U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit
Calling his nearly 47 years of continuous service as a state and federal judge “an extraordinary privilege,” U.S. Court of Appeals Judge James L. Ryan, Sixth Circuit has announced his retirement from the bench. He will step down from active service from the U.S. Court of Appeals on Sept. 3.
Ryan’s long judicial career began with his election as a justice of the peace in Redford Township in 1963 followed by nine years as a Wayne County Circuit Court judge. In 1975, he was appointed to the Michigan Supreme Court by Governor William G. Milliken where he served as an associate justice for another 10 years. In 1985, President Ronald Reagan selected Ryan for a lifetime appointment to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, where he has served for 25 years.
Ryan said he was leaving the court “in good health and eager to spend time on a number of projects – some in the law, some not – that have interested (him) for years.” He added, “I’ve spent almost 47 wonderful years on the bench. I’ve loved the work, and still do, but I promised myself years ago that I’d ‘hang it up’ before I began to lose ‘the hum’ on my curveball and my ERA started rising.”
Ryan graduated from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law in 1956 and immediately entered the U.S. Navy Officer Candidate School. He was commissioned as a naval officer in May 1957 and served on active duty with the U.S. Marine Corps for three years as a military lawyer. Upon release from active duty, he continued his military service for another 31 years as a Naval Reserve Military judge and, in 1992, retired from the U.S. Naval Reserve with the rank of captain.
Ryan has taught evidence, criminal procedure, and constitutional law at several law schools part time and lectured in judicial education programs in more than 30 states.
Ryan is married to Loretta Nagle Ryan. Both Judge and Mrs. Ryan’s previous spouses are deceased. “We have a happy and busy new life,” Ryan said. “Our blended families comprise 10 adult children and 41 grandchildren, all living in Michigan. That tells you something about how active my retirement will be.”
Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss, P.C.
Jim Parks, a partner with Southfield-based Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer, & Weiss PC, has been named the 2010 recipient of the Oakland County Bar Association (OCBA) Professionalism Award. Jaffe CEO Richard Zussman made the announcement.
The Professionalism Award is presented annually to an individual who consistently demonstrates the highest standards of integrity, fairness, and excellence in the practice of law.
An awards ceremony commemorating Parks will take place immediately preceding this year’s OCBA Annual Meeting at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 3, at the Marriot at Centerpoint, located at 3600 Centerpoint Parkway in Pontiac. The event is open to all and will include a dinner and reception following the ceremony.
A member of the firm’s Litigation Practice Group, Parks concentrates his practice on various facets of complex commercial litigation within State and Federal courts. He is a 1978 graduate of the University of Arizona and a 1981 graduate of the Pepperdine University School of Law.
Butzel Long
Butzel Long attorney and shareholder Beth S. Gotthelf is a committee co-chair of the Jewish Vocational Services’ (JVS) 13th Annual Strictly Business Networking & Awards Luncheon on Tuesday, June 15, at the Hyatt Regency in Dearborn.
The Strictly Business event is the major fundraiser for JVS bringing together approximately 750 business leaders. This year’s honorary chair and keynote speaker is Peter Karmanos Jr.
Gotthelf also serves on the Executive Committee and Board of Trustees for Jewish Vocational Services, a nonprofit human service organization. Since 1941, JVS has provided specialized services to help people meet the changing needs in the community.
Based in Butzel Long’s Bloomfield Hills office, Gotthelf heads up the environmental, energy and land use practice. She represents and counsels a diverse mix of clients in numerous matters throughout the country.
Gotthelf is president of the Great Lakes Guardian for water protection, general counsel to the Michigan Association of Metal Finishers, chair of the Birmingham Brownfield Authority, and former general counsel to the Wayne County Brownfield Authority.
She has been very active in the State Bar of Michigan, Environmental Law Section, including serving as past chair of the Section. She is co-chair of the American Bar Association Section of Natural Resources, Energy and Environmental Law, Teleconference Committee, vice chair of an upcoming Water Conference, and vice chair of the Water Quality and Wetlands Committee.
Gotthelf is past chair of the Environmental Law Committee of the Oakland County Bar Association and is a past member of the State Bar Representative Assembly on behalf of Oakland County.
Gotthelf is a graduate of the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law (1985) and Oakland University (B.S. Public Administration and Public Policy, 1980). In 2009, Gotthelf received an Oakland University Distinguished Alumni Award.
Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP
Three of Honigman, Miller, Schwartz, and Cohn LLP’s Tax Department Partners spoke Thursday, May 20, at the State Bar of Michigan Taxation Section’s 23rd Annual Tax Conference. They are Alexander G. Domenicucci, James H. Combs and Michael W. Domanski.
