LEGAL PEOPLE

David Z. Adler has been named partner at Southfield, Mich.-based Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer, & Weiss PC. Jaffe CEO Bill Sider made the announcement. Adler joined Jaffe in 2006 as a summer associate and became a full-time associate in September 2007. He is a member of the firm's Litigation Practice Group, specializing in commercial litigation. Prior to his career at Jaffe, Adler interned in the Michigan State Appellate Defender Office in the Constituent Services Division during the Governor Jennifer Granholm administration. In addition to this high-profile internship, Adler also interned in the criminal division for U.S. Attorney Jeffrey G. Collins in the Eastern District of Michigan. A graduate of Wayne State University Law School, Adler earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan. In addition, Ethan Holtz has been named partner at the firm . Jaffe CEO Bill Sider made the announcement. Holtz is a member of the firm's Litigation Practice Group, joining Jaffe as an associate in September 2010. Prior to this role, he spent 10 years in New York City with Morrison Cohen LLP. Holtz has developed a sophisticated litigation practice representing public and private companies, and high-net worth individuals. He covers a host of litigation needs, including but not limited to real estate disputes, shareholder and limited liability company member disputes, commercial finance, business torts, intellectual property, securities fraud and employment disputes. An alumni of the University of Michigan, Holtz received his bachelor's degree in Middle Eastern and North African Studies, and his law degree atFordham University School of Law. Holtz is a member of the Michigan and New York state bars. Prior to joining Jaffe, Holtz practiced with a well-known firm in New York City for nearly 10 years. * * * Dickinson Wright PLLC is pleased to announce that attorney Jerome Crawford was recently elected to a two-year term to serve on the Executive Council for the Young Lawyers Section of the State Bar of Michigan. Crawford is an associate in Dickinson Wright's Troy office. His practice focuses on the areas of commercial & business litigation, intellectual property, music, sports & entertainment litigation, real estate & bank litigation, and workouts, restructurings & foreclosures. He is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, Oakland County Bar Association, Wolverine Bar Association, and the Straker Bar Association. Crawford received his B.A. from Michigan State University and his law degree from Michigan State University College of Law. * * * The Michigan Irish American Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce that its vice president, Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Daniel P. Ryan, has been appointed to one of the 3rd Circuit Business Court seat. Ryan is a charter member of the Chamber and helped President David O'Connor, found the group in 2012. Ryan is assigned by the Michigan Supreme Court to serve in the role of business court judge in the Third Judicial Circuit Court for a term that expires April 1, 2019. The assignments are effective immediately. Ryan has served on the Wayne County circuit bench since 1998. He was a judge of the 17th District Court (Redford Township) from 1994 to 1998, and served as that court's chief judge for two years beginning in 1996. He earned his law degree from the University of Notre Dame Law School in 1987. He has published extensively, has extensive business experience, and is a member of the Wall Street Journal Opinion Leaders Research Panel. * * * The law firm of Lipson Neilson is proud to announce the addition of Emily J. Scholler as an associate attorney. Scholler's particular focus is in the areas of Business and Tax law as well as Estate Planning and Trust Administration. Scholler's expertise includes corporate, commercial and taxation matters, business formation and operations, mergers and acquisitions and other commercial transactions. Integral with Scholler's corporate practice is providing clients with estate- and succession-planning advice. Scholler has more than four years of experience practicing business and tax law prior to joining Lipson Neilson. In addition, Scholler previously clerked at the State of Michigan Tax Tribunal and worked at the State of Michigan Corporations Division. A graduate of the University of Michigan, Scholler earned her law degrees at Michigan State University College Law and New York University. * * * Justin G. Klimko, president and managing shareholder of Butzel Long, will moderate and participate in a panel presentation during The Institute of Continuing Legal Education's (ICLE) 25th Annual Business Law Institute on June 7, in Grand Rapids. The presentation is titled, "Business Law in Michigan: A 25 Year Retrospective" and will feature business lawyers in Michigan who will reflect on many significant developments that have shaped the landscape of business law practice, including important changes involving case law, regulatory actions, and legislation. Klimko, based in the firm's Detroit office, has experience in securities regulation, corporate financing, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and general corporate matters, fields in which he has practiced since 1980. He was recently named a winner of the 2013 Client Choice Awards, presented by the International Law Office (ILO) and Lexology. Klimko was honored for mergers & acquisitions. He taught corporation law for five years as an adjunct professor at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, frequently lectures and authors articles on business law subjects and has served as general editor of a treatise on Michigan Business Forms and a contributing author for a treatise on Michigan contract law. Klimko is a past chair of the Business Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan. He serves as chair of the Section's Corporate Laws Committee, which prepares amendments to Michigan corporate statutes for legislative approval to keep Michigan corporate law current with modern trends and developments. He also is a member of the Legal Opinions Committee, the Negotiated Acquisitions Committee and the Federal Regulation of Securities Committee of the American Bar Association. Klimko is included in the publication The Best Lawyers in America and enjoys an "AV" rating from the Martindale-Hubbell rating system. He is rated one of Michigan's top Corporate/M&A attorneys by Chambers