LEGAL PEOPLE

Roy Sexton, vice president of marketing and strategic planning for Trott & Trott PC was recently appointed to the Michigan Mortgage Lenders Association's (MMLA) Southeast Chapter Board of Governors. Trott Managing Partner Jeff Raff made the announcement. As a board member, Sexton will serve a two-year term as the chapter's membership liaison. In this role, he will work closely with the state membership chairperson to stay up-to-date on MMLA news and events, and help drive membership through promoting and developing events such as corporate partnership programs. Sexton earned his bachelor's degree from Wabash College and earned a Master of Arts degree in theater from The Ohio State University. In 2007, Sexton received his Master of Business Administration from the University of Michigan. He is a graduate of Leadership Detroit, Class XXX and is a governor-appointed member of the Michigan Council of Labor and Economic Growth. Sexton is also active in several nonprofit boards and committees, including First Step, Penny Seats Theatre Company and the Spotlight Players. * * * Attorney Venar Ayar is proud to announce the grand opening of the Ayar Law Group, a boutique tax law firm serving all of Metropolitan Detroit and the greater southeastern Michigan community. Ayar, a graduate of the University of Michigan and the University of San Diego School of Law returns home to Michigan from California, leaving The Law Offices of Ronson J. Shamoun, A.P.C. in San Diego. Ayar, the firm's founder earned an LL.M. in taxation. The Ayar Law Group prides itself on having respected, trusted, and highly trained tax experts available to help clients navigate the often-murky waters of the tax code. Attorneys are able to assist prospective clients with IRS and state tax disputes, including income, payroll, and sales tax; criminal tax defense, IRS and state tax audits; offers in compromise; wage garnishments and liens; payment plans; delinquent tax filings; innocent spouse claims; civil tax litigation; penalty abatement; and offshore banks and international tax. The firm has opened its doors in Southfield in the 2000 Town Center. Prospective clients are invited to come in for a consultation by simply calling toll-free 855-428-2977. * * * Vincent C. Ilagan has been named an associate at Rader, Fishman, & Grauer PLLC. Ilagan will handle patent prosecution and preparation, counsel clients on their intellectual property portfolios and develop research strategies for gathering intelligence on emerging technologies and related market opportunities. His practice stresses understanding a company's business goals and market position in order to optimize intellectual property potential and value. Prior to joining Rader, Fishman, & Grauer, Ilagan was IP director for a global research company, headquartered in Virginia, whose focus is identifying business opportunities and risks for Fortune 100 companies by investigating the patent environment. Ilagan was also an associate with several metro Detroit law firms where he prepared and prosecuted patent applications for companies including IBM, General Electric and The Boeing Company, and also served as on-site patent counsel for Chrysler LLC. He has worked with intellectual property counsel around the globe to prosecute foreign patent applications. Ilagan is a member of the State Bar of Michigan and is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, and U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He earned his law degree from John Marshall Law School in Chicago and a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan. * * * John Makewich has joined Tomkiw Enwright in Royal Oak. law firm focused on labor & employment, business formation, planning & transactions, corporate finance, entertainment & media, technology licensing, general counsel, real estate and litigation. Makewich specializes in international, corporate, mergers and acquisitions, private and public securities offerings and venture capital financing. Also, Makewich provides oversight and advice on international business transactions both here and abroad, joint ventures, trade, immigration, foreign investment and commercial transactions with an emphasis on China. Prior to joining Tomkiw Enwright, Makewich worked as an associate attorney at a Neihus and Associates in Toledo. He has also served as a judicial extern to the Michigan Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth A. Weaver. Makewich is admitted to practice in Michigan and Ohio. Makewich is conversational in German and Chinese and serves on numerous boards within the community. In his spare time he serves as the president and co-founder of the BeInstrumental Foundation, a multi-state non-profit dedicated to ensuring that every student has access to a musical education. Makewich graduated from the University of Toledo Law School (2005) and Wayne State University (B.S., Finance, 2001) * * * Butzel Long attorneys Beth S. Gotthelf and Joseph E. Richotte will co-present a program during the National Association for Surface Finishing (NASF) 3rd Annual Mid Winter Surface Finishing Conference & Exposition on January 23, 2013 in Orlando, Fla. The NASF represents the interests of businesses, technologists and professionals in the