Columns
LEGAL PEOPLE
August 18 ,2026
Butzel attorneys and shareholders Daniel R.W. Rustmann and Mitchell
(“Mitch”) Zajac will be featured presenters during the 2026 MEMA
Commercial Vehicle Outlook Conference on Wednesday, August 26, in
Livonia. Butzel is proud to sponsor and present the annual conference
which offers industry professionals an opportunity to stay ahead of key
developments shaping the commercial vehicle sector.
:
Butzel attorneys and shareholders Daniel R.W. Rustmann and Mitchell (“Mitch”) Zajac will be featured presenters during the 2026 MEMA Commercial Vehicle Outlook Conference on Wednesday, August 26, in Livonia. Butzel is proud to sponsor and present the annual conference which offers industry professionals an opportunity to stay ahead of key developments shaping the commercial vehicle sector.
Rustmann and Zajac will present a practical, courtroom-tested guide to negotiating and living with OEM purchase terms. Drawing on real language from Daimler Truck North America (DTNA), Volvo, International, and PACCAR, an American Company that manufacturers heavy-duty trucks, they’ll show suppliers how to protect against cost increases, capital and tooling risk, aggressive force majeure, and unlimited warranty and indemnity – and what to do when already locked into a tough contract with no price relief.
Rustmann is a co-chair of Butzel’s Automotive Industry Team and the Global Automotive Coordinating Committee. For more than three decades, Rustmann has devoted his practice to helping clients solve complex business disputes, primarily in the automotive industry. He has represented clients in numerous substantive areas, including product liability defense, Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) warranty, and product defect/recall litigation, class action litigation, and other commercial contract litigation and arbitration.
Rustmann frequently serves as an arbitrator, mediator, and court-appointed special master in resolution of automotive industry and other commercial disputes and is a regular speaker and commentator on automotive industry legal issues.
Zajac counsels and represents professionals in a variety of sectors, large corporations, and entities of all sizes in automotive, intellectual property, regulatory and emissions compliance, to name a few. He is a registered patent attorney with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Zajac counsels and represents clients in intellectual property (IP) matters such as complex trade secret, copyright, and patent litigation.
His experience encompasses IP administrative proceedings, including patent inter partes review (IPR) proceedings, patent prosecution in the USPTO, and advising on patent portfolio development and management. Before joining Butzel, Zajac was an engineer at a Detroit Three automaker.
• • •
Honigman recently announced that former Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan has joined the firm as a partner in the firm’s Government Relations and Public Policy practice group.
Duggan joins Honigman following his tenure as the second longest serving mayor in Detroit history. During his three terms as mayor, Duggan worked to address some of the city’s most complex issues, including crime, blight, transportation, healthcare, and access to jobs.
Prior to his tenure as mayor, Duggan served as the CEO of Detroit Medical Center for eight years, where he led the organization through a financial turnaround and negotiated an agreement that supported significant new construction investment. He also previously served as the Wayne County prosecutor and, before that, deputy county executive.
In his role, Duggan will serve as a strategic advisor to the firm and its clients, drawing on his experience and understanding of Michigan’s government and legislative landscape. He will advise on matters involving alternative dispute resolution, internal and external investigations, infrastructure and economic development initiatives, public-sector approvals, crisis response and sensitive matters, and complex political and community relations issues.
“After years spent working to build the City of Detroit, I knew I wanted to stay and enjoy the city while finding a way to contribute,” Duggan said. “Honigman is an outstanding law firm that’s been headquartered in Detroit for more than 75 years. I’ve always admired the way their talented attorneys and professionals help their clients solve even the most complex challenges. I’m looking forward to becoming a partner to contribute to the continued growth of another storied Detroit institution.”
Duggan earned his B.A. and law degree from the University of Michigan.
• • •
The State Bar of Michigan Board of Commissioners has elected Aaron V. Burrell to serve as Board secretary for the 2026-27 Bar year.
Burrell will be officially sworn into his new role at the Presidential Inauguration & Awards Luncheon on September 18 at the Detroit Marriott Troy. He will serve alongside incoming President Erika L. Bryant, President-Elect Thomas H. Howlett, Vice President David C. Anderson, and Treasurer Suzanne C. Larsen.
Burrell is a partner at Dickinson Wright PLLC in Detroit and Troy, where he co-chairs the firm’s Diversity Committee. He practices commercial law, labor and employment law, appeals, and minority business enterprises.
He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan-Dearborn and his law degree from Cooley Law School. He was recently sworn in as the 94th president of the Oakland Bar Association, previously served as chair of the State Bar’s Representative Assembly, and serves on the Board of Directors of Cooley Law School.
Burrell is also a fellow of the Oakland County Bar Foundation, Michigan State Bar Foundation, and the American Bar Foundation. He is an active member of the Wolverine Bar Association and Detroit Bar Association.
• • •
Collins Einhorn Farrell PC is pleased to announce that Fred Elias has joined the firm’s Commercial Litigation Practice, bringing more than three decades of experience representing businesses in commercial disputes.
Elias advises clients across a range of industries, including construction, financial services, manufacturing, health care, hospitality, technology, and land development. His practice focuses on commercial litigation, construction litigation, and labor and employment law. He joins Collins Einhorn with an established commercial litigation practice. His experience spans shareholder disputes, breach of fiduciary duty claims, business torts, intellectual property disputes, construction litigation, and labor and employment matters.
“This move permits me to better service my clients through the dynamic support provided by the highly skilled attorneys and legal support staff at Collins Einhorn,” Elias said. “I appreciate the opportunity and look forward to working with the Collins Einhorn team.”
• • •
Reising Shareholder Shannon Smith was appointed as Academic Liaison for the Intellectual Property Inn of Court Executive Committee. As Academic Liaison, Smith will help strengthen connections between the legal profession and academic institutions through an organization dedicated to promoting excellence, professionalism, and education in intellectual property law.
• • •
Brooks Kushman is proud to announce that Sangeeta Shah and Frank A. Angileri were both named in the latest edition of IAM Strategy 300: The World’s Leading IP Strategists by IAM.
Shah is the president of Brooks Kushman, leading the firm’s shareholders and driving the firm’s strategic vision and business administration. In her first year, she expanded the practice by bringing on several new attorneys and spearheading initiatives to strengthen the firm’s infrastructure, positioning it for long-term growth.
In addition to her leadership role, Shah maintains an active practice with more than 20 years of experience managing patent portfolios, PTAB matters, patent litigation, and opinions. As an early leader in inter partes review proceedings, she serves as co-chair of the firm’s post-grant practice and works closely with Fortune 500 clients, providing strategic counseling on post-grant matters and complex global intellectual property portfolios. Her expertise has earned national recognition from Managing IP, Best Lawyers, AIPLA, and the PTAB Bar Association, including being recognized as a member of IAM Strategy 300: The World’s Leading IP Strategists.
Pior to becoming president, Shah served as CEO of Brooks Kushman, where she guided strategic planning, advanced client-focused initiatives, and expanded the firm’s presence beyond Michigan to markets such as Silicon Valley, Chicago, Los Angeles, Germany, and Asia. She developed mentoring and training programs, built niche expertise in emerging areas, and implemented advanced technology and analytics tools to enhance client service.
Angileri is a shareholder in Brooks Kushman’s Intellectual Property Litigation practice, helping clients enforce and defend valuable intellectual property rights. He counsels businesses on litigation strategy involving patents, trademarks, trade secrets, and other competitive assets. Angileri’s experience is valuable for companies in innovation-driven sectors, including automotive and mobility, industrial manufacturing, and advanced materials.
• • •
Elaine M. Pohl, a partner of Plunkett Cooney, was recently inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Coverage Counsel (ACCC).
Established in 2012, the ACCC is an invitation-only organization composed of more than 470 insurance coverage and extracontractual counsel in the United States and Canada, representing the interests of insurers and policyholders.
Pohl maintains a national practice counseling insurers in complex litigated and non-litigated property and casualty disputes. Her coverage experience extends to claims involving professional liability, construction defects, bodily injuries, product liability, environmental contamination, personal and advertising injury, first-party property, and allegations of bad faith.
Pohl has been a member of Plunkett Cooney’s Board of Directors since 2024 and is also chair of the firm’s Shareholder Evaluation Committee.
Pohl’s has been named a Best Lawyer in America® for Insurance Law/Insurance Litigation for 2024-2026, a Michigan Super Lawyer Rising Star in Insurance Coverage, and an Influential Woman of Law in 2018 as determined by Michigan Lawyers Weekly.
Pohl is an active member of DRI’s Insurance Law Committee, serving as publications vice chair and co-editor in chief of the updated Duty to Defend Compendium. She is also a member of the State Bar of Michigan Insurance and Indemnity Law Section (past chair and former board officer) and the Michigan Licensed Beverage Association.
A graduate from the Indiana University School of Law in 1999, Pohl received her undergraduate degree from Villanova University in 1996. She is admitted to practice law in state and federal courts in Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio.
• • •
Miller Canfield is pleased to announce that Hassan Ahmad has joined the firm as an associate in the Financial Institutions Group. He is based in the firm’s Detroit office.
Ahmad represents lenders and other participants in complex financing transactions, including construction, permanent and bridge loans for affordable housing developments utilizing low-income housing tax credits and federal and state historic rehabilitation tax credits. His experience includes drafting and negotiating loan documents, reviewing senior and subordinate financing arrangements, conducting project diligence and helping clients navigate multifaceted transactions involving debt, equity, real estate and tax credit considerations.
He also has experience representing lenders, investors and developers in renewable energy projects utilizing federal investment tax credits. His work has included project acquisition and leasing matters, construction and permanent financing, equity investments, tax credit transfers, power purchase agreements and other development-related documents.
Before joining Miller Canfield, Ahmad practiced in the real estate finance group of a Minneapolis law firm. He also served as a judicial intern to Senior U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour in the Western District of Washington.
Ahmad earned his law degree from the University of Iowa College of Law and a B.A. in English and a B.S. in psychology from Wayne State University.
He is admitted to practice in Michigan and Minnesota and is fluent in Arabic. His pro bono experience includes assisting individuals seeking U.S. citizenship and representing a religious institution in connection with the construction and financing of a new building.
• • •
Kitch Attorneys & Counselors is proud to announce that attorneys John Sier and Meghan Kennedy Riordan have been selected for the Michigan Legal 250.
Sier serves as the head of Kitch’s Commercial Litigation and Construction Law Practice Group. He is recognized for his skill in complex contract negotiations, dispute avoidance, and alternative dispute resolution. This latest accolade adds to his history of honors which includes receiving the State Bar of Michigan’s Roberts P. Hudson Award.
Leading the Kitch Immigration Practice Group, Riordan brings more than 35 years of dedicated experience to her clients. She manages comprehensive inbound and outbound corporate migration, I-9 compliance audits, and employment-based legal strategy. She has previously been designated as a Michigan Lawyers Weekly “Leader in the Law” and “Influential Woman in Law.”
Kitch is also pleased to announce that Gregory Drutchas, Patrick Fishman, John Paul Hessburg, Richard Kitch, John Sier, Ralph Valitutti, Ronald Wagner, and Mark Wisniewski have been named to the list of the Top 250 Lawyers in Michigan by Leading Lawyers.
• • •
Michigan attorney James W. “Jamie” Low has been elected vice president for Membership of the American Counsel Association, a national and international organization of attorneys founded in 1928.
Low was elected to the officer position during the American Counsel Association’s Annual Meeting in Chicago, held in conjunction with the 2026 American Bar Association Annual Meeting.
