RESIDENT PARTNERS
Michael B. Lewiston (Partner) born Detroit, Michigan, June 13, 1936; admitted to bar, 1961, Michigan. Education: University of Michigan (B.A., 1957; J.D., with high distinction, 1960). Sigma Alpha Mu; Tau Epsilon Rho; Order of the Coif. Associate Editor, Michigan Law Review, 1958-1960. Member: Detroit Metropolitan, Oakland County, Federal and American Bar Associations; State Bar of Michigan. Practice Areas: Business Law; Corporate Law; Real Estate; Partnerships; Business Litigation.Email: Michael B. Lewiston
David W. Hipp (Partner) born Johnstown, Pennsylvania, November 11, 1950; admitted to bar, 1977, Michigan. Education: University of Michigan (B.A., 1972); Wayne State University (J.D., magna cum laude, 1977). Notes and Comments Editor, 1976-1977, Wayne Law Review. Member: State Bar of Michigan; American Bar Association. Practice Areas: Real Estate; Commercial Law.Email: David W. Hipp
Thomas Van Dusen (Partner) born Detroit, Michigan, June 18, 1954; admitted to bar, 1979, Michigan. Education: Michigan State University (B.A., magna cum laude, 1976); University of Michigan (J.D., cum laude, 1979). Member: State Bar of Michigan; American Arbitration Association. Practice Areas: Litigation; Banking Law; Commercial Law; Insurance; Personal Injury Defense.Email: Thomas Van Dusen
John C. Cashen (Partner) born Detroit, Michigan, September 9, 1955; admitted to bar, 1980, Michigan. Education: Aquinas College (B.A., B.S., magna cum laude, 1976); University of Michigan (J.D., cum laude, 1980). Member: Oakland County and Macomb County Bar Associations; State Bar of Michigan. Practice Areas: Labor and Employment; Litigation; Employment Discrimination; Wrongful Termination; Personal Injury Defense.Email: John C. Cashen
David C. Stone (Partner) born Mt. Clemens, Michigan, October 24, 1947; admitted to bar, 1976, Michigan and U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan; 1977, U.S. Tax Court. Education: Michigan State University (B.S., 1970); Detroit College of Law (J.D., 1976). Recipient, American Jurisprudence Award for Federal Estate and Gift Taxation. Member: State Bar of Michigan; American Bar Association; Financial & Estate Planning Council of Metropolitan Detroit. Practice Areas: Mergers, Acquisitions and Divestitures; Corporate Law; Estate Planning; Business Law.Email: David C. Stone
Steven J. Fishman (Partner) born New York, N.Y., November 15, 1940; admitted to bar, 1965, Illinois; 1972, Michigan; 1990, Indiana. Education: University of Wisconsin (B.S., 1962); Northwestern University (J.D., 1965). Member: Detroit, Oakland County, Illinois State, Indiana State, Federal and American (Member, Labor Section Committee on Development of Law under the National Labor Relations Act, 1972) Bar Associations; State Bar of Michigan (Member, Section on Labor Law). Practice Areas: Labor Law; Employment Litigation; Construction Labor Law; Discrimination Law; Employee Relations Matters.Email: Steven J. Fishman
Karen L. Piper (Partner) born Detroit, Michigan, 1952; admitted to bar, 1980, Michigan. Education: Wayne State University (B.A., with distinction, 1976); University of Michigan (J.D., cum laude, 1980). Member: Detroit Metropolitan, Federal and American Bar Associations; State Bar of Michigan. Practice Areas: Labor and Employment; Education; Litigation.Email: Karen L. Piper
Thomas J. Tallerico (Partner) born Detroit, Michigan, October 24, 1946; admitted to bar, 1974, Michigan; 1976, District of Columbia. Education: Sacred Heart Seminary College (B.A., cum laude, 1968); University of Michigan (J.D., cum laude, 1973); La Escuela Libre de Derecho, Mexico City. Phi Delta Phi (Clerk, 1972-1973). Attorney-Adviser, Office of the Legal Adviser, U.S. Department of State, 1973-1976. Special Assistant Attorney General, Michigan, 1983. Member: Detroit Metropolitan, Oakland County (Member, Circuit Court Committee), American (Member, Forum on Franchising) and International Bar Associations; State Bar of Michigan; Michigan State Bar Foundation. Practice Areas: Business Litigation; Securities Litigation; Antitrust Law; Franchise Law; Professional Liability; International Law; Business Arbitration.Email: Thomas J. Tallerico
