By Tom Kirvan
Legal News
When corporate partnerships splinter, the resulting legal fallout requires a unique blend of financial forensics, negotiation, and strategic litigation mastery. For corporate practitioners across the Great Lakes State, there is no better arena to dissect these disputes than the 9th Annual State Bar of Michigan Business Law Symposium.
On Thursday, Feb. 11, 2027, the highly anticipated program returns to its home at the historic Gem Theatre in downtown Detroit, according to Troy business divorce specialist Mark Rossman, who has served as the organizer and chief producer of the event since its inception. Under the provocative theme, “Anatomy of the Business Divorce,” this year’s symposium will deliver a deep dive into the complex legal mechanisms governing the separation of business interests.
“This year, we’re going back to the roots of the Symposium and putting the microscope on the ‘Business Divorce,’ or as we call it in the trades, ‘corporate oppression,’” Rossman indicated. “We have a number of terrific speakers on the roster, and so we expect a full house. We’re even bringing in some divorce lawyers to talk about the separation dynamic more generally and as it occurs through the lens of the familial context.”
Born out of a vision to bridge academic theory and courtroom reality, the Business Law Symposium held its inaugural gathering in 2018. Over the last decade, it has evolved into a premier fixture on the legal calendar, attracting dozens of the state’s most decorated litigators, judges, and legal scholars.
Produced by the Privately Held Business Forum, a committee within the State Bar’s Business Law Section, the symposium owes much of its growth to the leadership of Rossman and the team at Rossman, P.C., a Troy-based business litigation firm.
“It’s become what you might call a labor of love, which makes it apropos that we hold it around Valentine’s Day each year. I’m really excited to be turning the focus back to one of my favorite areas of law, corporate oppression,” added Rossman, who has spent his career on member and shareholder oppression cases.
As the 2027 theme implies, the symposium’s focus will center squarely on separating corporate interests in a litigation context, according to Rossman, a University of Michigan alum who earned his juris doctor from Wayne State University Law School.
“When business co-owners turn from collaborators into adversaries, the friction mirrors the intense emotional and structural divisions traditionally seen in domestic relations, but with millions of dollars in corporate assets on the line,” Rossman said.
“That’s why I’m looking forward to moderating a discussion with Sherri Bono and Ivonne Soler, two great divorce lawyers, for a comparison and introspection about the separation dynamic generally and how it plays out in the corollary family context.”
Attorneys planning to attend the 2027 event will explore a curriculum tailored to the specific battlefields of commercial breakups, Rossman indicated. Key panel discussions will explore corporate and oppression theory and practice, providing clarity on how minority shareholders can protect their investments from hostile majority actions. Speakers also will unpack advanced negotiation methods and trial strategies for multi-party corporate dissolutions.
Fulfilling its reputation for drawing elite panelists, the upcoming program will feature a remarkably strong slate of speakers. Academic insight will be led by Professor Douglas moll, a nationally recognized authority on shareholder oppression from the University of Houston Law Center.
The practitioner perspective will feature a number of prominent Michigan litigators, including a pair of former State Bar presidents, Jennifer Grieco of Altior and Daniel Quick of Dickinson Wright. Noted attorney E. Powell Miller of the Miller Firm and event producer Rossman also will be among the featured speakers.
They will be joined in the event spotlight by specialists like Sherri Bono (Bono Legal Group), Ivonne Soler (Butzel), Lisa Zelinski (GlassRatner), Jonathan Ajlouny (Honigman), and Kassem Dakhlallah (Hammoud Dakhlallah & Associates).
Notably, the symposium bridges the gap between the bar and the bench by including an esteemed judicial panel. Attendees will gain direct trial insights from former Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Christopher Yates (Ven Johnson Law), Oakland County Circuit Judge Victoria Valentine, and Wayne County Circuit Judge David Allen.
Additionally, former U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts and former Oakland County Circuit Judge Denise Langford Morris, both of whom handle high-level alternative dispute resolution matters through the Detroit office of JAMS, will share their perspectives on resolving corporate stalemates outside of protracted trial proceedings, according to Rossman.
The symposium kicks off with a dedicated networking session from 4 to 4:30 p.m., offering attendees an opportunity to speak with some of the top minds in the industry before the formal presentations begin.
Tickets are $135 to attend in person and $50 to attend virtually. Registration and all other related information are available at www.bizsymposium.com. If you would like to be a sponsor of the event, send an email to: mark@rossmanpc.com.