As vice president for Membership, Low will help lead the Association’s efforts to grow and strengthen its membership, increase member engagement and help position the organization as it approaches its centennial in 2028.
“This is a tremendous professional honor,” Low said. “I have spent much of my career involved in bar service at the local, state and national levels, and I have seen firsthand how much strong professional organizations depend upon engaged members and the relationships that develop among them. I am grateful to my fellow members of the American Counsel Association for their confidence in electing me as one of the Association’s officers, and I am excited about the opportunity to help strengthen an organization with nearly a century of history.”
Low brings more than two decades of legal practice and service to the profession to the position.
He currently serves on the Board of Commissioners of the State Bar of Michigan, where he has served since 2019 and was most recently reelected to another three-year term. The Board of Commissioners provides oversight and governance for the State Bar and its work serving Michigan’s legal profession and the public.
At the national level, Low has served in the American Bar Association House of Delegates since 2017. The nearly 600-member House is the ABA’s policymaking body and ultimate governing body, considering and adopting policy on issues affecting the legal profession, the justice system and the administration of law.
Low currently represents the Oakland County Bar Association in the ABA House of Delegates, a position he has held since 2022. He has also served as the ABA State Membership Chair for Michigan, on the ABA Standing Committee on Continuing Legal Education, and on the ABA Annual Meeting Program Planning Committee.
His involvement with the OCBA dates to 2004. He is a Sustaining Member of the OCBA, a Fellow of the Oakland County Bar Foundation, a member of the OCBA Membership Committee and a Master in the OCBA Inn of Court. Earlier in his career, he chaired the OCBA New Lawyers Committee.
Low has also served for many years on the State Bar of Michigan Character and Fitness Committee and previously served on the Executive Council of the State Bar of Michigan Young Lawyers Section, including as its Secretary-Treasurer. He is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.
In 2025, Michigan Lawyers Weekly named Low to its class of “Leaders in the Law.” The recognition came sixteen years after the publication selected Low as one of its 2009 “Up & Coming Lawyers.”
Low has practiced law in Michigan since 2001. He practices with The Dollar Law Firm PLLC, where his practice is concentrated primarily on civil litigation involving medical providers and claims arising from automobile accidents.
Low earned his bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University in 1998 and his law degree from Michigan State University College of Law in 2001.
Rustmann and Zajac will present a practical, courtroom-tested guide to negotiating and living with OEM purchase terms. Drawing on real language from Daimler Truck North America (DTNA), Volvo, International, and PACCAR, an American Company that manufacturers heavy-duty trucks, they’ll show suppliers how to protect against cost increases, capital and tooling risk, aggressive force majeure, and unlimited warranty and indemnity – and what to do when already locked into a tough contract with no price relief.
Rustmann is a co-chair of Butzel’s Automotive Industry Team and the Global Automotive Coordinating Committee. For more than three decades, Rustmann has devoted his practice to helping clients solve complex business disputes, primarily in the automotive industry. He has represented clients in numerous substantive areas, including product liability defense, Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) warranty, and product defect/recall litigation, class action litigation, and other commercial contract litigation and arbitration.
Rustmann frequently serves as an arbitrator, mediator, and court-appointed special master in resolution of automotive industry and other commercial disputes and is a regular speaker and commentator on automotive industry legal issues.
Zajac counsels and represents professionals in a variety of sectors, large corporations, and entities of all sizes in automotive, intellectual property, regulatory and emissions compliance, to name a few. He is a registered patent attorney with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Zajac counsels and represents clients in intellectual property (IP) matters such as complex trade secret, copyright, and patent litigation.
His experience encompasses IP administrative proceedings, including patent inter partes review (IPR) proceedings, patent prosecution in the USPTO, and advising on patent portfolio development and management. Before joining Butzel, Zajac was an engineer at a Detroit Three automaker.
• • •
Honigman recently announced that former Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan has joined the firm as a partner in the firm’s Government Relations and Public Policy practice group.
Duggan joins Honigman following his tenure as the second longest serving mayor in Detroit history. During his three terms as mayor, Duggan worked to address some of the city’s most complex issues, including crime, blight, transportation, healthcare, and access to jobs.
Prior to his tenure as mayor, Duggan served as the CEO of Detroit Medical Center for eight years, where he led the organization through a financial turnaround and negotiated an agreement that supported significant new construction investment. He also previously served as the Wayne County prosecutor and, before that, deputy county executive.
In his role, Duggan will serve as a strategic advisor to the firm and its clients, drawing on his experience and understanding of Michigan’s government and legislative landscape. He will advise on matters involving alternative dispute resolution, internal and external investigations, infrastructure and economic development initiatives, public-sector approvals, crisis response and sensitive matters, and complex political and community relations issues.
“After years spent working to build the City of Detroit, I knew I wanted to stay and enjoy the city while finding a way to contribute,” Duggan said. “Honigman is an outstanding law firm that’s been headquartered in Detroit for more than 75 years. I’ve always admired the way their talented attorneys and professionals help their clients solve even the most complex challenges. I’m looking forward to becoming a partner to contribute to the continued growth of another storied Detroit institution.”
Duggan earned his B.A. and law degree from the University of Michigan.
• • •
The State Bar of Michigan Board of Commissioners has elected Aaron V. Burrell to serve as Board secretary for the 2026-27 Bar year.
Burrell will be officially sworn into his new role at the Presidential Inauguration & Awards Luncheon on September 18 at the Detroit Marriott Troy. He will serve alongside incoming President Erika L. Bryant, President-Elect Thomas H. Howlett, Vice President David C. Anderson, and Treasurer Suzanne C. Larsen.
Burrell is a partner at Dickinson Wright PLLC in Detroit and Troy, where he co-chairs the firm’s Diversity Committee. He practices commercial law, labor and employment law, appeals, and minority business enterprises.
He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan-Dearborn and his law degree from Cooley Law School. He was recently sworn in as the 94th president of the Oakland Bar Association, previously served as chair of the State Bar’s Representative Assembly, and serves on the Board of Directors of Cooley Law School.
Burrell is also a fellow of the Oakland County Bar Foundation, Michigan State Bar Foundation, and the American Bar Foundation. He is an active member of the Wolverine Bar Association and Detroit Bar Association.
• • •
Collins Einhorn Farrell PC is pleased to announce that Fred Elias has joined the firm’s Commercial Litigation Practice, bringing more than three decades of experience representing businesses in commercial disputes.
Elias advises clients across a range of industries, including construction, financial services, manufacturing, health care, hospitality, technology, and land development. His practice focuses on commercial litigation, construction litigation, and labor and employment law. He joins Collins Einhorn with an established commercial litigation practice. His experience spans shareholder disputes, breach of fiduciary duty claims, business torts, intellectual property disputes, construction litigation, and labor and employment matters.
“This move permits me to better service my clients through the dynamic support provided by the highly skilled attorneys and legal support staff at Collins Einhorn,” Elias said. “I appreciate the opportunity and look forward to working with the Collins Einhorn team.”
• • •
Reising Shareholder Shannon Smith was appointed as Academic Liaison for the Intellectual Property Inn of Court Executive Committee. As Academic Liaison, Smith will help strengthen connections between the legal profession and academic institutions through an organization dedicated to promoting excellence, professionalism, and education in intellectual property law.
• • •
Brooks Kushman is proud to announce that Sangeeta Shah and Frank A. Angileri were both named in the latest edition of IAM Strategy 300: The World’s Leading IP Strategists by IAM.
Shah is the president of Brooks Kushman, leading the firm’s shareholders and driving the firm’s strategic vision and business administration. In her first year, she expanded the practice by bringing on several new attorneys and spearheading initiatives to strengthen the firm’s infrastructure, positioning it for long-term growth.
In addition to her leadership role, Shah maintains an active practice with more than 20 years of experience managing patent portfolios, PTAB matters, patent litigation, and opinions. As an early leader in inter partes review proceedings, she serves as co-chair of the firm’s post-grant practice and works closely with Fortune 500 clients, providing strategic counseling on post-grant matters and complex global intellectual property portfolios. Her expertise has earned national recognition from Managing IP, Best Lawyers, AIPLA, and the PTAB Bar Association, including being recognized as a member of IAM Strategy 300: The World’s Leading IP Strategists.
Pior to becoming president, Shah served as CEO of Brooks Kushman, where she guided strategic planning, advanced client-focused initiatives, and expanded the firm’s presence beyond Michigan to markets such as Silicon Valley, Chicago, Los Angeles, Germany, and Asia. She developed mentoring and training programs, built niche expertise in emerging areas, and implemented advanced technology and analytics tools to enhance client service.
Angileri is a shareholder in Brooks Kushman’s Intellectual Property Litigation practice, helping clients enforce and defend valuable intellectual property rights. He counsels businesses on litigation strategy involving patents, trademarks, trade secrets, and other competitive assets. Angileri’s experience is valuable for companies in innovation-driven sectors, including automotive and mobility, industrial manufacturing, and advanced materials.
• • •
Elaine M. Pohl, a partner of Plunkett Cooney, was recently inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Coverage Counsel (ACCC).
Established in 2012, the ACCC is an invitation-only organization composed of more than 470 insurance coverage and extracontractual counsel in the United States and Canada, representing the interests of insurers and policyholders.
Pohl maintains a national practice counseling insurers in complex litigated and non-litigated property and casualty disputes. Her coverage experience extends to claims involving professional liability, construction defects, bodily injuries, product liability, environmental contamination, personal and advertising injury, first-party property, and allegations of bad faith.
Pohl has been a member of Plunkett Cooney’s Board of Directors since 2024 and is also chair of the firm’s Shareholder Evaluation Committee.
Pohl’s has been named a Best Lawyer in America® for Insurance Law/Insurance Litigation for 2024-2026, a Michigan Super Lawyer Rising Star in Insurance Coverage, and an Influential Woman of Law in 2018 as determined by Michigan Lawyers Weekly.
Pohl is an active member of DRI’s Insurance Law Committee, serving as publications vice chair and co-editor in chief of the updated Duty to Defend Compendium. She is also a member of the State Bar of Michigan Insurance and Indemnity Law Section (past chair and former board officer) and the Michigan Licensed Beverage Association.
A graduate from the Indiana University School of Law in 1999, Pohl received her undergraduate degree from Villanova University in 1996. She is admitted to practice law in state and federal courts in Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio.
• • •
Miller Canfield is pleased to announce that Hassan Ahmad has joined the firm as an associate in the Financial Institutions Group. He is based in the firm’s Detroit office.
Ahmad represents lenders and other participants in complex financing transactions, including construction, permanent and bridge loans for affordable housing developments utilizing low-income housing tax credits and federal and state historic rehabilitation tax credits. His experience includes drafting and negotiating loan documents, reviewing senior and subordinate financing arrangements, conducting project diligence and helping clients navigate multifaceted transactions involving debt, equity, real estate and tax credit considerations.
He also has experience representing lenders, investors and developers in renewable energy projects utilizing federal investment tax credits. His work has included project acquisition and leasing matters, construction and permanent financing, equity investments, tax credit transfers, power purchase agreements and other development-related documents.
Before joining Miller Canfield, Ahmad practiced in the real estate finance group of a Minneapolis law firm. He also served as a judicial intern to Senior U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour in the Western District of Washington.
Ahmad earned his law degree from the University of Iowa College of Law and a B.A. in English and a B.S. in psychology from Wayne State University.
He is admitted to practice in Michigan and Minnesota and is fluent in Arabic. His pro bono experience includes assisting individuals seeking U.S. citizenship and representing a religious institution in connection with the construction and financing of a new building.
