Alumni Accomplishments
- Posted 2009-01-27
Nanci Grant, '89, was recently named Secretary of the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission. The commission manages the conduct of judges, magistrates, and referees in the state. Grant was elected as a representative by the state circuit judges on the commission in 2006. She also served as a presiding judge of Oakland County Circuit Court, and as the circuit court representative on the state’s Community Correction’s Board. - Posted 2009-01-21
Judge Nanci J. Grant, '89, Oakland County Circuit Court, was named by her fellow commissioners as Secretary of the Judicial Tenure Commission. - Posted 2009-06-08
Steven Weinstock, '89, was hired as regional manager of the Marcus and Millichap firm in Oak Brook, Ill. - Posted 2009-09-04
Theresa Asoklis, '89, was selected for inclusion in the 16th edition of The Best Lawyers in America. Asoklis has focused her practice on the defense of legal malpractice claims, and attorney and judicial disciplinary proceedings for almost 20 years. The Clinton Township resident maintains an active general liability defense practice, including claims arising out of auto and trucking accidents, and complex premises liability matters. She has successfully tried many legal malpractice, auto negligence, first party no-fault, premises liability, insurance coverage, and attorney fee disputes. Asoklis also has prevailed in a number of significant appellate opinions in the legal malpractice, insurance coverage, and judicial disciplinary arenas. - Posted 2009-09-04
Donald Campbell, '89, was selected for inclusion in the 16th edition of The Best Lawyers in America. Campbell concentrates his practice in attorney grievance defense, representation in judicial tenure matters and legal malpractice defense. In addition to his law practice, he has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law teaching courses in ethics and criminal law, since 2002. Campbell also regularly teaches a seminar in corporate law and ethics. He served 10 years as an associate counsel, Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission and four years as an assistant prosecuting attorney, Oakland County, Michigan before joining the firm in 2003. He currently serves as a liaison to the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, which is responsible for issuing the ABA's Ethics Opinions. - Posted 2009-01-27
Ellen B. Janette, '88, of Plunkett Cooney’s Bloomfield Hills Office, was named a shareholder of the firm. Janette extends her practice in the areas of insurance coverage and professional liability. She represents insurance carriers in insurance coverage disputes in the areas of environmental contamination and construction defect. Her professional liability practice includes defense of malpractice claims against real estate professionals, attorneys and accountants in state and federal courts. Janette also earned Martindale-Hubbell's highest rating-AV, which is a peer review rating process. Ratings fall into the categories of legal ability and general ethical standards. - Posted 2009-03-13
Michael Killelea, '88, was recently hired as senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of Goodrich Petroleum Corporation. He spent the past 20 years in the E&P business with several companies, including serving as senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary at Pogo Producing Company. - Posted 2009-04-02
Ellen Bartman Jannette, '88, has been promoted to partner with Plunkett Cooney. Jannette is a member of the insurance law and professional liability practice groups in the Bloomfield Hills, Mich., office. Jannette will focus on representing insurance carriers in insurance coverage disputes, particularly in the areas of environmental contamination and construction defect. - Posted 2009-04-28
David M. Thoms, '88, a principal in the Troy office, was recently re-elected secretary of the board of directors of the Visiting Nurse Association of Michigan. - Posted 2009-06-15
Joseph Ammar, '88, has joined Plunkett Cooney's Kalamazoo office. A member of the firm's Banking, Bankruptcy and Creditors' Rights Practice Group, Ammar focuses his practice in the areas of creditors' rights, bankruptcy and commercial law, representing secured lenders and financial institutions. - Posted 2009-07-02
David N. Goltz, '88, is the vice president of Administration and General Counsel for Highway Technologies in Oak Brook, Ill., where he leads the Company's Legal, Human Resources, Risk Management and Safety Departments. - Posted 2009-07-23
