LEGAL PEOPLE

Trott & Trott PC announced that Heide Myszak, John Kapitan, and Kim Rattet have been promoted to partner. Trott Chairman David A. Trott made the announcement. "These promotions are a testament to the hard work and dedication displayed by each of these individuals to our firm and our clients," said Trott. "We are very proud and pleased to announce these outstanding attorneys as Trott & Trott partners." Myszak began with Trott in February 2001. Prior to becoming partner, she worked as a senior attorney in the Title Department for nearly five years. Myszak is a member of the State Bar of Michigan Real Property Law Section. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Michigan State University and earned her law degree from the Thomas M. Cooley Law School. Kapitan joined Trott in December 2002 and has practiced law in the areas of bankruptcy, bankruptcy litigation, bankruptcy reorganization and commercial bankruptcy. Kapitan graduated with a Bachelor of Science in aviation management from Oklahoma State University and earned his law degree from Michigan State University College of Law. Rattet has been with Trott since May 2002, where she served as a staff attorney before being promoted to supervising attorney in 2003. Rattet graduated with a Bachelor of Science in biology from Eastern Connecticut State University and received her Master of Science in forensic science from the University of New Haven. She earned her law degree from the Thomas M. Cooley Law School. * * * Eight lawyers from Dawda Mann were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2013. Three Dawda Mann member attorneys were recognized for the first time this year: firm co-founder Curtis Mann in trusts and estates; Suanne Tiberio Trimmer in employment law - management and in labor and employment litigation; and Tyler Tennent in environmental law. They join on the list firm co-founders Edward Dawda and Michael Mulcahy, both recognized in corporate law and in real estate law; firm co-founder Susan Sadler in environmental law and both environmental and real estate litigation; Theresa Joswick in employee benefits (ERISA) law; and William Rosin in corporate law. * * * Dickinson Wright PLLC is pleased to announce that 98 of the firm's attorneys have been included in The Best Lawyers in America® 2013. Local Dickinson Wright attorneys recognized on this year's list include: Detroit office * Michelle Alamo, Intellectual Property Litigation. * Dennis W. Archer, Commercial Litigation, Employment Law - Management, Labor Law - Management, Labor and Employment Litigation. * Richard M. Bolton, Corporate Governance Law, Corporate Law, Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law. * William T. Burgess, Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Bankruptcy Litigation. * Lawrence G. Campbell, Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation. * James N. Candler Jr., Gaming Law, Real Estate Law. * Christopher Cornwall, Construction Law. * Bernadette M. Dennehy, Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law. * David R. Deromedi, Employment Law - Management, Labor Law - Management. * Phillip DeRosier, Appellate. * K. Scott Hamilton, Appellate. * Thomas D. Hammerschmidt Jr., Tax Law. * Verne C. Hampton II, Corporate Law. * Mark R. High, Corporate Governance Law, Corporate Law. * Edgar C. Howbert, Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law. * Steven G. Howell, Banking and Finance Law, Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Bankruptcy Litigation. * Timothy H. Howlett, Employment Law - Management, Labor Law - Management, Labor and Employment Litigation. * W. Anthony Jenkins, Corporate Law, Municipal Law. * D. Lee Khachaturian, Commercial Litigation. * Kathleen A. Lang, Commercial Litigation, Product Liability Litigation. * John K. Lawrence, Banking and Finance Law. * Kenneth J. McIntyre, Commercial Litigation. * Thomas G. McNeill, Commercial Litigation, Banking and Finance Litigation, Mergers and Acquisitions Litigation, Securities Litigation. * Sharon R. Newlon, Environmental Law, Environmental Litigation. * Francis R. Ortiz, Commercial Litigation. * James A. Plemmons, Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law. * Robert F. Rhoades, Litigation and Controversy - Tax. * Jerome M. Schwartz, Corporate Law, Securities/Capital Markets Law, Securities Regulation. * William P. Shield Jr., Banking and Finance Law. * James P. Spica, Trusts and Estates Litigation, Trusts and Estates. * Theodore B. Sylwestrzak, Banking and Finance Law, Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law. * Bruce C. Thelen, International Trade and Finance Law. * Kathryn S. Wood, Employment Law - Management, Labor and Employment Litigation. * L. Pahl Zinn, Antitrust Litigation. Troy office * Margaret A. Coughlin, Environmental Law, Environmental Litigation. * Roger H. Cummings, Corporate Law, International Trade and Finance Law. * Stephen E. Dawson, Real Estate Law. * Joseph W. DeLave, Construction Litigation. * Terence M. Donnelly, Municipal Law, Public Finance Law. * Deborah L. Grace, Employee Benefits Law. * Henry M. Grix, Non-Profit/Charities Law, Trusts and Estates. * Hanley M. Gurwin, Family Law. * Craig W. Hammond, Banking and Finance Law, Public Finance Law. * William H. Honaker, Intellectual Property Litigation, Patent Litigation, Patent Law, Trademark Law. * Monica J. Labe, Real Estate Law. * Judith F. Layne, Trusts and Estates. * Elise S. Levasseur, Immigration Law. * Christopher Maeso, Corporate Law. * Cynthia A. Moore, Employee Benefits Law. * John H. Norris, Energy Law, Environmental Law, Natural Resources Law, Oil and Gas Law. * Edward H. Pappas, Arbitration, Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Real Estate Litigation, Mediation. * Robert V. Peterson, Real Estate Law. * Daniel D. Quick, Commercial Litigation, Banking and Finance Litigation. * Larry J. Stringer, Immigration Law. * Peter H. Webster, Land Use and Zoning Law. * Rhonda Welburn, Municipal Law, Public Finance Law. * J. Bryan Williams, Corporate Law. * Laurence E. Winokur, Real Estate Law. * Paul Wyzgoski, Municipal Law, Public Finance Law. * Thomas V. Yates, Tax Law. * Katheryne L. Zelenock, Banking and Finance Law, Corporate Law, Real Estate Law, Securities and Structured Finance Law. * * * Dykema recently announced that nearly one hundred of the firm's lawyers, in multiple practice areas and in key regional markets, have been named in the 2013 Best Lawyers in America guide. This total - representing more than 25 percent of all Dykema attorneys - is the highest in the firm's history, with 25 more Dykema attorneys earning the Best Lawyers honor in 2013 than in 2012. This year-to-year increase corresponds to the 25 Dykema attorneys who make their first-time appearance on the Best Lawyers list this year. Local Dykema attorneys listed in the 2013 Best Lawyers in America guide, identified by market and the practice areas for which they have been recognized, follows: Bloomfield Hills office * Maria B. Abrahamsen - Health Care Law. * Bowden V. Brown - Public Finance Law. * Brendan Cahill - Mergers & Acquisitions Law. * Amy M. Christen - Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law. * Michael G. Cumming - Trusts and Estates. * Robert L. Duty - Employment Law - Management, Labor Law - Management. * James P. Feeney - Arbitration, Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Corporate Law, Product Liability Litigation - Defendants. * Adam M. Fishkind - Real Estate Law. * Fred J. Fresard - Product Liability Litigation - Defendants. * Alan M. Greene - Land Use & Zoning Law, Litigation - Real Estate, Litigation - Land Use & Zoning. * Dennis M. Haffey - Commercial Litigation, Litigation - Banking & Finance, Litigation - Trusts & Estates, Litigation - Securities, Litigation - Mergers & Acquisitions. * Howard B. Iwrey - Litigation - Antitrust. * Joel D. Kellman - Litigation - Real Estate, Real Estate Law. * Joanne R. Lax - Health Care Law. * Gerald T. Lievois - Mergers & Acquisitions Law, Securities/Capital Markets Law. * D. Richard McDonald - Corporate Law, Securities/Capital Markets Law, Securities Regulation, Mergers & Acquisitions Law. * James D. Obermanns - Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law. * Marilyn A. Peters - Bet - the - Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Litigation - Banking & Finance, Litigation - Securities, Litigation - Construction, Litigation - Environmental. * Brittany M. Schultz - Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants, Product Liability Litigation - Defendants. * Sheryl L. Toby - Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Litigation - Bankruptcy. * Stephen L. Tupper - Information Technology Law. Detroit office *Susan Artinian - Commercial Litigation, Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions - Defendants. * J. Michael Bernard - Corporate Law, Mergers & Acquisitions Law. * Thomas S. Bishoff - Commercial Litigation. * Eric T. Carver - Trusts and Estates, Litigation - Trusts & Estates, Tax Law. * Michael P. Cooney - Product Liability Litigation - Defendants. * Samuel C. Damren - Arbitration, Commercial Litigation, Mediation. * James M. Elsworth - Trusts and Estates. * John A. Entenman - Employment Law - Management, Labor Law - Management. * Sherrie Farrell - Commercial Litigation. * Robert J. Franzinger - Bet - the - Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Litigation - Environmental, Litigation - Intellectual Property, Litigation - Regulatory Enforcement (SEC, Telecom, Energy). * Martin