Legal People


Dinsmore & Shohl LLP

Dinsmore & Shohl LLP has added two litigation associates to the firm’s Detroit office.

Nicholas R. McHardy joined the Detroit office and will practice out of the Litigation Department. McHardy earned his law degree from Washington University School of Law. He previously served as a student attorney for the school’s Entrepreneurship and Intellectual Property Clinic.

J. Travis Mihelick joined the Detroit office and will practice out of the Litigation Department. Mihelick comes to Dinsmore from Giarmarco, Mullins, & Horton PC where he managed complex litigation files from case opening through trial in both state and federal courts. His experience includes advising clients on topics such as FOIA, OMA, employee agreements, employment practices and policies, FMLA, FLSA, ADA compliance, and best practices for risk management.

Mihelick earned his law degree from Ave Maria School of Law and a B.A. from Michigan State University, where he studied political theory and constitutional democracy as well as social relations. Mihelick has received the highest possible peer rating for legal ability and ethics, AV preeminent, in Martindale-Hubbell and is also listed as a DBusiness magazine top lawyer.

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Williams, Williams, Rattner, & Plunkett PC

The American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL) has inducted attorney Richard Rattner as a Fellow among its exclusive ranks.

“I am grateful and humbled by this tremendous honor,” said Rattner, a partner of Williams, Williams, Rattner, & Plunkett, PC. “I have deep respect for ACREL and its members and am proud to stand among them.”

Rattner has devoted his practice to real estate for more than 30 years, representing clients in real property sales and acquisitions, financing, land use and zoning, and corporate transactions. His navigation of legal, bureaucratic, political, and administrative obstacles has resulted in highly-visible commercial and retail developments in the region. He oversees litigation when disputes arise, and actively engages in state and local efforts to help lawmakers understand issues and enact growth-oriented rules and regulations.

In additional to commercial clients, Rattner has represented Easter Seals of Southeastern Michigan, Sacred Heart Rehabilitation Center, and other charities and non-profits with their development and expansion projects. He played an integral role in the successful representation of groups of mentally impaired clients in federal lawsuits alleging violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act and the Fair Housing Act.

A frequent speaker on real estate related topics, Rattner has presented to business and professional organizations including the International Council of Shopping Centers, the Michigan Association of Planning, and the Real Property Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan. He is also one of the founding directors of the Section’s Real Property Law Academy, and is an adjunct professor at Wayne State University Law School, where he educates students on commercial real estate development.

In addition to his ACREL fellowship, Rattner is a Fellow of the American Bar Association, and has repeatedly been named to the lists of Leading LawyersSM, Best Lawyers®, and Super Lawyers®. For 2018 as well as in prior years, Best Lawyers selected him as “Lawyer of the Year” for real estate, land use, and zoning in the Southeastern Michigan area. He has also been honored as one of DBusiness Magazine’s Top Lawyers in Metro Detroit. Outside the practice of law, Rattner is a past chairman of the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan and a past member of the University of Michigan’s Advisory Board for Intercollegiate Athletics.

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Varnum LLP

Varnum is pleased to announce that John M. Kenny has joined the corporate practice group at Varnum. He is based in the firm’s Novi office.

Kenny is experienced in a variety of corporate matters including business formations, mergers and acquisitions, and drafting corporate documents. He has served as the sole corporate associate on stock and asset transactions ranging from approximately $10 to $135 million. He has unique experience assisting companies based outside the United States in compliance matters involving the Committee on Foreign Investment, Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Department of the State, and the Bureau of Industry and Security.

With a strong background in tax, Kenny also assists clients in resolving tax disputes with the IRS and Michigan Department of Treasury. Prior to entering private practice, he served as a tax associate at a major accounting firm. He joins the firm from Kerr, Russell, and Weber PLC.

Kenny is a 2012 graduate of Michigan State University College of Law. He earned his undergraduate degree in criminal justice at Indiana University, where he also focused on accounting coursework. He is a member of several sections of the State Bar of Michigan, the Detroit Bar Association, and the Association for Corporate Growth – Detroit Chapter.

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Bodman PLC

Bodman PLC is pleased to announce that Thomas J. Rheaume Jr., a member in the firm’s Detroit office, has been selected to participate in Leadership Detroit’s 39th Cornerstone Class.

Leadership Detroit, an initiative of the Detroit Regional Chamber, selected 69 emerging regional leaders from across seven Southeast Michigan counties and a wide variety of industries to take part in the upcoming class. The course, which will provide opportunities for participants to foster and spark problem-solving discussions, will take place over a ten month period beginning in late 2017.

Rheaume is a member of Bodman’s Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution, Appellate Law, and Insurance Practice Groups. He focuses his practice on representing clients involved in complex commercial litigation matters and serves as local counsel for national and international law firms. In the past, he has written appellate and amicus briefs in state and federal appellate courts, including the United States Supreme Court.

Rheaume is a board member of the Detroit Economic Club’s Young Leader Program and serves as a volunteer mentor to students at Cornerstone Schools, a Christ-centered chartered K-12 school system located in Detroit. Rheaume was recently named to the national “Under 40 Hot List” by Benchmark Litigation and has been selected to the Michigan Super Lawyers “Rising Stars” list since 2013 for business litigation.

Brooks Kushman P.C.

