LEGAL PEOPLE

Marcy J. Ford, partner and executive vice president at Trott & Trott PC was recently selected by her peers for inclusion in the 2012 edition of The Best Lawyers in America ® in the area of Mortgage Banking Foreclosure Law. Trott Chairman David A. Trott made the announcement. Ford is a 1984 graduate of Western Michigan University, where she earned her Master's degree in 1986. She is a 1993 graduate of Wayne State University Law School. The chair of Trott's executive management team, she serves as a board member of the Consumer Bankruptcy Association (Eastern District of Michigan) and is active on the loss mitigation subcommittee for the NACTT Mortgage Liaison Committee. Additionally, she serves as a board member and the current vice president of USFN--America's Mortgage Banking Attorneys, a 50-state trade association for mortgage banking attorneys. When the vice president term expires, she will then serve two additional years as president. * * * For the seventh consecutive year, the Michigan Business & Professional Association (MBPA) has named Plunkett Cooney as one of "Metropolitan Detroit's 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For." "Our selection, once again, as one of metro Detroit's 101 best and brightest companies is a tribute to our management team's vision. We take pride in maintaining a hardworking, but flexible, family atmosphere," said Henry B. Cooney, the firm's president and CEO. "We look forward to celebrating this honor and thank the MBPA for selecting us again this year." The MBPA honored the winning companies at a human resources symposium and awards luncheon on Thursday, Sept. 29 at the Dearborn Inn Marriott. An independent research firm evaluates each company's entry based on key measures in various categories. They include communication, community initiatives, compensation and benefits, diversity and multiculturalism, employee education and development, employee engagement and commitment, recognition and retention, recruitment and selection, small business and work-life balance. Plunkett Cooney maintains a "Great Place to Work" program firm wide to enhance the work experience for all employees. This program goes beyond compensation to focus on added value benefits in addition to the traditional health, vision, dental and insurance plans offered by most companies. The program includes such opportunities as continuing education, special events, employee convenience services, diversity recruitment and retention, mentoring and much more. * * * Joseph E. Viviano, a Mt. Clemens-based business and commercial litigation attorney, and managing member of Viviano Law, has been named to the 2011 list of Michigan Super Lawyers Rising Stars. Viviano represents clients in matters related to corporate law, commercial litigation, and real estate and is the city attorney for Center Line. In addition, Viviano has run several successful political campaigns for local judges. After practicing law for seven years with the business law firm Bodman LLP, Viviano founded Viviano Law with partners Joseph Pagano and Jake Howlett. Today, the firm consists of five attorneys and a support staff. * * * Andrew B. Wachler of Royal Oak-based Wachler & Associates PC presented "The New Audit Landscape: MICs, MACs, RACs and the Impact on Physician-owned Hospitals" at the Physician Hospitals of America (PHA) Annual Conference in Keystone, CO. The presentation also covered Zone Program Integrity Contractors (ZPICs). The PHA is a national interest and support group for the physician owned hospital industry and allied businesses that support that industry. Wachler has been practicing health care law for more than 25 years. He counsels health care providers and organizations nationwide in a variety of health care legal matters. In addition, he writes and speaks nationally to professional organizations and other entities on health care law topics such as Medicare appeals, Stark and fraud and abuse, HIPAA, and other topics. Additionally, Amy K. Fehn of Wachler & Associates presented "The New Landscape of Audits; MICs, MACs, RACs and ZPICs," to an audience of health information management professionals and medical coding specialists at the AHIMA- ACMCS Joint Clinical Coding Meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah. Fehn has represented physicians and health care organizations in health care regulatory and corporate matters as well as the defense of Medicare Audits and other third-party audits for the past 13 years. Prior to graduating from law school, she served as a registered nurse in the coronary care unit, and later worked as a clinical systems analyst for the hospital's information systems. * * * The publication