USA Guide of America's Leading Lawyers for Business and is listed in Michigan Super Lawyers (Mergers and Acquisitions). He was the recipient of the 2009 Stephen H. Schulman Outstanding Business Lawyer Award from the Business Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan. Additionally, Butzel Long attorney and shareholder Reginald A. Pacis was one of six speakers that will discuss immigration issues and identify opportunities for change during the Detroit Immigration Forum on Thursday, April 25, at the International Institute of Metro Detroit. Based in Butzel Long's Detroit office, Pacis concentrates his practice in immigration law and has handled a variety of immigration matters including H-1B specialty occupation cases, L-1 Intracompany transfers, Labor Certification matters, Immigrant Visa Petitions/ Adjustment of Status applications and interviews, TN Free trade cases, H-1B Department of Labor Investigations, I-9 employer verification compliance, and U.S. Port of Entry airport and land port interviews. Pacis was named Immigration Lawyer of the Year 2013 in the field of Immigration Law by The Best Lawyers in America and has been listed in Best Lawyers for several years. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), and the Samahang Pilipino Ng Oakland Filipino organization. He served two consecutive terms from 2003 to 2004 and 2004 to 2005 as chairperson of the Michigan Chapter of AILA and was a member of the AILA National Board of Governors for those terms. He previously served as secretary (2001 to 2003) and membership chairperson of the Michigan Chapter of AILA (1998 to 2003). He has been a speaker on immigration topics at many business, Hispanic, and Filipino presentations. Pacis has served in a variety of committees in the Filipino community and is a member of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce of Michigan. He completed an appointment by former Governor Granholm for service on the Advisory Committee for Asian Pacific American Affairs (ACAPAA). He served on the Michigan AILA Advocacy Committee from 2007 to 2010. Pacis previously served as Chairperson of the Michigan AILA Committee responsible for liaison with the Michigan Customs and Border Protection ("CBP") Agency, a division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security presiding over inspections and security of the U.S. border, from 2005 to 2007. His service expanded to the AILA National CBP liaison Committee as a member and vice chair and chair. He presently serves as vice chair on the AILA United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Field Operations Liaison Committee. * * * Norma M. Gant has joined LeClairRyan as a partner in the firm's litigation department. She will be resident in the national law firm's Detroit office. Gant is an experienced trial lawyer who has evaluated, managed, and tried cases for over 22 years. She focuses her practice on the defense of product liability cases and complex civil litigation nationwide. She has a history of defending and obtaining favorable results for companies of all sizes in various types of litigation. She has defended some of the world's largest manufacturers in matters involving the design and manufacture of products including automobiles and related components, industrial machinery, recreational and playground equipment, household products, medical devices and professional hair care appliances. She also has many years of experience defending automobile negligence and premises liability litigation. Gant also regularly defends clients in business and commercial litigation and counsels clients on key legal issues while assessing the potential impact on their businesses beyond the particular litigation at issue. In addition, she has experience defending litigation involving children and products made for or used by children. Gant has developed the Children and Product Liability Litigation Group and has written numerous articles on issues involving children and child safety. As a certified child passenger safety technician, she volunteers her time with Safe Kids Worldwide and teaches seat belt and child seat safety to elementary and pre-school children and their caregivers. Gant is a graduate of Wayne State University Law School and the University of Michigan (B.G.S.). She is admitted to practice in the state and federal courts in Michigan and Ohio and actively practices in both states. * * * Wayne State University Law School Dean Jocelyn Benson has advocated for voting rights for many years, created and directed the Michigan Allies Project to track hate incidents and give legal support to victims, and supported equality in a hundred other ways. Benson was honored by the Detroit Branch of the NAACP with its 2013 Great Expectations Award on April 28 at the group's 58th annual Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner at the Cobo Conference Center in Detroit. "Freedom fighters," is what the Rev. Dr. Wendell Anthony, president of the Detroit Branch, called Benson and fellow Great Expectations Award recipient Bankole Thompson, senior editor of the Michigan Chronicle. "I am proud and humbled to receive this award from the NAACP, an organization that has made a profound impact on the causes of freedom, justice and equality in our nation for so many decades," Benson said. Benson joined the Wayne Law faculty in 2005, and served as associate director of the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights before being named interim dean of the Law School in 2012. She founded and is the executive director of the nonpartisan Michigan Center for Election Law, which hosts projects that support transparency and integrity in elections. Her areas of expertise include election law, education law, race and the law, and civil procedure. Prior to joining the law faculty, Benson clerked for U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Damon J. Keith. She also worked as a legal assistant to Nina Totenberg at National Public Radio and investigated hate groups and hate crimes for the Southern Poverty Law Center. After earning her bachelor's degree from Wellesley College, Benson earned a master of philosophy as a Marshall Scholar at Oxford University and her law degree from Harvard Law School. * * * Bowman and Brooke is pleased to announce that lawyers in its Detroit office have pledged to provide 500 hours of legal services in 2013 to Pure Michigan Business Connect (PMBC), a public-private initiative which connects Michigan companies