Domenicucci and Combs’ presentation was titled “Minimizing Taxes in Workout, Restructuring, and Debt Modification Transactions,” which covered the effect of debt workouts, debt modifications and bankruptcy proceedings on creditors and debtors.
Domenicucci counsels individuals and businesses on a wide range of matters involving federal, state and local taxation with particular emphasis on the taxation of pass-through entities such as partnerships, limited liability companies, S corporations and real estate investment trusts.
Combs’ practice includes corporate taxation, mergers and acquisitions, tax credit projects and financial products taxation.
Domanski’s speech addressed the types of accounts that are considered foreign and new regulations on the horizon in his presentation titled “The Ins and Outs of Foreign Bank Account Filings.” His practice is dedicated to international tax matters and alternative risk financing arrangements.
Domenicucci earned his law degree from Wayne State University Law School and a B.B.A. in Accounting from the University of Michigan.
Combs earned his law degree from the University of Texas School of Law at Austin and a B.A. in Political Economy from Williams College.
Domanski earned law degrees from both the New York University of Law and Michigan State University College of Law and a B.A. at the University of Toronto.
Pepper Hamilton LLP
Michael B. Staebler, an attorney with the law firm Pepper Hamilton LLP, has been elected to the Executive Committee of Ann Arbor SPARK. Ann Arbor SPARK, a non-profit organization, is the driving force in establishing the Ann Arbor region as a destination for business expansion, retention, and location by identifying and meeting the needs of business at every stage, from startups to large organizations. This is the organization’s fifth year assisting in the creation of economic opportunities throughout the region and state.
Staebler is a commercial practice partner in the Detroit office of Pepper Hamilton. He leads the firm’s SBIC practice and is co-chair of the Fund Services Group. Staebler concentrates his practice in the formation and operation of Small Business Investment Companies, venture capital and private equity funds, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate finance and governance.
He earned his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School and his B.A. from Harvard College. He is a member of the State Bar of Michigan.
Howard & Howard
Howard & Howard Attorneys PLLC is pleased to announce that Wyatt J. Istvan-Mitchell has joined the firm and its Intellectual Property group. He will practice out of the firm’s Royal Oak Office.
Istvan-Mitchell concentrates his practice in intellectual property law with a focus on patent preparation/prosecution and opinion work in the chemical and mechanical arts. He has worked with a variety of technologies including composite articles, paints and coatings, foams and elastomers, adhesives, manufactured wood products, encapsulants, cleaning and detergent compositions, automotive assemblies, medicinal compositions, ink compositions, heat exchangers, and batteries.
Istvan-Mitchell joined Howard & Howard in 2005 as an intern in its intellectual property law internship program. He worked at Howard & Howard while attending law school in the evenings. Istvan-Mitchell earned his law degree from Wayne State University Law School in 2009, where he served as an officer for the Wayne Intellectual Property Student Association. He earned his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan in 2003. Prior to attending the University of Michigan, Istvan-Mitchell earned an A.S. from Jackson Community College in 2000.
Before joining Howard & Howard, Istvan-Mitchell worked at the Flint Ink Corporation as an associate engineer in the Research and Development Center. While at Flint Ink, he worked with various ink systems and processes including dispersion, mixing and extrusion technologies. During his undergrad, Istvan-Mitchell worked at Flint Ink, as well as with various automotive related companies including Worthington Specialty Processing, Industrial Steel Treating and Dura Automotive.
Williams, Williams, Rattner, & Plunkett PC
Three attorneys from Williams, Williams, Rattner, & Plunkett PC in Birmingham have been selected for inclusion in “The Best Lawyers in America 2010.” Thomas G. Plunkett is a partner whose law practice focuses on commercial litigation; Richard D. Rattner is a partner whose law practice focuses on real estate, land use, zoning and corporate law; and John F. Mills is a partner whose law practice focuses on family law, with an emphasis on family law alternative dispute resolution and adoption law.
Brooks Kushman P.C.
To help cardiovascular medical professionals become aware of the pitfalls and opportunities of patents in their field, Brooks Kushman law firm’s William G. Abbatt will address the 11th Annual New Cardiovascular Horizons Conference (NCVH) in New Orleans on Wednesday through Saturday, June 2-5. Abbatt, a shareholder and registered patent attorney, is an expert counselor, litigator and educator in all aspects of patent law.
Abbatt is slated to participate in two NCVH sessions, the first where he will discuss “Intellectual Property Troubleshooting for the Medical Executive.” In a panel discussion, Abbatt will be joined by cardiovascular specialists Drs. Desmond Bell and Elias Kassab in a panel discussion titled “Patents and Cardiovascular Medicine: An Intersection of Practices.”
