Attorneys Karen Collingsworth-Crusse and Andrew J. Lorelli recently joined Plunkett Cooney as members of its Trusts & Estates Practice Group.
A senior attorney in the firm’s Bloomfield Hills office, Collingsworth-Crusse brings deep wealth management, family office, and business succession planning experience to the firm from her combined 25 years of law practice and working with families as an advisor and Certified Exit Planning Advisor for several of Michigan’s leading banks. She creates strategies for closely held business owners to protect, build value, and transition from their businesses. Collingsworth-Crusse also works with the family during this process, using governance tools and resources, to support effective communication and family harmony.
In addition, Collingsworth-Crusse provides advice-based solutions focused on trust administration, estate planning, wealth strategy and business succession, and she leads an internal team of cross functional attorneys and support staff professionals, to provide best-in-class service, solutions and thought leadership.
A member of the State Bar of Michigan Probate and Estate Planning Section, Collingsworth-Crusse is a sought-after speaker and content developer for related symposiums in Michigan, Indianac and Ohio. She received her undergraduate degree in 1995 from Oakland University and her law degree in 1998 from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law.
Lorelli joins the firm as an associate attorney in the Bloomfield Hills office and has a decade of experience working in the areas of trust and estate planning, and trust and probate administration, including decedent estates, guardianships, conservatorships, and special needs trusts.
A member of the Oakland County Bar Association and State Bar of Michigan Probate & Estate Planning sections, Lorelli served four years on active duty as a judge advocate in the U.S. Marine Corps, having been stationed in Okinawa, Japan, and several years as a lawyer in private practice. Lorelli drafts estate plans for a wide variety of clients; prepares fiduciary accounts in trusts, decedent estates and conservatorships; and handles contested and uncontested probate matters in dozens of counties all over the state of Michigan.
Lorelli received his undergraduate degree in 2009 from the University of Michigan and his law degree in 2013 from the University of Iowa College of Law.
In addition, attorney Elena Djordjeski recently joined Plunkett Cooney as a member of its Torts & Litigation and Transportation Law practice groups.
A member of the firm’s Bloomfield Hills office, Djordjeski maintains a litigation defense practice that includes claims involving motor vehicle liability, premises liability, general negligence, breach of contract and municipal liability.
With nearly a decade of experience as a trial attorney, Djordjeski represents individuals, businesses, insurance carriers and municipalities in cases involving slip, trip and fall claims, first- and third-party No-Fault benefits, uninsured and underinsured motorist claims, commercial trucking and third-party transportation liability, special investigations fraud, dramshop/liquor liability issues and disputes involving contracts, construction defects, negligence and other civil claims.
Selected as a Rising Star by Super Lawyers magazine since 2022, Djordjeski is a member of the Detroit and Oakland County bar associations, as well as the State Bar of Michigan. She is also a member of the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan.
Admitted to practice in state and federal courts in Michigan, Djordjeski received her law degree from Cooley Law School in 2015. She earned her undergraduate degree from Michigan State University in 2012.
• • •
Regan K. Dahle has rejoined Butzel as a shareholder in the firm’s Labor and Employment practice group. Preceding her return to the firm, Dahle served as vice president and associate general counsel, Human Resources, of a national third-party administrator of Taft-Hartley, multi-employer benefit plans.
Dahle focuses her practice in the areas of Employment Law and Labor Relations. She counsels and defends employers in arbitrations, unfair labor practice and representational proceedings, and employment-related litigation including sexual and racial harassment, age, gender and racial discrimination, wage and hour, breach of contract, and intentional tort litigation.
She has practiced in federal and state courts and before various administrative agencies including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Michigan Department of Civil Rights, National Labor Relations Board, and Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.
During her decades-long career, Dahle has advised clients on a wide range of labor and employment-related issues. Her experience includes advising employers on managing Family and Medical Leave Act leaves, responding to disability accommodation requests, conducting workforce reductions, and issuing discipline and discharge. She has also drafted employee handbooks and employment policies, employment applications, independent contractor agreements, and employment agreements. She advises clients on Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) compliance, drafts Affirmative Action Plans, and represents federal contractors in OFCCP audits.
Her clients include community colleges, universities, hospitals, medical practices, automotive suppliers, third-party administrators, and city and county governments.
