Women Lawyers Association of Michigan (WLAM)
The Women Lawyers Association of Michigan (WLAM) recently held elections at their 96th Annual Meeting. Local attorneys Kristen Pursley and Donna M. MacKenzie were elected as officers of the WLAM board.
President-Elect Kristen Pursley is a shareholder at The Dobrusin Law Firm in Pontiac and specializes in patent, trademark and copyright law.
Pursley was previously employed at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in the office of Intellectual Property and Venture Development and as a corporate paralegal at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati in Palo Alto, California. She is currently the vice president for the Women’s Bar Association (Oakland County Region of WLAM).
Pursley is active in the Technology Committee for Automation Alley and is also a member of Michigan Intellectual Property Inn of Court. She is an instructor at Tech Shop in Allen Park, a Business Advisory Board member at the Macomb-OU INCubator, and acts as pro bono counsel for the Pontiac Downtown Business Association and the Great Lakes Agricultural Fair.
Pursley was a Michigan Lawyers Weekly 2013 Women in the Law honoree and is a SuperLawyers Rising Star for 2013.
Secretary Donna M. MacKenzie is an attorney with Olsman, Mueller, Wallace, & MacKenzie and she specializes in representing individuals injured as a result of nursing home neglect and abuse and medical malpractice.
She is the author of a number of legal articles, and a featured speaker at seminars presented by the Institute for Continuing Legal Education, State Bar of Michigan, American Association for Justice, and Michigan Association for Justice.
MacKenzie’s honors include recognition as a 2010 Up & Coming Lawyer by Michigan Lawyers Weekly, a four-time Super Lawyer “Rising Star,” a 2013 Super Lawyer, and a Pacesetter by the Michigan Association for Justice. MacKenzie was selected to the DBusiness magazine Metro Detroit Top Lawyers 2014 list. MacKenzie is on the Executive Board for the Michigan Association for Justice. She also serves on the Board of Governors for the American Association for Justice.
—————
Butzel Long
Butzel Long attorney Shanta S.W. McMullan has been re-elected to serve a one-year term on the Board of Directors of the Wolverine Bar Association.
McMullan, based in the firm’s Detroit office, is a business attorney who concentrates her practice on the management-side of labor and employment law. Last year, McMullan was one of 100 attorneys named to Lawyers of Color’s Inaugural Hot List of Early-to-Mid-Career Minority Attorneys Under 40 from the Midwest Region. She also was named a Michigan Super Lawyer’s Rising Star.
McMullan is a graduate of Wayne State University Law School (2007) and the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor (2000).
—————
LAHC
On May 9, the LAHC hosted its 26th Annual Awards Gala. The sold out event which was broadcast live by MEA TV & Radio, welcomed 1,200 guests as the LAHC honored award recipients Walmart and Assistant U.S. District Attorney Abed Hammoud who received the LAHC Award for Excellence and Great Achievements.
During the event, Hammoud, gave remarks upon his acceptance as he thanked the LAHC for their efforts, spoke about his involvement with the organization, and spoke about his journeys. He highlighted how his work within the community helped to cultivate his leadership skills, shared how he defied all odds and became a successful prosecutor and was primed for the assistant U.S. attorney position, which many thought he would not attain; his diligence and commitment to his profession and to serving the U.S. would allow him the opportunity to prove that he was worthy of the post.
Also speaking at the event was U.S. District Court Chief Judge Gerald Rosen, Eastern District of Michigan.
—————
Couzens Lansky
Couzens Lansky is pleased to announce that Monica Moons is now a shareholder of the firm.
Moons concentrates her practice in the areas of estate planning, estate and trust administration, tax planning, probate and tax litigation and real estate.
—————
Neuman Anderson P.C.
Neuman Anderson PC, a Birmingham-based business law firm specializing in complex commercial litigation, recently announced that partner Jennifer Grieco presented at the Institute for Continuing Legal Education?s (ICLE) Deposition Workshop at The Inn at St. John’s. Managing Partner Ken Neuman made the announcement.
The two-day educational conference taught winning cross-examination strategies, the dos and don’ts of witness preparation, deposition techniques and question selection. Grieco was appointed by the ICLE to serve as a faculty member to provide hands-on deposition critique and coaching for new lawyers.
With more than 16 years of trial experience, Grieco is viewed as a leader and educator amongst her peers. In addition to serving as the Oakland County Bar Association president, she won a contested seat as a commissioner on the State Bar Board of Commissioners in 2011, where she has served as an appointee to the executive committee. Grieco has actively served the Board of Commissioners in many capacities, including the Public Policy, Image and Identity Committee; Finance Committee; Audit Committee; Strategic Planning Workgroup, and Judicial Campaign Workgroup. Grieco is also active on the State Bar of Michigan Negligence Council and the Character and Fitness Committee.
Furthermore, she has served as president of the Women's Bar Association (Oakland County Region of the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan).
Grieco has also been recognized by DBusiness Magazine as a Top Rated Lawyer, by Crain’s Detroit Business as a 40 Under 40, by Super Lawyers as a Top 50 Business Lawyer in Michigan and by Michigan Lawyers Weekly as a Woman in the Law.
Grieco is a graduate of the University of Toledo and the University of Toledo College of Law.
—————
Collins, Einhorn, Farrell
Southfield-based Collins, Einhorn, Farrell announced that attorney W. Richard Braun III has joined the firm’s Asbestos/Toxic Tort practice group. Braun will focus his practice on the defense of asbestos claims.
Braun is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, and U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Braun has defended asbestos claims since 2000, serving premises owners, non-manufacturing suppliers and manufacturers of industrial equipment, friction products, and electrical components. In addition, his product liability experience includes the defense of manufacturers of tires, automotive components, lawnmowers, forestry equipment, skid-steer loaders, and pharmaceuticals.
Braun was selected by his peers for inclusion in DBusiness’ list of Top Lawyers in Metro Detroit in the area of Product Liability for 2012 and 2013. He also was selected as a “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers those same years.
In 1999, Braun earned law degree from Michigan State University College of Law. He also earned a B.A. from MSU.
Braun is a member of the Defense Research Institute and Macomb County Bar Association. Currently, he serves as the chairman of the Nominating Committee for the American Lung Association of Midland States. He previously served as the association’s chairman of the Regional Leadership Council from 2010-2013 and on the board for its premiere fundraising event, “The Fight for Air Climb,” since 2007.
