Legal People

Farmington Hills-based Trott & Trott PC recently announced today the addition of attorneys Sarah Antczak, Stephanie Kamykowski, and Dana Marcoux to the firm’s litigation and evictions departments. Trott & Trott President and Managing Partner David A. Trott made the announcement.

Antczak joins Trott & Trott as a litigation attorney concentrating her practice in the areas of real estate finance and foreclosure law. Antczak earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Kalamazoo College and her law degree from the Michigan State University College of Law. She is currently a member of the State Bar of Michigan, the Grand Traverse-Leelanau-Antrim Bar Association and the Eastern District of Michigan Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. Prior to joining the firm, she served as an associate attorney with Traverse City-based Bowerman, Bowden, Ford, Clulo, & Luyt PC.

Kamykowski joins Trott & Trott as a litigation attorney from Royal Oak-based Flood, Lanctot, Connor, Stablein PLLC, where she served as a law clerk, conducting legal research and drafting pleadings, motions and briefs in regards to criminal, civil, employment and family law issues. Kamykowski earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Michigan State University and her law degree from Wayne State University Law School. She is currently a member of the State Bar of Michigan and the Oakland County Bar Association.

Marcoux joins Trott & Trott as a post-sale attorney concentrating her practice in the area of foreclosure law. Marcoux earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and her law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. Prior to joining the firm, she served as a marketing specialist and supplier manager with Auburn Hills-based Chrysler Group LLC.

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The law firm of Miller Canfield is pleased to announce that the following people have been elected principals at the Detroit office of the firm effective Jan. 1:

Jeffrey S. Aronoff, from associate to principal. Aronoff specializes in all types of public finance, including municipal infrastructure finance, economic development finance and school finance. He also regularly advises governmental clients on general matters including economic development initiatives, public-private collaboration, legislative drafting, and the establishment and ongoing operation of intergovernmental and regional authorities.

He earned his law degree from Wayne State University Law School, an M.P.P. from the University of Michigan Ford School of Public Policy, and a B.A. from Michigan State University.

Eric D. Carlson, from associate to principal. Carlson specializes in all types of commercial matters including contract negotiation, litigation and insolvency issues. He regularly works with automotive and other manufacturers to develop strategies to protect just-in-time supplies of component parts produced by financially distressed or bankrupt suppliers.

In commercial transactions, he counsels buyers and sellers on developing and negotiating the terms and conditions of supply contracts and purchase orders. He also represents clients in commercial litigation, preference actions, fraudulent transfer actions and other bankruptcy litigation.

He earned his law degree from Wayne State University Law School and a B.A. from Western Michigan University.

Ryan J. Riehl, from associate to principal. Riehl focuses his practice on federal and state of Michigan tax issues. He specializes in partnership taxation, like-kind exchanges and other real estate tax matters, corporate acquisitions, dispositions and reorganizations, research and development tax credits and international tax planning for both U.S. companies conducting business abroad and non-residents with U.S. business activities.

He earned two law degrees from Wayne State University Law School and a B.A. from Michigan State University.

Additionally, Miller Canfield has elected Megan P. Norris to serve a two-year term as a managing director, effective Jan. 1. They are part of a five-person management administration that works with the CEO to oversee the firm’s offices in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Poland and China.

Norris is a principal in the Detroit office where she is leader of the firm’s Labor and Employment Law Group. She counsels clients on employment matters including discipline and discharge, discrimination, harassment and tort claims. Norris is a nationally recognized expert on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and has been recognized for her work in The Best Lawyers in America, Chambers USA and Michigan Super Lawyers. She is a “2011 Leader in the Law” by Michigan Lawyers Weekly.

She earned her law degree from the University of Michigan Law School and a B.A. from Wesleyan University, where she is a member of the board of trustees. 

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Norman D. Tucker of Sommer Schwartz PC has been named by Michigan Lawyers Weekly, as one of the “Leaders in the Law” for 2011. This is the second time Tucker has been awarded this recognition, he was first named in 2005.

Tucker has more than 30 of years experience in plaintiff medical malpractice, birth related injuries, obstetrical and neonatal care, and anesthesia mishaps. He has been an invited speaker at more than 100 seminars, workshops, panel discussions, law school classes and medical conferences, and was one of the few attorneys in the nation invited to speak at the Boston University School of Medicine’s Annual Conference on Obstetrics, Gynecology, Perinatal Medicine and the Law. Every year since 1995, Tucker has been named Best Lawyer for Medical Malpractice and Personal Injury. For 2011, Tucker was also named “Best Lawyers in America” “Detroit Area Best Lawyers Medical Malpractice Lawyer of the Year.”