surface coatings industry. Their presentation is titled, "Latest Trends: EPA Criminal Penalties - Can It Happen to You?" "The NASF's 3rd Annual Mid Winter Surface Finishing Conference & Exposition is an important industry conference," said Gotthelf. "Joe and I will share timely information about EPA Criminal Penalties that everyone in the finishing industry needs to know." Based in Butzel Long's Bloomfield Hills office, Gotthelf is co-chair of the firm's Energy and Sustainability Practice Group. She also is chair of the firm's growing Aerospace and Defense Industry Group. Richotte, based in Butzel Long's Detroit office, practices in the areas of white collar criminal defense, Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement actions, corporate investigations, and professional discipline matters for lawyers and judges. He has represented individuals and corporations under investigation for, or charged with, antitrust violations, securities fraud, misappropriating trade secrets, violations of federal international traffic-in-arms regulations, public corruption, healthcare fraud, drug prosecutions against doctors, environmental fraud, embezzlement, and professional ethical misconduct. Richotte also counsels clients on grand jury investigations, subpoenas, and search warrants. * * * For the third consecutive year, Honigman, Miller, Schwartz, and Cohn LLP has been recognized as one of Metropolitan Detroit's 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For (101 Best and Brightest) by the Michigan Business and Professional Association (MBPA). In addition, Honigman was one of only 12 Metropolitan Detroit businesses to earn an "Elite" award from the MBPA, receiving special recognition in the compensation, benefits and employee solutions category. Honigman was the only law firm to win an "Elite" award in the Metropolitan Detroit and the West Michigan 101 Best and Brightest for 2012. Honigman was also recognized nationally as one of the Best and Brightest Companies To Work For by the National Association for Business Resources in their most recent awards and was also recognized by the MBPA among West Michigan's 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For in 2011 and 2012. In addition, Honigman was recognized as one of the "50 Best Law Firms for Women" by Working Mother magazine and Flex-Time Lawyers, LLC in 2008, 2009 and 2011 and as a "Top Workplace" by the Detroit Free Press in 2011. Additionally, Honigman has been named Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year by the Legal Aid and Defender Association, Inc. (LAD) for 2012. In addition, Honigman attorneys Daniel N. Adams, Kathryn A. Katz and Roger P. Meyers have been recognized for the hours of pro bono service they contributed to LAD in 2011. The awards were presented at LAD's annual event held on Thursday, Oct. 25, at the A. Albert Taubman Center for Design Services at the College of Creative Studies in Detroit. Honigman and pro bono partner LAD have a long and successful history of working together to serve the indigent population. When LAD expressed concern that it was becoming increasingly difficult for its staff to meet all of the pressing needs presented by its clients, particularly in light of funding cuts, Honigman offered a solution: volunteer to help LAD on a regular basis, working directly with clients and on legal research issues. As part of Honigman's commitment to serve as a regular and meaningful resource to LAD, attorneys Daniel N. Adams (a member of the firm's Bankruptcy and Creditors' Rights Practice), Kathryn A. Katz (a member of the firm's Trust and Estates Practice) and Roger P. Meyers (a member of the firm's Litigation Department), each dedicated more than 50 volunteer hours to LAD in 2011 and are being honored for this contribution. Jennifer Zbytowski Belveal accepted the award on behalf of Honigman at the event. She is the chair of Honigman's Pro Bono Committee, a member of the firm's Litigation Department and co-chair of its White Collar Criminal Defense and Investigations Practice. Tara E. Mahoney serves as the vice chair of the firm's Pro Bono Committee and is a member of the firm's Labor and Employment Department. * * * Additionally, Sandra Thompson has been named an associate at Rader, Fishman, & Grauer. Thompson will handle patent prosecution for a variety of clients with an emphasis on mechanical and electro mechanical technologies. Prior to joining Rader, Fishman, & Grauer, Thompson was an attorney and patent agent with a patent prosecution firm in Illinois where she prosecuted patent applications for domestic and foreign companies. Previously, she was a U.S.