Dahle frequently serves as a presenter on various Labor and Employment Law topics, including OFCCP compliance, effective employee handbooks and employment applications, the Family and Medical Leave Act, sexual harassment, alternative working arrangements, and ADA accommodations. She is co-author of the Chapter “Dealing with the Unionized Workforce” in the Institute of Continuing Legal Education’s publication, Employment Law in Michigan.
Dahle is a member of the State Bar of Michigan – Labor and Employment Section, Ohio State Bar – Labor and Employment Section, and is the former chair of the Washtenaw County Bar Association Labor and Employment Section. She is a graduate of Leadership Ann Arbor.
She has been named to Best Lawyers in America®, Litigation – Labor and Employment, 2018 – 2022; Employment Law - Management, 2022; Labor Law – Management, 2021-2022; DBusiness Top Lawyers Metro Detroit, Labor and Employment Law, 2021 – 2022; Civil Rights Law, 2011 – 2012. She is a Fellow of the Michigan State Bar. She also is the board secretary for the Humane Society of Huron Valley, Board of Directors.
Dahle is a graduate of Wayne State University Law School and the University of Michigan, B.A.
• • •
Varnum LLP is pleased to announce that Caleb Griscom has joined the firm’s Birmingham office as counsel on its Corporate Practice Team. Griscom brings a background in M&A and private equity transactions, having advised on a variety of deals, including mergers, equity and asset purchases, carve-outs, sale-leasebacks, and cross-border transactions.
Griscom has experience in corporate transactional matters, handling everything from drafting purchase agreements to coordinating complex closings. He also assists clients with general corporate matters, including entity formation, corporate governance, and equity documentation.
In addition to his legal experience, Griscom served as a logistics officer in the United States Marine Corps, where, among other roles, he led an engineer support platoon in Afghanistan and received the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal.
He earned a law degree from Stanford Law School and a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the United States Naval Academy.
In addition, Varnum estate planning attorney Rebecca Wrock has been re-elected to serve a three-year term as a council member of the Probate and Estate Planning Section of the State Bar of Michigan. The council oversees Michigan’s probate and estate planning attorneys, focusing on education, law development and Michigan appellate court decisions.
Wrock is an active member of the Probate and Estate Planning Section and has helped drive the progress of estate planning law in Michigan. As a member of Varnum’s Estate Planning Practice Team, her practice covers all areas of estate planning and estate settlement, including tax planning, charitable gift planning, business succession planning and long-term care planning. She has helped clients with everything from simple estate plans to complex strategies, ensuring protections for minor children, aging parents, loved ones with disabilities and even animal companions through pet trusts.
Wrock also serves as a council member and chair-elect of the Animal Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan. She is also involved in the nonprofit sector, having served as past chairperson of the board of Barn Sanctuary and vice president of the board of Attorneys for Animals.
Wrock has earned honors from Michigan Lawyers Weekly, Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers and the National Law Review. She also serves as adjunct faculty at Wayne State University Law School and regularly contributes to the Institute of Continuing Legal Education.
• • •
Brooks Kushman is pleased to announce that its newest associates have received their Michigan Bar exam results. Abdulai Rashid, Yasmeen Moradshahi, and Cameron Anstess are the newest additions to the firm’s intellectual property team.
Rashid focuses his practice on patent prosecution and litigation in the biomedical and automotive fields. He has experience in contract drafting, filing trademark applications, as well as aiding clients with turning their ideas into businesses or patentable inventions. Rashid earned a law degree from Penn State Law School. He passed the Virginia bar before graduating law school. He also received a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Central Methodist University.
Moradshahi is a patent attorney specializing in patent prosecution and litigation with a focus on electrical and mechanical engineering, particularly in the automotive sector. She brings hands-on experience from her time working at a major automotive company, where she contributed to the manufacturing controls simulation lab, diesel launch team, and patent profiling in the IP department. Before joining Brooks Kushman as an attorney, Moradshahi spent three years as a technical specialist with the firm, building a foundation in intellectual property law. She earned her law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Kettering University.
Anstess is specializes in patent prosecution and litigation with expertise in battery chemistry patents. His background in chemical engineering enables him to navigate complex technical matters with precision. Anstess has worked on a variety of patent matters, leveraging his understanding of both the legal and technical aspects of intellectual property. Before joining Brooks Kushman, Anstess gained experience in the healthcare industry as a quality manager for a healthcare software development company. In this role, he developed a keen attention to detail and a deep understanding of regulatory processes, which now informs his approach to intellectual property law. Anstess earned his law degree from Wayne State University Law School and a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Michigan State University.