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The law firm of Warner, Norcross, & Judd LLP has welcomed Matthew K. Casey and Ralph Colasuonno to its Sterling Heights and Southfield offices.

Casey, who joins the law firm as a partner, concentrates his practice in commercial litigation, commercial loan workouts and bank-related litigation. He has experience in loan workouts involving industrial facilities, shopping centers and other real estate developments.

Colasuonno, who joins Warner Norcross as senior counsel, focuses his practice in financial institutions, bankruptcy and creditors’ rights, collections, and foreclosure, litigation and real estate tax appeals.

Both attorneys join Warner Norcross from the Sterling Heights law firm of O’Reilly Rancilio PC.

Casey is a member of the State Bar of Michigan and the Macomb County Bar Association. He serves as a fellow of the Macomb County Bar Foundation and also is on the advisory board of St. John North Shore Hospital.

Casey earned his bachelor of science from Wayne State University and a law degree from Wayne State University Law School.

Colasuonno is a member of the State Bar of Michigan. He is also past president of the Sterling Heights Kiwanis Club and a member of the Sterling Heights Chamber of Commerce.

Colasuonno earned his bachelor of arts with honors from the University of Western Ontario in Canada and his law degree from the Detroit College of Law

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David H. Fink recently announced the opening of Fink & Associates Law located at 100 West Long Lake Rd. in Bloomfield Hills.

“I’m excited about our new firm,” said Fink. “Fink & Associates Law is a chance to leverage what I’ve learned in more than 30 years in private practice and public service. We are building a strong, nimble litigation team, with all the advantages of the best available technology. Our firm will provide our clients personal service, passionate representation and uncompromising integrity.”

Fink & Associates Law will focus on complex commercial and class action litigation. The firm’s areas of practice include business disputes, antitrust, consumer fraud, environmental law, intergovernmental disputes, securities fraud, shareholder derivative litigation and construction contract matters.

Fink co-founded and served as managing partner of Farmington Hills-based Fink, Zausmer, & Kaufman PC for more than two decades, ultimately growing the firm to 20 attorneys.

He later left the firm to run for U.S. Congress, and subsequently accepted an appointment to Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s Cabinet as the state employer – the governor’s chief labor negotiator – where he helped save Michigan taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars through negotiated reductions in employee wage and benefit costs. He returned to private practice from November 2005 to December 2010 as a senior partner with The Miller Law Firm PC, where he handled complex commercial and class action litigation.

In 2006, Fink was asked by Granholm to mediate a complex dispute between the Detroit Medical Center and the Wayne State University Medical School.

Fink is a graduate of Harvard College and a graduate of Harvard Law School. He serves on the Bloomfield Hills Schools Foundation Board of Directors, and was recently appointed to serve on the Michigan State Officers Compensation Commission for a term expiring in 2014.

Bloomfield Hills-based Fink & Associates Law represents both plaintiffs and defendants in a variety of complex commercial litigation and class action matters.

The firm’s areas of practice include business disputes, antitrust, consumer fraud, environmental law, intergovernmental disputes, securities fraud, shareholder derivative litigation, and construction contract matters. The firm’s main office is located at 100 W. Long Lake Road, Suite 111, Bloomfield Hills, 48304. For more information, call (248) 971-2500 or visit www.finkandassociateslaw.com.

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Brent G. Seitz, Joshua B. Dobrowitsky, Jennifer M. Woodside Wojtala, and Jeffrey J. Chapp have been elected principals of Harness, Dickey, & Pierce PLC, a national intellectual property law firm.

Seitz’s practice is concentrated in preparing and prosecuting patent applications in the mechanical, biotech, chemical, aerospace, and optical arts, as well as litigating patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret disputes.

Seitz earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology from Marquette University, and his law degree from DePaul University

Dobrowitsky’s practice involves preparing and prosecuting patent application in various technical arts including wing and control surface design, aerodynamic testing, automotive design, biomedical systems, internal combustion engines, home improvement items and various electro-mechanical systems.

Dobrowitsky earned his Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering and law degree from the University of Michigan.

Woodside Wojtala’s practice includes patent preparation and prosecution, as well as opinion work, including patentability, freedom to market; validity searches and opinions; and ex parte and inter partes patent reexaminations in the chemical, nano-technology and material arts.

