LEGAL PEOPLE

Potestivo & Associates PC, a legal services provider to the real estate finance and credit industry, is pleased to announce the hiring of its new director of Information Technology, Daniel Bowen. Bowen brings experience to this role gained as the chief information officer at a hospital group in Oakland County for more than six years. While in this role, he built the I.T. infrastructure from the ground up, and supported more than 300 users spread across 13 physical locations. Prior to that, he served as a network engineer and an International analysts consultant in the automotive industry. In making the announcement, Brian A. Potestivo, president and founder, said "Dan's considerable knowledge and proven track record is well suited for our law firm. We are very pleased to welcome Dan into his new role." Bowen holds multiple professional certifications including Microsoft Certified Professional, Installing, Advanced Novell Administrator, NDS Design & Implementation, as well as Installing, Configuring, and Administering Windows XP Professional. * * * Butzel Long has announced that Katherine (Katie) J. Donohue in the Detroit office has been elected a shareholder. Donohue was an associate attorney with the firm. Donohue concentrates her practice on employment, non-compete and trade secret litigation, traditional labor law, higher education law, and employment-related and e-discovery counseling. She 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. She 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. Donohue was named to Michigan Lawyers Weekly's 2011 Class of "Up and Coming Lawyers." 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). She received the State Bar of Michigan Negligence Law Section Award for trial advocacy, the Frank Sengstock Award for Excellence in Legal Writing, and the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan Foundation Award for Outstanding Women Law Students. Donohue also is a graduate of the University of Michigan (B.A., 2000). * * * Pepper Hamilton LLP announced that Kurt A. Kissling was elected Of Counsel, effective Jan. 1. Kissling is a member of Pepper Hamilton's Environmental Practice Group, resident in the Detroit office. He also is a member of the Sustainability, CleanTech and Climate Change Team. Kissling focuses his practice on environmental law and specializes in addressing issues under the Clean Air Act and its state/local counterparts. He counsels regional and national clients regarding regulatory compliance, defends them in civil and criminal enforcement proceedings, assists with shaping and challenging regulatory changes, and represents them in environmental litigation. Kissling received his undergraduate degree from Valparaiso University in 1996, with a B.S. in civil engineering and chemistry minor. He earned his law degree and a master's degree in environmental law from Vermont Law School in 2000. * * * Thomas J. Manganello, a partner with the law firm Warner Norcross & Judd LLP, has been named to the board of directors of MICHAuto. Manganello, who chairs the firm's Automotive Industry Group, will serve on the board of MICHAuto, a statewide association focused on promoting, retaining and growing the automotive industry in Michigan. Manganello joins executives from Delphi Automotive, Meritor, R.L. Polk & Co. and other industry executives , as well as the president of Wayne State University, on MICHAuto, which is an economic development initiative of the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce. Manganello is active in Detroit-area economic and auto-related issues, serving on the advisory board of the Detroit Regional Economic Partnership and the board of the Automotive Hall of Fame, as a sustaining member of the Detroit Economic Club and as a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers. He is also active in professional legal associations and is a graduate of Leadership Detroit. * * * Attorneys with Nemeth Burwell PC, a Detroit law firm exclusively serving employers in the areas of labor and employment law, have been active recently in leading discussions on a variety of employment law topics. Linda Burwell and Patricia Nemeth made three presentations in December to large trade groups in Ohio and Michigan. The topics were: What to Expect When Litigating Against the Pro Se Plaintiff; Understanding and Litigating the Title VII Religious Discrimination Case: Tattoos, Body Piercings and Headwear; and Litigating Employment Claims in Michigan: The Effects of Nuanced State Laws and a Rejuvenated EEOC. In October, Terry Bonnette and Nemeth gave a presentation to a large Michigan health care trade group on social networking issues affecting employers in a presentation titled, "Hey, Get out of my Face...Book!" * * * Jennifer Zbytowski Belveal, a partner in the Litigation Department at Honigman, Miller, Schwartz, and Cohn LLP, has been elected to the Board of Trustees for Detroit Public Television, which is the viewer-supported Public Broadcasting System member station in Southeast Michigan. Belveal focuses her law practice on both white