LEGAL PEOPLE

Oakland County Probate Court Chief Judge Pro Tempore Linda Hallmark has succeeded Dr. Carol Schwartz as president of the Michigan Inter-Professional Association on Marriage, Divorce and the Family. The Michigan Inter-Professional Association is a non-profit organization consisting of judges, lawyers, and mental health professionals who meet on a regular basis to combine their special skills, knowledge, and insight with a goal towards strengthening family life.

The Michigan Inter-Professional Association conducts approximately four Roundtable luncheons per year on relevant topics regarding family issues. Each Roundtable features a new and unique topic with different guest speakers. The next Roundtable luncheon will be held at noon on April 12 at Andiamo's in Bloomfield Hills. Information regarding Roundtables and membership may be found on the Michigan Inter-Professional Association for Marriage, Divorce and the Family website at mipamichigan.org.

Hallmark served in the Family Division of the Oakland County Circuit Court for nineteen years. She has been a frequent writer and speaker for the Institute for Continuing Legal Education, Michigan Judges Association, Michigan Probate Judges Association, Michigan Judicial Institute, Oakland County Bar Association, and State Bar of Michigan. She has been an instructor for the Michigan Judicial Institute New Judges school on Family Law since 2000.

- - -

Professional Resolution Experts of Michigan LLC (PREMi), a group of renowned and respected alternative dispute resolution neutrals, is pleased to announce that Lisa Taylor is its newest member.

Taylor, who is based in Bingham Farms, possesses two decades of legal experience, and over the past ten years has helped couples resolve divorce and family law conflicts. She has successfully facilitated a wide range of issues including division of property, debt, and business assets; spousal and child support; and parenting time.

Outside of her mediation practice, Taylor is a member of the State Bar of Michigan's Family Law Section and currently serves as secretary of the State Bar's Alternative Dispute Resolution Section Council. The ADR Section honored her with its George N. Bashara, Jr. Award for exemplary service in 2016 and the "Hero of ADR" Award in 2017.

"PREMi sets the standard for professionalism and ADR excellence, and I have held PREMi professionals in the highest regard for years," said Taylor, "It is a tremendous honor and privilege to now be among them."

- - -

Butzel Long attorneys Rebecca S. Davies, James S. Rosenfeld, and Diane M. Soubly were featured speakers during Walsh College's 9th Annual Human Resources Summit on Friday, March 2, at its Troy campus.

Davies, an adjunct faculty member, was again a co-chair of the event. She presented a program titled, "Embracing Change: Understanding Employment Law under the Trump Administration." Davies provided her annual update on employment law with an emphasis on the recent changes under the Trump administration

Rosenfeld and Soubly co-presented a program titled, "Investigating Unlawful Harassment in the Post-Weinstein World." They discussed the risks and issues involved in harassment investigations; reviewed the nuts and bolts of conducting compliant harassment investigations; and, emphasized the need to review and possibly re-publish a compliant unlawful harassment policy and procedure as well as renew training efforts in a post-Weinstein world.

Davies is based in Butzel Long's Detroit office. She concentrates her practice primarily in the areas of employment law and commercial litigation.

She represents employers in federal and state court litigation and before state and federal administrative agencies. She regularly counsels employers regarding compliance under federal and state employment laws (including FLSA, FMLA, ADA and Title VII), drafts policies and procedures, and advises on preventative strategies

Rosenfeld is an attorney and shareholder in the Detroit office of Butzel Long. He has served as the manager of Butzel Long's Labor and Employment Practice Group and has experience in litigating a wide variety of labor and employment cases.

Rosenfeld has completed 40-hour General Civil Case Mediator Training and frequently provides proactive training to employers and associations on various employment related issues, such as harassment avoidance and effective supervision. He is a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, listed in the Best Lawyers in America in Labor and Employment and ranked by Chambers USA.

Soubly, based in Butzel Long's Ann Arbor office, is licensed in Michigan and Illinois. For more than 38 years, she has represented employers (from small to national in size) in agency proceedings and in individual and class action employment litigation and employee benefits litigation. She has been elected a Super Lawyer in both fields in both states and is one of a select few attorneys nationally who have been elected Fellows of both the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel.

She has served as outside counsel and as investigator in sexual harassment investigations, has conducted sexual harassment trainings, and has developed sexual harassment policy and procedures for employers and for the State Bar of Michigan.

- - -

The Michigan Supreme Court has welcomed Jeff Mills as the court's new crier. Mills is a veteran of both the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, having worked as the records clerk/manager for the Court of Appeals from 1981 to 1998, and as the data administrator in the Supreme Court since 1998.

Mills replaces former long-time crier, David Palazzolo, who passed away last year.

- - -

Lisa C. Baluha joins Secrest Wardle's Troy office as a partner. She is a member of the firm's Motor Vehicle Litigation Practice Group. Baluha is experienced in all aspects of no-fault insurance defense including trial and appeals.

Baluha earned her law degree from Western Michigan University Cooley Law School in 2012 and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Wayne State University.

Baluha is admitted to practice law in the state of Michigan and in the United States District Court for the Western and Eastern Districts of Michigan. She was admitted to the State Bar of Michigan in 2012 and is a member of the Young Lawyers section.

- - -

Jeffrey M. Weiss, partner at Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer, & Weiss PC, offered legal insight regarding two business growth strategies during the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) Detroit's "Growth: Organic versus Acquisitive" panel Feb. 28 at the Detroit Golf Club.

Weiss is a member of Jaffe's Securities Regulation and Mergers & Acquisitions Practice Groups, representing both public and private companies in mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity financings, strategic transactions and other general corporate matters. He also acts as general corporate counsel for many private companies and advises public companies with respect to their reporting requirements and corporate governance obligations.

Weiss serves on Jaffe's Finance Committee and has served on its Board of Directors.

- - -

The Dobrusin Law Firm PC has announced the appointment of Katherine M. Pacynski and Paul J. Palinski to firm shareholders. Dr. Terry Finerman also has been promoted to senior counsel.

The Dobrusin Law Firm is a boutique intellectual property law firm, and works with Fortune 500, mid-size manufacturing firms, and start-up technology companies, which seek to accelerate business value through technology. The firm is located in a historic building in downtown Pontiac.

Pacynski's law practice focuses on preparing and prosecuting patent applications, filed in the U.S. and internationally, for a variety of technologies, with a number of clients involved in the chemical arts and the automotive industry.

Pacynski is the recording secretary of the Women's Bar Association, a member of the Michigan Intellectual Property Inn of Court, and a member of the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan.

Palinksi concentrates his practice in patent counseling and strategic patent prosecution, with particular emphasis in the mechanical, electromechanical, and biomedical technologies.

He represents a broad list of clients ranging from multi-national companies to individual inventors.

Finerman joined The Dobrusin Law Firm in 2006 as a staff scientist. As a registered patent attorney, he is currently preparing and processing patent applications, primarily in materials science, polymers science, chemistry and related fields, as well as assisting in other intellectual property research matters.

Published: Mon, Mar 05, 2018