• • •
Kitch Attorneys & Counselors is proud to announce that attorneys John Sier and Meghan Kennedy Riordan have been selected for the Michigan Legal 250.
Sier serves as the head of Kitch’s Commercial Litigation and Construction Law Practice Group. He is recognized for his skill in complex contract negotiations, dispute avoidance, and alternative dispute resolution. This latest accolade adds to his history of honors which includes receiving the State Bar of Michigan’s Roberts P. Hudson Award.
Leading the Kitch Immigration Practice Group, Riordan brings more than 35 years of dedicated experience to her clients. She manages comprehensive inbound and outbound corporate migration, I-9 compliance audits, and employment-based legal strategy. She has previously been designated as a Michigan Lawyers Weekly “Leader in the Law” and “Influential Woman in Law.”
Kitch is also pleased to announce that Gregory Drutchas, Patrick Fishman, John Paul Hessburg, Richard Kitch, John Sier, Ralph Valitutti, Ronald Wagner, and Mark Wisniewski have been named to the list of the Top 250 Lawyers in Michigan by Leading Lawyers.
• • •
Michigan attorney James W. “Jamie” Low has been elected vice president for Membership of the American Counsel Association, a national and international organization of attorneys founded in 1928.
Low was elected to the officer position during the American Counsel Association’s Annual Meeting in Chicago, held in conjunction with the 2026 American Bar Association Annual Meeting.
As vice president for Membership, Low will help lead the Association’s efforts to grow and strengthen its membership, increase member engagement and help position the organization as it approaches its centennial in 2028.
“This is a tremendous professional honor,” Low said. “I have spent much of my career involved in bar service at the local, state and national levels, and I have seen firsthand how much strong professional organizations depend upon engaged members and the relationships that develop among them. I am grateful to my fellow members of the American Counsel Association for their confidence in electing me as one of the Association’s officers, and I am excited about the opportunity to help strengthen an organization with nearly a century of history.”
Low brings more than two decades of legal practice and service to the profession to the position.
He currently serves on the Board of Commissioners of the State Bar of Michigan, where he has served since 2019 and was most recently reelected to another three-year term. The Board of Commissioners provides oversight and governance for the State Bar and its work serving Michigan’s legal profession and the public.
At the national level, Low has served in the American Bar Association House of Delegates since 2017. The nearly 600-member House is the ABA’s policymaking body and ultimate governing body, considering and adopting policy on issues affecting the legal profession, the justice system and the administration of law.
Low currently represents the Oakland County Bar Association in the ABA House of Delegates, a position he has held since 2022. He has also served as the ABA State Membership Chair for Michigan, on the ABA Standing Committee on Continuing Legal Education, and on the ABA Annual Meeting Program Planning Committee.
His involvement with the OCBA dates to 2004. He is a Sustaining Member of the OCBA, a Fellow of the Oakland County Bar Foundation, a member of the OCBA Membership Committee and a Master in the OCBA Inn of Court. Earlier in his career, he chaired the OCBA New Lawyers Committee.
Low has also served for many years on the State Bar of Michigan Character and Fitness Committee and previously served on the Executive Council of the State Bar of Michigan Young Lawyers Section, including as its Secretary-Treasurer. He is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.
In 2025, Michigan Lawyers Weekly named Low to its class of “Leaders in the Law.” The recognition came sixteen years after the publication selected Low as one of its 2009 “Up & Coming Lawyers.”
Low has practiced law in Michigan since 2001. He practices with The Dollar Law Firm PLLC, where his practice is concentrated primarily on civil litigation involving medical providers and claims arising from automobile accidents.
Low earned his bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University in 1998 and his law degree from Michigan State University College of Law in 2001.
COMMENTARY: A current ‘King’ may well suffer a long-overdue fate
August 18 ,2026
This is the third and final commentary in a series on what it is like to
live under the rule of a King; an experience not had by Americans for
250 years.
Based on historian Jules Pfister’s 2021 book “Defining America in the Radical 1760s,” the first commentary provided context during that period for the sharpening of British and American attitudes against one another.
:
Based on historian Jules Pfister’s 2021 book “Defining America in the Radical 1760s,” the first commentary provided context during that period for the sharpening of British and American attitudes against one another.
By Samuel Damren
This is the third and final commentary in a series on what it is like to live under the rule of a King; an experience not had by Americans for 250 years.
Based on historian Jules Pfister’s 2021 book “Defining America in the Radical 1760s,” the first commentary provided context during that period for the sharpening of British and American attitudes against one another.
The second commentary focused on the rationale and underlying arguments supporting the Declaration of Independence as originally set forth in Thomas Jefferson’s 1774 “A Summary View of the Rights of British America.”
This commentary compares the acts of George III highlighted in Jefferson’s “Summary View” with Trump’s actions in his second term as President. Analogies exist because the governing structure in colonial America under Crown rule and in today’s America under Trump Republican rule share functional equivalences.
Usurpation of Congress
Revolutionary colonials believed that the acts of the King and Parliament in the 1760s constituted a “usurpation” of powers of self-governance previously exercised by colonial legislatures.
One need look no further today to see a functionally equivalent “usurpation” of Congress’s legislative and oversight roles under the Constitution resulting from the inaction of submissive Republican majorities in the House and Senate coupled with Trump’s extensive use of Executive Orders to unilaterally take actions otherwise requiring Congressional approval.
By so doing, Trump Republicans effectively sideline Congress through inaction in the same way that George III sidelined colonial legislatures through affirmative acts of Parliament that overrode colonial legislation as well as by the outright dissolution of specific legislatures.
Trump’s purpose is similarly anti-democratic: (1) Prevent open and robust debate of issues where a President, unlike a King, is required to secure Congressional approval of certain actions before they are undertaken, (2) Avoid any risk that Congress might refuse to approve those actions, and (3) Preserve the flexibility afforded by only having to explain a President’s unilateral decisions “after the fact,” i.e. the ability to more effectively cover-up mistakes and misdeeds.
Immunity
As distinguished from his subjects and Parliament, King George III was “above the law.” The recent Supreme Court decision, aptly titled “Trump v. United States,” grants Trump similar wide- ranging immunity from future criminal prosecution for acts as President.
Together with his unreviewable power to pardon other individuals, Trump now possesses functionally equivalent privileges of a King to protect family and followers from accountability.
Trump has exercised that authority, most notably with January 6 offenders convicted of violent offenses, and in doing so sent a message to other Trump loyalists that he will do the same for them if need be.
Empire Building
Just as George III and his predecessors did in the 1700s, in his current term Trump is embarked on empire building. He toppled the government of Venezuela through military action and is presently “running the country” and controlling its oil.
Trump went to war with Iran, not once but twice. That “excursion,” as he calls it, is not going as well.
Cuba is next on the agenda to add to the portfolio of American Empire, then Greenland, Panama and perhaps, as he has mused from time to time, either or both of Mexico and Canada.
Paying for War Debt
George III learned that wars for empire building are expensive. When the Crown unilaterally imposed taxes on colonial America to pay down British war debts, it was the breaking point in the relationship.
Trump faces similar difficulties. Despite campaign promises to American voters that if elected he would not initiate foreign wars, the recent Trump war debts from his empire building and Iranian “excursion” will be paid by American taxpayers through increased federal debt and budget deficits.
Separately, and despite setbacks in court, Trump continues his fixation with Presidential tariffs that unilaterally raise taxes on Americans in contrast to the “free trade” espoused by colonial revolutionaries and restricted by the Crown.
Troops Acting Against Americans
In his “Summary View of the Rights of British America,” Jefferson was critical of the King’s uninvited decision to send “large bodies of armed forces” to America designed to intimidate the colonial population to pay British taxes and be subject to new British restrictions on trade.
In similar fashion, Trump sent large armed forces of masked ICE agents – not invited by state authorities – to coerce American communities into supporting racist and cruel mass deportations that he campaigned would only target “worst of the worst” criminals.
Ominously, Jefferson noted that if a King were to have “such a right,” that is, to unilaterally deploy troops to intimidate and coerce citizens, it could “swallow up all our other rights whenever he should think it proper.”
That is precisely what Trump may do if he uses ICE forces, as threatened, to “police” polling places, intimidate voters as well as directing federal agents to seize ballots in the 2026 elections thereby “usurping” State control of elections as specified by the Constitution.
Corrupt Advisors
In the “Summary View,” Jefferson excoriated the “British counselors” that “surrounded” George III for their willingness to sacrifice “the rights of one part of the empire to the inordinate desires of another.”
Trump’s cabinet of MAGA billionaires are the functional equivalent of these counselors. They preside over cuts to social, health and education programs for ordinary Americans as well as thoughtless reductions in the federal workforce while administrating other policies intended to further concentrate wealth in the richest Americans.
Contrary to what will be propagated by Trump Republicans in mid-term election campaigns, Americans increasingly find themselves opposing the same anti-democratic acts that caused brave and patriotic colonial revolutionaries to overthrow a King.
————————
Samuel Damren is a retired Detroit lawyer and author of “What Justice Looks Like.”
This is the third and final commentary in a series on what it is like to live under the rule of a King; an experience not had by Americans for 250 years.
Based on historian Jules Pfister’s 2021 book “Defining America in the Radical 1760s,” the first commentary provided context during that period for the sharpening of British and American attitudes against one another.
The second commentary focused on the rationale and underlying arguments supporting the Declaration of Independence as originally set forth in Thomas Jefferson’s 1774 “A Summary View of the Rights of British America.”
This commentary compares the acts of George III highlighted in Jefferson’s “Summary View” with Trump’s actions in his second term as President. Analogies exist because the governing structure in colonial America under Crown rule and in today’s America under Trump Republican rule share functional equivalences.
Usurpation of Congress
Revolutionary colonials believed that the acts of the King and Parliament in the 1760s constituted a “usurpation” of powers of self-governance previously exercised by colonial legislatures.
One need look no further today to see a functionally equivalent “usurpation” of Congress’s legislative and oversight roles under the Constitution resulting from the inaction of submissive Republican majorities in the House and Senate coupled with Trump’s extensive use of Executive Orders to unilaterally take actions otherwise requiring Congressional approval.
By so doing, Trump Republicans effectively sideline Congress through inaction in the same way that George III sidelined colonial legislatures through affirmative acts of Parliament that overrode colonial legislation as well as by the outright dissolution of specific legislatures.
Trump’s purpose is similarly anti-democratic: (1) Prevent open and robust debate of issues where a President, unlike a King, is required to secure Congressional approval of certain actions before they are undertaken, (2) Avoid any risk that Congress might refuse to approve those actions, and (3) Preserve the flexibility afforded by only having to explain a President’s unilateral decisions “after the fact,” i.e. the ability to more effectively cover-up mistakes and misdeeds.
Immunity
As distinguished from his subjects and Parliament, King George III was “above the law.” The recent Supreme Court decision, aptly titled “Trump v. United States,” grants Trump similar wide- ranging immunity from future criminal prosecution for acts as President.
Together with his unreviewable power to pardon other individuals, Trump now possesses functionally equivalent privileges of a King to protect family and followers from accountability.
Trump has exercised that authority, most notably with January 6 offenders convicted of violent offenses, and in doing so sent a message to other Trump loyalists that he will do the same for them if need be.
Empire Building
Just as George III and his predecessors did in the 1700s, in his current term Trump is embarked on empire building. He toppled the government of Venezuela through military action and is presently “running the country” and controlling its oil.
