LEGAL PEOPLE

Gov. Rick Snyder recently appointed David Trott to the State Building Authority Board of Trustees. The board is responsible for overseeing the State Building Authority, which issues and sells bonds and notes to acquire equipment and construct facilities. "David's expertise in the property and finance industries will play a key role as we work to use our resources most efficiently and provide Michigan tax-payers greater value for money," Snyder said. Trott is president and managing partner of Trott & Trott PC. He has served as CEO and president of Attorneys Title Agency for 18 years and as president of American Processing Company for eight years. Trott is the chairman and CEO of NDeX, a mortgage default processing services provider. He currently serves on the University of Michigan Political Science Advisory Board and the Dean's Advisory Board for the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. Trott earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Michigan and a law degree from Duke University. Trott will replace Dawn Batts and serve a four-year term expiring Aug. 21, 2015. The appointment is subject to the advice and consent of the Senate. * * * Miller Canfield associate Tamira Chapman was recently selected as a member of the 2011-2012 Class for Leadership Oakland. At Miller Canfield, Chapman specializes in information technology, health information technology and entertainment law providing corporate and legal expertise for a variety of business clients, health care professionals and creative talents. She recently received the 2011 Barrister of the Year Award by the Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association. Chapman earned her B.A. from Michigan State University and her law degree from Wayne State University Law School. * * * Butzel Long attorney and shareholder Robin Luce Herrmann has been appointed to the State Bar of Michigan Law and Media Committee. The appointment runs through Sept. 30, 2014. The State Bar of Michigan Media and the Law Committee develops, recommends, and supports programs that promote a positive relationship between the law and the media. "The Committee has many outstanding initiatives in place including educational programs designed for journalists as well as attorneys throughout the year," said Herrmann. "I look forward to serving on this important Committee." Herrmann concentrates her practice in the areas of media law, particularly defamation and access issues; commercial litigation, including RICO; non-competes and trade secrets; and civil rights. She has trial and appellate experience in both state and federal courts in a variety of areas. Herrmann also is general counsel of the Michigan Press Association. In addition, Herrmann previously taught Law of the Press in the Journalism Department. at Oakland University. She also has been a guest speaker on Law of the Press at Wayne State University, Central Michigan University, and Oakland University. She is the author of numerous articles as well. Herrmann is a member of the American Bar Association including the ABA Communications Law Forum; Woman Advocate Committee of the Litigation Section; a past member and vice-chair of the ABA Law and Media Committee; and active in the Media Law Resource Center. Herrmann has been very active with Community Legal Resources over the years. Currently, she is chair, Board of Directors. She also served as vice-chair Board of Directors - 2006 to 2009; Chair, Finance Committee - 2003 to 2006; she has been a board member since 2003. Herrmann is a 1984 graduate of the University of Michigan and a 1993 graduate of the Detroit College of Law. * * * Maddin, Hauser, Wartell, Roth, & Heller PC. a Southfield-based law firm, announced the hiring of Lindsey R. Johnson as an associate attorney in its Real Property and Mortgage Dispute Resolution practice group. Johnson brings six years of litigation experience to Maddin Hauser, representing clients in matters involving bankruptcy, commercial litigation, real property, insurance defense and negligence. Johnson is a member of the Federal Bar Association, State Bar of Michigan, and Oakland County Bar Association. She also serves as an Oakland County notary for the State of Michigan. Johnson earned her law degree from the Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing. She also earned a Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree in International Relations from James Madison College at Michigan State University. * * * Gov. Rick Snyder recently appointed Assistant Attorney General Michael Moody to serve as the state public administrator. With this appointment, Moody will take on the additional responsibility of administering estates of deceased persons when there is no known family member or guardian to perform this duty. Moody has 16 years of experience working in the State Attorney General's office where he has spent much of his time with the Special Litigation Unit. He also worked for the Labor Division and the Public Employment and Elections Division. Moody previously practiced law with Cohl, Stoke, & Toskey, and the Michigan Court of Appeals. He serves on the Williamston city council. He earned a bachelor's degree in international relations from Michigan State University and a law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. Moody's appointment is for a term expiring at the pleasure of the governor, and is not subject to the advice and consent of the Senate. * * * Vercruysse, Murray, and Calzone PC has received a first tier ranking for Labor & Employment Law in the 2011 edition of "Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business" published by Chambers & Partners Publishing. This is the second consecutive year that Vercruysse, Murray, and Calzone has received first tier honors. The firm has been recognized since 2003 with either first or second tier ratings. Leading Individuals from Vercruysse Murray and Calzone in the field of Labor & Employment Law include Robert M. Vercruysse in tier 1, Gregory V. Murray in tier 2, and David B. Calzone in tier 2. Vercruysse has been honored annually by Chambers USA since 2003, "The Best Lawyers in America" since 1987, "Michigan Super Lawyers Top 100" since 2006, and was selected by his peers across the United States as a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers in 1997. His work over the years has helped to shape the labor and employment laws in Michigan. He is known for his skills on behalf of management in union negotiations, employment litigation and appeals. He also serves as an independent mediator and arbitrator. Vercruysse has also served as a law clerk in the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and as an adjunct professor of Labor Law at his alma mater, The University of Michigan Law School. He has served as chair of the Labor & Employment Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan, is a charter member of the American Employment Law Council and a life member of the Sixth Judicial Conference for the United