Dickinson Wright PLLC is pleased to announce the election of six new member attorneys of the firm's Troy and Detroit offices, effective January 1.
Below are Dickinson Wright's new member attorneys for 2020:
Andrea Arndt is a member in the firm's Troy office. She practices all aspects of intellectual property law, including litigating and prosecuting patents, trademarks, trade secrets, and copyrights. Arndt also specializes in foreign patent prosecution and intellectual property law in the fashion industry. She holds a chair position on the Michigan Intellectual Property Association and is a member of the Michigan Intellectual Property Inn of Court and the Royal Oak Chamber of Commerce. Arndt is licensed in Michigan and Wisconsin and is registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. She studied Computer Engineering at the University of Michigan and received her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin and her law degree from Marquette University Law School.
Jennifer Stallings Dewey is a member in the firm's Detroit office. Her practice includes a wide variety of transactional work with a focus on franchise, distribution and unfair competition. She has experience representing small and large companies in all aspects of business including financing, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and general business matters. She is recognized as a leader in her field by Michigan Super Lawyers Rising Stars. Dewey received her B.A. from Oakland University and her law degree from Michigan State University College of Law.
Eric Gregory is a member in the firm's Troy office. His practice is focused primarily in the areas of ERISA, employee benefits, and executive compensation. He advises clients on all aspects of employee benefits including qualified retirement plans, welfare plans, and nonqualified compensation program. He regularly provides advice to plan administrative and investment committees on fiduciary compliance, has advised buyers and sellers on benefit due diligence and benefit transition issues in the mergers and acquisitions context, has successfully challenged tens of millions of dollars in proposed assessments made under the "pay-or-play" provisions of the Affordable Care Act, and has counseled employers with respect to multimillion-dollar withdrawal liability allegations. He is a member of the Tax Council of the State Bar of Michigan Taxation Section, is a past chair of the Employee Benefits Committee of the Taxation Section, and is a past chair of the Oakland County Bar Association's Employee Benefits Committee. He is also a member of the American Bar Association. He is recognized as a leader in his field by Best Lawyers in America, Michigan Super Lawyers Rising Stars, and DBusiness Top Lawyers. He was also selected as a "2017 Up & Coming Lawyer" by Michigan Lawyers Weekly. Gregory received his B.A. from Michigan State University's James Madison College, his law degrees from Wayne State University Law School and Georgetown University Law Center.
James Martone is a member in the firm's Troy office. His practice focuses on a broad range of commercial litigation services. He has successfully represented business and individuals alike in trade secret and IP litigation, commercial and residential foreclosures, shareholder and closed corporate disputes, landlord/tenant matters, education law litigation, domestic and international arbitrations, commercial and residential construction disputes and municipal/governmental litigation. He is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, the Oakland County Bar Association, and the Italian American Bar Association of Michigan. He is recognized as a leader in his field by Michigan Super Lawyers Rising Stars. Martone received his B.A. from the University of Michigan and his law degree from Wayne State University Law School.
Franklin Smith is a member in the firm's Troy office. He is a patent attorney with extensive experience in patent, trademark, and copyright acquisition, licensing, enforcement and defense, with broad knowledge of new procedures provided for the American Invents Act. His background in interdisciplinary engineering, including mechanical, civil, materials science, atmospheric oceanic and space science, and computer science engineering, make his skills applicable to a wide range of intellectual property technologies. He is a member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the Michigan Intellectual Property Law Association, and the American Bar Association. Smith received his B.S. from the University of Michigan and his law degree from Western Michigan University Cooley Law School.
Alexandra Vallee is a member in the firm's Troy office. She practices in all areas of health care law and represents a variety of health and behavioral health professionals and organizations. She advises clients on issues involving reimbursement, professional licensing, state and federal fraud and abuse laws, privacy and confidentiality rules and regulations, and the Medicare and Medicaid appeals process. She is a member of the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Michigan, and the American Health Lawyers Association. Vallee received her B.A. from the University of Michigan and her law degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law.
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Wayne State University Law School Professor Katherine White has been named among WomenInc. Magazine's 2019 Most Influential Corporate Board Directors for her service on the Board of Directors for Old National Bancorp.
White joins leading corporate board directors from across the country, including Mary Barra, chairman and CEO of General Motors.
WomenInc.'s winter edition features a directory of more than 700 directors serving on the boards of S&P 1000/Mid-Cap publicly held companies and is the most comprehensive listing of women executives, influencers and achievers contributing leadership to corporate boards.