-based law clerk for a Japanese company in Tokyo, where she researched the legal implications of natural gas extraction in the Amazon Rain Forest. She has also worked as a project engineer in the chemical industry. Thompson is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association. She earned her law degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law, a master of science in intellectual property marketing and management from Illinois Institute of Technology, a master of business administration from University of Illinois at Chicago and a bachelor of science in engineering from the University of Michigan. * * * Wachler & Associates PC is pleased to announce that Reesa Handelsman and Michael Bossenbroek have joined the firm as associate attorneys. Handelsman joins the firm as its newest transactional and corporate health care attorney. Handelsman comes to us from the second-largest health care law practice in the country, Hall, Render, Killian Health & Lyman, where she focused her practice in transactional and regulatory matters. Handelsman practices in all areas of health care law and has experience in counseling clients on hospital and physician transactions and corporate matters, Fraud and Abuse regulations including the Anti-Kickback Statute and Stark Law, supply chain transactions and real estate matters. Handelsman has represented a wide variety of health care clients and has an expertise in regulatory analysis and tailored contract review and preparation that takes into account the full ambit of regulatory issues. Handelsman has an in-depth knowledge of supply chain matters including contract management, drafting, and supply chain coordination and standardization and has represented health systems, hospitals, and group purchasing organizations in that regard. Handelsman graduated from the Boston University School of Law in 2007. Handelsman also graduated as a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business in 2004. Handelsman is a member of the American Bar Association, American Health Lawyers Association, State Bar of Michigan, Health Care Law Section, and the Oakland County Bar Association. Bossenbroek practices in all areas of health care law and devotes a substantial portion of his practice to representing providers in the Medicare and other third-party-payor audit appeals process. He is admitted to the State Bar of Michigan as well as the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Prior to joining Wachler & Associates PC, Bossenbroek had the honor of serving as a judicial law clerk to Michigan Supreme Court Justice Robert P. Young Jr. and gained litigation experience as a commercial litigation associate at Dickinson Wright PLLC. Bossenbroek earned his law degree from Wayne State University Law School in 2005. Bossenbroek earned his B.A. from Calvin College in 2002 double majoring in Philosophy and Business. * * * Eight attorneys from Williams, Williams, Rattner, & Plunkett PC in Birmingham have been selected for inclusion in Thomson Reuters' list of "Michigan SuperLawyers 2012." Robert S. Bick is a partner whose law practice focuses on corporate law, mergers & acquisitions law, corporate governance and business planning; James P. Cunningham is a partner whose law practice focuses on family law; Robert B. Labe is a partner whose law practice focuses on business law, estate planning, estate and trust administration, tax law and tax planning; John F. Mills is a partner whose law practice focuses on family law, with an emphasis on family law alternative dispute resolution and adoption law; Thomas G. Plunkett is a partner whose law practice focuses on commercial litigation, estate and trust administration and family law; Richard D. Rattne is partner whose law practice focuses on real estate, land use, zoning and corporate law; Richard E. Rassel III is a partner whose practice focuses on commercial litigation, real estate and business / corporate law; and R. Jamison Williams Jr. is a partner whose practice focuses on corporate law, mergers & acquisitions law, and business and estate planning. In addition, Michael W. Benoit and Susan A. Babcock have been selected for inclusion in Thomson Reuters' list of "Michigan Rising Stars 2012." Benoit is a partner whose law practice focuses on real estate, banking and business / corporate law. Babcock is an associate whose law practice focuses on commercial litigation. * * * Seven attorneys from Southfield-based Collins, Einhorn, Farrell & Ulanoff PC were selected by their peers for inclusion in the 19th edition of Best Lawyers in America® 2013. Noreen L. Slank, Michael J. Sullivan, Brian D. Einhorn, Theresa M. Asoklis, Clayton F. Farrell, Donald D. Campbell, and David C. Anderson were recognized as being among the best attorneys in their respective practice areas. This is the seventh consecutive year Best Lawyers has honored Slank. Sullivan, Asoklis, Farrell and Campbell have been named to this list in each of the past four years. Einhorn also is a returning honoree. Anderson earned his first recognition from Best Lawyers. Slank was honored for her work in Appellate Practice and Insurance Law. Since 1980, the Wayne State University Law School alumna has practiced in the state and federal appellate courts with an emphasis on the defense of medical and legal malpractice actions, insurancecoverage disputes, and the defense of catastrophic personal injury cases. Sullivan was selected for his work in both Legal Malpractice Law--Defendants and Professional Malpractice Law--Defendants. He has more than 25 years of litigation experience. In the professional liability arena, the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law alumnus has defended attorneys, physicians, accountants, architects, engineers, real estate appraisers, real estate brokers and title agents in defense of significant claims involving personal