States Court of Appeals. Vercruysse is a Fellow of both the State Bar Foundation and the American Bar Foundation. He is on the Executive Board of the Eastern District of Michigan Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and a member of the American Bar Association, Equal Employment Opportunity Committee, Labor Law Section. He also serves on the Advisory Committee of the Michigan Employment Relations Committee and the EEOC Advisory Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution. Vercruysse is also the Editor of the Michigan Employment Law Letter. Murray has been recognized annually by Chambers USA since 2004, "The Best Lawyers in America" since 2003, "Michigan Super Lawyers" since 2006, and was selected in 1999 by his peers from across the United States to be a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. He practices in the areas of wrongful discharge, employment litigation, civil rights and discrimination litigation. Murray is the co-author of "Employment Litigation in Michigan," 1st edition (ICLE 1999) and 2nd edition (ICLE 2004) and "The Handbook of Fraud Deterrence" (2007). He is a member of the Labor & Employment Law Section and Alternative Dispute Resolution Section of the State Bar of Michigan and the Labor & Employment Law Section and Litigation Section of the American Bar Association. In addition, he is a former chair of the Employment and Labor Law Committee of the Oakland County Bar Association and member and co-chair of the labor and employment Law Committee of the Federal Bar Association. Murray is a charter member of the American Employment Law Council and a Life Fellow of both the Michigan State Bar Foundation and the Oakland County Bar Association. He serves as a co-chair of the Labor & Employment Law Committee of the Federal Bar Association. Calzone has received annual recognition from Chambers USA since 2005, "The Best Lawyers in America" since 2001, "Michigan Super Lawyers" since 2006, and was chosen by his peers from across the United States to become a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers in 2002. Calzone is a recognized leader in counseling employers to be compliant with provisions of the Family Medical Leave Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as, carrying out force reduction planning and implementation, using alternative dispute resolution and handling general human resources issues. He has served a chair of the Council for Labor & Employment Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan and has been a member of the American Employment Law Council since 1999. For the American Bar Association, Calzone has served as a member of the Committee of Employee Rights and Responsibilities and the Subcommittee on Health, Disability and Leaves of Absence under the Labor & Employment Law Section. Calzone is also a member of the Labor Law Section of the Federal Bar Association and is a Fellow of the Michigan State Bar Foundation. He is a co-editor and co-author of "Employment Litigation in Michigan," 1st edition (ICLE 1999) and 2nd edition (ICLE 2004). * * * The father-daughter team of 70th District Court Judge M.T. Thompson Jr. and Thomas M. Cooley Law School Professor Monica Nuckolls were recently honored with the State Bar of Michigan's 2011 Champion of Justice award. Each year, no more than five practicing lawyers and judges are given the award for their integrity and adherence to the highest principles and traditions of the legal profession and an extraordinary professional accomplishment that benefits the nation, the state or the local community in which the lawyer or judge lives. "Their selfless dedication to making a difference in the lives of young men and women in some of the most distressed school districts in the state, where most of us fear to tread, is an extraordinary professional accomplishment that has created silos of hope in Saginaw and Pontiac," said John Nussbaumer, nominator and associate dean of Cooley's Auburn Hills campus. This is the fourth consecutive year that a Cooley Law School faculty member has won this award. Previous winners include Associate Dean Joan Vestrand in 2008, Professor E. Christopher Johnson Jr. in 2009 and Nussbaumer in 2010. The recipients will be honored at the State Bar of Michigan Annual Meeting Awards Banquet on Wed., Sept. 14, at the Dearborn Hyatt. For more information on the Champion of Justice Award, visit michbar.org/programs/champjusticeaward. * * * The State Bar of Michigan will give Barry L. Howard, Of Counsel to the law firm of Lipson, Neilson, Cole, Seltzer, & Garin PC, and Edward H. Pappas, chairman of Dickinson Wright PLLC, the Champion of Justice Award at its annual meeting in September. Howard and Pappas have shown leadership of the State Bar of Michigan's Judicial Crossroad Task Force. The Task Force, which included more than 125 leaders from the bench, bar, and broader justice community, developed recommendations that will transform, streamline, and modernize Michigan's judicial system to deliver justice and provide access to justice to all of the people in the State of Michigan. Howard was appointed to the Oakland County Circuit Court bench by Governor James J. Blanchard in 1989. He served 12 years, including as chief judge from 2000 to 2001. Prior to the appointment, he operated a general litigation practice and served as counsel for the Police Officers Association of Michigan, receiving their Distinguished Service Award in 1996. In 1995, he was selected as "one of the top five most respected judges" in the state by WDIV-Channel 4 Lawyers' Survey. In 2000, he served as president of the Michigan Judges Association. He now has a Alternative Dispute Resolution practice. Pappas is the chairman of Dickinson Wright PLLC and focuses his practice in complex commercial and business litigation, arbitration and mediation. He has authored or co-authored various publications, including the definitive treatise on Michigan Business Torts, and is a frequent speaker on litigation, arbitration and mediation issues. Pappas is a past president of State Bar of Michigan (2008-2009) and the Oakland County Bar Association (1997-1998). He is a Fellow of the State and Oakland County Bar Foundations, American College of Civil Trial Mediators and International Society of Barristers. He is listed in "Best Lawyers in America," "Chambers USA Leading Lawyers for Business," "Michigan Super Lawyers," and "Benchmark Litigation Stars," and in 2009 was selected as one of the Top 25 Leaders in the Law by Michigan Lawyers Weekly. * * * Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Colleen A. O'Brien was elected as treasurer of the Michigan Judges Association during the annual Michigan Judges Conference in Mackinac on Aug. 21. Her term will commence on Jan. 1, 2012. O'Brien has served as a judge in the Oakland County Circuit Court since 1998. O'Brien currently serves on the Circuit Court Criminal/Civil Division. She also served on the Circuit Court Family Division from 1999 to 2001. Published: Mon, Sep 5, 2011