Jay Galvin - Employment Law - Management, Labor Law - Management, Litigation - Labor & Employment. * Grant P. Gilezan - Environmental Law, Litigation - Environmental. * Steven E. Grob - Litigation & Controversy - Tax, Tax Law. * Mark Hauck - Commercial Litigation. * James Hermon - Litigation - Labor & Employment. * Patrick F. Hickey - Bet-the- Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Employment Law - Management, Labor Law - Management, Litigation - Construction, Litigation - Labor & Employment, Litigation - ERISA. * Kathryn J. Humphrey - Product Liability Litigation - Defendants. * Margaret Adams Hunter - Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law. * Mark D. Jacobs - Environmental Law. * Peter M. Kellett - Commercial Litigation, Litigation - Antitrust, Product Liability Litigation - Defendants, Mediation, Litigation - Securities. * Jin-Kyu Koh - Corporate Law, Securities/Capital Markets Law, Mergers & Acquisitions Law. * Kathrin E. Kudner - Health Care Law. * Mark A. Metz - Corporate Governance Law, Corporate Law, Securities/Capital Markets Law, Securities Regulation. * Aleksandra A. Miziolek - Commercial Finance Law, Corporate Compliance Law, Corporate Governance Law, Corporate Law, Mergers & Acquisitions Law. * Cameron H. Piggott - Real Estate Law, Litigation - Real Estate. * Carl Rashid Jr. - Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law, Litigation & Controversy - Tax, Tax Law, Real Estate Law, Litigation - Real Estate. * Joseph A. Ritok Jr. - Employment Law - Management, Labor Law - Management, Litigation - Labor & Employment. * Thomas M. Schehr - Commercial Litigation. * Rex E. Schlaybaugh Jr. - Corporate Law, Securities/Capital Markets Law, Mergers & Acquisitions Law. * Wilfred A. Steiner Jr. - Real Estate Law. * Thomas S. Vaughn - Corporate Law, Securities/Capital Markets Law. * * * Farmington Hills-based Fabian, Sklar, & King PC, a law firm specializing in fire injury, explosion and property damage claims, announced recently that it has sponsored a 20 hour training program for the arson investigators at the Detroit Fire Department with the National Association of Fire Investigators, one of the largest association of organizations dedicated to the education of fire investigators worldwide, at no cost to the department. Fabian, Sklar, & King PC Shareholder Stuart A. Sklar made the announcement. Detroit has one of the worst arson problems in the country, yet due to the city's budget issues cannot afford to support a fully staffed, highly trained fire department. The attorneys at Fabian, Sklar, & King PC have seen first hand the devastating impact of this lethal combination when representing victims of fires and explosions and wanted to step up and do their part by providing this critical training. After participating in 2 1/2 days of first-class training with specialists from across the country, each of the Detroit Fire Department arson investigators passed the Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator (CFEI) exam. "These guys are incredibly inspiring," said Sklar "Despite the fact that the city is cutting the number of investigators virtually in half, these dedicated investigators showed a passion and desire to make themselves the best despite all the obstacles in their way." Dedicated to advocating and protecting the rights of those injured or killed as a result of fires or explosions, Fabian, Sklar, & King PC has successfully handled thousands of property damage claims ranging from propane and natural gas explosions, to multi-million dollar commercial fire claims for Fortune 500 companies. * * * Paul Hage, an associate at Southfield-based Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer, & Weiss PC, has been appointed newsletter editor of the American Bankruptcy Institute's (ABI) Unsecured Trade Creditors Committee Newsletter. Jaffe CEO Bill Sider made the announcement. Hage brings experience to the role. He has published dozens of articles on bankruptcy and speaks at national industry events throughout the year. In addition to this new role, Hage is contributing editor and author for the Norton Bankruptcy Law & Practice treatise, the Strategic Alternatives for Distressed Businesses treatise and the Norton Annual Survey of Bankruptcy Law. He is also a member of the Editorial Advisory Board for the Norton Journal of Bankruptcy Law & Practice. A member of Jaffe's insolvency and reorganization practice group, Hage represents asset purchases, unsecured creditors' committees, debtors, secured and unsecured creditors, and trustees in bankruptcy proceedings nationwide. He earned his bachelor's degree from James Madison College at Michigan State University and his law degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. Hage continued his