We are proud to share that for the second year in a row, Miller Canfield is named among major law firms nationwide that have earned Mansfield Plus Certification recognizing a commitment to improving diversity in hiring and promotion practices. Fifty-one U.S. firms met the high standards to achieve certification from Diversity Lab, the leading incubator for innovative solutions to foster diversity and inclusion in law firms.

Named for Arabella Mansfield, the first woman admitted to practice law in the United States the Mansfield Rule firms affirmatively consider women and minority attorneys—at least 30 percent of the candidate pool—for leadership positions and senior-level recruiting. Mansfield Plus Certification indicates that the firm also has achieved representation of at least 30 percent women and minorities in a large number of key leadership roles and lateral hiring.

We're pleased to welcome three new associate attorneys in our Chicago, Detroit and Lansing offices.

Sam Charara has joined Miller Canfield's growing Intellectual Property Group in the firm's Detroit office. Charara has experience preparing and prosecuting domestic and international patent applications in the biotechnology, biomechanical assist devices, mechanical, autonomous driving and computer science fields. He also has experience in prosecution strategies, records of invention, and patentability reports for both domestic and international clients.

Miller Canfield Principal Jennifer Sabourin has been receiving some well-deserved recognition from her peers near and far lately.

Sabourin, deputy leader of Miller Canfield's Employment and Labor Group, has been named among Michigan Lawyers Weekly's Women in the Law Class of 2019. This annual recognition celebrates the significant contributions made by women to the legal profession and the community at large. It emphasizes excellence in the practice of law, service to the legal community, mentorship, leadership and civic involvement.

We're excited to announce the opening of our newest office in Washington, D.C., as well as the addition of three attorneys—principals Pawel Chudzicki and Władek Rzycki, and senior attorney Lana Yaghi.

Those three attorneys come to Miller Canfield from global firm K&L Gates and add strength to our robust and growing international practice team. The move also enables us to enhance our scope of services for domestic and international clients and strengthens our Polish capabilities, positioning us as the leading firm for clients engaged in U.S.-Polish business matters.

We are excited to congratulate Kimberly Scott, a principal in our Ann Arbor office, who will be awarded the prestigious State Bar of Michigan John W. Cummiskey Pro Bono Award, given annually to recognize outstanding pro bono service.

Since June 2017, Kim has worked on the widely publicized class action case Hamama v. Adducci, which she has done on a pro bono basis in cooperation with the ACLU of Michigan. The case has impacted some 1,400 Iraqi nationals who had been living in the United States for years, and even decades. Hundreds of them live in Southeast Michigan.

Miller Canfield congratulates its clients, the City of Detroit, and the Detroit Brownfield Redevelopment Authority on the successful assembly of nearly 215 acres of property—without the use of eminent domain—that will enable Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to move forward with its highly publicized Mack Assembly project. FCA plans to invest $2.5 billion in the project, where it will build new versions of the Jeep Grand Cherokee, creating approximately 5,000 jobs.

We are proud to report that 15 Miller Canfield attorneys and five of our practice groups have been named among the best in the U.S. by "Chambers USA 2019." 

"Sources describe it as the 'top full-service firm in Michigan' and praise both its understanding of the local legal environment and its international presence," Chambers reported in its analysis of Miller Canfield.

The firm earned rankings in five of its core practice areas: Banking & Finance, Corporate/M&A, Labor & Employment, Litigation: General Commercial, and Real Estate. Further, Chambers USA identified the firm's Export Controls Group as a Recognized Practice, noting that clients describe the group as "a go-to firm for this kind of work."

We were pleased to welcome clients, colleagues, friends and family to a night of skating and hospitality at our annual Client Skate at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on March 18. A friendly hockey game featuring Miller Canfield attorneys and clients started the action before the ice was opened to friends and family for an open skate. Check out a Google Photos album of the event here.

We're excited to introduce two new attorneys to our growing team - Anita Marinelli has joined our Intellectual Property Group in Detroit, while Nick Colvin has joined our Public Finance Group and will work out of Detroit and Lansing.

Miller Canfield is pleased to announce that it has earned top scores in the OnTrack for Leadership law firm diversity and inclusion program. 

Miller Canfield partnered with Diversity Lab, the national incubator for law firm diversity programs, to pilot the OnTrack for Leadership program to support the retention, advancement and business development efforts of women and minority attorneys. The program combines teamwork and a custom technology platform, based on behavioral science and data often used in games and social media, to drive and sustain engagement and to ensure that sponsorship and mentorship are provided in an equitable and effective manner at key inflection points in the careers of women and minorities.