Trump went to war with Iran, not once but twice. That “excursion,” as he calls it, is not going as well.
Cuba is next on the agenda to add to the portfolio of American Empire, then Greenland, Panama and perhaps, as he has mused from time to time, either or both of Mexico and Canada.
Paying for War Debt
George III learned that wars for empire building are expensive. When the Crown unilaterally imposed taxes on colonial America to pay down British war debts, it was the breaking point in the relationship.
Trump faces similar difficulties. Despite campaign promises to American voters that if elected he would not initiate foreign wars, the recent Trump war debts from his empire building and Iranian “excursion” will be paid by American taxpayers through increased federal debt and budget deficits.
Separately, and despite setbacks in court, Trump continues his fixation with Presidential tariffs that unilaterally raise taxes on Americans in contrast to the “free trade” espoused by colonial revolutionaries and restricted by the Crown.
Troops Acting Against Americans
In his “Summary View of the Rights of British America,” Jefferson was critical of the King’s uninvited decision to send “large bodies of armed forces” to America designed to intimidate the colonial population to pay British taxes and be subject to new British restrictions on trade.
In similar fashion, Trump sent large armed forces of masked ICE agents – not invited by state authorities – to coerce American communities into supporting racist and cruel mass deportations that he campaigned would only target “worst of the worst” criminals.
Ominously, Jefferson noted that if a King were to have “such a right,” that is, to unilaterally deploy troops to intimidate and coerce citizens, it could “swallow up all our other rights whenever he should think it proper.”
That is precisely what Trump may do if he uses ICE forces, as threatened, to “police” polling places, intimidate voters as well as directing federal agents to seize ballots in the 2026 elections thereby “usurping” State control of elections as specified by the Constitution.
Corrupt Advisors
In the “Summary View,” Jefferson excoriated the “British counselors” that “surrounded” George III for their willingness to sacrifice “the rights of one part of the empire to the inordinate desires of another.”
Trump’s cabinet of MAGA billionaires are the functional equivalent of these counselors. They preside over cuts to social, health and education programs for ordinary Americans as well as thoughtless reductions in the federal workforce while administrating other policies intended to further concentrate wealth in the richest Americans.
Contrary to what will be propagated by Trump Republicans in mid-term election campaigns, Americans increasingly find themselves opposing the same anti-democratic acts that caused brave and patriotic colonial revolutionaries to overthrow a King.
————————
Samuel Damren is a retired Detroit lawyer and author of “What Justice Looks Like.”
COMMENTARY: Hatred casts a painful light on 2026 election
August 18 ,2026
After “retiring,” I am back as a Jew filled with a very heavy heart,
anxiety, sadness, anger, frustration, depression and — fear.
Never did I believe I would write a column like this, or have the need to do so in 65 years at the keyboard. I’ll admit it is more personal than political columns should be, but I hope my editors will understand.
:
Never did I believe I would write a column like this, or have the need to do so in 65 years at the keyboard. I’ll admit it is more personal than political columns should be, but I hope my editors will understand.
By Berl Falbaum
After “retiring,” I am back as a Jew filled with a very heavy heart, anxiety, sadness, anger, frustration, depression and — fear.
Never did I believe I would write a column like this, or have the need to do so in 65 years at the keyboard. I’ll admit it is more personal than political columns should be, but I hope my editors will understand.
A few years into the Trump era, I asked how a democracy that valued decency, honesty, integrity, freedom, equal rights, etc. came to endorse a man so corrupt, so perverted, and his stoking of antisemitism.
The question, at the time, was, by implication, directed primarily at Republicans, but now I asked the question again, but it is much more serious because it includes Democrats particularly as it pertains to the explosion of Jew-hatred and anti-Israel animus.
Consider: Dana Nessel, who holds the third highest public office in Michigan as attorney general, decided she would not attend her own party’s convention because, as Jew, she did not feel safe.
It should send shivers down everyone’s spine. If it doesn’t, it should.
Consider: The Democratic Party candidate for U.S. Senate, Abdul El-Sayed, received $115,000 in campaign contributions from 41 donors linked to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) which has been designated a terrorist organization, like ISIS, al-Queda and Hamas, by the United Arab Emirates — yes, by the UAE.
Consider: El-Sayed refuses to acknowledge that Israel has a right to exist and campaigns with a man, Hasan Piker, who says that Hamas is a thousand times better than Israel and he would vote for Hamas over Israel every single time. When a man with links to Hezbollah rammed his car into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield in March, El-Sayed justified the attack, stating, “Hurt people do hurt people.”
Like others in the party, he accuses Israel of committing genocide, a blood libel, and describes it as a rogue nation which practices apartheid.
Let’s respond and examine this charge briefly with the following:
When Israel became an independent nation in 1948, the Arab population stood at 150,000. It is now roughly 2 million, about 21 percent of the country’s population. The Arabs have had political parties and representation in the Knesset (Parliament) from day-one and a Muslim sits on Israel’s Supreme Court. (This is not to suggest that some discriminatory practices, such as settler violence, must not be stopped).
In 1948, Jews totaled 1 million in Arab countries. Today, there are ___ (take a guess) about 10,000. The rest were exiled or left because of discrimination and persecution. Most of their assets were confiscated by the state.
This fact has been ignored by all, including, sadly, the entire mainstream media. Not one word — and I mean one word.
Along with goosebumps come shivers.
The major point is that El-Sayed is not an aberration in liberal politics. In New York, we have Zohran Mamdani, who won the election for mayor last November and who may have provided El-Sayed the winning anti-Jewish/Israel script.
Mamdani’s wife, Rama Duwaji, has expressed anti-Jewish anti-Israel beliefs and his father, Mahood, a former Columbia University professor, reportedly sits on a board which glorifies suicide bombers.
“We need to recognize the suicide bomber, first and foremost, as a category of soldier,” Mahood Mamdani said in a book he wrote.
He also is an advisor to Gaza Tribunal that supports Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel.
Not to be overlooked, several so-called progressives who share El-Sayed’s hostility toward Jews and Israel, won races in districts around the country.
I want to stress these kinds of movements are evolutionary. They start slowly but quickly gain traction.
At about 2:30 a.m. after Trump’s victory in 2016, I wrote that this country has a cancer and I hoped it would not metastasize. Well, it has, especially as it pertains to antisemitism.
For instance, in 2006, President Carter wrote a book, “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. He was castigated by most for his charge, but now it and many other anti-Jewish/Israel accusations are embraced and touted by Democrats.
El-Sayed lost a race for governor in the 2018 Democratic primary.
In California, Scott Wiener, a Democrat running in the primary contest earlier this year to fill former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s seat, was booed during a debate when he refused to accuse Israel of genocide. Wiener, who is Jewish, quickly changed his mind and has won a place on the ballot for the November general election.
If U.S. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who might be considered a tutor for Mamdani, El-Sayed, and the other progressives, were running for president in 2028, he might very well be much more competitive in a presidential campaign than he was in 2016 and 2020. (He won’t run; he will be 89 in 2028).
On October 23, 2023, just 16 days after October 7, I wrote a column in these pages in which the first two words were: “Hamas won.” After just 16 days I saw all too clearly how the world “forgot” about the bloodiest slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust. Who remembers Bondi Beach? (Look it up).
Hamas’ political/propaganda victory is proving to be more valuable than a military one.
The political antisemitic cancer has spread and spread quickly. And no one, to continue the metaphor, in the public arena is ready to treat it with the necessary political chemotherapy.
So, I worry. I worry about the Jewish people. On a personal level, I worry about my grandchildren and the young children and grandchildren of Jews.
Some suggest I am crying wolf. Maybe. The trouble is that it all sounds so, so familiar. I have this uncomfortable feeling of déjà vu. We have been through this before — and not so long ago when cries of wolf were ignored.
————————
Berl Falbaum is a veteran journalist and author of the recently published book, “The Media’s Defamation of Israel: A Critique of the Israel-Hamas War News Coverage.”
After “retiring,” I am back as a Jew filled with a very heavy heart, anxiety, sadness, anger, frustration, depression and — fear.
Never did I believe I would write a column like this, or have the need to do so in 65 years at the keyboard. I’ll admit it is more personal than political columns should be, but I hope my editors will understand.
A few years into the Trump era, I asked how a democracy that valued decency, honesty, integrity, freedom, equal rights, etc. came to endorse a man so corrupt, so perverted, and his stoking of antisemitism.
The question, at the time, was, by implication, directed primarily at Republicans, but now I asked the question again, but it is much more serious because it includes Democrats particularly as it pertains to the explosion of Jew-hatred and anti-Israel animus.
Consider: Dana Nessel, who holds the third highest public office in Michigan as attorney general, decided she would not attend her own party’s convention because, as Jew, she did not feel safe.
It should send shivers down everyone’s spine. If it doesn’t, it should.
Consider: The Democratic Party candidate for U.S. Senate, Abdul El-Sayed, received $115,000 in campaign contributions from 41 donors linked to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) which has been designated a terrorist organization, like ISIS, al-Queda and Hamas, by the United Arab Emirates — yes, by the UAE.
Consider: El-Sayed refuses to acknowledge that Israel has a right to exist and campaigns with a man, Hasan Piker, who says that Hamas is a thousand times better than Israel and he would vote for Hamas over Israel every single time. When a man with links to Hezbollah rammed his car into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield in March, El-Sayed justified the attack, stating, “Hurt people do hurt people.”
Like others in the party, he accuses Israel of committing genocide, a blood libel, and describes it as a rogue nation which practices apartheid.
Let’s respond and examine this charge briefly with the following:
When Israel became an independent nation in 1948, the Arab population stood at 150,000. It is now roughly 2 million, about 21 percent of the country’s population. The Arabs have had political parties and representation in the Knesset (Parliament) from day-one and a Muslim sits on Israel’s Supreme Court. (This is not to suggest that some discriminatory practices, such as settler violence, must not be stopped).
In 1948, Jews totaled 1 million in Arab countries. Today, there are ___ (take a guess) about 10,000. The rest were exiled or left because of discrimination and persecution. Most of their assets were confiscated by the state.
This fact has been ignored by all, including, sadly, the entire mainstream media. Not one word — and I mean one word.
Along with goosebumps come shivers.
The major point is that El-Sayed is not an aberration in liberal politics. In New York, we have Zohran Mamdani, who won the election for mayor last November and who may have provided El-Sayed the winning anti-Jewish/Israel script.
Mamdani’s wife, Rama Duwaji, has expressed anti-Jewish anti-Israel beliefs and his father, Mahood, a former Columbia University professor, reportedly sits on a board which glorifies suicide bombers.
“We need to recognize the suicide bomber, first and foremost, as a category of soldier,” Mahood Mamdani said in a book he wrote.
He also is an advisor to Gaza Tribunal that supports Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel.
Not to be overlooked, several so-called progressives who share El-Sayed’s hostility toward Jews and Israel, won races in districts around the country.
I want to stress these kinds of movements are evolutionary. They start slowly but quickly gain traction.
At about 2:30 a.m. after Trump’s victory in 2016, I wrote that this country has a cancer and I hoped it would not metastasize. Well, it has, especially as it pertains to antisemitism.
For instance, in 2006, President Carter wrote a book, “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. He was castigated by most for his charge, but now it and many other anti-Jewish/Israel accusations are embraced and touted by Democrats.
El-Sayed lost a race for governor in the 2018 Democratic primary.
In California, Scott Wiener, a Democrat running in the primary contest earlier this year to fill former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s seat, was booed during a debate when he refused to accuse Israel of genocide. Wiener, who is Jewish, quickly changed his mind and has won a place on the ballot for the November general election.
