LEGAL PEOPLE

Dawda Mann associate Jeanne DeLorme Graca delivered a talk, "Outparcel Sales, Leasing and Development," at the 2011 ICSC U.S. Shopping Center Law Conference at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix in October. Graca practices in the areas of real estate transactions and development. * * * David H. Fink, managing partner of Bloomfield Hills-based Fink & Associates Law, was recently appointed to the State Bar of Michigan's Judicial Qualifications Committee. Fink will serve a two-year term, which commenced September 15, 2011. He and the other members of the committee will be responsible for evaluating candidates for appointment to state court vacancies. Founder of Bloomfield Hillsbased Fink & Associates Law, Fink concentrates his practice in the areas of complex commercial and class action litigation, focusing on business disputes, antitrust, consumer fraud, environmental law, intergovernmental disputes, securities fraud, shareholder derivative litigation and construction contract matters. Fink was named a 2011 "Leader in the Law" by Michigan Lawyers Weekly and has been listed as a Super Lawyer in Michigan Super Lawyers Magazine every year since 2007. He is a graduate of Harvard College and a graduate of Harvard Law School. He serves on the Bloomfield Hills Schools Foundation Board of Directors. * * * Detroit law firm Barris, Sott, Denn, & Driker PLLC is pleased to announce that two of its members, Morley Witus and Erica Fitzgerald, have been appointed as board members of nonprofit arts organizations in Ann Arbor. Witus was appointed to the board of directors of The Ark, which is dedicated to the presentation, preservation and encouragement of folk, roots and ethnic music and related arts. Fitzgerald was appointed to the board of trustees of the Ann Arbor Summer Festival, whose mission is to present a world-class celebration of arts and entertainment that enriches the cultural, economic, and social vitality of the region. Witus concentrates his practice in commercial litigation and has authored many articles, including a recent article in the Wayne State University Law Review titled "The Paradox of Insurance Coverage for Vandalism But Not Theft" and a forthcoming article in the Michigan Bar Journal titled "A Checklist for Legal Argument." Witus is the immediate past president of the Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association. Fitzgerald specializes in business litigation and immigration. She has been honored as an "Up and Coming" lawyer by Michigan Lawyers Weekly and as a Michigan "Rising Star" by Super Lawyers magazine. Both Witus and Fitzgerald are graduates of the University of Michigan Law School. * * * Nicholas B. Gorga, a partner in Honigman, Miller, Schwartz, and Cohn LLP's Litigation Department, has been elected to the Board of Trustees for the Detroit Historical Society. The society is responsible for the operation of the Detroit Historical Museum and the Dossin Great Lakes Museum. Gorga's practice focuses on the representation of companies and their directors and officers in investigations by government agencies, in disputes with competitors, and in class action lawsuits, often by the company's shareholders. He currently serves as the firm's Recruiting Partner and was previously co-chair of its Pro Bono Committee. Gorga is a co-founder of Hatch Detroit, a nonprofit organization, which conducts a recurring competition for entrepreneurs to earn seed money for a retail business in Detroit. He also serves as a board member of the Detroit Center for Family Advocacy, the Regional Chair of Princeton University's Alumni Giving for Michigan, a board member of Kiva Detroit and a member of the Detroit Country Day School Alumni Council. He earned his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School and an A.B. from Princeton University. Gorga has been named by Michigan Super Lawyers as a "Rising Star" in 2009, 2010 and 2011. Honigman is also pleased to announce that Brock A. Swartzle, a partner in the firm's Litigation Department, recently co-authored a chapter in the third edition of Business and Commercial Litigation in Federal Courts published by West, a Thomson Reuters business. Swartzle and United States Court of Appeals Judge David W. McKeague, Sixth Circuit, wrote the chapter titled "Removal to Federal Court." The chapter covers a wide range of topics involving removal and remand, including the requirements for removal jurisdiction, the procedures for removing an action from state court, the grounds and procedures for seeking remand of a removed case, and appellate review of orders involving removal and remand. Swartzle concentrates his practice on complex commercial litigation, antitrust, and federal and state appeals. He is co-editor-in-chief of the American Bar Association's Appellate Practice Journal. Swartzle clerked for the U.S. Court of Appeals Judge David W. McKeague in both the Sixth Circuit and the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan. He earned his law degree from George Mason University School of Law. He earned a B.S. from the University of Michigan. Additionally, two local partners from the Intellectual Property and Technology (IP) Practice Group at Honigman were selected to serve on International Trademark Association (INTA) committees for the 2012-2013 term. INTA is a worldwide not-for-profit association of trademark owners and their outside counsel that supports and advances trademarks and intellectual property as elements of fair and effective global commerce. Michael A. Lisi has been selected to serve as the chairman of INTA's Publications Committee. He also serves as an editor of INTA's online publication Trademark Cancellations: International Practice and Procedures and is the author of the U.S. cancellations section. Lisi has more than 20 years of experience