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.

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'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.

We were honored to serve as bond counsel to Wayne County in connection with its deal to fund a $533 million criminal justice complex in partnership with the Michigan Finance Authority. The deal has now been named the Midwest Region Deal of the Year in The Bond Buyer, and is a finalist in the national 17^th Annual Deal of the Year awards.

We're excited to share that our team is growing! Ed Rice and Marina Saito have joined our intellectual property team in Chicago, while Chris Gartman, Brittni King and Tom Soehl have been added to our Grand Rapids office.

Here's a quick introduction to our newest colleagues.

Miller Canfield has announced that Matthew Steele has rejoined the firm to open an office in Cincinnati. The new office will complement the Firm's presence in Cleveland and continue its strategy of expansion in Ohio and the broader Great Lakes region.

Steele had previously worked in Miller Canfield's Real Estate Group from 2012 to 2015. His work focused on commercial finance matters for national and regional banks, as well as complex real estate transactions and commercial workouts and foreclosures.

U.S. News & World Report has named 111 Miller Canfield attorneys in Michigan, Illinois and Florida in "Best Lawyers 2019." Recognized for excellence in 58 practice specialties across the firm, lawyers earning Best Lawyers distinction are rated by their peers as the best in their profession.

We are proud to be one of the law firms pioneering the Mansfield 2.0 rule to close the gap in leadership roles for women and minorities in law firm hiring. In 2017, we were among several dozen of the nation's leading firms to adopt the original Mansfield Rule, named for the first woman admitted to practice law in the United States, Arabella Mansfield.

"Chambers USA 2018" has ranked 13 of Miller Canfield's attorneys and five practice groups among the best in the U.S.

The firm earned rankings in five of its core practice areas: Banking and Finance, Corporate/M&A, Labor & Employment, Litigation: General Commercial, and Real Estate.

Miller Canfield is pleased to announce that Yuri Shidenko has joined the firm as a senior counsel in the Real Estate Group in Chicago. The announcement was made by CEO Michael McGee.