If U.S. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who might be considered a tutor for Mamdani, El-Sayed, and the other progressives, were running for president in 2028, he might very well be much more competitive in a presidential campaign than he was in 2016 and 2020. (He won’t run; he will be 89 in 2028).
On October 23, 2023, just 16 days after October 7, I wrote a column in these pages in which the first two words were: “Hamas won.” After just 16 days I saw all too clearly how the world “forgot” about the bloodiest slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust. Who remembers Bondi Beach? (Look it up).
Hamas’ political/propaganda victory is proving to be more valuable than a military one.
The political antisemitic cancer has spread and spread quickly. And no one, to continue the metaphor, in the public arena is ready to treat it with the necessary political chemotherapy.
So, I worry. I worry about the Jewish people. On a personal level, I worry about my grandchildren and the young children and grandchildren of Jews.
Some suggest I am crying wolf. Maybe. The trouble is that it all sounds so, so familiar. I have this uncomfortable feeling of déjà vu. We have been through this before — and not so long ago when cries of wolf were ignored.
————————
Berl Falbaum is a veteran journalist and author of the recently published book, “The Media’s Defamation of Israel: A Critique of the Israel-Hamas War News Coverage.”
MY TURN: Concept of courage now in short supply in once proud nation
August 18 ,2026
In 1956, a book was published that contained a volume of short
biographies describing various acts of bravery and integrity by eight
U.S. senators.
The book became a bestseller and won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography in 1957, and heralded the coming of a future U.S president in 1960.
:
The book became a bestseller and won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography in 1957, and heralded the coming of a future U.S president in 1960.
By Tom Kirvan
In 1956, a book was published that contained a volume of short biographies describing various acts of bravery and integrity by eight U.S. senators.
The book became a bestseller and won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography in 1957, and heralded the coming of a future U.S president in 1960.
The author, of course, was John F. Kennedy, although the book later was confirmed as a collaboration with his speechwriter, Ted Sorenson.
Regardless, the book profiles such senators as John Quincy Adams and Daniel Webster from Massachusetts and Sam Houston from Texas for defying “the opinions of their party and constituents to do what they felt was right and suffered severe criticism and losses in popularity because of their actions,” according to a promotional description of the bestseller.
If someone set out now to write a modern-day sequel, he or she would be hard-pressed to find few if any members of Congress worth profiling.
In marked contrast, three years ago, in a special ceremony at the White House, a true American hero was saluted – albeit very belatedly – for his courage and valor during combat nearly 60 years ago in the Vietnam War.
His name is Col. Paris Davis, one of the first Black officers in the U.S. Army’s Special Forces unit, who received the Medal of Honor on March 3, 2023 for the multiple acts of courage and sacrifice he exhibited June 18, 1965 when he saved three of his fellow soldiers that had been wounded during a nighttime raid against a heavily armed Viet Cong camp.
The acts of heroism displayed by Col. Davis were recounted in vivid detail by then President Joseph Biden during the White House ceremony that was attended by five other Medal of Honor recipients.
Despite being wounded several times during the attack, including from a hand grenade explosion, Col. Davis refused to leave his comrades behind, sprinting back through heavy enemy fire to conduct three separate successful rescue missions. One of the soldiers had suffered a shattered kneecap from a sniper’s bullet, while another was knocked unconscious by a mortar blast. A third was shot in the head, seemingly left for dead until a miracle arrived in the form of Col. Davis.
When word was received of Col. Davis’s gallantry, he was immediately nominated for the Medal of Honor, the military’s highest award. Mysteriously, the Army somehow lost the paperwork related to his nomination – not just once, but twice – thereby delaying his national recognition for 58 years. Some suspect it was because of his race and the military’s troubled history of acknowledging the contributions made by men and women of color.
Whatever the case, the courage he displayed that fateful day was finally brought to light, earning the then 83-year-old Virginia man the right to enjoy lasting praise from a grateful nation.
“Brave and big-hearted. Determined and devoted,” President Biden said of Col. Davis. “Selfless and steadfast. American.”
That final word, delivered in the context of a magnificent tribute to one of our nation’s greatest heroes, is descriptive of someone who places country above self, personifying a willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty while demonstrating an unwavering commitment to the common good.
Much like someone who is regarded by historians as perhaps our greatest president, Abraham Lincoln.
The 16th President of the United States was a wordsmith and diplomat who was credited with bringing an end to the curse of slavery and to forging a team that preserved a nation reeling from the impact of the Civil War.
Lincoln’s genius was principally his political shrewdness and devotion to duty coupled with an enormous capacity for empathy and moral courage. His place in history may have been stated best by Leo Tolstoy, one of the greatest authors of all time, when he wrote:
“His example is universal and will last thousands of years ... He was bigger than his country – bigger than all the Presidents together ... and as a great character, he will live as long as the world lives.”
Of similar fiber was another legendary political figure, Great Britain’s iconic war-time Prime Minister Winston Churchill, whose leadership took his country from the brink of defeat to eventual victory over the Nazi military machine.
Like Lincoln, Churchill set heroic standards of leadership through his mastery of the language, using words to inspire a nation to overcome the rise of totalitarianism.
“We will have no truce or parley with you, or the grisly gang who work your wicked will,” Churchill said as the world faced a fascist menace. “You do your worst and we will do our best.”
Churchill’s message is one for the ages, and should inspire us to forge a nonpartisan effort to improve the character and quality of our political leadership, which has been marked over the past two years by a divisiveness and pettiness that jeopardizes our most fundamental freedoms and liberties.
As the midterm elections approach, it should be our aim to help change that narrative, working collaboratively with those of all political persuasions to forge a new identity, this time by harnessing the enormous power of national unity that at various times has been a hallmark of America’s true greatness.
In 1956, a book was published that contained a volume of short biographies describing various acts of bravery and integrity by eight U.S. senators.
The book became a bestseller and won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography in 1957, and heralded the coming of a future U.S president in 1960.
The author, of course, was John F. Kennedy, although the book later was confirmed as a collaboration with his speechwriter, Ted Sorenson.
Regardless, the book profiles such senators as John Quincy Adams and Daniel Webster from Massachusetts and Sam Houston from Texas for defying “the opinions of their party and constituents to do what they felt was right and suffered severe criticism and losses in popularity because of their actions,” according to a promotional description of the bestseller.
If someone set out now to write a modern-day sequel, he or she would be hard-pressed to find few if any members of Congress worth profiling.
In marked contrast, three years ago, in a special ceremony at the White House, a true American hero was saluted – albeit very belatedly – for his courage and valor during combat nearly 60 years ago in the Vietnam War.
His name is Col. Paris Davis, one of the first Black officers in the U.S. Army’s Special Forces unit, who received the Medal of Honor on March 3, 2023 for the multiple acts of courage and sacrifice he exhibited June 18, 1965 when he saved three of his fellow soldiers that had been wounded during a nighttime raid against a heavily armed Viet Cong camp.
The acts of heroism displayed by Col. Davis were recounted in vivid detail by then President Joseph Biden during the White House ceremony that was attended by five other Medal of Honor recipients.
Despite being wounded several times during the attack, including from a hand grenade explosion, Col. Davis refused to leave his comrades behind, sprinting back through heavy enemy fire to conduct three separate successful rescue missions. One of the soldiers had suffered a shattered kneecap from a sniper’s bullet, while another was knocked unconscious by a mortar blast. A third was shot in the head, seemingly left for dead until a miracle arrived in the form of Col. Davis.
When word was received of Col. Davis’s gallantry, he was immediately nominated for the Medal of Honor, the military’s highest award. Mysteriously, the Army somehow lost the paperwork related to his nomination – not just once, but twice – thereby delaying his national recognition for 58 years. Some suspect it was because of his race and the military’s troubled history of acknowledging the contributions made by men and women of color.
Whatever the case, the courage he displayed that fateful day was finally brought to light, earning the then 83-year-old Virginia man the right to enjoy lasting praise from a grateful nation.
“Brave and big-hearted. Determined and devoted,” President Biden said of Col. Davis. “Selfless and steadfast. American.”
That final word, delivered in the context of a magnificent tribute to one of our nation’s greatest heroes, is descriptive of someone who places country above self, personifying a willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty while demonstrating an unwavering commitment to the common good.
Much like someone who is regarded by historians as perhaps our greatest president, Abraham Lincoln.
The 16th President of the United States was a wordsmith and diplomat who was credited with bringing an end to the curse of slavery and to forging a team that preserved a nation reeling from the impact of the Civil War.
Lincoln’s genius was principally his political shrewdness and devotion to duty coupled with an enormous capacity for empathy and moral courage. His place in history may have been stated best by Leo Tolstoy, one of the greatest authors of all time, when he wrote:
“His example is universal and will last thousands of years ... He was bigger than his country – bigger than all the Presidents together ... and as a great character, he will live as long as the world lives.”
Of similar fiber was another legendary political figure, Great Britain’s iconic war-time Prime Minister Winston Churchill, whose leadership took his country from the brink of defeat to eventual victory over the Nazi military machine.
Like Lincoln, Churchill set heroic standards of leadership through his mastery of the language, using words to inspire a nation to overcome the rise of totalitarianism.
“We will have no truce or parley with you, or the grisly gang who work your wicked will,” Churchill said as the world faced a fascist menace. “You do your worst and we will do our best.”
Churchill’s message is one for the ages, and should inspire us to forge a nonpartisan effort to improve the character and quality of our political leadership, which has been marked over the past two years by a divisiveness and pettiness that jeopardizes our most fundamental freedoms and liberties.
As the midterm elections approach, it should be our aim to help change that narrative, working collaboratively with those of all political persuasions to forge a new identity, this time by harnessing the enormous power of national unity that at various times has been a hallmark of America’s true greatness.
OCBA UPDATE: A thank you letter to the OCBA
August 11 ,2026
As I begin my tenure as president of the OCBA, I wanted to start with a
heartfelt thank you to this remarkable organization. It seems like
yesterday that I was a wide-eyed law student visiting an Inns of Court
program, inspired by the presenters’ advocacy skills and the members’
vibrant fellowship.
:
As I begin my tenure as president of the OCBA, I wanted to start with a heartfelt thank you to this remarkable organization. It seems like yesterday that I was a wide-eyed law student visiting an Inns of Court program, inspired by the presenters’ advocacy skills and the members’ vibrant fellowship. I knew then that I would join the OCBA. I did not know that I would be the organization’s president almost 18 years later.
Ever since I participated in the OCBA’s swearing-in ceremony as a newly minted attorney, I have endeavored to take on a meaningful role. After the ceremony, I had the great honor of serving as Judge Leo Bowman’s staff attorney, which gave me the opportunity to meet many of the colleagues I would see around the bar. After joining the Inns of Court program as an associate attorney at Dickinson Wright PLLC, I began to build significant connections.
When former OCBA president Tom Howlett asked me to run for the board after five years of practice, I was humbled, but I felt too junior for the role. The OCBA seemed almost larger than life. There was no way I could join the board!
By God’s grace, it happened. And from that moment on, I was welcomed with open arms. I am tremendously grateful to Tom Howlett for his confidence in me at that time and throughout my career.
The OCBA’s mission is to “serve the needs of our members, improve the justice system, and ensure the delivery of quality legal services to the public.” Over the years, I have seen the tenets of this mission exemplified in a number of ways. A few have made an indelible impression on me.