Gary D. Reeves (Partner) born Detroit, Michigan, March 15, 1954; admitted to bar, 1983, Michigan. Education: Wayne State University (B.S., 1976; J.D., cum laude, 1983). Recipient, American Jurisprudence Award in Criminal Procedure, 1982; Bronze Key Award. Special Agent, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1984. Prehearing Attorney, Michigan Court of Appeals, 1985-1986. Clerk to the Honorable Chief Justice Dorothy Comstock Riley, 1986-1988. Member: Oakland County and American Bar Associations; State Bar of Michigan. Practice Areas: Litigation; Construction Law; Real Estate Litigation; Alternative Dispute Resolution.Email: Gary D. Reeves
Leon M. Schurgin (Partner) born Detroit, Michigan, July 14, 1941; admitted to bar, 1968, Michigan and U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan; 1971, U.S. Tax Court; 1981, U.S. Court of Appeals, 6th Circuit; 1986, U.S. Supreme Court. Education: University of Michigan (B.B.A., 1964); Wayne State University (J.D., magna cum laude, 1968; LL.M., 1976). Certified Public Accountant, Michigan, 1971. Member: Oakland County and American Bar Associations; State Bar of Michigan; Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants. Practice Areas: Taxation; Real Estate.
James J. Vlasic (Partner) born Detroit, Michigan, September 5, 1951; admitted to bar, 1978, Michigan and U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan; 1979, Florida. Education: Yale University (B.A., 1973); Thomas M. Cooley Law School (J.D., cum laude, 1978); Wayne State University (LL.M. in Taxation, 1986). Phi Alpha Delta. Member: State Bar of Michigan; The Florida Bar; American Bar Association (Member, Sections on: Business Law; Litigation). Practice Areas: Commercial Litigation; Corporate Law.
David B. Walters (Partner) born Traverse City, Michigan, March 13, 1959; admitted to bar, 1984, Michigan. Education: Central Michigan University (B.S., cum laude, 1981); University of Detroit (J.D., 1984). Member: Oakland County (Member, Employee Benefits Committee) and American (Member, Employee Benefits Committee) Bar Associations; State Bar of Michigan. Practice Areas: Employee Benefits Law; Business Planning; Estate Planning.Email: David B. Walters
Sol M. Friedman (Partner) born Detroit, Michigan, April 6, 1943; admitted to bar, 1968, Michigan and U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan. Education: Wayne State University (LL.B., 1968); New York University (LL.M., 1969). Robert S. Marx Scholar. Director of Operations, Michigan State Housing Development Authority, 1974-1977. Member: State Bar of Michigan. Practice Areas: Banking; Finance; Real Estate; Affordable Housing; Commercial Law; Municipal Finance.Email: Sol M. Friedman
Wendy L. Zabriskie (Partner) born Detroit, Michigan; admitted to bar, 1992, Michigan. Education: Michigan State University (B.A., 1986); Wayne State University (J.D., magna cum laude, 1991). Member: State Bar of Michigan; American Bar Association. Practice Areas: Commercial and Real Estate Finance; Real Estate Law; Corporate Law; Business Law; Mergers and Acquisitions.Email: Wendy L. Zabriskie
Andrew Z. Spilkin (Partner) born Royal Oak, Michigan, August 21, 1969; admitted to bar, 1995, Michigan. Education: University of Michigan (B.B.A., 1992; J.D., 1995). Member: State Bar of Michigan. Practice Areas: Real Estate; Banking; Construction Law.Email: Andrew Z. Spilkin
Courtland W. Anderson (Partner) born Dearborn Heights, Michigan, July 13, 1966; admitted to bar, 1992, Illinois; 1996, Michigan. Education: Baylor University (B.B.A., 1988); University of Illinois (J.D., 1992). Member: Washtenaw County Bar Association (Co-Chair, Intellectual Property Section); State Bar of Illinois; State Bar of Michigan. Practice Areas: Intellectual Property; Commercial Litigation.Email: Courtland W. Anderson