A senior attorney in the firm’s Bloomfield Hills office, Collingsworth-Crusse brings deep wealth management, family office, and business succession planning experience to the firm from her combined 25 years of law practice and working with families as an advisor and Certified Exit Planning Advisor for several of Michigan’s leading banks. She creates strategies for closely held business owners to protect, build value, and transition from their businesses. Collingsworth-Crusse also works with the family during this process, using governance tools and resources, to support effective communication and family harmony.
In addition, Collingsworth-Crusse provides advice-based solutions focused on trust administration, estate planning, wealth strategy and business succession, and she leads an internal team of cross functional attorneys and support staff professionals, to provide best-in-class service, solutions and thought leadership.
A member of the State Bar of Michigan Probate and Estate Planning Section, Collingsworth-Crusse is a sought-after speaker and content developer for related symposiums in Michigan, Indianac and Ohio. She received her undergraduate degree in 1995 from Oakland University and her law degree in 1998 from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law.
Lorelli joins the firm as an associate attorney in the Bloomfield Hills office and has a decade of experience working in the areas of trust and estate planning, and trust and probate administration, including decedent estates, guardianships, conservatorships, and special needs trusts.
A member of the Oakland County Bar Association and State Bar of Michigan Probate & Estate Planning sections, Lorelli served four years on active duty as a judge advocate in the U.S. Marine Corps, having been stationed in Okinawa, Japan, and several years as a lawyer in private practice. Lorelli drafts estate plans for a wide variety of clients; prepares fiduciary accounts in trusts, decedent estates and conservatorships; and handles contested and uncontested probate matters in dozens of counties all over the state of Michigan.
Lorelli received his undergraduate degree in 2009 from the University of Michigan and his law degree in 2013 from the University of Iowa College of Law.
In addition, attorney Elena Djordjeski recently joined Plunkett Cooney as a member of its Torts & Litigation and Transportation Law practice groups.
A member of the firm’s Bloomfield Hills office, Djordjeski maintains a litigation defense practice that includes claims involving motor vehicle liability, premises liability, general negligence, breach of contract and municipal liability.
With nearly a decade of experience as a trial attorney, Djordjeski represents individuals, businesses, insurance carriers and municipalities in cases involving slip, trip and fall claims, first- and third-party No-Fault benefits, uninsured and underinsured motorist claims, commercial trucking and third-party transportation liability, special investigations fraud, dramshop/liquor liability issues and disputes involving contracts, construction defects, negligence and other civil claims.
Selected as a Rising Star by Super Lawyers magazine since 2022, Djordjeski is a member of the Detroit and Oakland County bar associations, as well as the State Bar of Michigan. She is also a member of the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan.
Admitted to practice in state and federal courts in Michigan, Djordjeski received her law degree from Cooley Law School in 2015. She earned her undergraduate degree from Michigan State University in 2012.
• • •
Regan K. Dahle has rejoined Butzel as a shareholder in the firm’s Labor and Employment practice group. Preceding her return to the firm, Dahle served as vice president and associate general counsel, Human Resources, of a national third-party administrator of Taft-Hartley, multi-employer benefit plans.
Dahle focuses her practice in the areas of Employment Law and Labor Relations. She counsels and defends employers in arbitrations, unfair labor practice and representational proceedings, and employment-related litigation including sexual and racial harassment, age, gender and racial discrimination, wage and hour, breach of contract, and intentional tort litigation.
She has practiced in federal and state courts and before various administrative agencies including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Michigan Department of Civil Rights, National Labor Relations Board, and Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.
During her decades-long career, Dahle has advised clients on a wide range of labor and employment-related issues. Her experience includes advising employers on managing Family and Medical Leave Act leaves, responding to disability accommodation requests, conducting workforce reductions, and issuing discipline and discharge. She has also drafted employee handbooks and employment policies, employment applications, independent contractor agreements, and employment agreements. She advises clients on Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) compliance, drafts Affirmative Action Plans, and represents federal contractors in OFCCP audits.
Her clients include community colleges, universities, hospitals, medical practices, automotive suppliers, third-party administrators, and city and county governments.
Dahle frequently serves as a presenter on various Labor and Employment Law topics, including OFCCP compliance, effective employee handbooks and employment applications, the Family and Medical Leave Act, sexual harassment, alternative working arrangements, and ADA accommodations. She is co-author of the Chapter “Dealing with the Unionized Workforce” in the Institute of Continuing Legal Education’s publication, Employment Law in Michigan.