Brooks Kushman associate Isheeta Patel was recently named president of the South Asian Bar Association (SABA) of Michigan. In her role, she will be leading the Michigan Chapter, and organizing business and professional networking opportunities to promote the advancement and development of South Asian attorneys. She also plans to further develop SABA Michigan’s commitment to supporting, guiding, and mentoring South Asian law students, as well as providing referral services and supporting the provision of legal services to the South Asian community. Patel also plans on coordinating with the nearby SABA state chapters and SABA North America to create a broader platform for collaboration for the Michigan membership.

Patel’s practice focuses on the preparation and prosecution of domestic patent applications in the chemical engineering and material arts. Prior to becoming an associate, she was a patent searcher at Brooks Kushman, where she gained invaluable knowledge supporting intellectual property negotiations, settlements and litigation. Prior to joining Brooks Kushman, she gained patent experience as an in-house clerk at a prominent automotive company, and technical experience at Owens Corning developing wind turbine blade technology.

Patel earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan, and a law degree from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.

The South Asian Bar Association of North America, the national organization associated with the Michigan chapter, connects South Asian lawyers and the South Asian community throughout North America. As a bar association, SABA North America provides South Asian lawyers a recognized forum for professional growth and advancement. Their mission is to support, guide, mentor and foster all the local SABA chapters, and to provide a platform for all the local leaders to communicate with each other, and share best practices.

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Michigan Chapter  of the ­Association of ­Corporate ­Counsel

The Michigan Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel has elected its 2017-2018 Officers and Board of Directors:

• President Joanna Totsky, VP, Deputy General Counsel    Cooper-Standard Holding Inc.        

• Vice President Susan Diehl, Partner and General Counsel    Trinitas Advisors, LLC

• Second Vice President Heather Betts, senior attorney, DTE Energy Company

• Secretary Jennifer Neumann, corporate counsel, American Axle & Manufacturing Inc.       

• Treasurer Michael Qaqish, associate general counsel, IAC Group               

• Past President Lance Lis, VP and general counsel, Inteva Products LLC           

• Matthew Case, senior attorney, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan

• Alisha Cieslak, general counsel, Gordon Food Service

• Latrina Edwards, assistant general counsel, The Auto Club Group   

• Kelly Freeman, senior legal counsel, WABCO North America LLC

• Christopher Haven, corporate counsel, Meijer Inc.

• Bernard Lourim, general counsel, FANUC America Corporation

• Kristen Netschke, general counsel & secretary, Meadowbrook Insurance Group

• Dawn Reamer, Senior Corporate Counsel, Aisin Holdings of America

The Michigan Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC-MI) has been a part of ACC since 1983. Its membership has grown from an initial group of about 35 to more than 700 in-house attorneys. The chapter received the “Membership Excellence Award” for medium-sized chapters in 2011 and 2013, having led the way in expanding and retaining membership over the course of the year. ACC-MI was also recognized as the runner-up for the ACC’s 2014 “Chapter of the Year” (medium-sized chapters).

Members serve as general counsel, assistant general counsel and corporate counsel to automotive companies, ?nancial institutions, health care providers, utilities, retailers, science and technology companies, educational institutions, and the like located throughout the state of Michigan. The chapter maintains an active board of directors and o?cers that are elected annually by our membership.

ACC-MI’s parent organization, ACC, is the “in-house bar association,” with more than 40,000 members in more than 85 countries around the world.

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Plunkett Cooney

Attorneys Leslie A. Rojas and Jeffrey M. Schroder of Plunkett Cooney were recently elected to several leadership positions within the State Bar of Michigan’s Health Care Law Section.

A member of the firm’s Healthcare Law Industry Group, Rojas was appointed to the Governing Council of the State Bar’s Health Care Law Section. Her three-year term ends in 2020. She also was elected to serve a second year as a member of both the Medical Legal and Technology Subcommittees for the section.

Schroder, who also is a member of Plunkett Cooney’s Healthcare Law Industry Group, was appointed to the State Bar’s Governing Council for the Health Care Law Section. His three-year term also concludes in 2020. He also was elected to serve as the 2017-2018 chair of the Legislative Committee for the Health Care Law Section.

The Health Care Law Section is a subdivision of the State Bar of Michigan, which was established by the Michigan Legislature in 1935. Through its committees and programs, the section serves as an educational resource for members of the bar and fosters professional development and the advancement of health care law standards.

Licensed to practice in Illinois and Michigan, Rojas concentrates her practice exclusively in the area of healthcare law. She assists clients with healthcare regulatory, transactional and corporate matters, focusing on healthcare fraud and abuse issues, joint ventures and business transactions, practitioner employment agreements, HIPAA and state privacy and security laws, telemedicine arrangements, certificates of need, and Medicare enrollment, billing and reimbursement issues.

Resident in the firm’s Bloomfield Hills office, Rojas received her law degree from Wayne State University Law School in 2008. Rojas received her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan in 2004. She is active in the American Bar Association (Health Law Section), the Chicago Bar Association (Health Law Committee) and the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan (Oakland County Chapter).

Licensed in Michigan’s state and federal courts, Schroder focuses his practice in the areas of healthcare and governmental law. Resident in the firm’s Bloomfield Hills office, he defends a variety of healthcare clients in matters involving regulatory compliance, audit defense, alleged fraud claims and embezzlement recovery. In addition, Schroder has extensive experience representing municipalities in all aspects of municipal law with particular expertise in the areas of land use, zoning and licensing matters.

A member of the Oakland County Bar Association and the Incorporated Society of Irish-American Lawyers, Schroder graduated from Wayne State University Law School in 2001 and received his undergraduate degree from Albion College in 1997.