Legal People

David A. Trott, president and managing partner of Farmington Hills, Mich.-based Trott & Trott PC, and Marcy J. Ford, executive vice president and managing partner for the Bankruptcy and Foreclosure First Legal department of the firm, have been recognized as “Top Lawyers” by DBusiness magazine.

Selected in the Real Estate category, Trott is a 1981 graduate of the University of Michigan, and he earned his law degree from the Duke University School of Law in 1985. He served as president of United States Foreclosure Network (USFN) from 2002-2004, as well as president for the National Default Title Division of First American Title from 2003-2004. A frequent speaker and published author, Trott was also a recipient of the Michigan Mortgage Lenders Association’s highest award, the James T. Barnes Memorial Award. He currently serves on the University of Michigan Dean’s Advisory Board, the Detroit Country Day School Board of Trustees and the Karmanos Cancer Institute Board of Directors.

Selected in the Bankruptcy category, Ford is a 1984 graduate of Western Michigan University, where she earned her Master’s degree in 1986. She is a 1993 graduate of Wayne State University Law School. Marcy serves on the board of the Consumer Bankruptcy Association (Eastern District of Michigan), as well as a board member and the current vice president of USFN. Additionally, she served as the Loss Mitigation Subcommittee assistant chair for the National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees and was appointed to the Default Advisory Group for Freddie Mac.

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Howard & Howard Attorneys PLLC is pleased to announce that several of our attorneys have been named to “DBusiness Top Lawyers” 2011.

The Howard & Howard attorneys named in “DBusinesss Top Lawyers” 2011 are as follows:
Royal Oak Office: Jess A. Bahs; Mark A. Davis (president & CEO); Joseph J. DeVito; Robert E. Graziani; Lisa S. Gretchko; Kristopher K. Hulliberger; Timothy E. Kraepel; David M. LaPrairie; Henry P. Lee; Gary A. Peters; Brad A. Rayle; and Jeffrey A. Sadowski.

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Daniel S. Horwitz has joined Southfield-based Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer, Weiss PC as an associate in the firm’s corporate practice group. Jaffe CEO Richard Zussman made the announcement.

Horwitz is a graduate of Brandeis University where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Politics. He earned a Master of Arts degree with high honors in Jewish Studies at Gratz College, and a Master of Arts in Kinesiology – Sport Management from the University of Michigan. Horwitz earned his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School in 2010.

As a formally trained mediator in the State of Michigan, Horwitz comes to the firm with experience mediating numerous disputes, ranging from small claims to larger scale business transactions.

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Dykema announces that Lauren M. Phillips has joined the firm as an associate in the Litigation Department. Her practice focuses on general litigation, with an emphasis on business and commercial litigation.

Phillips interned for Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Marilyn Kelly and U.S. District Court Chief Judge Gerald Rosen , Eastern District of Michigan. She also spent a summer working at the Michigan State Housing Development Authority.

Phillips earned her B.A. from the University of Michigan and her law degree from Wayne State University.

Dykema would also like to announce that Jonathan Giroux has joined the firm as an associate in the Intellectual Property Department. His  practice focuses on intellectual property matters, including procurement and enforcement of patent, copyright, and trademark rights. 

Giroux earned his B.S.E. in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan and his law degree from the University of Minnesota.

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Jonathan S. Berg and Kelly M. Burnell have joined Bodman LLP as associate attorneys. Berg is a member of the Business Practice Group and is based in the firm’s Troy office. Burnell is a member of the Individual Clients Practice Group and is based in the Detroit office.

Berg, a 2007 graduate of the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, practiced securities and business law with Kerr, Russell, and Weber PLC before joining Bodman. While in law school, he was a judicial extern to Macomb County Circuit Court Judge James Biernat. He earned his undergraduate degree, in economics and political science, at Miami University of Ohio.

Burnell, a 2007 graduate of Michigan State University Law School, was an attorney in the Tax Services Department at Ernst & Young before joining Bodman. While attending law school, she worked for the Michigan Attorney General’s Office and Daimler Chrysler Financial Services. She also served as a judicial clerk to the Michigan Tax Tribunal. She has an undergraduate degree in business administration from the University of Michigan.

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Honigman, Miller, Schwartz, and Cohn LLP is pleased to announce that David V. Gubbini has joined the firm as a partner in its Corporate and Securities Department.

Gubbini concentrates his practice on mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and federal securities law compliance. He has also represented public and private companies with respect to corporate governance and general corporate matters.

Gubbini earned his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School and a B.A. from Michigan State University in Psychology.

He comes to Honigman from Foley & Lardner LLP in Detroit.

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Bush, Seyferth, & Paige PLLC (BSP) recently announced that Partner Cheryl A. Bush has been voted as part of DBusiness magazine’s 2011 list of “Top Lawyers.” Bush is recognized for her work in product liability litigation. 

Bush co-leads the firm’s National Trial Practice for product liability defense and is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a member of the International Society of Barristers. Earlier this year, Michigan Lawyers Weekly honored Bush with their “Leaders in the Law” award, which recognizes the top 25 Michigan attorneys, judges and professors.

