LEGAL PEOPLE

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer recently appointed Kameshia Gant to the Oakland County Circuit Court.

Gant received her bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and her law degree degree from Wayne State University Law School. She is a solo practitioner with Gant Law PLLC, a public defender, and a member of the Black Women Lawyer's Association of Michigan.

The appointment was made to fill a partial term, which expires on January 1, 2021, after Judge Karen McDonald stepped down effective April 12. If Gant wishes to seek a full six-year term she would be required to run for reelection in November of 2020.

This appointment is not subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.

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Dykema recently announced that 17 attorneys from multiple offices and practice areas received individual rankings and 10 practice areas have been recognized in the 2019 edition of Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business guide.

Chambers USA recognized the following Dykema practices in Michigan:

Banking & Finance
Corporate/M&A
Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation
Labor & Employment
Litigation: General Commercial
Real Estate

Chambers USA recognized the following local Dykema attorneys, as identified by jurisdiction and practice area:

J. Michael Bernard - Corporate/M&A

Robert A. Boonin - Labor & Employment

Amy M. Christen - Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation

Adam M. Fishkind - Real Estate

James P. Feeney - Litigation: General Commercial

Dennis M. Haffey - Litigation: General Commercial

Kyle R. Hauberg - Real Estate

Margaret Adams Hunter - Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation

Jin-Kyu Koh - Corporate/M&A

Cameron H. Piggott - Real Estate

Thomas S. Vaughn - Corporate/M&A

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Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer recently appointed Jacob Femminineo Jr. to the Macomb County 41B District Court.

Femminineo received his bachelor's degree and Master of Public Administration from Wayne State University and his law degree from the Detroit College of Law. Femminineo is the managing partner of Femminineo Attorneys PLLC and an adjunct professor at Macomb Community College.

The appointment was made to fill a partial term, which expires at twelve noon on January 1, 2021, after Judge Linda Davis stepped down effective April 1. If Femminineo wishes to seek a full six-year term he would be required to run for reelection in November of 2020.

This appointment is not subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.

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At a recent meeting of the board of directors of Plunkett Cooney, three members were elected to officer positions. Partners Michael S. Bogren, Michael P. Ashcraft Jr. and Audrey J. Forbush were elected to one-year terms as chairman, secretary/treasurer and senior vice president, respectively.

Ashcraft, who serves as a co-leader of Plunkett Cooney's Professional Liability Practice Group, is one of the state's leading professional liability attorneys. He concentrates his practice primarily on the defense of attorneys and accountants in malpractice claims. A partner in the firm's Bloomfield Hills office, he also represents insurance brokers and agents, securities brokers, real estate brokers and agents, investment advisors, officers and directors, and notaries public in professional liability cases in state and federal courts.

Admitted to state and federal courts in Michigan and Nebraska, Ashcraft graduated from Michigan State University College of Law in 1992. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan in 1987.

Ashcraft is a member of the Oakland County Bar Association's Negligence Section, the State Bar of Michigan's Professional Ethics Committee, and the American Bar Association's Committee on Professional Responsibility and Liability.

Bogren has been a member of the firm's board of directors since 2003, serving as chair since 2012. He is a member of Plunkett Cooney's Governmental Law Practice Group, and he focuses his practice in the areas of municipal law, civil rights and labor and employment law.

A 1982 graduate of University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, Bogren has experience representing municipalities in both state and federal court claims involving police liability, due process matters, first amendment issues, Michigan Open Meetings and Freedom of Information Act violations, zoning disputes, and employment law.

Forbush focuses her practice primarily in the area of municipal liability with particular expertise in police pursuits, excessive force, civil rights, whistleblower claims, labor and employment issues, zoning, and personal injury. In addition to her municipal practice, Forbush has experience in the area of professional liability where she routinely defends physicians and hospitals in malpractice claims.

Forbush is a member of the public corporation section of the State Bar of Michigan and the Genesee County Bar Association, and s serves as legal advisor to the Law Enforcement Action Forum, an organization consisting of select law enforcement executives throughout the state of Michigan. Forbush received her law degree from the Western Michigan University Cooley Law School in 1988 and her undergraduate degree from Central Michigan University in 1984.