Woodside Wojtala earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan, and her law degree from Wayne State University Law School.

Chapp’s current practice includes preparing and prosecuting patents, trademarks and copyrights, as well as opinion and agreement consulting and preparation, in the aerospace, automotive, communication, computer, electrical, electronic and mechanical industries.

Chapp earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Oakland University, and his law degree from Wayne State University Law School.

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Honigman, Miller, Schwartz, and Cohn LLP is pleased to announce that John P. Kanan, a partner in the firm’s Corporate and Securities Department, recently served as moderator for a panel discussion regarding legal issues arising in cross-border transactions between the U.S. and Asia. The event was hosted by the Asian Pacific American Chamber of Commerce at Lawrence Technological University.

The panel discussion touched on topics such as the process of importing goods from overseas, issues regarding misappropriation of trade secrets, selecting a partner in Asia, cultural challenges and money repatriation issues.

Kanan focuses his practice on counseling publicly- and privately-held businesses, their owners and directors, and serves as outside general counsel for a number of companies in a wide-variety of industries, including manufacturing, venture capital and private equity, technology and insurance. He also focuses on the formation and certification of minority-owned and woman-owned companies and joint ventures; software and technology licensing and development agreements; international business transactions; acquisitions and divestitures; and representation of the U.S. operations of non-U.S. headquartered companies.

Kanan was recognized in DBusiness magazine’s list of “Top Lawyers” for 2010 and 2011.

Kanan earned his law degree from University of Notre Dame Law School, and an A.B. in Communications and English Literature from University of Michigan.

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Brigadier General Michael McDaniel, an alumnus of the Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS), will return to CHDS campus on Thursday, Feb. 10, as a guest lecturer for the Center’s Executive Leaders Program (ELP).

His presentation is titled “Leadership in Homeland Security.”

McDaniel is currently director of the Homeland Security Law Program and associate professor of Constitutional Law at Thomas M. Cooley Law School.

Prior to joining the Cooley faculty, McDaniel served as deputy assistant secretary of Defense at the U.S. Department of Defense.

Prior to working at DOD, McDaniel served in a variety of roles in the state of Michigan, including a stint as assistant adjutant general for Homeland Security with the Michigan National Guard as well as advisor on Homeland Security to that state’s governor. He also served as assistant attorney general for Litigation, in the Executive Division of the Michigan Department of Attorney General. 

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Thomas H. Williams, a partner with Southfield-based Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer, & Weiss PC, was the featured speaker at the Fifth Annual “Beyond the Basics in Employment Law” seminar. Jaffe CEO Richard Zussman made the announcement.

The seminar took place on Jan. 25th at the Doubletree Hotel. A complete list of topics discussed pertaining to employment law included FMLA and ADA, sexual, racial and other types of workplace harassment and changes enacted by the health care reform legislation.

Williams is a member of the firm’s employment and labor group, specializing in wrongful discharge, equal employment opportunity, labor-management relations and other related employment and labor law issues. He is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, the American Bar Association and the Industrial Relations Research Association. He graduated from Oakland University, and earned his law degrees from Detroit College of Law and Wayne State University Law School. He also received his M.I.L.R from Michigan State University.

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Garan Lucow Miller PC has named two new shareholders to the firm: Nathan A. Dodson and Matthew S. LaBeau.

Dodson joined the firm as an associate in the Detroit offifce in 2005. He earned his B.A. from Michigan State University and his law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School.

Dodson concentrates his practice in the areas of premises liability defense, casino litigation, and sports and recreational litigation.

LaBeau focuses his practice in the areas of premises liability, municipal defense, no-fault insurance litigation, automobile negligence litigation and contractual disputes.

LaBeau joined the firm’s Detroit office in 2006 and he earned his B.A. from Western Michigan University and his law degree from Wayne State University Law School.

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Peter J. Sarkesian has joined the Business Practice Group of the law firm of Giarmarco, Mullins, & Horton PC.

Sarkesian specializes in corporate, securities,  and real estate law. He has been called upon to represent numerous clients in public and private offering transactions, matters of business acquisitions and dissolutions, ownership disputes, and general business transactions.

Sarkesian has served as senior attorney with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and as a senior vice president and general counsel to a publicly held bank holding company and a private real estate development company. He has also practiced with the firm of Dykema Gossett.

Sarkesian has been involved in numerous “going public” transactions and S-1 filings with the SEC as well as reverse mergers and “going private” transactions. He has also been general counsel to several public companies and has formed and de-registered 1940 Act Investment Advisors.