Legal News
When corporate partnerships splinter, the resulting legal fallout requires a unique blend of financial forensics, negotiation, and strategic litigation mastery. For corporate practitioners across the Great Lakes State, there is no better arena to dissect these disputes than the 9th Annual State Bar of Michigan Business Law Symposium.
On Thursday, Feb. 11, 2027, the highly anticipated program returns to its home at the historic Gem Theatre in downtown Detroit, according to Troy business divorce specialist Mark Rossman, who has served as the organizer and chief producer of the event since its inception. Under the provocative theme, “Anatomy of the Business Divorce,” this year’s symposium will deliver a deep dive into the complex legal mechanisms governing the separation of business interests.
“This year, we’re going back to the roots of the Symposium and putting the microscope on the ‘Business Divorce,’ or as we call it in the trades, ‘corporate oppression,’” Rossman indicated. “We have a number of terrific speakers on the roster, and so we expect a full house. We’re even bringing in some divorce lawyers to talk about the separation dynamic more generally and as it occurs through the lens of the familial context.”
Born out of a vision to bridge academic theory and courtroom reality, the Business Law Symposium held its inaugural gathering in 2018. Over the last decade, it has evolved into a premier fixture on the legal calendar, attracting dozens of the state’s most decorated litigators, judges, and legal scholars.
Produced by the Privately Held Business Forum, a committee within the State Bar’s Business Law Section, the symposium owes much of its growth to the leadership of Rossman and the team at Rossman, P.C., a Troy-based business litigation firm.
“It’s become what you might call a labor of love, which makes it apropos that we hold it around Valentine’s Day each year. I’m really excited to be turning the focus back to one of my favorite areas of law, corporate oppression,” added Rossman, who has spent his career on member and shareholder oppression cases.
As the 2027 theme implies, the symposium’s focus will center squarely on separating corporate interests in a litigation context, according to Rossman, a University of Michigan alum who earned his juris doctor from Wayne State University Law School.
“When business co-owners turn from collaborators into adversaries, the friction mirrors the intense emotional and structural divisions traditionally seen in domestic relations, but with millions of dollars in corporate assets on the line,” Rossman said.
“That’s why I’m looking forward to moderating a discussion with Sherri Bono and Ivonne Soler, two great divorce lawyers, for a comparison and introspection about the separation dynamic generally and how it plays out in the corollary family context.”
Attorneys planning to attend the 2027 event will explore a curriculum tailored to the specific battlefields of commercial breakups, Rossman indicated. Key panel discussions will explore corporate and oppression theory and practice, providing clarity on how minority shareholders can protect their investments from hostile majority actions. Speakers also will unpack advanced negotiation methods and trial strategies for multi-party corporate dissolutions.
Fulfilling its reputation for drawing elite panelists, the upcoming program will feature a remarkably strong slate of speakers. Academic insight will be led by Professor Douglas moll, a nationally recognized authority on shareholder oppression from the University of Houston Law Center.
The practitioner perspective will feature a number of prominent Michigan litigators, including a pair of former State Bar presidents, Jennifer Grieco of Altior and Daniel Quick of Dickinson Wright. Noted attorney E. Powell Miller of the Miller Firm and event producer Rossman also will be among the featured speakers.
They will be joined in the event spotlight by specialists like Sherri Bono (Bono Legal Group), Ivonne Soler (Butzel), Lisa Zelinski (GlassRatner), Jonathan Ajlouny (Honigman), and Kassem Dakhlallah (Hammoud Dakhlallah & Associates).
Notably, the symposium bridges the gap between the bar and the bench by including an esteemed judicial panel. Attendees will gain direct trial insights from former Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Christopher Yates (Ven Johnson Law), Oakland County Circuit Judge Victoria Valentine, and Wayne County Circuit Judge David Allen.
Additionally, former U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts and former Oakland County Circuit Judge Denise Langford Morris, both of whom handle high-level alternative dispute resolution matters through the Detroit office of JAMS, will share their perspectives on resolving corporate stalemates outside of protracted trial proceedings, according to Rossman.
The symposium kicks off with a dedicated networking session from 4 to 4:30 p.m., offering attendees an opportunity to speak with some of the top minds in the industry before the formal presentations begin.
Tickets are $135 to attend in person and $50 to attend virtually. Registration and all other related information are available at www.bizsymposium.com. If you would like to be a sponsor of the event, send an email to: mark@rossmanpc.com.
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