Super Lawyers of America just announced that George W. Gregory of the law firm George W. Gregory PLLC in Troy has been designated as one of the top 100 lawyers in the specialty of Trusts and Estates for the sixth year in a row. Gregory also practices in the areas of tax controversy, business planning and case mediations. A current member of The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), as weall as a Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants (MACPA) member, Gregory is the current chair-elect of the Probate and Estate Council for the State Bar of Michigan. * * * Nine attorneys from Farmington Hills-based Michigan Auto Law (Gursten, Koltonow, Gursten, Christensen, & Raitt PC) have been named 2011 Michigan Super Lawyers. The law firm's Michigan Super Lawyers include all five partners, Lawrence E. Gursten, Leonard M. Koltonow, Steven M. Gursten, David E. Christensen, and Robert M. Raitt; as well as trial attorneys Kevin H. Seiferheld, Ian M. Freed, Thomas W. James, and Joshua R. Terebelo. Gursten and Christensen were named among the Top 100 Michigan Super Lawyers. Freed, James and Terebelo are Michigan Super Lawyers - Rising Stars, an honor for attorneys who are 40 years old or younger, or who have been practicing for 10 years or less. Additionally, Lawrence E. Gursten, Steven M. Gursten, Christensen and Raitt have been listed in the Best Lawyers in America Directory for 2012. * * * Barris, Sott, Denn, & Driker PLLC is pleased to announce that Best Lawyers has named three of its members as "Detroit Best Lawyers": * Eugene Driker has been named as the Best Lawyers' 2012 Detroit Ethics and Professional Responsibility Law Lawyer of the Year. Driker, one of the firm's founding members, earned his bachelor's and law degrees from Wayne State University and a master's of law degree from The George Washington University School of Law. * Sharon M. Woods has been named as the Best Lawyers' 2012 Detroit Litigation - Construction Lawyer of the Year. Woods, the firm's managing member and Litigation Department chairperson, graduated from the University of Detroit and from the University of Detroit School of Law. * James S. Fontichiaro has been named as the Best Lawyers' 2012 Detroit Real Estate Law Lawyer of the Year. Fontichiaro graduated from Michigan State University and from Wayne State University Law School. Driker, Woods, and Fontichiaro have all been selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2012 for many years. Both Driker and Woods have been recognized for their excellence in "Bet-the-Company" Litigation, Ethics and Professional Responsibility Law, and Commercial Litigation. Driker was also honored for his abilities in Antitrust Litigation. Woods has also been honored for her abilities in Construction Litigation, Labor & Employment Litigation, Real Estate Litigation, Securities Litigation, and Professional Malpractice Law. Fontichiaro has been honored for his excellence in Real Estate Law. * * * Butzel Long attorneys Beth S. Gotthelf and Susan L. Johnson spoke at the 2011 U.S. Areas of Concern (AOC) Program Annual Meeting, presented by The Great Lakes Commission, Oct. 13-14 in Detroit. Gotthelf and Johnson discussed: "Understanding When You Need Legal Counsel When Implementing Your Habitat Restoration Project." Gotthelf and Johnson are both environmental law attorneys. Gotthelf leads Butzel Long's environmental, energy and land use practice. "It is important that there is a coordinated effort to address issues related to the Great Lakes, and the Areas of Concern conference is a great venue to bring these issues together," said Gotthelf. * * * Collins, Einhorn, Farrell, & Ulanoff PC earned recognition as the Top Medium-Sized Law Firm for Litigation in Michigan in the inaugural 2011 Super Lawyers Business Edition. The Southfield-based law firm earned its recognition as the medium-sized law firm (11-50 attorneys) in the state for its work in its Appellate, Insurance Coverage and Professional Liability: Defense. "To be considered as the top medium-sized law firm for litigation in Michigan is quite an honor," said Collins Einhorn President Michael Sullivan. "Our attorneys work hard to provide outstanding client service and outcomes while staying knowledgeable in their respective practice areas. This honor from our peers is a testament that we are doing things right." Collins Einhorn's Appellate practice group has been building a team of experienced appellate advocates for nearly 30 years. These attorneys are frequently engaged to represent clients in appeals and post trial matters; prepare emergency and other applications for leave to appeal; evaluate the chances of success on appeal; advise trial counsel