LEGAL PEOPLE

The Michigan Supreme Court recently announced the selection of Thomas P. Clement as general counsel. Clement is currently a division chief and assistant attorney general in the Michigan Attorney General's office. Clement was the unanimous choice of the court.

"My goal is to serve the court and help them build on an already impressive record of accomplishment," said Clement. "By continuing to strengthen our relationship with the executive and legislative branches, we can do even more to help Michigan's judiciary improve service to the public."

Clement has been an attorney for more than 14 years and most recently supervised a team of 12 attorneys in the Michigan Attorney General's Licensing and Regulation Division. In this position, Clement served as the Attorney General's lead attorney regarding regulation of professional health care and occupational licenses. In particular, Clement played a key role in working with the Legislature and the Governor's Office to implement recent recommendations to address the epidemic of prescription drug and opioid abuse.

Previously, Clement was an attorney in private practice and began his legal career as an assistant prosecuting attorney in the Eaton County Prosecutors Office. Clement received a Bachelor of Arts from Western Michigan University and a law degree from the Michigan State University College of Law.

As general counsel, Clement will provide legal advice to the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, and the State Court Administrative Office. He will also serve as liaison to the executive and legislative branches, representing the court on both policy and legislative issues.

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David Michael, an attorney at Lipson, Neilson, Cole, Seltzer, Garin PC and the chair of the Oakland County Bar Association's Real Estate Committee, will be on a panel of real estate industry professionals discussing "Avoiding the Abyss: Environmental Due Diligence in Real Estate."

The program will be presented by the Energy, Sustainability and Environmental and the Real Estate Law committees of the Oakland County Bar Association, with the support of the Michigan Commercial Board of Realtors.

This seminar is officially certified by CE Marketplace, Michigan's Continuing Education Hub for Real Estate Professionals, for two CE Credits and will be held on June 15 at the WMU-Cooley Law School located at 2630 Featherstone in Auburn Hills.

Michael specializes in all aspects of real estate law and litigation, and he has experience in commercial litigation and continues to practice in that area as well. He is the chair of the Oakland County Bar Association's Real Estate Committee, and a contributing author to Development Magazine, a publication of the Commercial Real Estate Development Association.

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Dickinson Wright PLLC is pleased to announce that during the Michigan Defense Trial Counsel's Annual Meeting, attorney Richard W. Paul was elected vice president of the organization.

Paul has been involved in the leadership of MDTC for years, serving as its treasurer, chair of the Commercial Litigation Section, and chair of the 2016 and 2013 Annual Meetings. He was also the 2013 recipient of the MDTC President's Special Recognition Award.

Paul is a member in Dickinson Wright's Troy office where he focuses his practice on ADR, automotive litigation, class actions, commercial and business litigation, and product liability litigation. His representations include serving as trial counsel for various manufacturers and accounting firms and serving as National Discovery Counsel for Ford Motor Company.

He is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, the American Bar Association, the Oakland County Bar Association, the Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association, the Federal Bar Association, and the Defense Research Institute. He is recognized as a leader in his field by Michigan Super Lawyers and DBusiness' Top Lawyers.

Paul received his A.B. from Dartmouth College and his law degree from Boston College Law School.

Published: Mon, May 23, 2016