At NCVH, Abbatt hopes to discuss some of the most common struggles that would-be entrepreneurs face when working to secure a patent, one of the most crucial steps in protecting one’s own idea, protocol or technology.
Dobrusin Thennisch PC
Dobrusin Thennisch PC, an intellectual property law firm, announces John VanOphem has joined the firm as a shareholder.
Moving his intellectual property counseling practice from Detroit-based Butzel Long, VanOphem brings more than 18 years of intellectual property law experience to Dobrusin Thennisch, including serving as in-house patent counsel at two Fortune 500 companies.
VanOphem currently serves on the Board of Directors, and is a past president, of the Michigan Intellectual Property Lawyers Association. He is also the author of the Intellectual Property chapter of the 2009 Original Equipment Supplier Association’s (OESA) North American OEM Terms and Conditions Comparative Analysis.
VanOphem graduated from Michigan State University in 1990 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, and from the Detroit College of Law in 1993.
Schwartz, Kelly, & Oltarz-Schwartz PC
Attorney Michael Schwartz has been appointed as general counsel to one of the largest religious broadcast networks in the nation, “The Word Network.”
Based in Southfield, “The Word Network” has established itself as a mainstream media broadcaster for African American ministries and gospel music.
Schwartz is a veteran attorney who has practiced law for 37 years. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he was an assistant district attorney in Brooklyn and also served as deputy chief counsel to the Committee on Grievances of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York.
In 1979, Schwartz moved to Michigan to take the post of grievance administrator of the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission, which is the prosecutorial arm of the Michigan Supreme Court for regulation of the legal profession. During his nine years as grievance administrator, the commission was known as one of the leading organizations of its kind in the United States. Schwartz also served as an adjunct professor of law at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law and at the Wayne State University Law School. He has written numerous law review articles and treatises and is co-author of the leading book on attorney discipline in Michigan.
After leaving the commission, Schwartz joined Charfoos & Christensen PC and thereafter became a partner in Fieger, Fieger, & Schwartz PC. During this time, he represented Dr. Jack Kevorkian, along with Geoffrey Fieger. He also represented a number of other prominent individuals. After 10 years with the Fieger firm, Schwartz founded the firm of Schwartz, Kelly, & Oltarz-Schwartz PC, with his wife, Sara Oltarz-Schwartz and John F. Kelly, who served four terms in the Michigan State Senate. Schwartz has represented numerous individuals, the most recent being former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.
“I am proud to be joining The Word Network,” said Schwartz. “The Word Network is a most distinguished and esteemed institution, serving millions of viewers every day. I am honored to join such an illustrious organization.”
Legal Aid and Defender Association, Inc. (LAD)
The board of directors of Legal Aid and Defender Association, Inc. (LAD) has elected three new officers and three new board members for 2010:
• Chairperson – Patricia A. Wallace, Ph.D., psychologist, Wallace & Associates.
• Vice chairperson – Harold Z. Gurewitz, partner, Gurewitz & Raben PLC.
• Secretary – Joel D. Applebaum, member, Clark Hill PLC.
• Eric L. Taylor, family independence manager, Schoolcraft District, Michigan Department of Human Services, continues as treasurer.
Wallace succeeds Kelvin W. Scott who was elected chairperson in December 2009 and served until his death on Feb. 20. Wallace had been serving as vice chairperson.
The board also elected three new members to fill vacancies:
• Karen L. Chadwick, associate professor, Thomas M. Cooley Law School.
• Sherrie L. Farrell, attorney, Dykema Gossett PLLC.
• J. Russell LaBarge Jr., shareholder, Johnson, Rosati, LaBarge, Aseltyne, & Field PC.
Michigan Defense Trial Counsel
Michigan Defense Trial Counsel (MDTC) recently announced its officials for 2010-2011. They are:
• Lori A. Ittner of Garan Lucow Miller PC in Grand Rapids, MDTC president.
• Philip C. Korovesis of Butzel Long in Detroit, MDTC vice president.
• Timothy A. Diemer of Jacobs and Diemer PC in Detroit, MDTC treasurer.
• Raymond Morganti of Siemion Huckabay PC in Southfield, MDTC secretary.
MDTC also welcomes Jeffrey Collison of Collison & Collison PC in Saginaw and Linda Foster-Wells of Keller Thoma PC in Detroit as new MDTC board members.
––––––––––––––––––––
Subscribe to the Legal News!
http://www.legalnews.com/Home/Subscription
Full access to public notices, articles, columns, archives, statistics, calendar and more
Day Pass Only $4.95!
One-County $80/year
Three-County & Full Pass also available
