People
Miller Canfield Elects New Principals
The law firm of Miller Canfield is pleased to announce that the following people have been elected principals of the firm effective January 1, 2009.
Detroit, Michigan office:
Michele M. Compton, from associate to principal. She brings many years of experience in the banking and automotive industries to her role as a specialist in both domestic and international mergers and acquisitions. She has an extensive background in assisting businesses in buying, selling or entering into joint ventures with foreign subsidiaries of U.S. companies in numerous jurisdictions. She also advises many closely held companies on commercial matters. She received her B.A. from Yale University and her J.D. from Michigan State University College of Law. She currently resides in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and is a native of the Grand Rapids area.
Steven M. Frank, from associate to principal. He is a public finance attorney who represents issuers and underwriters in a broad range of traditional and complex tax-exempt financings. He has extensive experience in the structuring and negotiation of municipal securities offerings and other public finance transactions for public and private colleges and universities, health care organizations, public school districts, nonprofit corporations and public and private utilities. He received his B.A. from Michigan State University and his J.D. from The Ohio State University College of Law. He resides in Lake Orion, Michigan.
David R. Mitchell, from associate to principal. He represents financial institutions in deals of varying size and complexity in Michigan, California and throughout the United States. His experience includes negotiating intercreditor agreements, secured and unsecured transactions and letters of credit in support of tax-exempt financing. He received his B.S. from Wayne State University and his J.D. from Harvard Law School. He resides in Detroit.
Adam B. Norlander, from associate to principal. He represents financial institutions in loan transactions. His expertise includes structuring and documenting commercial, agented and syndicated loan facilities including loan facilities for waste industry and international borrowers. His practice area also encompasses commercial real estate law. He received his B.A. from Kalamazoo College and his J.D. from Michigan State University School of Law. He resides in Bingham Farms, Michigan and is a native of Battle Creek, Michigan.
Kevin A. Smith, from associate to principal. He represents municipal, governmental agency and private clients in evaluating, structuring and documenting a broad range of traditional and complex tax-exempt or taxable financings, including general obligation bonds, collateralized lease revenue bonds, general revenue bonds, private activity bonds, deficit funding and cash flow borrowings. His particular areas of expertise include traditional fixed rate, variable rate and multi-modal financing structures. He received his B.A. from Michigan State University and his J.D. from Wayne State University Law School. He resides in Detroit.
Christopher M. Trebilcock, from associate to principal. He manages employment and labor litigation, arbitrations, administrative proceedings, including before the National Labor Relations Board, conducts collective bargaining negotiations and advises clients, including school districts and universities, on all labor and employment issues. He has also provided extensive advice to public entities seeking to enter into intergovernmental cooperation agreements and to public officials regarding election and campaign finance matters. He received his B.A. from Alma College and his J.D. from Wake Forest University School of Law. He currently resides in Royal Oak, Michigan, and is a native of Rapid River, Michigan.
Richard W. Warren, from associate to principal. He defends employers facing all types of wrongful discharge lawsuits, including discrimination, retaliation and harassment claims filed by employees. He has experience defending employers faced with complex and class action cases, including age discrimination, race discrimination and retiree health benefit claims. He also spends a significant amount of time counseling management and human resource employees in areas such as hiring, layoffs, discipline and termination. He received his B.A. from Michigan State University James Madison College and his J.D. from Michigan State University College of Law. He resides in Royal Oak, Michigan.
Lansing, Michigan office:
Jaclyn Shoshana Levine, from associate to principal. Shoshie Levine specializes in environmental law, permitting, and land use issues in both the courts and administrative agencies. Her practice also includes Native American law and litigation involving federally recognized Indian tribes, as well as a regulatory law related to gaming, horse racing, liquor/wine, insurance, licensed health-care professionals and other matters. She received her B.A. from the James Madison College at Michigan State University, her M.P.H. from Boston University School of Public Health, and her J.D. from Boston University School of Law. She resides in Okemos, Michigan.
Kalamazoo, Michigan office:
Justin M. Crawford, from associate to principal. He specializes in employee benefit plans, including tax-qualified and non-qualified plans, and general corporate matters. He has extensive expertise in executive compensation matters, including compliance with Section 409A of the tax code. His corporate and business law practice includes mergers, acquisitions and reorganizations, financing, venture capital financing, entity formation, shareholder relations and other matters. He received his B.A. from Hope College and his J.D. from University of Notre Dame Law School. He resides in Portage, Michigan.
Kalamazoo, Michigan; Chicago, Illinois; and Shanghai, China offices:
Weisun Rao, Ph.D., from associate to principal. He primarily practices intellectual property (IP) law with a focus on patent matters. He is adept at identifying IP assets, developing IP strategies and managing IP portfolios (including preparing and prosecuting U.S. and foreign patent applications) that position businesses to take advantage of both legal and business opportunities. He has served clients in the industries of pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, nutraceuticals, chemicals, materials, and medical devices. As a resident attorney in the firm’s Shanghai office, Dr. Rao also helps his clients obtain and enforce their IP rights in China, advises his clients on doing business in China, and provides legal advice to Chinese businesses interested in entering or expanding in the U.S. market. He received his B.Sc. from Jilin University (China) and Ph.D. from the University of Akron, both in chemistry, and his J.D. from The Ohio State University College of Law. He is a Chinese native and resides in Chicago and Shanghai.
Troy, Michigan office:
Matthew P. Allen, from associate to principal. He is a business, IP, and criminal trial lawyer who has tried and arbitrated a wide variety of cases in a wide variety of venues, from tough criminal cases in the trenches of Detroit’s criminal courts to sophisticated, complex multimillion-dollar international intellectual property cases. He also is a skilled appellate lawyer who has handled a wide variety of appellate cases in the Michigan Court of Appeals, the Michigan Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He received his B.A. from State University of New York College at Fredonia and his J.D. from Wayne State University Law School. He resides in Troy.
Gerald J. Gleeson II, from senior counsel to principal. He specializes in criminal and civil litigation. He has handled cases in federal court and various courts across Michigan and has personally tried more than 180 jury trials to verdict. He is a member of the Oakland County Bar Association Board of Directors, where he is chair of the Criminal Committee. He received his B.A. from Kalamazoo College and his J.D. from Wayne State University Law School.
Abdu H. Murray, from senior attorney to principal. He focuses his practice in commercial and real estate litigation and appeals involving multi-million dollar matters. For over eight years, his practice has concentrated on litigating complex commercial disputes, including class actions, product liability claims, construction disputes, trade secret litigation and corporate matters. He also has extensive experience litigating and advising clients with regard to real estate disputes, zoning and land use matters, and real estate finance litigation. He received his B.A. from the University of Michigan and his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School. He resides in Rochester Hills, Michigan.