Christopher P. Mazzoli (Partner) born Detroit, Michigan, February 26, 1969; admitted to bar, 1994, Michigan and U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan. Education: University of Michigan (B.A., with distinction, 1991; J.D., 1994). Member: Oakland County Bar Association; State Bar of Michigan. Languages: Spanish. Practice Areas: Labor and Employment Law; Litigation.Email: Christopher P. Mazzoli
Gene P. Bowen (Partner) born Stanford, California, February 9, 1972; admitted to bar, 1997, Michigan. Education: Wayne State University (B.A., summa cum laude, 1994; J.D., magna cum laude, 1997). Delta Theta Phi; Order of the Coif. Assistant Editor, Wayne Law Review, 1995-1996. Senior Articles Editor, 1996-1997. Member: Oakland County and American Bar Associations; State Bar of Michigan. Practice Areas: Mergers, Acquisitions and Divestitures; Corporate Law; Business Law; Real Estate.Email: Gene P. Bowen
J. Adam Behrendt (Partner) born Farmington Hills, Michigan, July 16, 1973; admitted to bar, 1998, Michigan. Education: Michigan State University (B.A., 1994); University of Illinois (J.D., 1998). Member: State Bar of Michigan. Practice Areas: Commercial Litigation; Intellectual Property Litigation.Email: J. Adam Behrendt
Maureen Rouse-Ayoub (Partner) born Detroit, Michigan, January 14, 1961; admitted to bar, 1992, Michigan and U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan. Education: Madonna University (B.S., 1988); Michigan State University Detroit College of Law (J.D., 1992). Member: Macomb County, Oakland County, Wayne County and American Bar Associations; State Bar of Michigan. Practice Areas: Labor Law; Employee Relations Matters; Employment Litigation.
Erik S. Prater (Partner) born Detroit, Michigan, May 22, 1973; admitted to bar, 1998, Michigan. Education: Michigan State University (B.A., 1995); Wayne State University (J.D., magna cum laude, 1998). Member: State Bar of Michigan. Practice Areas: Real Estate Secured Lending; Real Property.Email: Erik S. Prater
Edward A. Frankfort (Partner) born Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1970; admitted to bar, 1995, Michigan. Education: University of Michigan (B.A., 1992); University of Toledo (J.D., 1995). Member: Macomb County, Oakland County and American Bar Associations; State Bar of Michigan. Practice Areas: Commercial Litigation; Construction Law.Email: Edward A. Frankfort
Daniel J. Canine (Partner) born Royal Oak, Michigan, September 17, 1973; admitted to bar, 2000, Michigan. Education: Michigan State University (B.A., with honors, 1995); University of Michigan Law School (J.D., 2000). Member: State Bar of Michigan; Risk Management Association. Practice Areas: Commercial Banking; Business Law; Commercial Real Estate Finance.Email: Daniel J. Canine
Cheryl A. Fulop (Partner) born 1964; admitted to bar, 1999, Ohio; 2000, Michigan. Education: Bowling Green State University (B.F.A., 1988); University of Toledo (J.D., 1999). Order of the Coif. Member: Toledo, Ohio State and American Bar Associations; State Bar of Michigan. Practice Areas: Business Law; Corporate Law; Mergers and Acquisitions.Email: Cheryl A. Fulop
Andrea M. DeFrain (Partner) born Minneapolis, Minnesota; admitted to bar, 1981, Michigan. Education: Wellesley College (B.A., with honors, 1978); Washington University (J.D., 1981). Member: State Bar of Michigan. Practice Areas: Estate Planning; Trusts and Estates; Retirement Planning; Probate.Email: Andrea M. DeFrain
Brian C. Summerfield (Partner) admitted to bar, 1997, Michigan; 2001, New York. Education: University of Michigan (B.A., 1993); University of Minnesota (J.D., cum laude, 1997). Languages: Spanish. Practice Areas: Litigation.Email: Brian C. Summerfield