education and earned his master of law in bankruptcy from St. John's University School of Law. * * * Wayne State University Law School Professor Peter Henning has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant to teach at the University of Zagreb in Croatia during the 2012-13 academic year. Henning, who has received a number of teaching awards at Wayne Law, will teach an advanced seminar on economic crimes for upper-level and graduate students in the Department of Criminal Law at the University of Zagreb. "It ties in with my interests in white-collar crime, public corruption and securities law," he said. Henning is one of approximately 1,100 U.S. faculty and professionals who will travel abroad through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program in 2012-13. Recipients of Fulbright grants are chosen on the basis of academic or professional achievement as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields. Henning's scholarship focuses primarily on white-collar crime, constitutional criminal procedure and attorney ethics. He has published many articles in law reviews and journals, and is author and co-author of reference works in his field. He graduated from Georgetown University Law Center in 1985, and, after clerking, served until 1991 as a senior attorney in the Division of Enforcement at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, where he worked on cases involving insider trading, penny stock fraud, market manipulation, and accounting irregularities. He then moved to the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, where he worked on the investigation and prosecution of bank fraud. He joined the Wayne Law faculty in 1994 as an associate professor, and was promoted to professor of law in 2002. He is an elected member of the American Law Institute and treasurer of the American National Section of the International Association of Penal Law. * * * The law firm of Couzens Lansky is pleased to announce that the lawyers and staff formerly with Nadis & Neuman PC have joined the firm and will work in the Farmington Hills office. Ronn Nadis and Phillip Neuman have become shareholders of the firm. Michael Dorocak and Sarah Heisler Gidley have become associates and Robert Berlow is Of Counsel. The attorneys joining Couzens Lansky concentrate on commercial real estate transactions, including development, finance and leasing; all real estate litigation including title litigation, mortgage priority disputes, real estate fraud, boundary disputes, and zoning disputes; landlord-tenant matters; commercial and corporate law, and business disputes; and appellate litigation. They represent real estate developers and investors, financial institutions, and both large and small businesses in routine to complex transactions. * * * Ten attorneys in the Southfield and Macomb County offices of Warner, Norcross, & Judd LLP have been selected for The Best Lawyers in America® 2013. The peer-review award individually recognized: * Kurt M. Brauer, listed for four years, was acknowledged for his work in environmental law. * Michael G. Cruse, who died earlier last month after a long battle with pancreatic cancer, was named to the list for his fourth year, and was recognized for his work in bankruptcy and debtor-creditor rights law and bankruptcy litigation. * William R. Jansen, the partner in charge of the Southfield office, was selected for the 11th consecutive year for his work in commercial litigation and regulatory enforcement litigation. * Jay A. Kennedy, who was named to the list for the first time, was recognized for his work in tax law. * Steven C. Kohl, listed for four years, was acknowledged for environmental law. * Mary Jo Larson, who has been on the list for 12 consecutive years, was selected for her work in employee benefits law. * Thomas J. Manganello, who was named to the list for the first time, for his work in commercial litigation. * Alan T. Rogalski, listed for eight years, was selected for his work in health care law. * Deborah J. Williamson, who was named to the list for the first time, was selected for her work in health care law. * Lisa B. Zimmer, listed for the third year, was recognized for her work in employee benefits law. Warner Norcross was ranked the top law firm in Southfield for commercial litigation, employee benefits, environmental law, health care law, regulatory enforcement litigation and tax law. Brauer, Cruse, Jansen, Kennedy, Kohl, Larson, Manganello, Rogalski, Williamson and Zimmer are among a total of 93 Warner Norcross attorneys, representing more than 40 different practice areas, to be included in the 2013 list. Warner had a 35 percent increase in the number of attorneys recognized in this year's ranking over last year. Published: Mon, Sep 3, 2012