in assisting clients in trademark and copyright clearance, registration and enforcement matters, and in trademark and copyright licensing, purchases and sales in the U.S. and internationally. Lisi earned his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School and a B.A. from Carleton College. Anessa Owen Kramer has been selected to serve on INTA's Famous and Well-Known Marks Committee. Her law practice includes counseling numerous owners of famous and well-known brands on a wide range of trademark issues. Kramer manages a number of large international trademark portfolios and handles trademark enforcement and litigation issues on behalf of trademark owners. She is also experienced in anti-counterfeiting, trademark clearance, trade dress protection and combating cybersquatting. Kramer earned her law degree from George Washington University Law School and a B.A. from Michigan State University. * * * Bush, Seyferth, & Paige PLLC, a boutique litigation firm in Troy, is pleased to announce that it has made Moheeb H. Murray a partner. Focusing his practice on commercial and insurance litigation, Murray has experience in matters involving general commercial contract disputes, UCC sales cases and first-party insurance coverage issues. He advises and represents clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to individual business owners in all stages of litigation, from case inception through final verdict and on appeal. Murray graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 2001, and from the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business in 1997. Murray is active in the Oakland County Bar Association and many other legal professional organizations. He also serves as a board member of two non-profit organizations: The Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, which is a public-policy think tank, and Zaman International, which provides food, clothing, job-training and other services for marginalized women and children in Southeast Michigan and internationally. * * * Best Lawyers has named LeRoy H. Wulfmeier III as the "Detroit Best Lawyers Professional Malpractice Law - Defendants Lawyer of the Year" for 2012. Wulfmeier is a partner at Giarmarco, Mullins, & Horton PC in Troy Litigation Group with more than 35 years of experience defending health care providers in complex medical malpractice cases. Wulfmeier has acted as chief trial counsel in over 400 medical malpractice cases, and has represented physicians in all specialties as well as dentists, nurses, and hospitals in a variety of malpractice and disciplinary proceedings. With more than 75 successful defense jury verdicts under his supervision, Wulfmeier has served as a special mediator and arbitrator in serious injury malpractice and personal injury cases. * * * Southfield-based Collins, Einhorn, Farrell, & Ulanoff PC announced that attorney Michael J. Cook has joined the firm's Appellate Practice Group. Cook's practice focuses on appellate and summary judgment research and brief writing. He has represented clients on a variety of civil litigation matters, including professional malpractice, contractual indemnity, business torts, uniform commercial code and general liability. Prior to joining the firm, he served as a judicial law clerk for Michigan Supreme Court Justice Robert P. Young, Jr. and worked as an associate handling commercial litigation matters in the Oakland County office of a large Michigan-based law firm. The Case Western Reserve University School of Law alum is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Cook, who earned his Bachelor of Arts from Michigan State University, also is active in the State Bar Appellate Practice Section and Oakland County Bar Association. * * * Butzel Long attorney Katherine J. Donohue is one of 20 attorneys named to Michigan Lawyers Weekly's 2011 Class of "Up and Coming Lawyers." Donohue was recently elected a shareholder with Butzel Long. She is based in the firm's Detroit office and concentrates her practice on employment, non-compete and trade secret litigation, traditional labor law, higher education law, and employment-related and e-discovery counseling. Donohue is admitted to practice in the State of Michigan, the United States Court of Appeals in the Sixth Circuit, and the United States District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan. In addition, Donohue is a member of the State Bar of Michigan. Donohue is a member of the American Bar Association - Employment Rights and Responsibilities Section member and Non-Compete/Trade Secret and Technology Subcommittee member. She is active with the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. She has published several articles on labor and employment matters and has been a featured speaker at conferences and webinars regarding technology in the workplace. Donohue is a graduate of the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law (2003) and of the University of Michigan (B.A., 2000). * * * Howard & Howard Attorneys PLLC is pleased to announce that four local associates have been promoted to shareholders in the firm. Christopher M. Francis, Jeffrey A. Hoover, J. Patrick Howe, and Michael E. McKee have all become shareholders in the firm. * * * The law firm of Garan Lucow Miller announces four new shareholders, Thomas P. Christy, Alan G. Davis, Caryn A. Gordon and James A. Swaim. This announcement was made at the Shareholders' 2011 Annual Meeting on Dec. 3. Both Gordon and Swaim, practice in the Detroit office, Gordon in the Appellate Law Practice Group and Swaim in the No-Fault and Commercial Litigation Practice Group. Christy's practice areas are Business and Commercial Litigation and Davis' practice areas include Construction and Fire Claim Litigation. Both Christy and Davis work in the firm's Troy office. Published: Mon, Dec 26, 2011