on matters of issue preservation during trial; and support trial counsel by supplying first-class briefing. * * * Dickinson Wright PLLC is pleased to announce that eight of the firm's lawyers have been identified as the leading practitioner in their practice area. The following local Dickinson Wright lawyers were selected as Best Lawyers 2011 "Lawyer of the Year": * Roger H. Cummings - International Trade and Finance Law. * Edward H. Pappas - Arbitration Law. * * * Audra M. Foster has been elected president of the Thomas M. Cooley Law School Alumni Association. A 1997 Cooley graduate, Foster is director of the law school's Auburn Hills campus. She will head the association that promotes relations with Cooley's 15,000 plus graduates worldwide. Helen M. Haessly, a 2000 Cooley alumna, was elected association vice president, and Charles D. Doolittle, a 1986 alumnus, was elected secretary. Others elected to Cooley National Alumni Board positions include Cooley graduates residing in New York, New Jersey, Florida, and D.C. * * * Robert Goldi, an attorney with Kotz, Sangster, Wysocki, & Berg PC, was selected to participate in Leadership Detroit Class XXXIII, a year-long community leadership program to enhance leadership skills and gain insight and knowledge of regional issues among senior-level executives in southeast Michigan. Goldi is one of 69 local leaders selected to participate in the program this year, this is the XXXIII class of Leadership Detroit. Participants represent a cross-section of the community, including business, organized labor, government, education, media, civic groups, health services and community organizations. * * * Best Lawyers has named William P. Hampton as the "Detroit Best Lawyers Municipal Law Lawyer of the Year" for 2012. Hampton, a former Oakland County Circuit Court judge and state legislator, has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America® since 1995 in the areas of Commercial Litigation, Family Law, Land Use and Zoning, Real Estate Law, and Municipal Law. He is currently serving as attorney for the Cities of Bloomfield Hills and Auburn Hills and for the Townships of Bloomfield and West Bloomfield. He is also currently serving as special counsel for the cities of Pontiac and Royal Oak. Hampton is a member of the, Michigan Association of Municipal Attorneys, Michigan Judges Association, Michigan Municipal League, Oakland County Bar Association, State Bar of Michigan, Who's Who in American Law, and the American College of Trial Lawyers. * * * Honigman, Miller, Schwartz, and Cohn LLP is pleased to announce that Michael P. Hindelang, a partner in the firm's Litigation Department, recently authored a chapter in the book "Understanding Developments in Cyberspace Law" published by Aspatore, a Thomson Reuters business. His chapter, titled "Changing Technology in Cyberspace and New Challenges for E-commerce Clients and Their Attorneys," discusses a number of issues that businesses and attorneys can expect to face as technology and e-commerce continue to grow in importance. The book is part of the publisher's series known as Inside the MindsTM. Hindelang represents clients in securities and commercial disputes, including litigation in both state and federal courts and before the Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory agencies. He also represents and advises clients on e-discovery issues, including metadata, form of production, and search disputes; advises on early case planning for electronically-stored information (ESI) issues; and counsels clients on record retention policies and related issues. He has been recognized by Michigan Super Lawyers as a "Rising Star" from 2008 through 2011 and by Benchmark Litigation as a Future Litigation Star in 2010. He also was recognized as a "Top Lawyer" by DBusiness for 2012. Hindelang earned his law degree from Wayne State University School of Law. He also earned an M.B.A. in Finance and Accounting from Wayne State University and a B.A. in Economics from the University of Michigan. To purchase the book "Understanding Developments in Cyberspace Law" visit www.aspatore.com and search and click on the title for ordering information. Additionally, Honigman is again number one in the United States as the legal advisor for banks and thrifts, ranked by number of deals through the third quarter of 2011, according to SNL Financial. Honigman also was ranked number one in SNL's 2010 fiscal year rankings. In the past 12 months, Honigman has represented banks in Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. Honigman's Financial Institutions Practice Group offers clients a full range of legal services related to mergers and acquisitions, capital raising