Mark W. Peters (Partner) born Topeka, Kansas, October 6, 1958; admitted to bar, 1993, Michigan. Education: University of Kansas (B.M.E., 1981); Southern Methodist University (M.B.A., 1988; M.A., 1988); Wayne State University (J.D., cum laude, 1993). Order of the Coif. Editor-in-Chief, The Wayne Law Review, 1992-1993. Member: Detroit Metropolitan and American Bar Associations; State Bar of Michigan. Practice Areas: Corporate Law; Securities.Email: Mark W. Peters
RESIDENT COUNSEL
Walter O. Koch (Counsel) born Cleveland, Ohio, July 5, 1925; admitted to bar, 1949, Michigan. Education: University of Michigan (A.B., 1947; LL.B., 1949). Member: Detroit Metropolitan, Oakland County and American Bar Associations; State Bar of Michigan. Practice Areas: Estate Planning; Probate; Trust and Estate Litigation; Construction Law.Email: Walter O. Koch
Sally Lee Foley (Counsel) born August 23, 1948; admitted to bar, 1973, Michigan; 1975, District of Columbia. Education: Indiana University (A.B., 1970); Georgetown University Law Center (J.D., 1973). Member: American and International Bar Associations; State Bar of Michigan; Women Lawyers' Association of Michigan; International Trademark Association; International Franchise Association; National Association of Women Lawyers. (Resident). Practice Areas: Franchise Law; Trademark Law; Intellectual Property; Copyright Law.Email: Sally Lee Foley
Kenneth R. Lango (Counsel) born Detroit, Michigan, September 3, 1938; admitted to bar, 1964, Michigan. Education: Wayne State University (A.B., 1960; J.D., 1963). Member: Oakland County and American Bar Associations; State Bar of Michigan. Practice Areas: Corporate Law; Securities; Probate; Estate Planning.Email: Kenneth R. Lango
Lena Agree (Counsel) born Royal Oak, Michigan, March 17, 1971; admitted to bar, 1996, Michigan and U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan. Education: University of Wisconsin, Madison (1989-1992); Oakland University (B.A., 1993); Wayne State University (J.D., 1993). Member: Oakland County Bar Association; State Bar of Michigan (Tax and Real Property Sections). Practice Areas: Real Estate; Business Transactions; Tax.Email: Lena Agree
RESIDENT ASSOCIATES
Malgorzata Stella (Associate) born Poland, January 12, 1976; admitted to bar, 2002, Michigan. Education: Wayne State University (B.A., 1998); Wayne State University Law School (J.D., 2002). Member: State Bar of Michigan. Languages: Polish. Practice Areas: Banking Law; Real Property.Email: Malgorzata Stella
Ryann O'Boyle Bunch (Associate) admitted to bar, 2005, Michigan. Education: University of Michigan (B.A., with high honors, 2000); University of Detroit Mercy School of Law (J.D., magna cum laude, 2004). Member: State Bar of Michigan; Saint Clair County Bar Association. Practice Areas: Banking Law; Real Property Law.Email: Ryann O'Boyle Bunch
Michelle A. Carter (Associate) born Detroit, Michigan; admitted to bar, 2002, New Jersey and Pennsylvania; 2006, Michigan. Education: University of Michigan (B.A., 1999); Rutgers University Law School (J.D., 2002). Member: Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association; Wolverine Bar Association; American Bar Association; National Bar Association. Practice Areas: Litigation; Labor and Employment.Email: Michelle A. Carter
Jonathan P. Burleigh (Associate) admitted to bar, 2007, Michigan. Education: The American University (B.A., 1992); University of Detroit Mercy School of Law (J.D., magna cum laude, 2007). Member: State Bar of Michigan. Practice Areas: Business Law.Email: Jonathan P. Burleigh
Aaron D. Graves (Associate) born Munising, Michigan, 1973; admitted to bar, 1999, Illinois; 2004, Michigan. Education: University of Michigan (B.A., 1995); Northwestern University School of Law (J.D., 1999). Practice Areas: Labor and Employment.Email: Aaron D. Graves
Alexis J. Schostak (Associate) born 1979; admitted to bar, 2004, Pennsylvania. (Not admitted in Michigan). Education: University of Pennsylvania (B.A., cum laude, 2000); Emory University School of Law (J.D., with honors, 2004). Practice Areas: Business Law.