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Butzel Long attorney and shareholder Daniel B. Tukel was recently inducted as a Fellow to The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. Tukel joins Butzel attorneys William Saxton, John Hancock Jr., Robert Boonin and James Rosenfeld who are also Fellows of the College. Tukel was one of only three Michigan attorneys selected this year.

Based in Butzel Long’s Detroit office, Tukel is chair of the firm’s Labor and Employment Law Department. His practice is devoted to representing both public and private employers in state and federal discrimination and wrongful discharge litigation, as well as traditional labor matters such as collective bargaining and union organizational drives.

He has represented employers before state and federal trial and appellate courts, and various administrative agencies including: the National Labor Relations Board; National Mediation Board; Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; Occupational Safety and Health Administration; Michigan Department of Civil Rights; Michigan Department of Labor; Michigan Employment Relations Commission; and Michigan Employment Security Commission.

Tukel has published numerous scholarly articles on various aspects of labor and employment law. He has lectured on a wide range of employment and labor issues, has served on the faculty of the Institute of Continuing Legal Education, and has served as a private arbitrator and private facilitator in employment matters.

He is listed in Chambers USA for Labor and Employment Law, in “Best Lawyers in America” for Labor and Employment Law, and is named a “Michigan Super Lawyer” for employment litigation defense.

Tukel is a member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys, the Michigan Council of School Attorneys, the American Bar Association (Labor and Employment, and Litigation sections), the State Bar of Michigan (Labor and Employment, and Litigation sections), the Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association, the Oakland County Bar Association, and is a Fellow of the State Bar of Michigan Foundation.

Tukel is a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School ( 1982), and also earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan (1979).

Additionally, Butzel Long attorney and shareholder David F. DuMouchel was a featured speaker on Nov. 11 during the Original Equipment Suppliers Association (OESA) Legal Issues Council Fall Meeting.

DuMouchel’s presentation was titled, “Enforcement Activities and Internal Investigations.”

Based in Butzel Long’s Detroit office, DuMouchel chairs the firm’s Corporate Compliance, Internal Investigations and Criminal Defense practice.

DuMouchel’s practice is limited to white collar criminal defense, professional licensure and criminal health care, criminal IRS investigations of both taxpayers and professionals, SEC enforcement of corporate executives, public corruption, as well as grand jury investigations, internal corporate investigations and compliance.

DuMouchel is a recipient of the Leonard Gilman Award from the Federal Bar Association as the outstanding criminal law practitioner in the Eastern District of Michigan. He has been named by Best Lawyers as the “2010 Detroit Criminal Defense: White-Collar Lawyer of the Year.” He has been listed in each Best Lawyers edition for the last 25 years, up to and including the most recent. He also is listed in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Business Lawyers, and in Michigan Super Lawyers. From 1978 to 1985, DuMouchel served as chairperson of the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission.

DuMouchel has been a member of the State Bar of Michigan Criminal Code Revision Committee, U.S. Courts Committee, and Grievance Committee. In addition, he is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and was a Director in 1981. DuMouchel is a Master of Bench emeritus, American Inn of Court Ch. XI. He is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and the Michigan State Bar Foundation. DuMouchel is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and serves as a member of the Criminal Procedure Committee, and is a Fellow of the International Society of Barristers.

DuMouchel is a graduate of Wayne State University Law School (1975) and the University of Detroit Mercy (M.A., 1972).

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As a result of her leadership, professional accomplishments and involvement in industry organizations, Brooks Kushman PC’s Hope V. Shovein has been named an “Up & Coming Lawyer” by “Michigan Lawyers Weekly.”

Shovein’s interest in trademarks began while in the trademark department of a major automotive company. Currently, Shovein specializes in helping clients enforce their rights in any medium, including the unauthorized use of trademarks in website content, online ads, keyword advertising, spam and auction sites.

She has successfully represented clients in arbitration proceedings under ICANN’s (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy to recover infringing domain names. Shovein is also active in trademark litigation, prosecution and proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.

Shovein is an active member in the State Bar of Michigan, serving as an Executive Council Member of the Young Lawyers Section, was recently appointed to the International Trademark Association’s Famous & Well-Known Marks Committee, and she is also a member of the ABA (American Bar Association) Young Lawyers Division, ABA’s Section of IP Law – Special Committee on Trademarks and the Internet, and the Michigan IP Law Association. Also active in her local community, Shovein participates in various organizations, including the National MS Society, Habitat for Humanity and Michigan Humane Society.

Shovein earned her law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Michigan State University.

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The law firm of Dean & Fulkerson is pleased to announce that Kevin N. Summers has joined the firm as a shareholder. He was previously a principal at Pear, Sperling, Eggan, & Daniels in Ypsilanti.

Summers has more than 28 years of commercial litigation and arbitration experience with an emphasis on commercial collections and bankruptcy. His clients include financial institutions, corporations and small businesses.

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Richard D. Bisio, a business litigation attorney at Kemp Klein Law Firm, was elected to the Clarkston City Council on Nov. 2.

Bisio is a graduate of both Wayne State University and the University of Michigan, and has taught courses on civil procedure for the Institute for Continuing Legal Education and as an adjunct professor at Wayne State University Law School.