initiatives, complex regulatory issues, strategic planning and navigation through the financial services environment. * * * Adam Kochenderfer, an attorney at Wolfson Bolton PLLC was recently awarded the 2011 Outstanding Young Alumni Award from Oakland University. The award recognizes alumni who have graduated within the last 10 years and demonstrated the worth of their education through their post-college achievements. The University noted Kochenderfer's professional accomplishments, including being named as one of "Michigan's Rising Stars" by Super Lawyers magazine, becoming one of the youngest partners at Honigman, Miller, Schwartz, and Cohn LLP and later establishing his commercial litigation practice at Wolfson Bolton PLLC. Kochenderfer has demonstrated his commitment to public service, including receiving the Pro Bono Spirit Award from the Legal Aid and Defender Association. He chaired the Oakland University Alumni Association's Task Force opening membership to all 80,000+ alumni without dues and established the Charlene and Michael Kochenderfer Scholarship in honor of his parents. * * * Attorney Daniel P. Malone has returned to Butzel Long law firm and is based in the firm's Bloomfield Hills office. Malone is Of Counsel and is the firm's director of Korean Client Relations and vice chair of Butzel Long's Asia Practice. Previously, Malone was director of Asian Client Initiatives at Dykema. Malone has traveled widely in Asia and represents companies from Korea and other Asian nations in international business matters. He assists foreign companies with doing business in the United States. He has automotive and product safety litigation experience. In addition to handling such cases throughout most of his career, he has served on both national and regional coordinating teams where he helped strategize, coordinate, and lead various companies' overall defense efforts. Malone also counsels foreign and domestic automotive suppliers on federal compliance matters, such as recalls and matters that pertain to various Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. He is a key communicator and frequent author in support of the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29), a working party of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) that strives to create harmonized safety and environmental regulations for vehicle design. Malone is a speaker at international and automotive conferences, such as the Management Briefing Seminars hosted by the Center for Automotive Research (CAR). He has authored numerous articles and contributed to books on the global automotive industry, civil procedure, and attorney-client privilege that have been published by Industry Week, Alternative Energy, Location Magazine, Automotive News, Forbes.com, the Michigan Bar Journal, SAE International, the Bureau of National Affairs (BNA), and the Institute of Continuing Legal Education (ICLE). Malone has served as an adjunct professor at the Detroit College of Law and Wayne State University School of Law, and he was a faculty member at both the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) and the Institute for Continuing Legal Education (ICLE). Malone is a graduate of Cornell University (A.B.) (1975) and the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law (1978). Malone is admitted to practice in Michigan, the U.S. District Courts within Michigan, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court. * * * The Michigan Defense Trial Counsel (MDTC) is pleased to announce that Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Douglas B. Shapiro will receive the President's Special Recognition Award on Thursday,Nov. 3. The award will be presented at MDTC's annual gathering of Past Presidents at 6 p.m. at the Baronette Hotel in Novi, an event that includes MDTC's current officers, board of directors, section chairs and regional chairs. Shapiro was born in 1954 in New York City and came to Michigan in 1972. He earned a B.A. in history from the University of Michigan in 1983. He received his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School, in 1986. Following law school, Shapiro served as a law clerk to Michigan Supreme Court Justice James Brickley from 1986 thru 1989. From 1989-1990 he was an assistant at the State Appellate Defenders Office in Detroit providing appellate counsel to indigent criminal defendants. In 1991, he began trial practice specializing in personal injury litigation. He became a partner in the firm of Muth and Shapiro PC in 1995, where he continued civil trial and appellate practice through his appointment on Feb. 2, 2009, as a judge on the Michigan Court of Appeals. Published: Mon, Oct 17, 2011