Insightful Programming
The exceptional programming the organization offers has regularly impressed me. Indeed, we have consistently delivered practical, high-quality content that benefits seasoned practitioners and new lawyers alike. The sheer breadth of topics, ranging from substantive law to practice management, demonstrates that the OCBA recognizes its members needs and works to provide them with the tools to succeed. I have personally benefited from the exceptional quality of these events, and I look forward to attending more in the future.
Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
When I joined the OCBA, I began participating in early iterations of its diversity committee. I had several opportunities to speak with the late Michael K. Lee, who was then an OCBA board member. Through our various conversations, I sensed that the organization’s commitment to diversity was sincere. That commitment did not extend merely to the OCBA itself — though diversifying the association was a key goal — but also to the Oakland County legal community as a whole, such that it would reflect the community it served. As I have participated in and later co-chaired the OCBA’s diversity efforts, I believe that we are making strides to advance our mission, and I look forward to continuing that work.
Exceptional Staff
We have been blessed with an awesome staff throughout my tenure with the OCBA. Jennifer Quick, Katie Tillinger, and the OCBA’s talented staff members have done a tremendous job running the organization. I am regularly awed by their boundless energy for this work, the high level of professionalism they bring to every task and event, and their unwavering commitment to bettering the association. The OCBA is truly a first-class organization in every way, due in no small part to our superb staff.
Outstanding Leadership Examples
While serving on the OCBA board for the last 10 years, I have witnessed incredible examples of leadership. Each OCBA president I have been privileged to serve alongside has exemplified thoughtful, conscientious leadership. As I watched each of them navigate the various challenges of their bar year, I learned ways to project strength in high-pressure situations, provide clear direction, and demonstrate dedicated commitment to the organization’s mission and purpose. Each president brought their own style, and all of them were effective. I hope to follow in their footsteps.
Lasting Friendships
Finally, my time with the OCBA has allowed me to build lasting friendships. I have met so many wonderful people from all walks of life. I enjoy many relationships today that would not have been possible without the OCBA’s events and gatherings. I remain thankful for the opportunity to have connected with many OCBA members, and I hope to continue doing so in the future.
My goal as president is to carry on the amazing work of my predecessors. To that end, I hope to work with the board, staff, committees, and general membership to, among other things, (1) reinforce the bar’s commitment to the rule of law, (2) remind our lawyers of the importance of civility in practice, and (3) advance the association’s diversity mission. The journey ahead excites me, and I have no doubt that, working collectively, we will achieve each of these goals.
————————
Aaron V. Burrell, of Dickinson Wright PLLC, is the 94th president of the Oakland County Bar Association.
Ever since I participated in the OCBA’s swearing-in ceremony as a newly minted attorney, I have endeavored to take on a meaningful role. After the ceremony, I had the great honor of serving as Judge Leo Bowman’s staff attorney, which gave me the opportunity to meet many of the colleagues I would see around the bar. After joining the Inns of Court program as an associate attorney at Dickinson Wright PLLC, I began to build significant connections.
When former OCBA president Tom Howlett asked me to run for the board after five years of practice, I was humbled, but I felt too junior for the role. The OCBA seemed almost larger than life. There was no way I could join the board!
By God’s grace, it happened. And from that moment on, I was welcomed with open arms. I am tremendously grateful to Tom Howlett for his confidence in me at that time and throughout my career.
The OCBA’s mission is to “serve the needs of our members, improve the justice system, and ensure the delivery of quality legal services to the public.” Over the years, I have seen the tenets of this mission exemplified in a number of ways. A few have made an indelible impression on me.
Insightful Programming
The exceptional programming the organization offers has regularly impressed me. Indeed, we have consistently delivered practical, high-quality content that benefits seasoned practitioners and new lawyers alike. The sheer breadth of topics, ranging from substantive law to practice management, demonstrates that the OCBA recognizes its members needs and works to provide them with the tools to succeed. I have personally benefited from the exceptional quality of these events, and I look forward to attending more in the future.
Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
When I joined the OCBA, I began participating in early iterations of its diversity committee. I had several opportunities to speak with the late Michael K. Lee, who was then an OCBA board member. Through our various conversations, I sensed that the organization’s commitment to diversity was sincere. That commitment did not extend merely to the OCBA itself — though diversifying the association was a key goal — but also to the Oakland County legal community as a whole, such that it would reflect the community it served. As I have participated in and later co-chaired the OCBA’s diversity efforts, I believe that we are making strides to advance our mission, and I look forward to continuing that work.
Exceptional Staff
We have been blessed with an awesome staff throughout my tenure with the OCBA. Jennifer Quick, Katie Tillinger, and the OCBA’s talented staff members have done a tremendous job running the organization. I am regularly awed by their boundless energy for this work, the high level of professionalism they bring to every task and event, and their unwavering commitment to bettering the association. The OCBA is truly a first-class organization in every way, due in no small part to our superb staff.
Outstanding Leadership Examples
While serving on the OCBA board for the last 10 years, I have witnessed incredible examples of leadership. Each OCBA president I have been privileged to serve alongside has exemplified thoughtful, conscientious leadership. As I watched each of them navigate the various challenges of their bar year, I learned ways to project strength in high-pressure situations, provide clear direction, and demonstrate dedicated commitment to the organization’s mission and purpose. Each president brought their own style, and all of them were effective. I hope to follow in their footsteps.
Lasting Friendships
Finally, my time with the OCBA has allowed me to build lasting friendships. I have met so many wonderful people from all walks of life. I enjoy many relationships today that would not have been possible without the OCBA’s events and gatherings. I remain thankful for the opportunity to have connected with many OCBA members, and I hope to continue doing so in the future.
My goal as president is to carry on the amazing work of my predecessors. To that end, I hope to work with the board, staff, committees, and general membership to, among other things, (1) reinforce the bar’s commitment to the rule of law, (2) remind our lawyers of the importance of civility in practice, and (3) advance the association’s diversity mission. The journey ahead excites me, and I have no doubt that, working collectively, we will achieve each of these goals.
————————
Aaron V. Burrell, of Dickinson Wright PLLC, is the 94th president of the Oakland County Bar Association.
LEGAL PEOPLE
August 11 ,2026
Butzel attorney and shareholder Lynn McGuire has been named to Michigan Lawyers Weekly’s 2026 “Influential Women of Law” list.
:
Butzel attorney and shareholder Lynn McGuire has been named to Michigan Lawyers Weekly’s 2026 “Influential Women of Law” list.
McGuire has devoted nearly 30 years to advising employers on employee benefits, executive compensation, and ERISA compliance. She serves as co-chair of Butzel’s Education Industry Team.
She counsels employers of all sizes, including public and private companies, nonprofit organizations, governmental entities, tribal employers, startups, and multinational organizations. McGuire’s practice focuses on helping clients design, administer, and maintain compliant retirement, health, and welfare benefit programs while navigating complex federal tax and employee benefits laws.
In addition to advising on employee benefit plans and executive compensation arrangements, McGuire is an advisor on Affordable Care Act compliance, fiduciary responsibilities under ERISA, mergers and acquisitions, benefit plan terminations, multiemployer pension withdrawal liability matters, and government audits and investigations. Throughout her career, she has guided clients through numerous Department of Labor and Internal Revenue Service examinations and compliance initiatives.
McGuire earned her law degree from Notre Dame Law School and her B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Michigan-Dearborn. She also holds professional certificates in Global Benefits Management and Canadian Benefit Plans from the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans.
Her professional recognitions include:
• DBusiness Top Lawyers in Metro Detroit, Employee Benefits Law – 2014, 2017-2026
• Michigan Super Lawyers, Employee Benefits – 2017, 2018
• Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation – 2018-2025
• The Best Lawyers in America® – Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law – Lawyer of the Year – Ann Arbor, 2026
• The Best Lawyers in America® – Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law, Employment Law – Management; Litigation – ERISA; Litigation – Labor and Employment – 2023-2026
• • •
McDonald Hopkins is proud to congratulate Jim Giszczak and Miriam Rosen on their inclusion in Crain’s Detroit Business’ list of 2026 Notable Leaders in Accounting, Consulting, & Law.
Giszczak is co-president of McDonald Hopkins and co-chair of the Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice Group. He also maintains a privacy practice serving clients across a range of industries.
Rosen serves as managing member of McDonald Hopkins’ Detroit office, sits on the Executive Committee and Board of Directors, is the firm’s general counsel, and is a leader in the Labor and Employment Practice. She oversees dozens of attorneys while managing client relationships in her practice.
• • •
Michigan Auto Law is proud to announce that owner and attorney Steven Gursten has been named the recipient of the 2026 Courage Award by The Melvin M. Belli Society.
Gursten was selected for his advocacy on behalf of Michigan consumers after publicly raising concerns about CURE Auto Insurance and continuing to speak out even after the company filed a lawsuit against him and Michigan Auto Law.
The Melvin M. Belli Society recognized Gursten after he published a blog highlighting the number of complaints Michigan drivers had reported against the New Jersey based insurer. In response, CURE Auto Insurance filed a lawsuit against Gursten and Michigan Auto Law. Rather than backing down, Gursten continued advocating for consumers through his writing and by launching WhenCureWontPay.com, a website dedicated to educating Michigan drivers about insurance claims, consumer rights, and their legal options.
“This award is especially meaningful because it recognizes the importance of standing up for consumers when it matters most,” stated Gursten. “When I first began writing about CURE Auto Insurance, my only goal was to help Michigan drivers make informed decisions and understand their rights. Facing litigation for speaking out was never going to change that mission. I believe attorneys have the responsibility to advocate not only inside the courtroom, but also in the public interest when consumers deserve transparency and accountability.”
• • •
Foster, Swift, Collins, & Smith PC is pleased to announce that attorneys Marcy Hahn and Lisa M. Serra have joined the firm’s Southfield office.
With decades of combined legal experience, Hahn and Serra bring backgrounds advising businesses of all sizes on governance, compliance, contracts, risk management, employment matters, dispute resolution, and strategic growth initiatives.
As a former Fortune 10 lead counsel, Hahn has more than 20 years of experience as a corporate attorney, negotiator, and mediator. She advises companies on corporate governance, regulatory compliance, business risk management, and operational strategy. Hahn also serves as fractional general counsel to startups and midsize businesses, partnering with leadership teams and boards to address legal issues before they become business obstacles.
Serra has more than a decade of experience helping businesses address both immediate legal needs and long-term objectives. Serving as outside general counsel for numerous small and midsize companies, she advises on contracts, employment issues, compliance matters, corporate governance, risk management, and day-to-day operational concerns.
• • •
Kemp Klein is proud to announce that shareholders Austin W. Probst and Matthew W. Frank have been named 2026 Crain’s Detroit Business Notable Leaders in Accounting, Consulting & Law.
Probst concentrates his practice in probate, estate and trust administration and litigation, elder law, estate planning, commercial litigation, and appeals. He represents individuals, families, and fiduciaries throughout Michigan in complex probate and trust disputes while also advising clients on estate planning and administration matters.
In addition to being recognized by Crain’s Detroit Business, Probst was recently named a 2026 Up & Coming Lawyer by Michigan Lawyers Weekly. He has also been recognized by The Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America, DBusiness Top Lawyers, and Michigan Super Lawyers Rising Stars for his work in trusts and estates and probate law.
Frank focuses his practice on mergers and acquisitions, aviation, real estate, and corporate law. He advises privately held businesses on acquisitions, dispositions, financing, corporate governance, and other complex business transactions, helping clients navigate sophisticated legal and business matters.