with opportunities to help them grow and expand. PMBC was developed by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). "Our firm is committed to giving back to the communities in which our lawyers live and work, and we could not be more proud to partner with PMBC," said Lawrence Mann, managing partner of the firm's Detroit office. "We are pleased to welcome Bowman and Brooke to the growing roster of companies lending their expertise to Pure Michigan Business Connect," said MEDC President and CEO Michael A. Finney. "This is an impressive commitment and will further enhance our multi-faceted network of opportunities for Michigan businesses." * * * Southfield-based Maddin, Hauser, Wartell, Roth, & Heller PC was selected as the 2013 Corporate Intl Magazine "Estate Administration Law Firm of the Year in Michigan." Corporate Intl's annual awards mark excellence for the world's leading advisers and financiers in an array of countries and continents globally. For all its awards, Corporate Intl undertakes detailed research in all categories through its editorial and research teams. Following that research, the publication creates a shortlist of firms that are experts in their chosen practices. Firms that are shortlisted have been researched by Corporate Intl's own independent team, which considers service range, business type, geographical location, how the business operates and the expertise each team can offer to companies that either trade or may want to trade in their chosen jurisdiction. Maddin Hauser's estate planning and probate practice group, led by Robert D. Kaplow, has experience in providing lifetime and post-mortem estate, financial, and tax planning, as well as probate and trust administration services. Members of the practice group are able to provide a full range of services in connection with the accumulation, preservation, and transfer of assets to families and other beneficiaries. Typical matters in which the firm is asked to help include: * Succession planning for family business and investment assets. * Funding of educational opportunities for children and grandchildren through irrevocable trusts and other techniques. * Achieving financial and life goals. * Providing continuing care for individuals with special needs. * Accomplishing important charitable objectives that an individual or family may have. At the same time, the firm can help to accomplish these goals while minimizing taxes, avoiding probate, and maximizing retirement accumulations that are frequently subject both to income and estate taxes. Members of the estate planning and probate practice group also assist in the administration of estates and trusts of all sizes and, particularly, in dealing with issues involving litigation, closely-held businesses, and real estate investments. * * * Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette recently announced Matthew Schneider will serve as his chief legal counsel. Schneider currently serves as the Michigan Supreme Court's chief of staff and general counsel. Schneider has served the state's highest court since 2011, where he has been recognized for his efforts to reform Michigan's judicial branch to improve efficiency and the courts' service to the public. Schneider helped launch the Next Generation case information project to create a unified case management system for the courts. The program was piloted successfully in Berrien County and plans are underway to for implementation statewide. For his achievements, Schneider was named a "Leader in the Law" by Michigan Lawyers Weekly in March 2013. Prior to joining the Michigan Supreme Court in 2011, Schneider served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, located in Detroit. Schneider handled cases for the Public Corruption and controlled substances units, which investigates and prosecutes corrupt public officials, organized crime, and drug traffickers. While at the U.S. Attorney's Office, Schneider also conducted specialized training for attorneys and law enforcement officials. Schneider also served as an advisor and assistant general counsel in the White House Budget Office from 2002 to 2003, where he provided legal and policy advice to cabinet members and senior presidential staff. Schneider earned his undergraduate degree in International Relations from Michigan State University, where he was a member of the James Madison College. Schneider is a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, and currently serves as an adjunct professor at the Michigan State University College of Law, where he teaches advanced criminal procedure. Schneider will succeed Richard Bandstra, who will retire from state service on May 31, 2013. * * * Women Lawyers Association of Michigan (WLAM) held elections at their recent 95th Annual Meeting. WLAM is proud to present the following local attorneys serving as officers in 2013-2014: President-Elect Michele Rivas practices employee benefit, labor and employment law at Sullivan, Ward, Asher, & Patton PC in Southfield. Rivas graduated from Michigan State University College of Law. She has been a WLAM member since she first became a licensed attorney, and she has served in several leadership roles on both the state and regional level. Rivas was recently elected to the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation and selected to the 2013 Michigan Super Lawyers Rising Stars list. Vice President Kristen Pursley is a shareholder at The Dobrusin Law Firm in Pontiac and specializes in patent, trademark and copyright law. Pursley graduated in 2000 from Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and earned her law degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Law in 2005. 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. Pursley is currently the Treasurer for the Women's Bar Association (The Oakland County Region of WLAM). She is active in the Technology Committee for Automation Alley and is also a member of Michigan Intellectual Property Inn of Court. Immediate Past-President Angela Sherigan serves as the associate judge for the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, in Manistee, MI., and is the managing partner of Wojnecka & Sherigan PC in Shelby Township practicing criminal defense, Federal Indian Law, and tribal law. In 2012 she received an award from the Legal Services Corporation for her pro-bono work on behalf of Native people, and in 2013 was named a "Leader in the Law" by Michigan Lawyers Weekly. Published: Mon, Apr 29, 2013