Phillip Korovesis, '87, was announced as the new treasurer for the Michigan Defense Trial Counsel. - Posted 2009-07-30
Margaret Van Meter, '87, joined the newly-expanded Southfield offices of Warner, Norcross and Judd, LLP. - Posted 2009-09-28
Kathy Browne, '87, multiple patent holder and founder of Grow!USA, also founded and funds a related non-profit, Green!USA, www.green-usa.org, which became a 2008 international leader in alternatives to peat for soil amendments in garden and landscape design. Green!USA has been cited as authoritative by Treehugger, Suite101 Environment News, and other Internet sites. Since 2007 Ms. Browne has received two local Council for Community Development Residential Landscape Design Excellence Awards, with the second being awarded October 8, 2009. Her DAR national conservation medal-winning garden design and installation work for the 2004 Michigan State Fairgrounds -- which was videotaped for the Grosse Pointe cable television prgram "Pointes of Horticulture" -- has been accepted in DVD format into the collection of historic artifacts by the Detroit Historical Society Museums, which intend to show the half-hour production to schoolchildren. - Posted 2009-01-27
Susan Pryce, '86, was featured in Detroit Legal News for her career change from partner at Sommers Schwartz in Southfield, to partner in a bakery business. - Posted 2008-11-13
Mark A. Metz, '86, was ranked as a leader in Corporate Governance and Compliance Law, Corporate Law, and Securities Law in the “Best Lawyers in America” guide. He provides general corporate and securities representation for many of the firm’s publicly-held corporate clients in areas such as defensive planning, director’s duties, periodic reporting, disclosure, the responsibilities of corporate insiders, stick-based benefit plans, and insider trading rules. - Posted 2009-06-08
Mark Bowman, '86, will lead Chicago-based commercial real estate firm Howard Ecker in the Detroit market. - Posted 2009-08-04
Eric S. Richards, '86, of Mika, Meyers, Beckett and Jones, PLC, was included in the 2010 edition of the Best Lawyers in America. Lawyers are selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers solely on the basis of a nationally-conducted peer-review survey in which more than 25,000 leading lawyers vote on the legal abilities and professional achievements of other lawyers in their specialties. - Posted 2009-02-02
Joseph M. Fazio, '85, was elected by Miller Canfield to serve a two-year term as managing director, effective Jan. 1, 2009. He is a principal in the Real Estate Group in the Ann Arbor, Michigan office. His specific areas of expertise include complex commercial real estate acquisitions and developments, with extensive experience in ground leasing, entity formation, public/private development agreements, as well as conventional, securitized and tax-increment financing. He is recognized in The Best Lawyers in America, Chambers USA and Michigan Super Lawyers for his real estate work. - Posted 2009-01-27
Michael A. Fleming, '85, of Plunkett Cooney’s Bloomfield Hills office, was named a shareholder of the firm. He lends his expertise in the areas of banking and finance law, and creditor’s rights and bankruptcy. He represent s clients in commercial and secured transactions, including loan workouts, foreclosures and commercial loan collections, as well as business reorganizations, debtor and creditor's rights, and probate and estate administration. Fleming has also earned Martindale-Hubbell's highest rating-AV, which is a peer review rating process. Ratings fall into the categories of legal ability and general ethical standards. - Posted 2008-12-01
Linda G. Burwell, '85, a partner at Nemeth Burwell PC, was a presenter at the annual Michigan Society for Human Resource Management (MISHRAM) State Conference, Oct. 15-17 in Dearborn, Mich. Burwell’s presentation focused on the legal, policy and HR challenges that electronic communications present to employers. - Posted 2009-10-23
Diane Akers, '85, a partner in the Detroit office of the law firm Bodman LLP, was appointed co-chair of the Business Impact Committee of the Judicial Cross-roads Task Force. The Task Force, created by the State Bar of Michigan, addresses maintaining judicial services despite decreased funding and the economic down-turn. - Posted 2009-11-17