Frank was previously named a 2025 Crain’s Detroit Business Notable M&A Dealmaker, a 2025 Michigan Lawyers Weekly Go To Lawyer for Business Litigation, and a 2026 DBusiness Top Lawyer in Mergers and Acquisitions Law.
• • •
Varnum is pleased to announce that attorney Jordan Weeks has joined the firm’s Litigation and ADR Practice Team in the Novi office.
Weeks represents clients in commercial and construction disputes, with experience handling cases involving breach of contract, mechanic’s liens, business ownership issues, and other complex claims. His litigation work includes discovery, depositions, motion practice, arbitration, and trial. In these matters, he has prepared and examined witnesses, argued pretrial motions, drafted summary judgment briefing, and first-chaired trials.
Prior to joining Varnum, Weeks handled transportation, maritime, property damage, and internet defamation disputes in addition to his commercial and construction litigation work. He also served as a judicial extern to U.S. District Judge David A. Ruiz in the Northern District of Ohio.
Weeks earned his law degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Law. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from Eastern Michigan University.
Varnum is also pleased to announce that partners Julia Perkins and Michael Romaya have been recognized as Notable Leaders in Accounting, Consulting, and Law by Crain’s Detroit.
Perkins is a partner in Varnum’s Novi office who advises clients through personal and financial matters involving divorce and family law. Her practice includes custody, child support, parenting time, high net worth marital estates, valuation and division issues, international custody disputes, and family law mediation. She is frequently engaged in matters requiring discretion, judgment, and steady advocacy, helping clients pursue practical resolutions when possible and providing courtroom representation when necessary.
Perkins also serves on Varnum’s Executive Committee and as a practice management leader, where she supports firm strategy and the coaching and mentoring of partners.
Romaya is the lead partner in Varnum’s Birmingham office, advising privately held companies on strategic transactions, financing, growth, governance, and ongoing business needs. A member of the Banking, Finance and Restructuring Team, he counsels clients through significant transactions and financing matters, including acquisitions and other business combinations.
Romaya is also a member of Varnum’s highest governing body, the Policy Committee, where he helps guide the firm’s long-term business strategy and overall direction.
• • •
David Foltyn, Honigman chairman and CEO, was recently named as one of Crain’s Detroit Business’ 2026 “Notable Leaders in Accounting, Consulting & Law.”
Foltyn has served as the chairman and CEO of Honigman since 2008. He has enhanced the recruiting functions of the firm and has implemented ongoing development opportunities for attorneys and business professionals. Foltyn is also an active community leader and serves on a number of boards.
In addition, Honigman partner Chauncey Mayfield II was recently honored as a Law360 Rising Star. He was recognized for his excellence when it comes to the practice area of transportation.
Mayfield is the leader of Honigman’s commercial transactions practice group, where he serves as a trusted advisor to global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), suppliers, manufacturers, and other businesses on sophisticated commercial transactions, complex sourcing relationships, and legal and commercial challenges defining today’s industries.
• • •
Bodman PLC is pleased to announce that Member Stephen Dunn has been selected for inclusion in Crain’s Detroit Business Notable Leaders in Accounting, Consulting, and Law 2026.
With more than 20 years of first chair jury trial and arbitration experience, Dunn focuses his practice on litigating complex, high-stakes business disputes. He also leads teams handling corporate transactions including mergers, acquisitions, reorganizations, combinations, joint ventures, restructurings and lending transactions.
Dunn is a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army Reserve JAG Corps and currently holds the rank of lieutenant colonel, serving as deputy commanding officer of an Army unit headquartered at Ft. Snelling, Minnesota.
• • •
Miller Canfield is pleased to announce that James Claborn has joined the firm’s Real Estate Group as an associate in its Troy office.
Claborn advises clients on commercial real estate, construction and business transactions, including contract drafting and negotiation, commercial leases, purchase agreements, construction agreements, acquisitions and risk management.
Before joining Miller Canfield, Claborn served as corporate counsel for BELFOR Property Restoration. As the lead transactional attorney supporting the company’s North American operations, he advised executives and project teams on hundreds of agreements each year, including commercial service contracts, construction contracts, subcontractor agreements, commercial leases and acquisition documents. He also counseled business teams on contract structure, risk allocation and negotiation strategy for large-scale restoration and construction projects involving commercial and institutional properties.
Claborn previously worked in private practice, where he handled transactional and litigation matters involving real estate, contracts and financial disputes. He also completed a corporate counsel externship with MAHLE Industries Inc.
Claborn earned his law degree from Wayne State University Law School. He earned his bachelor’s degree in political theory and constitutional democracy from Michigan State University’s James Madison College. Claborn is a member of the State Bar of Michigan’s Business Law Section.
Miller Canfield is also pleased to announce that Chief Executive Officer Michael Palizzi has been named a 2026 Crain’s Detroit Business Notable Leader in Law.
Palizzi has served as Miller Canfield’s CEO since April 2024, leading the firm’s 20 offices in six countries.
Before becoming CEO, Palizzi co-led Miller Canfield’s Litigation and Dispute Resolution and Intellectual Property groups and served for three years on the firm’s Board of Managing Directors. He is a nationally recognized trial lawyer and business counselor who has spent more than 30 years representing clients in complex commercial litigation and intellectual property matters. He also serves as chief outside counsel to several U.S. and international companies.
Palizzi has been recognized by Chambers USA, The Best Lawyers in America, Benchmark Litigation, Michigan Super Lawyers, Managing Intellectual Property IP Stars, Leading Lawyers, and DBusiness. He is a senior fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America and a fellow of the Michigan State Bar Foundation.
His professional and civic service includes board positions with the Detroit Regional Chamber and The Right Place Inc. He also serves as co-chair of the Federal Bar Association’s Complex Litigation Committee and is active in the American Bar Association, Oakland County Bar Foundation, and Detroit Bar Association.
Palizzi earned his law degree from Wayne State University Law School and his bachelor’s degree from Albion College.
• • •
Taft Detroit Partner Gina Goyette Staudacher has been named a Notable Leader in Accounting, Consulting, and Law by Crain’s Detroit Business.
Staudacher focuses her work on business and tax advisory matters, with deep experience in Multi-state and Federal Tax and Economic Incentives, R&D Tax Credits, Energy and Manufacturing Tax Credits, Opportunity Zone structuring, Accounting Methods, and Tax Controversy. She leads a team of CPAs, attorneys, data analysts, and financial advisors to assist businesses in uncovering beneficial tax opportunities, minimizing tax liabilities, and monetizing state and federal economic incentives for domestic and foreign-inbound taxpayers.
Staudacher’s practice includes advising CFOs, CEOs, General Counsels, VPs of Tax, and C-suite executives on tax, capital project financing, and strategic growth initiatives.
• • •
Brooks Kushman is proud to announce that eight of its attorneys have been named 2026 IP Stars by Managing IP. The following attorneys were recognized as 2026 IP Stars in the Patent and Trademark categories:
Sangeeta Shah, Robyn Lederman, John LeRoy, Marc Lorelli, Christopher Smith, Frank Angileri, Charles Bieneman, Mark Cantor, and Elizabeth Janda.
The following attorney was recognized as 2026 IP Stars in the Rising Star category:
Chelsea Pasquali
McGuire has devoted nearly 30 years to advising employers on employee benefits, executive compensation, and ERISA compliance. She serves as co-chair of Butzel’s Education Industry Team.
She counsels employers of all sizes, including public and private companies, nonprofit organizations, governmental entities, tribal employers, startups, and multinational organizations. McGuire’s practice focuses on helping clients design, administer, and maintain compliant retirement, health, and welfare benefit programs while navigating complex federal tax and employee benefits laws.
In addition to advising on employee benefit plans and executive compensation arrangements, McGuire is an advisor on Affordable Care Act compliance, fiduciary responsibilities under ERISA, mergers and acquisitions, benefit plan terminations, multiemployer pension withdrawal liability matters, and government audits and investigations. Throughout her career, she has guided clients through numerous Department of Labor and Internal Revenue Service examinations and compliance initiatives.
McGuire earned her law degree from Notre Dame Law School and her B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Michigan-Dearborn. She also holds professional certificates in Global Benefits Management and Canadian Benefit Plans from the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans.
Her professional recognitions include:
• DBusiness Top Lawyers in Metro Detroit, Employee Benefits Law – 2014, 2017-2026
• Michigan Super Lawyers, Employee Benefits – 2017, 2018
• Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation – 2018-2025
• The Best Lawyers in America® – Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law – Lawyer of the Year – Ann Arbor, 2026
• The Best Lawyers in America® – Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law, Employment Law – Management; Litigation – ERISA; Litigation – Labor and Employment – 2023-2026
• • •
McDonald Hopkins is proud to congratulate Jim Giszczak and Miriam Rosen on their inclusion in Crain’s Detroit Business’ list of 2026 Notable Leaders in Accounting, Consulting, & Law.
Giszczak is co-president of McDonald Hopkins and co-chair of the Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice Group. He also maintains a privacy practice serving clients across a range of industries.
Rosen serves as managing member of McDonald Hopkins’ Detroit office, sits on the Executive Committee and Board of Directors, is the firm’s general counsel, and is a leader in the Labor and Employment Practice. She oversees dozens of attorneys while managing client relationships in her practice.
• • •
Michigan Auto Law is proud to announce that owner and attorney Steven Gursten has been named the recipient of the 2026 Courage Award by The Melvin M. Belli Society.
Gursten was selected for his advocacy on behalf of Michigan consumers after publicly raising concerns about CURE Auto Insurance and continuing to speak out even after the company filed a lawsuit against him and Michigan Auto Law.
The Melvin M. Belli Society recognized Gursten after he published a blog highlighting the number of complaints Michigan drivers had reported against the New Jersey based insurer. In response, CURE Auto Insurance filed a lawsuit against Gursten and Michigan Auto Law. Rather than backing down, Gursten continued advocating for consumers through his writing and by launching WhenCureWontPay.com, a website dedicated to educating Michigan drivers about insurance claims, consumer rights, and their legal options.
“This award is especially meaningful because it recognizes the importance of standing up for consumers when it matters most,” stated Gursten. “When I first began writing about CURE Auto Insurance, my only goal was to help Michigan drivers make informed decisions and understand their rights. Facing litigation for speaking out was never going to change that mission. I believe attorneys have the responsibility to advocate not only inside the courtroom, but also in the public interest when consumers deserve transparency and accountability.”
• • •
Foster, Swift, Collins, & Smith PC is pleased to announce that attorneys Marcy Hahn and Lisa M. Serra have joined the firm’s Southfield office.
With decades of combined legal experience, Hahn and Serra bring backgrounds advising businesses of all sizes on governance, compliance, contracts, risk management, employment matters, dispute resolution, and strategic growth initiatives.
As a former Fortune 10 lead counsel, Hahn has more than 20 years of experience as a corporate attorney, negotiator, and mediator. She advises companies on corporate governance, regulatory compliance, business risk management, and operational strategy. Hahn also serves as fractional general counsel to startups and midsize businesses, partnering with leadership teams and boards to address legal issues before they become business obstacles.
Serra has more than a decade of experience helping businesses address both immediate legal needs and long-term objectives. Serving as outside general counsel for numerous small and midsize companies, she advises on contracts, employment issues, compliance matters, corporate governance, risk management, and day-to-day operational concerns.
• • •
Kemp Klein is proud to announce that shareholders Austin W. Probst and Matthew W. Frank have been named 2026 Crain’s Detroit Business Notable Leaders in Accounting, Consulting & Law.