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Marie Alsace Galindo has joined the Detroit office of the law firm of Miller Canfield as an international practice advisor for the firm’s Mexico team. She is the only licensed-in-Mexico lawyer in Michigan certified by the State Bar of Michigan to advise on Mexican law and has experience and professional relationships in Mexico and in the Mexican business community. Miller Canfield has represented U.S. automotive suppliers and other clients doing business in Mexico for decades and has a full-service office in Monterrey, Mexico.

Lawyers of Miller Canfield’s Mexico team provide efficient and strategic cross-border legal, business and tax services to global manufacturers and other enterprises with operations in Mexico. Miller Canfield is seeing increased M&A and expansion activity from Chinese companies seeking access to the North American market and European and American companies acquiring operations in Mexico.

Galindo is fluent in Spanish, English, German, French and Italian, is an active member of the State Bar of Michigan, American Bar Association, Mexican Bar Association and is also a founding member of the Administrative Vice President and Legal Representative of APROMEX (Association of Mexican Professionals in Michigan). She earned her law degrees from the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico and the University of London, Queen Mary & Westfield College and her B.A. from Universidad Iberoamericana.

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Maddin, Hauser, Wartell, Roth, & Heller PC. a Southfield-based full-service law firm, has announced the formation of its Franchise Group. Attorneys in the group provide a full range of legal services to franchisors and franchisees. Services include drafting franchise agreements, preparing the Federal Trade Commission mandated Franchise Disclosure Documents, registering franchisors to offer franchises in those states which require registration, litigating and arbitrating franchise disputes and negotiating supply agreements.

Practicing in the group are attorneys Stuart M. Bordman, Gary M. Remer, Rebecca M. Turner, Brandon K. Buck and legal assistant Diane M. Gillette. Turner, who as a franchise owner herself, brings her experience and insight to the team.

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Barry Malone is receiving the Volunteer of the Year Award from Community Legal Resources (CLR), Malone represented the Friends of Eliza Howell Park, Inc, (FOERP) as an intervening party in a lawsuit over ownership to Eliza Howell Park.

Malone will receive the award at CLR’s 12th Armual Event on Thursday, Dec. 2. The event begins at 6 p.m. and will be held at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. The event is free and open to the public. RSVP to sjbaker@clronline,org.

Malone’s practice areas include land use and real estate, as well as representing business and government entities. He focuses on land use and ownership disputes, zoning and permitting issues, commercial and residential leasing, and representing homeowners and condominium associations.

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Plunkett Cooney senior environmental attorney and noted “green” blogger Saulius K. Mikalonis has been appointed vice chair for the American Bar Association’s Section of Environment, Energy and Resources Climate Change, Sustainable Development and Ecosystems Committee.

The Climate Change, Sustainable Development and Ecosystems Committee is the leading forum for attorneys engaged in the national and international regulatory and legal aspects of climate change. The committee strives to raise awareness of sustainability concepts and to integrate sustainability thinking across all environmental practice areas. As vice chair, Mikalonis’ one-year term includes the responsibilities of promoting, maintaining and developing membership for the practice group and enhancing the value received by members.

As a member of the Plunkett Cooney’s Energy Industry and Corporate/Transactional practice groups, Mikalonis practices primarily in the areas of environmental, natural resources and energy law with particular emphasis on greenhouse gases, renewable energy and green building/LEED.

A member of the firm’s Bloomfield Hills office, Mikalonis represents clients in commercial and real estate transactions involving the development of environmentally sensitive and Brownfield sites and due diligence in complex transactions, including the identification, allocation and reduction of environmental risks.

Mikalonis, who is the author of MLive.com’s The Green Blawg, has published extensively on environmental law and green topics, is a frequent speaker on these topics for professional and business organizations, and currently teaches the “Sustainable Development Law and Policy” course at Thomas M. Cooley Law School. He earned his law degree from the University of Oregon Law School in 1986 and his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan in 1980.

Admitted to practice in Michigan, the District of Columbia and Michigan federal courts, Mikalonis is a member of the State Bar of Michigan’s Environmental Law Section, the District of Columbia Bar Association and the American Bar Association’s Section on Environment, Energy and Resources. He is also a member of the board of directors for the Detroit Regional Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council.

Additionally, the firm would like to announce that The Voice of the Defense Bar recently elected Mary Massaron  Ross to serve as its first vice president.

Massaron Ross was elected  first vice president at DRI’s 2010 Annual Meeting. She previously served  as second vice-president of the 22,500-member organization and is  co-editor of DRI’s A Defense Lawyer’s Guide to Appellate Practice.

A member of the Board of Directors at Plunkett Cooney, Massaron Ross has been named a Best Lawyer in America for Appellate Law every year since 2007 and a Michigan Super Lawyer, Top 50 Michigan Female Attorney and Top 100 Statewide Attorney every year since 2006.

Massaron Ross graduated from Marygrove College and earned her law degree from Wayne State University Law School. She served as a law clerk to Michigan Supreme Court Associate Justice Patricia J. Boyle from 1991-1992.