Dahle is a member of the State Bar of Michigan – Labor and Employment Section, Ohio State Bar – Labor and Employment Section, and is the former chair of the Washtenaw County Bar Association Labor and Employment Section. She is a graduate of Leadership Ann Arbor.
She has been named to Best Lawyers in America®, Litigation – Labor and Employment, 2018 – 2022; Employment Law - Management, 2022; Labor Law – Management, 2021-2022; DBusiness Top Lawyers Metro Detroit, Labor and Employment Law, 2021 – 2022; Civil Rights Law, 2011 – 2012. She is a Fellow of the Michigan State Bar. She also is the board secretary for the Humane Society of Huron Valley, Board of Directors.
Dahle is a graduate of Wayne State University Law School and the University of Michigan, B.A.
• • •
Varnum LLP is pleased to announce that Caleb Griscom has joined the firm’s Birmingham office as counsel on its Corporate Practice Team. Griscom brings a background in M&A and private equity transactions, having advised on a variety of deals, including mergers, equity and asset purchases, carve-outs, sale-leasebacks, and cross-border transactions.
Griscom has experience in corporate transactional matters, handling everything from drafting purchase agreements to coordinating complex closings. He also assists clients with general corporate matters, including entity formation, corporate governance, and equity documentation.
In addition to his legal experience, Griscom served as a logistics officer in the United States Marine Corps, where, among other roles, he led an engineer support platoon in Afghanistan and received the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal.
He earned a law degree from Stanford Law School and a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the United States Naval Academy.
In addition, Varnum estate planning attorney Rebecca Wrock has been re-elected to serve a three-year term as a council member of the Probate and Estate Planning Section of the State Bar of Michigan. The council oversees Michigan’s probate and estate planning attorneys, focusing on education, law development and Michigan appellate court decisions.
Wrock is an active member of the Probate and Estate Planning Section and has helped drive the progress of estate planning law in Michigan. As a member of Varnum’s Estate Planning Practice Team, her practice covers all areas of estate planning and estate settlement, including tax planning, charitable gift planning, business succession planning and long-term care planning. She has helped clients with everything from simple estate plans to complex strategies, ensuring protections for minor children, aging parents, loved ones with disabilities and even animal companions through pet trusts.
Wrock also serves as a council member and chair-elect of the Animal Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan. She is also involved in the nonprofit sector, having served as past chairperson of the board of Barn Sanctuary and vice president of the board of Attorneys for Animals.
Wrock has earned honors from Michigan Lawyers Weekly, Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers and the National Law Review. She also serves as adjunct faculty at Wayne State University Law School and regularly contributes to the Institute of Continuing Legal Education.
• • •
Brooks Kushman is pleased to announce that its newest associates have received their Michigan Bar exam results. Abdulai Rashid, Yasmeen Moradshahi, and Cameron Anstess are the newest additions to the firm’s intellectual property team.
Rashid focuses his practice on patent prosecution and litigation in the biomedical and automotive fields. He has experience in contract drafting, filing trademark applications, as well as aiding clients with turning their ideas into businesses or patentable inventions. Rashid earned a law degree from Penn State Law School. He passed the Virginia bar before graduating law school. He also received a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Central Methodist University.
Moradshahi is a patent attorney specializing in patent prosecution and litigation with a focus on electrical and mechanical engineering, particularly in the automotive sector. She brings hands-on experience from her time working at a major automotive company, where she contributed to the manufacturing controls simulation lab, diesel launch team, and patent profiling in the IP department. Before joining Brooks Kushman as an attorney, Moradshahi spent three years as a technical specialist with the firm, building a foundation in intellectual property law. She earned her law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Kettering University.
Anstess is specializes in patent prosecution and litigation with expertise in battery chemistry patents. His background in chemical engineering enables him to navigate complex technical matters with precision. Anstess has worked on a variety of patent matters, leveraging his understanding of both the legal and technical aspects of intellectual property. Before joining Brooks Kushman, Anstess gained experience in the healthcare industry as a quality manager for a healthcare software development company. In this role, he developed a keen attention to detail and a deep understanding of regulatory processes, which now informs his approach to intellectual property law. Anstess earned his law degree from Wayne State University Law School and a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Michigan State University.
