Legal People ...

Jennifer Dukarski, Butzel attorney, shareholder, and leader of the firm’s Connected and Autonomous Mobility Team, will be a guest speaker during the Society of Automotive Analysts (SAA) 11th Annual Automotive Recalls Summit on Wednesday, April 24, in Livonia.

She will discuss recent failures in the transportation industry, the related civil penalties for evading regulatory compliance and what it takes for manufacturing organizations to identify and mitigate recall and compliance risks internally.

Dukarski focuses her practice at the intersection of technology and communications with an emphasis on emerging and disruptive issues: digital media and content, cybersecurity and privacy, infotainment and shared mobility, and connected and autonomous cars. Dukarski has become a national leader in legal issues facing emerging automotive technology including challenging intellectual property issues surrounding data, artificial intelligence and automated systems.

A self-titled “recovering engineer,” Dukarski was named one of the 30 Women Defining the Future of Technology in January 2020 by Warner Communications for her innovative thoughts and contributions to the tech industry.

Dukarski is a graduate of the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law (2010). She also is a graduate of the University of Detroit Mercy College of Engineering and Science (1996).

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The appeal of a landmark eminent domain case in the city of Detroit’s storied Poletown neighborhood will be the focus of a symposium on May 9, featuring Plunkett Cooney appellate attorney Mary Massaron.

Massaron, who represented the plaintiffs in County of Wayne v. Hathcock, will lend her perspective to the panel discussion during the Michigan Supreme Court Advocates Guild’s symposium, which will also feature former Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Young, the author of the Hathcock decision, and former Supreme Court Justice James Ryan, the author of the dissent in Poletown.

The symposium, titled: “The Story of Poletown - A Night of Hathcock, Eminent Domain and the Michigan Supreme Court,” will take place at 5 p.m. in the Partrich Auditorium at Wayne State University Law School. Billed as a night of fun, sophistication and the law, the free event is open to the public, but email registration is required by emailing Lynn Seaks at lynnseaks@micourthistory.com. A short reception will follow the panel discussion at 6:15 p.m.

“This was one of the most high-profile and high-stakes cases in my career,” said Massaron, a partner in Plunkett Cooney’s Bloomfield Hills office. “I think it will be fun and insightful to discuss this case with two former Supreme Court justices who played pivotal roles in the decision.”

A former law clerk to Michigan Supreme Court Justice Patricia J. Boyle, Massaron has handled or supervised the handling of more than 400 appeals, resulting in approximately 150 published opinions, including more than 100 appeals in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Massaron’s appellate advocacy is well known. She has won numerous victories before the Michigan Supreme Court for public- and private-sector clients, overturning multi-million-dollar judgments and establishing new legal principles.

Massaron has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America for Appellate Law and has been repeatedly acknowledged as one of the top 100 lawyers, top 50 business lawyers, top 25 women business lawyers, top 50 female lawyers, and top appellate law practitioners by Michigan Super Lawyers. She was recognized as the Best Lawyers 2017 and 2021 Appellate Practice “Lawyer of the Year” in Bloomfield Hills. DBusiness Magazine named her top appellate lawyer for the past five years.

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Giarmarco, Mullins, & Horton PC
welcomes two new members to its Board of Directors. Following a unanimous vote by its shareholders, Alexander Lebedinski and Keela Johnson have been elected to join the board, effective immediately.

Lebedinski specializes in healthcare law and business transactions and represents many healthcare providers. Johnson’s practice focuses on various domestic relations and family law aspects, including high-asset divorce and custody litigation.

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Bodman PLC
is pleased to announce that Ryan C. Washburn has joined the firm as a senior associate in the Business Practice Group.

Washburn assists clients in business and tax planning including the corporate, tax and real estate components of acquisitions and divestitures and the structuring of other complex corporate transactions.

Before joining Bodman, Washburn was an associate with a Michigan-based business and tax law firm where he represented clients on corporate transactions and tax matters. He also worked as a senior tax consultant with a global accounting firm where he helped analyze the tax consequences of transactions and helped clients identify and minimize exposure and risks.

Washburn graduated from University of Illinois College of Law and received an undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Central Michigan University.

As a law student, Washburn served as a law clerk with the Wayne County Circuit Court where he regularly performed legal research and assisted with drafting.