collar criminal defense and complex commercial litigation involving many aspects of business, real estate, health care and environmental laws. At Honigman, Belveal serves as associate general counsel, co-chair of its White Collar Criminal Defense and Investigations Practice Group, chair of the firm's Pro Bono Committee and chair of the Retention Subcommittee of the firm's Committee on Women Attorney Initiatives. Belveal is a member of the Pro Bono Initiative of the Committee on Justice Initiatives for the State Bar of Michigan and serves on the Executive Committee of the Oakland County Bar Association Inns of Court. She is a member of the American Bar Association's Woman Advocate Committee, the Women Lawyers Alliance and Inforum. In addition, Belveal is on the Board of Directors of the Canton Community Foundation, as well as on the Board of Directors of the Foundation's Giving Hope Women's Giving Circle. Belveal earned her law degree from the University of Michigan Law School and her B.A. from Michigan State University's Honors College. Additionally, Honigman is pleased to announce that Carl W. Herstein, a partner in the firm's Real Estate Department, authored the article "Property," which was recently published in Wayne Law Review's Annual Survey of Michigan Law. His chapter was nominated for inclusion in The Green Bag's Almanac and Reader, a quarterly journal, for its 2012 issue of "Exemplary Legal Writings." Herstein concentrates his practice on real estate, real estate tax appeals, usury and equine law. He is recognized as an authority on Michigan Usury Law and his real estate projects include several notable public/private financings such as Riverfront West Apartments, the Old Wayne County Building, Trappers Alley and Great Lakes Downs. Herstein earned his law degree from Yale Law School and a B.A. from the University of Michigan. * * * Dickinson Wright recently announced the election of several new member attorneys to the firm, effective Jan. 1. Allison Bach is an attorney in Dickinson Wright's Detroit office. Bach's practice includes advising and representing secured lenders and other creditors in out-of-court workouts and restructurings, bankruptcy proceedings and enforcement litigation. Bach is a 2010-2011 Super Lawyer's Rising Star. She is a board member for Women Lawyer's Association of Michigan - Wayne Region and currently serves as the immediate past president. Additionally, Bach is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, American Bankruptcy Institute, and Turnaround Management Association. Bach earned her B.A. from the University of Michigan, an M.S. in Urban Affairs from Cleveland State University's Levin College of Urban Affairs and her law degree from Wayne State University Law School. Adam Grant is an attorney in the firm's Detroit office. He focuses his practice in the areas of tax litigation, estate and probate litigation, and commercial and business litigation. Grant is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, the District of Columbia Bar, and the Bar of the State of Illinois. Grant earned his B.A. from the University of Michigan and his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School. Grant currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Holocaust Memorial Center. Patrick Green is an attorney in the firm's Detroit office. He specializes in business torts litigation, insurance and ERISA litigation, healthcare, and automotive litigation. Green was selected by Michigan Super Lawyers as a Rising Star 2009 in Business Litigation Law. He is a member of the Federal Bar Association. Green has a B.A. from Michigan State University, James Madison College and a law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. Joan Cripe Skrzyniarz is an attorney in the firm's Troy office. She focuses her area of practice in estate planning, estate administration, and taxation. Skrzyniarz is a member of the Oakland County Bar Association and the State Bar of Michigan, Probate and Estate Planning, Taxation and Litigation sections. She serves on the board of the Library of Michigan Foundation and on the board of St. Malachy Church in Sterling Height. Skrzyniarz has a B.S. from Michigan State University and her law degree from Wayne State University. Wendy Underwood is an attorney in the firm's Troy office. She specializes in municipal law and finance; schools and education; corporate; and banking and financial services. Underwood is a member of the National Association of Bond Lawyers and the State Bar of Michigan. She also serves as a Trustee for the Troy Board of Education. Underwood has a B.S. from the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School and her law degree from Columbia University School of Law. * * * Maddin, Hauser, Wartell, Roth, & Heller PC, a Southfield-based law firm, has named Anne E. Linder as an associate attorney. She specializes her practice in Insurance Coverage, Reinsurance and Professional Liability. Prior to joining Maddin Hauser, Linder served as an associate at Chadbourne & Parke LLP in Washington, D.C. While there, she participated