MSU Law alumni take on new career positions

Gov. Rick Snyder recently announced the appointment of Linda Orlans to the Michigan Building Authority Board of Trustees.

The five-person board oversees the State Building Authority, which issues and sells bonds and notes to acquire equipment and construct facilities.

Orlans is executive chair of eTitle Agency, Inc. which she founded in 1998. She serves on the board of trustees for the Detroit Institute of Arts, is a board member of Inforum and serves on the board of trustees for the Michigan Opera Theatre. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Wayne State University and a law degree from Michigan State University. She fills the vacancy created by the resignation of David Trott.

Orlans will serve the remainder of a four-year term expiring Aug. 21, 2015. Her appointment is subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.

Cantor Colburn LLP has hired David A. Burns, a graduate of Michigan State University College of Law, as counsel in its Detroit office.  Burns was formerly in-house at Pratt & Whitney, a division of United Technologies Corporation.

Burns concentrates his practice on domestic and international intellectual property (IP) procurement and prosecution, transactions, counseling, and strategy development toward the protection and enforcement of IP assets.  He has more than 16 years of firm and in-house counsel experience with an additional 15 years of professional engineering experience. 

As an attorney at Pratt & Whitney, Burns provided all aspects of IP legal support for a multi-billion dollar aftermarket business segment.  This experience included the management of an extensive international IP portfolio; providing the legal support for a licensing department; drafting and negotiating a range of transactions including joint developments and M&A due diligence; developing IP strategies and leveraging proprietary technologies in accordance with business objectives; and, conducting extensive IP clearance activities while working closely with engineering groups.  

Burns has a B.S. in Nuclear Engineering with a concentration in physics and mechanical disciplines from the University of Michigan.  He is admitted to the State Bar of Michigan and is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Attorney Mallory A. Field, a graduate of MSU?Law, has joined Varnum LLP as an associate in the firm’s corporate group. She will practice in the firm’s Detroit office.

Field has been in private practice for the past four years, focusing on general corporate transactions, financial matters, and mergers and acquisitions. She has served as the lead associate on a variety of M&A matters with values exceeding $100 million.

Field serves public and private corporate clients in business formations, general corporate matters, mergers and acquisitions, trademark applications, regulatory compliance, environmental matters, and other commercial transactions, including the sale and purchase of real estate.

Prior to beginning private practice, Field served as a legal clerk with the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C., conducting research and writing major environmental statutes to assist the Federal Facilities Enforcement Office regarding issues in environmental law.  She also worked closely with attorneys and staff of the EPA on large cases involving the military, government agencies, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Field also provides counsel to financial institutions and is a published author with the American Bankruptcy Institute. She represented the Retired Detroit Police Members Association in the City of Detroit Chapter 9 Bankruptcy.

Field received her undergraduate degree in economics, management and literature from Albion College.