Probst concentrates his practice in probate, estate and trust administration and litigation, elder law, estate planning, commercial litigation, and appeals. He represents individuals, families, and fiduciaries throughout Michigan in complex probate and trust disputes while also advising clients on estate planning and administration matters.
In addition to being recognized by Crain’s Detroit Business, Probst was recently named a 2026 Up & Coming Lawyer by Michigan Lawyers Weekly. He has also been recognized by The Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America, DBusiness Top Lawyers, and Michigan Super Lawyers Rising Stars for his work in trusts and estates and probate law.
Frank focuses his practice on mergers and acquisitions, aviation, real estate, and corporate law. He advises privately held businesses on acquisitions, dispositions, financing, corporate governance, and other complex business transactions, helping clients navigate sophisticated legal and business matters.
Frank was previously named a 2025 Crain’s Detroit Business Notable M&A Dealmaker, a 2025 Michigan Lawyers Weekly Go To Lawyer for Business Litigation, and a 2026 DBusiness Top Lawyer in Mergers and Acquisitions Law.
• • •
Varnum is pleased to announce that attorney Jordan Weeks has joined the firm’s Litigation and ADR Practice Team in the Novi office.
Weeks represents clients in commercial and construction disputes, with experience handling cases involving breach of contract, mechanic’s liens, business ownership issues, and other complex claims. His litigation work includes discovery, depositions, motion practice, arbitration, and trial. In these matters, he has prepared and examined witnesses, argued pretrial motions, drafted summary judgment briefing, and first-chaired trials.
Prior to joining Varnum, Weeks handled transportation, maritime, property damage, and internet defamation disputes in addition to his commercial and construction litigation work. He also served as a judicial extern to U.S. District Judge David A. Ruiz in the Northern District of Ohio.
Weeks earned his law degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Law. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from Eastern Michigan University.
Varnum is also pleased to announce that partners Julia Perkins and Michael Romaya have been recognized as Notable Leaders in Accounting, Consulting, and Law by Crain’s Detroit.
Perkins is a partner in Varnum’s Novi office who advises clients through personal and financial matters involving divorce and family law. Her practice includes custody, child support, parenting time, high net worth marital estates, valuation and division issues, international custody disputes, and family law mediation. She is frequently engaged in matters requiring discretion, judgment, and steady advocacy, helping clients pursue practical resolutions when possible and providing courtroom representation when necessary.
Perkins also serves on Varnum’s Executive Committee and as a practice management leader, where she supports firm strategy and the coaching and mentoring of partners.
Romaya is the lead partner in Varnum’s Birmingham office, advising privately held companies on strategic transactions, financing, growth, governance, and ongoing business needs. A member of the Banking, Finance and Restructuring Team, he counsels clients through significant transactions and financing matters, including acquisitions and other business combinations.
Romaya is also a member of Varnum’s highest governing body, the Policy Committee, where he helps guide the firm’s long-term business strategy and overall direction.
• • •
David Foltyn, Honigman chairman and CEO, was recently named as one of Crain’s Detroit Business’ 2026 “Notable Leaders in Accounting, Consulting & Law.”
Foltyn has served as the chairman and CEO of Honigman since 2008. He has enhanced the recruiting functions of the firm and has implemented ongoing development opportunities for attorneys and business professionals. Foltyn is also an active community leader and serves on a number of boards.
In addition, Honigman partner Chauncey Mayfield II was recently honored as a Law360 Rising Star. He was recognized for his excellence when it comes to the practice area of transportation.
Mayfield is the leader of Honigman’s commercial transactions practice group, where he serves as a trusted advisor to global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), suppliers, manufacturers, and other businesses on sophisticated commercial transactions, complex sourcing relationships, and legal and commercial challenges defining today’s industries.
• • •
Bodman PLC is pleased to announce that Member Stephen Dunn has been selected for inclusion in Crain’s Detroit Business Notable Leaders in Accounting, Consulting, and Law 2026.
With more than 20 years of first chair jury trial and arbitration experience, Dunn focuses his practice on litigating complex, high-stakes business disputes. He also leads teams handling corporate transactions including mergers, acquisitions, reorganizations, combinations, joint ventures, restructurings and lending transactions.
Dunn is a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army Reserve JAG Corps and currently holds the rank of lieutenant colonel, serving as deputy commanding officer of an Army unit headquartered at Ft. Snelling, Minnesota.
• • •
Miller Canfield is pleased to announce that James Claborn has joined the firm’s Real Estate Group as an associate in its Troy office.
Claborn advises clients on commercial real estate, construction and business transactions, including contract drafting and negotiation, commercial leases, purchase agreements, construction agreements, acquisitions and risk management.
Before joining Miller Canfield, Claborn served as corporate counsel for BELFOR Property Restoration. As the lead transactional attorney supporting the company’s North American operations, he advised executives and project teams on hundreds of agreements each year, including commercial service contracts, construction contracts, subcontractor agreements, commercial leases and acquisition documents. He also counseled business teams on contract structure, risk allocation and negotiation strategy for large-scale restoration and construction projects involving commercial and institutional properties.
Claborn previously worked in private practice, where he handled transactional and litigation matters involving real estate, contracts and financial disputes. He also completed a corporate counsel externship with MAHLE Industries Inc.
Claborn earned his law degree from Wayne State University Law School. He earned his bachelor’s degree in political theory and constitutional democracy from Michigan State University’s James Madison College. Claborn is a member of the State Bar of Michigan’s Business Law Section.
Miller Canfield is also pleased to announce that Chief Executive Officer Michael Palizzi has been named a 2026 Crain’s Detroit Business Notable Leader in Law.
Palizzi has served as Miller Canfield’s CEO since April 2024, leading the firm’s 20 offices in six countries.
Before becoming CEO, Palizzi co-led Miller Canfield’s Litigation and Dispute Resolution and Intellectual Property groups and served for three years on the firm’s Board of Managing Directors. He is a nationally recognized trial lawyer and business counselor who has spent more than 30 years representing clients in complex commercial litigation and intellectual property matters. He also serves as chief outside counsel to several U.S. and international companies.
Palizzi has been recognized by Chambers USA, The Best Lawyers in America, Benchmark Litigation, Michigan Super Lawyers, Managing Intellectual Property IP Stars, Leading Lawyers, and DBusiness. He is a senior fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America and a fellow of the Michigan State Bar Foundation.
His professional and civic service includes board positions with the Detroit Regional Chamber and The Right Place Inc. He also serves as co-chair of the Federal Bar Association’s Complex Litigation Committee and is active in the American Bar Association, Oakland County Bar Foundation, and Detroit Bar Association.
Palizzi earned his law degree from Wayne State University Law School and his bachelor’s degree from Albion College.
• • •
Taft Detroit Partner Gina Goyette Staudacher has been named a Notable Leader in Accounting, Consulting, and Law by Crain’s Detroit Business.
Staudacher focuses her work on business and tax advisory matters, with deep experience in Multi-state and Federal Tax and Economic Incentives, R&D Tax Credits, Energy and Manufacturing Tax Credits, Opportunity Zone structuring, Accounting Methods, and Tax Controversy. She leads a team of CPAs, attorneys, data analysts, and financial advisors to assist businesses in uncovering beneficial tax opportunities, minimizing tax liabilities, and monetizing state and federal economic incentives for domestic and foreign-inbound taxpayers.
Staudacher’s practice includes advising CFOs, CEOs, General Counsels, VPs of Tax, and C-suite executives on tax, capital project financing, and strategic growth initiatives.
• • •
Brooks Kushman is proud to announce that eight of its attorneys have been named 2026 IP Stars by Managing IP. The following attorneys were recognized as 2026 IP Stars in the Patent and Trademark categories:
Sangeeta Shah, Robyn Lederman, John LeRoy, Marc Lorelli, Christopher Smith, Frank Angileri, Charles Bieneman, Mark Cantor, and Elizabeth Janda.
The following attorney was recognized as 2026 IP Stars in the Rising Star category:
Chelsea Pasquali
In addition to this year’s individual recognitions, Brooks Kushman is proud to celebrate its tenth consecutive year of recognition in the IP Stars rankings.
• • •
Maddin Hauser is pleased to announce that two attorneys have been elevated to the shareholder level. David T. Lin and Kevin C. Majewski joined the firm’s Financial Services and Real Property Litigation group in early 2025 and made an immediate positive impact. Lin is also a member of the Bankruptcy, Restructuring, and Debtor-Creditor Rights group.
A creditors’ rights and bankruptcy attorney, Lin guides lenders and other creditors through all stages of the bankruptcy process after a debtor files for bankruptcy relief. He represents his clients’ diverse interests at the pre- and post-judgment stages of commercial litigation. Lin earned his law degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law.
A litigator, Majewski concentrates his practice on disputes involving real property, construction, mortgages, financial services, and other business matters. He graduated from Michigan State University College of Law.
Maddin Hauser is also thrilled to announce that Michigan Lawyers Weekly named Deborah S. Lapin to its 2026 class of “Influential Women of Law.”
As a shareholder in Maddin Hauser’s Financial Services and Real Property Litigation group, Lapin focuses on real estate litigation, particularly mortgage-related issues and title insurance coverage disputes.
Lapin’s contributions to the legal profession include educating clients and fellow attorneys on legal issues and providing practical guidance on business development, networking, wellness, and investing. She is a member of the Institute of Continuing Legal Education’s (ICLE) Real Property Law Advisory Board, often speaks and blogs on topics relevant to her practice and clients, and regularly presents continuing legal education courses to colleagues. Lapin is additionally active in the industries in which her clients do business, including serving on the Board of Directors of the Michigan Recreational Boating Industries Educational Foundation.
Lapin devotes significant time to Maddin Hauser’s Women’s Success Through Empowerment and Engagement (SEE) Committee, including volunteering with Humble Design’s “Day of Joy,” transforming empty houses into warm, welcoming homes for families transitioning out of homelessness. She has also given her time to the Ronald McDonald House, her synagogue, and youth sports boards.
A creditors’ rights and bankruptcy attorney, Lin guides lenders and other creditors through all stages of the bankruptcy process after a debtor files for bankruptcy relief. He represents his clients’ diverse interests at the pre- and post-judgment stages of commercial litigation. Lin earned his law degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law.
A litigator, Majewski concentrates his practice on disputes involving real property, construction, mortgages, financial services, and other business matters. He graduated from Michigan State University College of Law.
Maddin Hauser is also thrilled to announce that Michigan Lawyers Weekly named Deborah S. Lapin to its 2026 class of “Influential Women of Law.”
As a shareholder in Maddin Hauser’s Financial Services and Real Property Litigation group, Lapin focuses on real estate litigation, particularly mortgage-related issues and title insurance coverage disputes.
Lapin’s contributions to the legal profession include educating clients and fellow attorneys on legal issues and providing practical guidance on business development, networking, wellness, and investing. She is a member of the Institute of Continuing Legal Education’s (ICLE) Real Property Law Advisory Board, often speaks and blogs on topics relevant to her practice and clients, and regularly presents continuing legal education courses to colleagues. Lapin is additionally active in the industries in which her clients do business, including serving on the Board of Directors of the Michigan Recreational Boating Industries Educational Foundation.
Lapin devotes significant time to Maddin Hauser’s Women’s Success Through Empowerment and Engagement (SEE) Committee, including volunteering with Humble Design’s “Day of Joy,” transforming empty houses into warm, welcoming homes for families transitioning out of homelessness. She has also given her time to the Ronald McDonald House, her synagogue, and youth sports boards.
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