injury, property damage and business loss. Einhorn joins Sullivan among the lawyers named in Legal Malpractice Law--Defendants and Professional Malpractice Law--Defendants. He also was recognized for his work in Product Liability Litigation--Defendents. For more than three decades, the Wayne State University Law School alumnus has been at the forefront of legal issues affecting lawyers, judges, courts, businesses and insurers. Einhorn has litigated numerous court cases and disciplinary proceedings that have shaped Michigan law withissues ranging from lawyers' potential liability to clients for defamation, to judicial candidates' free speech rights. Asoklis appears among the Best Lawyers with Sullivan and Einhorn in Professional Malpractice Law--Defendants. For more than 20 years, she has focused her practice on the professional liability claims, and attorney and judicial disciplinary proceedings for more than 20 years. The Wayne State University Law School alumna also maintains an active general liability defense practice, including claims arising out of auto and trucking accidents, and complex premises liability matters. Farrell, who represents the firm on this list in the area of Products Liability Litigation--Defendants, concentrates his practice on multi-party, complex litigation, including litigation in the areas of environmental torts, product liability, toxic torts and emerging claims. The University of Detroit Mercy School of Law alumnus' trial experience spans more than three decades and includes approximately 100 cases to verdict. Campbell was honored for his work in Ethics and Professional Responsibility Law. The Wayne State University Law School alumnus focuses his practice on attorney grievance defense, representation in judicial tenure matters and legal malpractice defense. In addition to his law practice, he has served as an adjunct professor of law at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law for more than a decade, teaching courses in ethics and criminal law. Anderson earned recognition in Professional Malpractice Law--Defendants. He focuses his practice on the defense of professional liability claims. For more than a decade, he has successfully defended lawyers, accountants and a variety of insurance and real estate professionals. The University of Detroit Mercy School of Law alumnus also maintains an active general liability defense practice, including claims arising out of product liability matters, automobile liability, as well as complex premises liability matters. * * * Stuart Sklar, a partner with the law firm of Fabian, Sklar, and King in Farmington Hills, has been honored by the National Association of Fire Investigators with its "Distinguished Service Award." This honor was presented to Sklar at the International Symposium of Fire Investigation and Technology Conference held at the University of Maryland on Oct. 16. Sklar is the first attorney to receive this award in the more than 50-year history of NAFI. According to the NAFI, Sklar was selected "for his decades of unswerving and selfless dedication and exceptional service towards the advancement of the fire investigation profession, by promoting and providing excellence in the training, education, quality, expertise, and professionalism of our vocation." In presenting the award, NAFI President Patrick Kennedy cited Sklar's efforts on behalf of the Detroit Fire Department's (DFD) Arson Section as an example of his dedication to the advancement of fire investigations. Earlier this year, Sklar initiated and organized a three-day, 20-hour training program whereby 15 DFD Arson Section investigators received training from leading fire investigation professionals and educators from around the country. Following the training, the investigators took and passed the Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator (CFEI) exam, resulting in the most CFEI's in the history of the department. He also arranged for Fabian, Sklar, and King, to cover all expenses associated with the training, which would have cost the DFD more than $20,000 to provide. "Our firm is proud that NAFI has honored Stuart for his years of dedication to the advancement of the fire investigation profession as illustrated by his efforts in organizing the training program and arranging the firm's sponsorship for the DFD, which has positively impacted the careers of these fire investigators and the City of Detroit," said Michael Fabian, shareholder at Fabian, Sklar, & King. "He is an example of a professional in the private sector stepping up to help those who serve the community." The International Symposium of Fire Investigation Science and Technology Conference (ISFI) brings together, fire scientists, investigators, engineers and educators from around the world. This year, the ISFI conference welcomed delegates from 12 countries and featured more than 40 technical presentations throughout the three-day conference. Founded in 1986, Fabian, Sklar, & King is a nationally recognized leader in representing those injured or killed as the result of fires and explosions and advocating and protecting the rights of homeowners, business owners and other policyholders in property damage disputes with insurance companies. Published: Mon, Nov 5, 2012