in a program of the Washington, D.C. Bar Association where she received training to prosecute cases of human trafficking. She also drafted numerous articles and client alerts at the firm, including one that was later republished in The Insurance Advocate. She earned her bachelor's degree from Bates College in 2000 and her law degree from University of Michigan Law School in 2005. * * * The Michigan Judges Association announces its officers for 2012. They are: * President: Judge Timothy G. Hicks, Muskegon County. * President Elect: Third Judicial Circuit of Michigan Judge Lita Masini Popke. * Vice-President: Judge Stephen D. Gorsalitz, Kalamazoo County. * Secretary: Judge Paul E. Hamre, Van Buren County. * Treasurer: Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Colleen A. O'Brien. Popke has been a member of the Family Division of the Wayne County Circuit Court in Detroit for more than 11 years. From January of 2005 through December of 2007, she served as the presiding judge of the division and has been chief judge pro tem since 2009. In addition to her duties on the bench, Popke has served as a member of Michigan's Child Support Leadership Council, the Michigan Judicial Institute's Family DivisionAcademic Advisory Committee, and the Supreme Court's Post-Judgment Docket Committee. She is an instructor at the State Court's biennial seminar for new judges Popke is active in various community organizations, and remains a member of the Schoolcraft College Development Authority. O'Brien has been a circuit judge since 1998. She is the presiding judge of the Female Adult Treatment Court and formerly served as the presiding judge of the Oakland Circuit Court Civil/Criminal Division in 2009. Prior to becoming a judge, she was an active trial lawyer for 17 years with experience in municipal, civil, criminal and divorce law. O'Brien is a graduate of the University of Michigan and the Detroit College of Law. She is a member of various organizations, including the Women's Bar Association, Women Lawyers Association of Michigan (WLAM), and the Adult Treatment Court Mental Health Community Committee. She is an adjunct professor at Cooley Law School, and at Baker College and Oakland Community College Paralegal Programs. * * * Clark Hill attorney Joel D. Applebaum was appointed chairman of the Board of Directors of Legal Aid and Defender Association (LAD), effective Jan. 1. Applebaum is a member in Clark Hill's Birmingham office where he practices in the firm's Corporate Restructuring and Bankruptcy Practice Group. Applebaum previously served as secretary of LAD, and has served on the Board of Directors for more than a decade, beginning in 2000. In his practice, Applebaum represents debtors, creditors' committees, customers, trade vendors, purchasers of distressed assets, liquidating agents and trustees, among other parties in interest, in bankruptcy courts in Michigan and throughout the United States. Applebaum earned his B.A. from Michigan State University (1979) and his law degree from Wayne State University Law School (1983). * * * Howard & Howard Attorneys PLLC is pleased to announce that they have been named one of the top nationally ranked law firms in the United States in Fortune Magazine's "2012 Top Ranked Law Firm" list. * * * Neuman Anderson PC announced that firm managing partner Kenneth Neuman and partner Jennifer Grieco have been recognized as Top Lawyers by DBusiness magazine in the categories of business litigation and commercial litigation. Neuman concentrates his practice in complex commercial litigation and business consulting, with a focus on corporate, real estate and construction, accounting and forensic issues, and contract disputes. He has more than 25 years of experience in the courtroom and has obtained multiple verdicts and arbitration awards in excess of one million dollars. Grieco focuses her practice in complex commercial litigation. Her 14 years of trial experience encompasses coverage claims and a broad range of commercial disputes with a particular emphasis on business tort claims including professional malpractice, contract claims, construction litigation and coverage claims. The attorneys work out of the firm's new Birmingham office, located at 401 South Old Woodward, Suite 460. * * * Plunkett Cooney was recently named by Fortune magazine and LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell as one of the top law firms in the United States. In its Dec. 26 issue, Fortune identified the top law firms in the nation based on ratings provided by LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell®. Of the 162 attorneys employed by Plunkett Cooney, 71, or 44 percent, are AV rated. "To be named a 'Top Ranked Law Firm' is a great accomplishment. We have always felt that our attorneys are among the best in the nation and this honor confirms that," said Plunkett Cooney President and CEO Henry B. Cooney. "It's a testament to the excellent work our attorneys do every day on behalf of their clients and to the results they achieve whether in the boardroom or the courtroom." Published: Mon, Jan 16, 2012