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Butzel Long attorney and shareholder Robert H. Schwartz has been appointed to represent Detroit on the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) Health and Long-Term Care Committee. The Committee's objective is to educate, engage and empower the communities it serves on critical health and long-term care issues. JFNA is the national umbrella organization for the Federation system of which the Jewish Federation is a part.

Schwartz also will attend the 2019 JFNA Health and Long-Term Care Summit in Washington, D.C. from May 7-8. He will meet with Congressional representatives and present an award to U.S. Representative Debbie Dingell.

Schwartz's practice includes corporate and healthcare activities. He has experience in business planning, mergers and acquisitions and in assisting healthcare and hospital clients in the healthcare regulatory areas including reimbursement, fraud and abuse, hospital-physician relations, pharmacies in both the community and long-term care setting, among others.

He is a member of the Health Law Sections of the American Bar Association and State Bar of Michigan, the American Health Lawyers Association, the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association, as well as the State Bar of Michigan. He is a board member of Oakland County Michigan's Medical Main Street and an American Health Lawyer Association Trained Arbitrator, Mediator and Hearing Officer.

Schwartz formerly served on the Michigan Health & Hospital Association (MHA) Committee on Hospital-Physician Alignment and the Health Information Strategy Committee. Representing non-profit organizations also has become a staple of his practice including organizations such as trade associations, medical organizations, and quasi-government organizations among others.

Schwartz graduated from Wayne State University Law School and Wayne State University. He is admitted to practice in Michigan and New York.

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Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer today announced the appointment of Oakland County 43rd District Court Judge Charles G. Goedert to the Criminal Justice Policy Commission:

Goedert earned his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School. Goedert is appointed to succeed Judge Raymond Voet whose term expired March 1 to represent the Michigan District Judges Association for a term expiring March 1, 2023.

The Criminal Justice Policy Commission collects, prepares, analyzes, and disseminates information regarding state and local sentencing and proposed release policies and practices for felonies and the use of prisons and jails.

The appointment is not subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.

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Maddin, Hauser, Roth, & Heller PC is pleased to announce that 18 of its attorneys have been named Michigan Leading Lawyers.

Maddin Hauser attorneys recognized as 2019 Michigan Leading Lawyers include (name, title and practice areas recognized):

• Stuart M. Bordman, shareholder and chairman of Franchise and Distribution Practice Group
  -Franchise & Dealership Law
  -Tax Law: Business

• Earle I. Erman, shareholder
  -Bankruptcy & Workout Law: Commercial

• Martin S. Frenkel, shareholder, Executive Committee member and co-chair of Financial Services and Real Property Litigation Practice Group
  -Real Estate Law: Commercial and Finance

• Michelle C. Harrell, shareholder, Executive Committee member and chair of Complex Litigation and Risk Advisory Practice Group
  -Commercial Litigation
  -Land Use, Zoning & Condemnation Law
  -Real Estate Law: Commercial

• Mark R. Hauser, firm co-founder, CFO and Executive Committee member
  -Mergers & Acquisitions Law
  -Publicly Held Corporations Law
  -Real Estate Law: Commercial, Finance and Tax

• Harvey R. Heller, shareholder, Executive Committee member and chairman of Defense and Insurance Coverage Practice Group
  -Commercial Litigation
  -Insurance, Insurance Coverage & Reinsurance Law
  -Professional Malpractice Defense Law: Legal, Technical and Financial

• Robert D. Kaplow, shareholder
  -Tax Law: Business and Individual
  -Trust, Will & Estate Planning Law

• Kathleen H. Klaus, shareholder
  -Civil Appellate Law
  -Commercial Litigation
  -Insurance, Insurance Coverage & Reinsurance Law
  -Professional Malpractice Defense Law: Legal, Technical and Financial

• Charles M. Lax, shareholder
  -Employee Benefits Law
  -Tax Law: Business
  -Trust, Will & Estate Planning Law