Linda Burwell, '85, founding partner with Nemeth Burwell, was included in DBusiness magazine's exclusive 2010 Martindale-Hubbell list of metro Detroit's finest barristers. - Posted 2009-02-09
Elizabeth Hardy, '84, was named a Power Lawyer by Crain's Detroit Business. She is a founding partner of Kienbaum, Opperwall, Hardy & Pelton PLC and has won several significant Michigan Supreme Court decisions that helped reshape legal doctrines in the state in favor of employees. - Posted 2008-12-01
Kevin J. Cox, '84, of McKeen and Associates PC has been named senior associate. Cox specializes in medical malpractice and birth trauma litigation. Prior to joining the firm, Cox was a senior partner at Weiner and Cox, where he represented clients in medical malpractice and personal injury litigation. He is also a member of the Michigan Association for Justice (MAJ) and American Association for Justice (AAJ). - Posted 2008-11-13
Thomas J. McGraw, '84, of Dykema, was ranked as a leader in the “Best Lawyers in America” guide. McGraw practices health care law, and is the leader of the firm’s Health Care Practice Group. - Posted 2009-03-27
Patricia Nemeth, '84, the founding partner of Detroit-based employment law firm Nemeth Burwell, P.C., has been named one of Michigan’s 25 Leaders in the Law by the legal trade publication Michigan Lawyers Weekly. Nemeth and her fellow honorees from throughout the state’s legal community were celebrated at an awards luncheon at the Marriott in Troy. - Posted 2009-08-12
Randall R. "Randy" Adams, '84, a Poyner Spruill attorney, has been named to the 2010 edition of Best Lawyers in America, the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession. He was recognized in the Insurance Law category. - Posted 2009-06-08
The Hon. Donald Allen Jr., '83, was honored by the Lansing Black Lawyers Association for outstanding his leadership and accomplishments. - Posted 2009-11-17
Anne Widlak, '83, an of counsel attorney with Nemeth Burwell, was included in DBusiness magazine's exclusive 2010 Martindale-Hubbell list of metro Detroit's finest barristers. - Posted 2008-11-18
Lee Hornberger, '82, Arbitration and Mediation Office of Lee Hornberger, has been appointed to the Awards Committee of the State Bar of Michigan. The Awards Committee recommends recipients of State Bar of Michigan awards, including the annual Liberty Bell Award made to non-attorneys. Hornberger is the Immediate Past President of the Grand Traverse-Leelanau-Antrim Bar Association. - Posted 2008-11-13
Peter M. Kellett, '82, of Dykema, was ranked as a leader in the “Best Lawyers in America” guide. Kellett is director of the Litigation Department. He focuses his practice in the areas of alternative dispute resolution, commercial litigation and product liability litigation. - Posted 2009-05-12
Lee Hornberger, '82, of the Arbitration and Mediation Office of Lee Hornberger, was appointed by the Traverse City City Commission to the Traverse City Human Rights Commission. In addition, Hornberger's article "Supreme Court Crawford Retaliation Decision" was recently published in the Grand Traverse-Leelanau-Antrim Bar Association newsletter. He is immediate past president of the Grand Traverse-Leelanau-Antrim Bar Association. - Posted 2009-05-19
Samuel Stahl, '82, a partner and chair of the Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP Private Equity and Venture Capital practice group, will be a featured panelist at the Association for Corporate Growth's Third Annual M&A Conference on June 2, 2009 at the Detroit Athletic Club. Stahl will serve on a panel addressing "Completing Transactions in the Hot Sector." - Posted 2009-06-08
Samuel Stahl, '82, was a featured panelist at the Association for Corporate Growth's 3rd annual M&A Conference at the Detroit Athletic Club. - Posted 2009-08-06
Lee Hornberger, '82, of the Arbitration and Mediation Office of Lee Hornberger, was recently included on the Michigan Employment Relations Commission's panel of grievance arbitrators. He earned an LLM from Wayne Law in 1982. - Posted 2009-02-09
Joseph E. Kozely, '81, has become a shareholder of Foster, Swift, Collins & Smith PC. His practice includes medical malpractice defense, general liability litigation, and third party audits, health care, mental health, and child advocacy law. - Posted 2008-11-03
Connie Marie Kelley, '81, formerly Connie Marie Skinner, was elected to the Wayne County Circuit Court in November 2008.
