Mark J. Bennett, senior counsel at the law firm of Miller Canfield, was recently appointed chairman of the National Green Building Finance & Investment Forum. The event will bring together for the first time the green building industry and the financial community in San Francisco, February 20-22, 2008, to facilitate deal making and to provide valuable insight from the leading players in the market.

Miller Canfield is the headline gold sponsor of the event. Recently the firm formed an interdisciplinary team, led by Bennett, dedicated to climate change-related matters including sustainable development, green buildings, LEED® certification and green leases.

“As climate change emerges as a critical policy area around the world, affecting everything from business and industry to consumers and government and regulatory authorities, green buildings will become critically important as they have lower energy costs, their space leases for more money, and they sell more quickly and at higher valuations than ordinary buildings,” said Bennett.

He added, “We’re emphasizing opportunities – the myriad of government incentives and potential enhanced operating efficiencies that can be uncovered to create obtainable economic return on investment associated with energy conservation.”

At Miller Canfield, Bennett focuses his practice on climate change, real estate development, environmental risk management, environmental due diligence, sustainable development, LEED® certification and government incentives. He received his law degree from Wayne State University Law School.

The law firm of Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone, P.L.C. was established in Detroit in 1852 and employs 800 in offices in Michigan, Illinois, Massachusetts, Florida, New York, Canada and Poland. For more information, visit www.millercanfield.com.