LEGAL PEOPLE

Bodman PLC is pleased to announce that the editors of Michigan Super Lawyers 2019 have included two local members of the firm on the publication's annual list of the Top 100 practitioners in the State of Michigan. Bodman attorneys Ralph E. McDowell and Joseph J. Shannon appear on the 2019 Top 100 list.

McDowell, of Bodman's Detroit office, practices primarily in the areas of commercial bankruptcy, debtor-creditor rights, and workouts. He has represented financial institutions in pre-bankruptcy workouts, commercial bankruptcy cases, and troubled credit situations. He also represents automotive and manufacturing companies in bankruptcy matters and troubled supplier situations.

McDowell is the 2020 Best Lawyers in America Detroit "Lawyer of the Year" for Bankruptcy and Creditor-Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law. He is also recognized by Chambers USA and DBusiness as one of Michigan's leading bankruptcy and debtor-creditor rights attorneys.

Shannon, of Bodman's Detroit office, represents corporate and individual clients in connection with complex litigation and alternative dispute resolution processes. He serves clients is a variety of industries with a focus on the automotive and industrial sectors, construction companies, and financial institutions.

Shannon has served as lead counsel in matters requiring the management of large litigation teams, dozens of witnesses, and millions of pages of documentary evidence. In addition to Super Lawyers, he is listed in Chambers USA, The Best Lawyers in America, Benchmark Litigation, and DBusiness as one of Michigan's leading business litigation attorneys.

- - -

Megan Bonanni has been elected a Fellow of The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. Bonanni is a partner with Royal Oak-based Pitt, McGehee, Palmer, & Rivers, a civil and employment rights law firm.

The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers is a non-profit professional association honoring those attorneys, who by their long and outstanding service, have distinguished themselves as leaders in the field of labor and employment law.

Bonanni has a history of successfully representing employees in individual cases and class actions in state and federal courts.

Her advocacy on behalf of exotic dancers in several high-visibility class actions has helped expose and called for reforms of illegal employment practices which are widespread in the U.S. adult entertainment industry.

Bonanni is currently representing several plaintiffs who came forward as part of the second wave of young athletes who were sexually assaulted by convicted Michigan State University sports doctor Larry Nassar.

She is a member of the Federal Bar Association, Macomb County Bar Association, Michigan Employment Lawyers Association and Women Lawyers Association of Michigan. She serves as a board member for Michigan Association of Justice and Institute for Continuing Legal Education.

A graduate of Kalamazoo College and Wayne State University Law School, Bonanni has also been recognized by Best Lawyers in America, Michigan Super Lawyers/Top 25 Women Consumer Lawyers and selected for Women in the Law by Michigan Lawyers Weekly.

- - -

The Lipson Neilson law firm recently announced that attorney Christina M. Lejkowski has joined the firm's Bloomfield Hills office as an associate. An attorney for more than ten years, Lejkowski provides counsel to clients on all aspects of Estate Planning, and Probate & Trust Administration with specific expertise in Elder Law and Special Needs Law.

In 2019, for the third year in a row Lejkowski has been designated as a Super Lawyers' Rising Star for Elder Law, Estate Planning, and Probate.

Her articles "Last Will and Testaments in the Age of Electronic Documents and Electronic Signatures" and "Estate Plans and Embryos" were published in LACHES magazine, an Oakland County Bar Association publication.

Lejkowski is past chair of the Oakland County Bar Association Probate, Estate and Trust Committee. She is a member of the State Bar of Michigan and the Oakland County Bar Association. She is admitted to practice in Michigan and federal court.

- - -

Jennifer Consiglio has been elected chair of the State Bar of Michigan's Business Law Section. She formerly served as vice chair and council member of the State Bar of Michigan Business Law Section which, among other things, monitors Michigan's business laws and advises on their amendment from time to time.

Consiglio practices in Butzel Long's Business Law Department. She serves as a trusted advisor to both private and public clients in all aspects of formation, governance, contracting, and operations; complex business transactions such as mergers, acquisitions, dispositions, restructurings, private debt and equity financings, and private and public offerings; and securities law compliance.

She is a member and former chair of Butzel Long's Pro-Bono Committee and actively involved in providing pro bono legal services as well as other community service-related activities.

Consiglio is recognized among America's Leading Lawyers for Business, Corporate/M&A by Chambers USA, and rated one of the Top Lawyers in Metro Detroit for Corporate Law and Mergers & Acquisitions Law by DBusiness. She also has been recognized as one of 25 Women in Law by Michigan Lawyers Weekly, and as a Rising Star in M&A by Michigan Super Lawyers.

She is a graduate of The George Washington University Law School and earned her Bachelor's degree from Georgetown University (School of Foreign Service).

- - -

Former Michigan Supreme Court Judicial Law Clerk Louis F. Ronayne III recently joined Plunkett Cooney's Commercial Litigation Practice Group.

Ronayne, who previously served as judicial law clerk to Justice Brian K. Zahra, is a member of the Bloomfield Hills office of Plunkett Cooney.

Ronayne will assist clients in complex financial and business disputes and appeals. His litigation practice will include all aspects of commercial liability, including disputes arising under the Uniform Commercial Code.

Ronayne is a 2017 graduate of Michigan State University College of Law and received his undergraduate degree in 2014 from Adrian College. He is a licensed real estate professional in Michigan and a member of the State Bar of Michigan.

- - -

Wolfson Bolton PLLC is pleased to announce that Ryan M. Mardini has joined the law firm as an associate attorney and will focus on commercial litigation and mergers and acquisitions.

Mardini is a 2018 graduate of the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. While in law school, he clerked for U.S. District Court Judge Bernard A. Friedman, Eastern District of Michigan. He also clerked for the Wayne County Prosecutor's office in the Fraud Unit and served as a student attorney in the Juvenile Appellate Clinic where he represented children in child protective and delinquency appeals.

Mardini earned his Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice and Political Science from the University of Michigan. Before joining Wolfson Bolton, he spent two years at Deloitte advising clients on mergers and acquisitions including cross-border transactions, U.S. and international tax planning strategies, and corporate reorganizations and restructuring.

Published: Mon, Oct 14, 2019