State Bar of Michigan announces 2013 election results

Four attorneys--Timothy J. Burns , Edward L. Haroutunian, Dennis M. Barnes, and Danielle Mason Anderson--won contested seats in this year's SBM Board of Commissioners elections. All will serve three-year terms expiring at the close of the 2016 Annual Meeting. The State Bar Board of Commissioners provides oversight to the various operations of the Bar, such as finance, public policy, and member services. Timothy J. Burns won in District I, representing Oakland County. He has been a solo practitioner for 10 years. His law practice focuses on criminal defense, estate planning, probate court representation, contract law, small business representation, and consumer protection advocacy. He was one of the first attorneys in Michigan to earn an ICLE probate law and estate planning certificate and is a founding participant of the Oakland County Bar Association Inns of Court. Burns served two terms on the Oakland County Board of Commissioners and served a term on the Oakland County Parks Commission. He has also served on the board of directors of the Clawson Chamber of Commerce, the Clawson Community Credit Union, the Troy Community Coalition, and the Clawson-Troy Optimist Club. Burns, a University of Detroit Mercy School of Law graduate, completed a legal clerkship with the Michigan Attorney General before going to work for the Better Business Bureau upon passing the State Bar exam. Edward L. Haroutunian won in District I, representing Oakland County. He graduated from the University of Michigan and Wayne State University Law School and practices in the areas of family law, estate planning, real estate, and commercial litigation. He has served as a special assistant attorney general representing the state of Michigan and has served as a facilitator and arbitrator in family and real estate cases. He served on Oakland County's Public Advisory Committee on Judicial Candidates, as special investigator for the Attorney Grievance Commission, and is currently a hearing panel chair for the Attorney Discipline Board. He served on the State Bar of Michigan Representative Assembly from 1991-1997 and 2001-2007, when he was clerk, vice chair, and chair, and on the SBM Board of Commissioners from 2004-2007 and 2010-present. Haroutunian is a member of the American, Oakland, Detroit Metropolitan, and Armenian bar associations, a life fellow of the Michigan State Bar Foundation, and a fellow of the Oakland County Bar Foundation. He has lectured on family and real estate matters and has authored several articles. He practices in the firm Haroutunian Licata Haroutunian PC in Bingham Farms with his daughter, Krista, and his wife, Susan Licata Haroutunian, Of Counsel to the firm. Dennis M. Barnes won in District H, representing Lenawee, Monroe, and Wayne counties. He is a member of Barris, Sott, Denn, & Driker, with a business litigation practice. Barnes is past president of the Federal Bar Association's Eastern District of Michigan chapter, a member of the Eastern District's Standing Committee on Civility and its 2009 Magistrate Reappointment Selection Panel, a presenter at its Shared Advanced Technology Courtroom Certification seminars and an active member of the Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association, the Orange County Bar Association, the Incorporated Society of Irish American Lawyers, and the Shamrock Bar Association. He graduated from Notre Dame Law School in 1986 and Hillsdale College in 1983. Barnes serves on Detroit Catholic Central's alumni board and Dads' Club board. He is past grand commander of the Alhambra's Manresa Caravan, which assists developmentally disabled children. He provides legal and other services to a number of community, charitable, and philanthropic causes. Danielle Mason Anderson won in District F, representing Allegan, Berrien, Branch, Calhoun, Cass, Hillsdale, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph, and Van Buren counties. She received her Bachelor of Science degree from Michigan State University and her law degree from Northeastern University School of Law. She is a principal at Miller Canfield in Kalamazoo, concentrating in restructure, enforcement, and insolvency litigation. She is licensed in both Michigan and Massachusetts. Anderson is a member of the Kalamazoo County Bar Association, where she served as chair of the Young Lawyers Section and was elected to the Board of Directors. Anderson also served as chair of the SBM Young Lawyers Section in 2009-2010. She previously served as an SBM commissioner in 2008 as chair-elect of the Young Lawyers Section and continued through her ex-officio term, which ended in 2011. Anderson has also been active in the American Bar Association. Three attorneys won unopposed races to the State Bar Board of Commissioners. Victoria A. Radke, of Escanaba, won in District A, representing the northern lower peninsula and upper peninsula. Radke operates the law firm Victoria A. Radke PC in Escanaba. E. Thomas McCarthy Jr. and Robert J. Buchanan, both of Grand Rapids, won in District