Santa stood watch over some of the proceedings of a recent Symposium, along with attorneys Mark Rossman (left) and Shaun Fitzpatrick.
Photo courtesy of Mark Rossman
By Tom Kirvan
Legal News
Twenty-five speakers were featured during a symposium, “Corporate Oppression Actions and Business Law Oppression in the Age of the Pandemic” on Nov. 11-12.
The title proved to be a draw, attracting a record number of registrants for the mostly virtual event hosted by Fortz Legal in Grand Rapids, and sponsored by the State Bar of Michigan Business Law Section in cooperation with Wayne State University Law School and the Wayne State Journal of Business.
The symposium focused on subject matter that is “very germane, as I am seeing more corporate separations since this pandemic started than ever before,” according to attorney Mark Rossman, principal moderator and host of the two-day event.
“I started the program for the State Bar three years ago, and this year’s program was our largest in terms of speakers and registration, and was a great success notwithstanding the pandemic,” said Rossman, a University of Michigan alum and head of a law firm that bears his name. “I think it is noteworthy that we were able to grow the symposium notwithstanding the pandemic and run a very informative and expansive program remotely with participants all over the country – something we never would have thought possible pre-pandemic.”
The speakers included: Oakland County Circuit Judge James Alexander; Noman Ankers. Foley & Lardner; Charles Ash, Warner Norcross + Judd; John Below, Bodman; R.J. Cronkite, Dinsmore; Shaun Fitzpatrick, Fortz Legal; Jonathan Frank, Frank & Frank; Thomas Frazee, FVF Consulting; Bernard Fuhs, Butzel Long; David Hansma, Seyburn Kahn; Ethan Holtz, Jaffe Raitt; Jonathan Lauderbach, Warner Norcross; E. Powell Miller, The Miller Law Firm; Professor Douglas Moll, University of Houston Law School; H. Joel Newman, H. Joel Newman, PLLC; retired Oakland County Circuit Judge Wendy Potts, a mediator with the Detroit office of JAMS; Daniel Quick, Dickinson Wright; Judge Brian Sullivan, Wayne County Business Court; Linda Watson, Clark Hill; Ian Williamson, Mantese Honigman; I.W. Winsten, Honigman; Judge Christopher Yakes, Kent County Business Court; Judge T.J. Ackert, Kent County Circuit Court; Professor Erick Zacks, WSU Law School; and Linda Roelans, Rossman, P.C.
Rossman, a Wayne State University alum, thanked Fortz Legal for helping host the symposium and coordinating production out of its Grand Rapids location; P.J. Muer Productions provided voiceover and musical transitions.
“Other than a small handful of registrants who attended in person in Grand Rapids, where the event was catered by Carolina Low Country Kitchen, the vast majority of the over 100 registrants appeared remotely,” Rossman said. “The event was very well received by the practitioners who attended, and it went off with only a few technical glitches.”
Day one included a roundtable discussion, “Trial Preparation and Trial Strategies,” featuring attorneys Norman Ankers, John Below, E. Powell Miller, H. Joel Newman, and Ian Williamson.
A roundtable of business court judges highlighted the closing evening, with Judges T.J. Ackert, Wendy Potts, Brian Sullivan, Christopher Yates, and James Alexander, moderated by Judge Jonathan Lauderbach (ret).
A tribute to Oakland County Circuit Judge Alexander was offered by Jaffe attorney Ethan Holtz.
A graduate of Miami University in Ohio who received his law degree from the University of Detroit, Alexander will retire at year end after a distinguished career on the bench that began on September 11, 2001.
It was quite a first day, Judge Alexander acknowledged.
“I started on 9/11 and now I will end my career in the midst of a pandemic,” Alexander mused in an interview with The Legal News earlier this year. “How’s that for bookending a career?”
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