Attorneys is pleased to welcome Bridget L. Underhill to the firm’s Royal Oak office.
Underhill has experience in a range of commercial real estate matters. She regularly advises clients in the acquisition, disposition, development, and leasing of various types of properties.
In addition, her practice includes corporate and bankruptcy law in which she works closely with corporate entities, debtors, and creditors to navigate their business needs.
• • •
Brooks Kushman shareholder Michael Turner spoke on “Design Patent Obviousness: Federal Circuit Rehearing and Examiner AI Searching” at the Michigan Intellectual Property Law Association’s gathering in Birmingham on May 16.
Turner’s presentation examined the recent federal circuit en banc rehearing of LKQ v. GM, regarding design patent obviousness. The presentation discussed design patent obviousness, how the law may change, addressing AI-assisted design patent rejections, and strategies for maintaining a design patent portfolio while the law and procedure evolve.
Turner focuses his practice on domestic and foreign patent prosecution for mechanical matters, electromechanical matters, systems, methods, and designs. His industry background in robotics and automation provides him with experience in various technologies and manufacturing processes.
Turner counsels clients on procedures for filing domestic patent applications that meet the varying requirements for both domestic and international protection and enforcement, particularly addressing the various international nuances associated with design patents. This counseling includes generating procedures for efficient collection of invention and design disclosures to streamline internal processes.
Turner’s experience includes preparing, prosecuting, and managing international patent and industrial design portfolios, including developing strategies for obtaining strong patent protection in many countries.