- Posted 2009-06-26
Gregory J. DeMars, '81, chair of Honigman, Miller, Schwartz and Cohn, LLP's Workout, Foreclosure and Distressed Property Practice Group in the Real Estate Department, spoke at the "Commercial Real Estate Workout Strategies for Lenders and Servicers" forum sponsored by Grubb & Ellis. The event was held on June 23, 2009 at the Townsend Hotel. - Posted 2009-07-07
Gregory DeMars, '81, spoke at a forum titled "Commercial Real Estate Workout Strategies for Lenders and Servicers" on June 23, 2009. - Posted 2009-08-18
Gerald Acker, '81, shareholder and senior partner with Goodman Acker, PC, in Southfield, Mich., was elected as treasurer of the Michigan Association for Justice. Acker specializes in personal injury litigation, including catastrophic automobile negligence claims, no-fault claims, medical malpractice, premises liability and nursing home negligence. - Posted 2009-11-17
Gregory DeMars, '81, of Honigman, Miller, Schwartz and Cohn, LLP, led a "discussion of experts on issues surrounding troubled affordable housing properties" at the recent Michigan Housing Council's 2009 Fall Conference in Brighton, Mich. - Posted 2009-11-17
Stanley Pitts, '81, a partner with Honigman, Miller, Schwartz and Cohn, LLP, has been appointed to the State Bar of Michigan Professional Ethics Committee for a term that continues through Sept. 30, 2012. - Posted 2008-11-13
Robert E.L. Wright, '80, an attorney-mediator in Miller Canfield’s Grand Rapid’s office, was elected to a one-year term as secretary of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Section of the State Bar of Michigan. Wright is a facilitative mediator and neutral arbitrator, resolving commercial, construction, divorce and employment disputes. He is a volunteer mediator for the Western Michigan Dispute Resolution Center in Grand Rapids and received its Trail Blazer Award for his leadership role in making peaceful resolution of disputes a possibility for citizens of West Michigan. He was recently appointed to the ADR Oversight Committee of the Kent County Circuit Court and to the Mediation Advisory Board of the Institute of Continuing Legal Education. - Posted 2009-08-04
Daniel R. Kubiak, '80, of Mika, Meyers, Beckett and Jones, PLC, was included in the 2010 edition of the Best Lawyers in America. Lawyers are selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers solely on the basis of a nationally-conducted peer-review survey in which more than 25,000 leading lawyers vote on the legal abilities and professional achievements of other lawyers in their specialties. - Posted 2009-08-31
Alan M. Greene, '80, of Dykema, has been ranked in the newly published Best Lawyers In America guide. Greene is a member of the real estate practice group and is the firm's director of professional personnel. Greene's practice focuses on real estate development and construction projects, including zoning and land use matters, regulatory proceedings and litigation involving real estate and construction matters. - Posted 2009-09-04
Noreen Slank, '80, was selected for inclusion in the 16th edition of The Best Lawyers in America. Slank has practiced in the state and federal appellate courts since 1980 with an emphasis on the defense of medical and legal malpractice actions, insurance coverage disputes, and the defense of catastrophic personal injury cases. The Huntington Woods resident practices both in appellate and trial courts (particularly during post-verdict proceedings). She is a past chair of the Appellate Practice Section of the State Bar of Michigan and is a frequent author, editor, and lecturer on a variety of procedural and substantive legal issues. Michigan Lawyers Weekly regularly seeks Slank's commentary on topics ranging from new cases released by appellate courts to judicial appointments, frequently quoting her in front page stories. - Posted 2009-09-15
George W. Gregory, '80, of the Birmingham offices of George W. Gregory PLLC, was recently included in the 2010 edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the specialty of Trusts and Estates for the 10th year in a row. Mr. Gregory also practices in the areas of tax, tax controversy, and business succession planning and acts as an expert witness in these areas as well. He is a frequently-invited lecturer and moderator for the Insitute of Continuing Legal Education, the Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants, and other continuing education groups throughout Michigan. He holds an AV rating with Martindale Hubbell.