White joined the Wayne Law faculty in 1996. She was appointed by the secretary of commerce to serve on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Patent Public Advisory Committee (2000-02) and is also currently a member of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Plant Variety Protection Office Advisory Board. In addition, she has been a member of the University of Michigan Board of Regents since 1999. She joined the Old National Bancorp Board of Directors in 2015.
White is a Fulbright senior scholar (Germany), a White House fellow (2001-02), and a registered patent attorney.
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Butzel Long attorneys Daniel J. McCarthy and Neil Patel have been elected shareholders. Previously, Patel was an associate attorney with the firm. McCarthy recently joined Butzel Long.
Based in Butzel Long's Bloomfield Hills office, Patel concentrates his practice in the areas of business and corporate law.
He advises and counsels clients on matters related to the sale or acquisition of businesses, general corporate and business law, entity formation, shareholder disputes, and preparation and negotiation of corporate and transactional documents, including merger & acquisitions, operating and compliance documents. He provides legal services to clients in a wide array of businesses, including the automotive, medical, manufacturing, franchising, technology and hospitality industries.
In addition to representing established businesses, Patel is active in start-up and growth-stage ventures, providing advice and counsel to help clients make sound business decisions.
Prior to pursuing his legal career, Patel spent nearly a decade owning and operating multiple units of a national restaurant franchise. His experience as a business owner gives him the unique ability to provide clients with guidance on legal matters while simultaneously minding the practicality of that advice from the client's business perspective.
Patel is a graduate of Western Michigan University Cooley Law School and the University of Windsor, Ontario.
To complement his academic activities during law school, Patel interned with U.S. District Court Judge Victoria A. Roberts, Eastern District of Michigan, and was employed as a teaching assistant for Civil Procedure.
Patel is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, the South Asian Bar Association (SABA), and a Young Leaders member of the Detroit Economic Club. He participated in the Detroit Economic Club's Career Readiness Academy, a six-month program that mentors high school students regarding career aspirations and connects them with leaders and contemporary issues. In addition to his external activities, he is a member of the firm's recruiting, diversity, and retention committee.
Patel is admitted to practice in Michigan state courts and the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. He is a dual citizen of Canada and the U.S.
McCarthy, who is based in the firm's Bloomfield Hills office, concentrates his practice in appellate and commercial litigation for both state and federal courts.
He is sought after for appellate litigation, as well as arbitration matters. A prolific writer, McCarthy has authored thousands of legal briefs during his career and he has garnered many victories in the appellate and circuit courts, as well as multiple arbitration awards in favor of his clients. His cumulative career is a testament to his unyielding dedication to providing every client with the most efficient and effective advocacy possible.
McCarthy served as a law clerk intern for U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Richard F. Suhrheinrich, Sixth Circuit. He later served as a law clerk for Michigan Supreme Court Justice Marilyn J. Kelly, 1999 to 2000, and then in 2000 he served as a pre-hearing attorney for the Michigan Court of Appeals.
In addition to his career as an experienced and trusted litigator, McCarthy also served as an adjunct professor at the Thomas M. Cooley Law School.
In 2010, McCarthy was appointed to serve on the Michigan Supreme Court Committee on Model Civil Jury Instructions, a position he held through 2018.
McCarthy graduated from the Western Michigan University Cooley Law School and Western Connecticut State University.
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Foster, Swift, Collins, & Smith PC has elected as shareholder two attorneys from its Southfield office: Andrea Badalucco and Stefania Gismondi.
Badalucco joined the firm in June 2018 as a member of the Family Law Practice Group. She offers more than a decade of courtroom experience in civil, criminal, family and juvenile matters. In addition to her practice, Badalucco also writes content for the firm's Family Law Advocate blog at yourfamilylawadvocateblog.com.
Gismondi joined Foster Swift in April 2016 as a member of the General and Commercial Litigation practice group. She handles complex insurance coverage litigation, including first and third party no-fault litigation, and also represents clients in other general civil and commercial litigation matters. In October 2018, Gismondi was admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court at a small group bar admission ceremony in Washington D.C.
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The American College of Bankruptcy announced that Scott A. Wolfson of Wolfson Bolton PLLC will be inducted as a Fellow this March in Washington D.C.
The Induction Ceremony and Reception in honor of the new Fellows will take place at the Smithsonian Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture. Fellows will be honored for their professional excellence and their exceptional contributions to the bankruptcy and insolvency field.
Wolfson is one of 31 Fellows in the College's 2020 class that includes three federal judges and three U.S. and international professors. He is the only inductee this year from Michigan.
The American College of Bankruptcy is an honorary association of bankruptcy and insolvency professionals.
