By Tom Kirvan
Legal News
“The Business of the Lawsuit” will serve as the title of the 8th Annual State Bar of Michigan Business Law Symposium on February 12 in downtown Detroit.
The 2026 program will feature several new formats, including 3-on-3 debate teams and a debate between two titans in the Michigan legal community, E. Powell Miller and Daniel Quick, moderated by former U.S. District Chief Judge Gerald Rosen, who served as the chief mediator of the Detroit bankruptcy in 2013.
The Symposium will be staged at The Gem Theatre, on Madison Street next to Ford Field.
Among the presenters will be retired U.S. District Judges Victoria Roberts and Gerald Rosen, now mediators with the Detroit office of JAMS (Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services); E. Powell Miller, founding partner of the Miller Law Firm in Rochester; Daniel Quick, a past president of the State Bar of Michigan and a partner with Dickinson Wright; I.W. Winsten, a partner with Honigman; Ian Williamson, a partner at Mantese Honigman; Pat Lannen, a partner with Stinar Gould Grieco & Hensley; and Mike Weaver, a partner with Flood Law.
Also featured will be Paul Mersino, president and CEO of Butzel; James Allen, a partner with Schenk & Bruetsch; Sara MacWilliams, a partner with Doerr MacWilliams Howard; Ben Aloia, president of Aloia & Associates; Joe Duffy, a partner with Dykema; H. Joel Newman, founder of H. Joel Newman PLLC; Linda Oszust, a partner with Rossman P.C.; and T. Maxwell Carey and Noah Mathews, associates with Rossman, P.C.
Doors open at 4 p.m. and the event commences at 4:30, with an “opening statement” from Rossman, and remarks from Business Law Section Chair Michael Molitor, General Counsel of Cooley Law School.
The program will begin with a discussion group topic on “What Makes the Business Lawyer Unique Among Lawyers,” featuring attorneys I.W. Winsten and Ian Williamson. The session will be moderated by retired U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts.
It will be followed with a discussion on “The Anatomy of a Business Trial” moderated by Linda Oszust. Panelists will be attorneys Pat Lannen and Mike Weaver.
Butzel CEO Paul Mersino will be featured at 6:10 p.m. with a presentation on “Promoting and Marketing the Business Law Practice.”
A pair of “3-on-3 Competing Panel Discussions” will kick off at 7 p.m. with James Allen, Sara MacWilliams, and Ben Aloia on one team, with Joe Duffy, H. Joel Newman, and Ryan Plecha on the other. The teams will debate the topic “Breaking Up the Professional Corporation; It’s Hard to Do.” The discussion will be moderated by T. Maxwell Carey and Noah Mathews.
The Symposium’s finale will be debate featuring Powell Miller versus Dan Quick, with Judge Rosen moderating.
The cost of attending the Symposium is $135. Law students may register for free.
Sponsorships are not sold for this event, but gifts to the program are welcome and may be made through the State Bar.
For more information, visit www.bizsymposium.com.
Legal News
“The Business of the Lawsuit” will serve as the title of the 8th Annual State Bar of Michigan Business Law Symposium on February 12 in downtown Detroit.
The 2026 program will feature several new formats, including 3-on-3 debate teams and a debate between two titans in the Michigan legal community, E. Powell Miller and Daniel Quick, moderated by former U.S. District Chief Judge Gerald Rosen, who served as the chief mediator of the Detroit bankruptcy in 2013.
The Symposium will be staged at The Gem Theatre, on Madison Street next to Ford Field.
Among the presenters will be retired U.S. District Judges Victoria Roberts and Gerald Rosen, now mediators with the Detroit office of JAMS (Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services); E. Powell Miller, founding partner of the Miller Law Firm in Rochester; Daniel Quick, a past president of the State Bar of Michigan and a partner with Dickinson Wright; I.W. Winsten, a partner with Honigman; Ian Williamson, a partner at Mantese Honigman; Pat Lannen, a partner with Stinar Gould Grieco & Hensley; and Mike Weaver, a partner with Flood Law.
Also featured will be Paul Mersino, president and CEO of Butzel; James Allen, a partner with Schenk & Bruetsch; Sara MacWilliams, a partner with Doerr MacWilliams Howard; Ben Aloia, president of Aloia & Associates; Joe Duffy, a partner with Dykema; H. Joel Newman, founder of H. Joel Newman PLLC; Linda Oszust, a partner with Rossman P.C.; and T. Maxwell Carey and Noah Mathews, associates with Rossman, P.C.
Doors open at 4 p.m. and the event commences at 4:30, with an “opening statement” from Rossman, and remarks from Business Law Section Chair Michael Molitor, General Counsel of Cooley Law School.
The program will begin with a discussion group topic on “What Makes the Business Lawyer Unique Among Lawyers,” featuring attorneys I.W. Winsten and Ian Williamson. The session will be moderated by retired U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts.
It will be followed with a discussion on “The Anatomy of a Business Trial” moderated by Linda Oszust. Panelists will be attorneys Pat Lannen and Mike Weaver.
Butzel CEO Paul Mersino will be featured at 6:10 p.m. with a presentation on “Promoting and Marketing the Business Law Practice.”
A pair of “3-on-3 Competing Panel Discussions” will kick off at 7 p.m. with James Allen, Sara MacWilliams, and Ben Aloia on one team, with Joe Duffy, H. Joel Newman, and Ryan Plecha on the other. The teams will debate the topic “Breaking Up the Professional Corporation; It’s Hard to Do.” The discussion will be moderated by T. Maxwell Carey and Noah Mathews.
The Symposium’s finale will be debate featuring Powell Miller versus Dan Quick, with Judge Rosen moderating.
The cost of attending the Symposium is $135. Law students may register for free.
Sponsorships are not sold for this event, but gifts to the program are welcome and may be made through the State Bar.
For more information, visit www.bizsymposium.com.
––––––––––––––––––––
Subscribe to the Legal News!
https://www.legalnews.com/Home/Subscription
Full access to public notices, articles, columns, archives, statistics, calendar and more
Day Pass Only $4.95!
One-County $80/year
Three-County & Full Pass also available