• Michael W. Maddin, firm co-founder, president emeritus and Executive Committee member
  -Closely & Privately Held Business Law
  -Real Estate Law: Commercial and Finance
  -Trust, Will & Estate Planning Law

• Richard F. Roth, shareholder
  -Closely & Privately Held Business Law
  -Real Estate Law: Commercial and Finance
  -Tax Law: Business
  -Trust, Will & Estate Planning Law

• Steven D. Sallen, shareholder, president, CEO, Executive Committee member and co-chairman of Real Estate Practice Group
  -Real Estate Law: Commercial and Finance

- William E. Sigler, shareholder
  -Closely & Privately Held Business Law
  -Employee Benefits Law
  -Tax Law: Business and Individual
  -Trust, Will & Estate Planning Law

• Julie Beth Teicher, shareholder
  -Bankruptcy & Workout Law: Commercial
  -Creditor's Rights/Commercial Collections Law

• Stewart C. W. Weiner, shareholder
  -Commercial Litigation
  -ADR Law: Commercial Litigation and Family
  -Construction Law
  -Family Law

- Marc S. Wise, shareholder
  -Employee Benefits Law

- Steven M. Wolock, shareholder
-Commercial Litigation
-Insurance, Insurance Coverage & Reinsurance Law
-Professional Malpractice Defense Law: Legal, Technical and Financial

- Craig E. Zucker, shareholder
  -Bankruptcy & Workout Law: Commercial
  -Creditor's Rights/Commercial Collections Law

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Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer, & Weiss PC recently hired Cass Cook as partner in the firm's Intellectual Property Practice Group. He joins the firm with more than 15 years of trademark and intellectual property experience. Cook specializes in domestic and international trademark, copyright and related business matters representing local, domestic and international clients in a number of industries including the arts, automotive, media, electronics, software, design, manufacturing, sports and recreation, medical products and services, apparel and accessories, luxury brands and hospitality services, financial and insurance services, publishing, technology, education and entertainment.

Before joining Jaffe, Cook served as an in-house attorney at Ford Global Technologies LLC and prior as an attorney at Schiff Hardin LLP in Ann Arbor where he handled the global trademark portfolio of Ford Motor Co. and its affiliates.

Cook earned a law degree degree from Brooklyn Law School and a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Wayne State University. He is a member of the International Trademark Association and American Intellectual Property Law Association.

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Bodman PLC is pleased to announce that Lauren M. Lemonious has joined the firm as an associate attorney.

Lemonious is a member of Bodman's Banking Practice Group and is based in the firm's Detroit office. She focuses her practice on representing financial institutions in connection with commercial loan originations.

Lemonious has varied legal experience gained both in private practice and as in-house counsel. Before joining Bodman, she worked with a major real estate investment, development and management company where she documented real estate transactions, conducted market research, and was active in investor relations. Prior to that, she was an associate in the Public Finance Department in the Philadelphia office of a large national law firm where she was involved in all aspects of public finance transactions for municipal utilities and educational institutions.

She is a graduate of Harvard Law School. She served internships with Michigan Legal Services in Detroit and with the New York Law Department in Queens, New York. She also served as an intern to Judge Carolyn E. Wade of the Civil Court for the City of New York.

Lemonious earned an undergraduate degree in Urban Studies and Public Policy from Dillard University. She has volunteered as a mentor and literacy coach with various programs that support educational opportunities for elementary and high school students. She is Michigan co-chair of the Harvard Law School Association Women's Alliance Network.

She is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, the State Bar of Pennsylvania, the Wolverine Bar Association, and the Federal Bar Association, Eastern District of Michigan Chapter.

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Jackson Lewis PC is pleased to announce the firm and its Detroit attorneys have been recognized in the 2019 edition of Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business.

The firm was honored as a nationwide leader in labor and employment and recognized in numerous regions throughout the country.

Local Jackson Lewis attorneys designated as "Leaders in Their Field" for 2019 are:

Maurice G. Jenkins
Marlo Johnson Roebuck

Published: Mon, May 06, 2019