C, representing Oceana, Muskegon, Ottawa, Newaygo, Kent, Osceola, Mecosta, Clare, Isabella, and Gladwin counties. McCarthy is a shareholder with Smith, Haughey, Rice, & Roegge PC in Grand Rapids. Buchanan is managing partner for Buchanan & Buchanan PLC. All will serve three-year terms expiring at the close of the 2016 Annual Meeting. State Bar Representative Assembly Eight attorneys won contested races for the State Bar Representative Assembly. In the Fourth Circuit, representing Jackson County, Philip M. Moilanen and Erica L. Zimny won terms. In the Ninth Circuit, representing Kalamazoo County, Jeffrey J. Dufon won a term. In the 30th Circuit, representing Ingham County, Francis X. Hathaway, Shenique A. Moss, and Michael E. Jankowski won terms. In the 38th Circuit, representing Monroe County, Michael C. Brown and Lisa D. Janos won terms. Forty-four attorneys won unopposed races in the State Bar Representative Assembly. These new members are: Third Circuit--Wayne County Matthew R. Abel John A. Hubbard Mark M. Koroi James W. Heath Sixth Circuit--Oakland County Sheldon G. Larky James T. Weiner Daniel J. Cherrin Steven L. Rotenberg Jeffrey B. Linden Sarah E. Kuchon Ray H. Littleton II Paul A. Thursam Seventh Circuit--Genesee County Nancy K. Chinonis Eighth Circuit--Ionia County Thomas W. Chadwick 13th Circuit--Antrim, Grand Traverse, and Leelanau Counties Lee Hornberger 16th Circuit--Macomb County Carl E. Chioini Karen Trickey Pappas Laura I. Marji Sterlin Mesadieu 17th Circuit--Kent County Elizabeth K. Bransdorfer Jeffery S. Crampton Thomas R. TerMaat Richard E. Hillary II Judge Nicholas M. Ohanesian 18th Circuit--Bay County Alan R. Sullivan Jan A. Miner 19th Circuit--Benzie and Manistee Counties Benjamin M. Dost 22nd Circuit--Washtenaw County Peter M. Falkenstein Robert K. Fergan 27th Circuit--Newaygo and Oceana Counties Ellsworth J. Stay Jr. 29th Circuit--Clinton and Gratiot Counties Colleen M. Davis 37th Circuit--Calhoun County David E. Gilbert Alisa Parker 40th Circuit--Lapeer County Bernard A. Jocuns 41st Circuit--Dickinson, Iron, and Menominee Counties Kristin L. Kass 42nd Circuit--Midland County Sara J. Eastman Ashley R. Garchow 43rd Circuit--Cass County Robert W. LaBre 44th Circuit--Livingston County William H. Hougaboom 46th Circuit--Crawford, Kalkaska, and Otsego Counties Everette E. Ayers III 50th Circuit-Chippewa County James A. Riggle 51st Circuit--Lake and Mason Counties Judge Jeffrey C. Nellis 56th Circuit--Eaton County Michael W. Thomsen Jessica S. Fox The 150-member Representative Assembly was created in 1972 to increase the proportion of members who actively participate in Bar policy; it serves as the SBM final policy-making body. Judicial Tenure Commission Thomas J. Ryan won election for a three-year term on the Judicial Tenure Commission that will commence January 1, 2014, and expire December 31, 2016. He is a past president of the State Bar of Michigan, having served as its 66th president in 2000-2001. He is also past president of the Oakland County Bar Association, and served on the Oakland/Livingston Legal Aid board of directors from 1987 to 1995, including a stint as its vice president in 1994-1995. Ryan is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, the American Bar Association, the Oakland County Bar Association, the Incorporated Society of Irish American Lawyers, and the Ancient Order of Hibernians. He is the attorney for Beverly Hills, Clarkston, and Keego Harbor, and special counsel for Dexter. He has completed his second term as a member of the Judicial Tenure Commission after first being elected in 2004 and has served as its secretary, vice president, and immediate past chair. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame and his law degree from the University of Detroit. Ryan, a solo practitioner, was admitted to the State Bar of Michigan in 1973. The JTC is a constitutionally created body that promotes the integrity of the judicial process and preserves public confidence in the courts. SBM Young Lawyers Section Executive Council Two attorneys--Laura I. Marji and Stephanie E. Farkas--won uncontested elections in District One, representing Wayne and Macomb counties, for two-year terms expiring in 2015. Two attorneys--Syeda F. Davidson and Samantha J. Orvis--won uncontested elections in District Two, representing Oakland County, for two-year terms expiring in 2015. Three attorneys--Mark W. Jane, Kara R. Hart-Negrich, and Donald Rencher--won uncontested elections in District Three, representing all Michigan counties except for Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb, for two-year terms expiring in 2015. The Young Lawyers Executive Council governs the members of the Young Lawyers Section, one of the State Bar's largest sections. The section provides education, information, and analysis about issues of concern through meetings, seminars, public service programs, and newsletters. The section has won numerous awards for its public service and educational programs. Published: Fri, Jul 19, 2013

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