class notes

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1960s

Ronald B. Rader ’66 was honored by the Florida Bar as a member with a 50-year cumulative legal practice with the Florida Bar and one or more United States jurisdictions.

1970s

Hon. Terrill J. LaRue ’72 was honored by the Florida Bar as a member with a 50-year cumulative legal practice with the Florida Bar and one or more United States jurisdictions. LaRue served as a circuit judge for the Seventh Judicial Circuit Court of Florida in Volusia County.

Richard G. Himelrick ’74 retired from Tiffany & Bosco in Phoenix. Before retiring, he authored six editions of Arizona Securities Fraud Law: Civil Liability, Defenses and Remedies.

1980s

Pamela Enslen ’81 was appointed executive director of California Community Colleges Foundation’s California LAW Pathways. Previously, she was a senior partner at Warner, Norcross + Judd. Enslen has also been elected to serve her second three-year term on the board of governors of the American Bar Association.

Sandra D. Glazier ’82 has been appointed a commissioner to the ABA Commission on Law and Aging.

Lee Hornberger ’82 LL.M. received the Distinguished Service Award from the Alternative Dispute Resolution Section of the State Bar of Michigan in recognition of his significant contributions.

Leslie Kohn ’82 has been appointed to the Michigan Board of Chiropractic.

Robert B. Labe ’84 has been appointed to the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel’s fiduciary administration task force. A partner with Williams, Williams, Rattner & Plunkett, he was inducted as an ACTEC fellow in 2017.

Kenneth Marcus ’84 was elected a fellow of the American Health Law Association. He practices health care law at the Detroit office of Honigman.

Michael J. McClory ’84 was appointed to the Wayne County Circuit Court bench by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. McClory was previously chief deputy probate register for Wayne County, a position he has held since 2005. He has been with the probate court since 1991, having served as a court attorney and then director of special projects.

Portrait headshot photograph of Richard Smart III smiling in a grey colored suit and white button-up dress shirt underneath with a red colored tie in front of a bookshelf stack with his hands crossed for a pose
Richard Smart III

Richard Smart III ’84 received the Daniel J. Wright Lifetime Achievement Award from the Michigan Supreme Court, Child Welfare Services Department, for his service to children and families. Throughout his career, Smart has served as a referee, chief referee and deputy court administrator in the Juvenile Division of the Third Circuit Court.

Richard Miettinen ’85 was named chair of the business and corporate practice group at Howard & Howard, where he is a partner.

Howard Cohen ’87 has joined Elia & Ponto as a litigation attorney and associate.

Lisa B. Hysni ’87 has joined Kerr Russell as a member and chair of the firm’s real estate practice group. She will focus her practice on negotiating leases for commercial clients, representing owners and developers in the sale and financing of commercial properties, and navigating clients through real estate laws and regulations.

Nanci J. Grant ’89 was honored by the Oakland County Bar Association with the S. Gerald Gorcyca Meritorious Service to Veterans Award for demonstrating an outstanding commitment to active-duty military personnel and military veterans in the community. Grant is an Oakland County circuit court judge.

1990s

Amy Gajda ’91 wrote Seek and Hide: The Tangled History of the Right to Privacy, which was published by Viking. Gajda is a Class of 1937 professor of law at Tulane University.

Stephen P. Brown ’93, a partner of Plunkett Cooney, was recently inducted as a fellow of the American College of Coverage Counsel, whose membership is reserved exclusively for attorneys who have engaged substantially in the practice of insurance law for at least 15 consecutive years.

Martin S. Frenkel ’94 was named to the 2022 Class of Leaders in the Law by Michigan Lawyers Weekly. Frenkel is a skilled advocate and counselor in real estate and financial services risk management, litigation, and regulatory compliance.

2000s

Brian P. Frasier ’00 joined Collins Einhorn Farrell as a member of the firm’s general and automotive liability group. He focuses his practice on the defense of general and first and third-party automobile liability claims.

Frank Aiello ’01 was named chief of staff to the dean at Michigan State University College of Law.

Marc P. Jerabek ’04 was elected president of the Oakland County Bar Foundation. Jerabek is a shareholder at Plunkett Cooney and a member of the firm’s banking, bankruptcy and creditors’ rights, and commercial litigation practice groups.

Amanda Shelton ’04 was elected to the Oakland County Circuit Court bench for a six-year term. Previously, she was the founding partner of Shelton & Deon Law Group.

Portrait headshot photograph of John E. Walus grinning in a grey colored suit and white button-up dress shirt underneath with a multi-colored tie (red, black, white, and grey pattern style)
John E. Walus

LTC (R) John E. Walus ’04 was selected as the Pat Daniels Veteran of the Year for 2022 by the Macomb County Board of Commissioners. In his law practice, Walus helps veterans seeking service-connected disability benefits and those experiencing work-related issues.

D. Scott Brinkmann ’05 joined Butzel as a shareholder in the firm’s real estate practice.

James Reid IV ’05 joined Hongiman’s Labor and Employment Department as a partner in the firm’s Ann Arbor office.

Tanya E.J. Lundberg ’07 has joined Maddin Hauser as an associate office administrator. Lundberg will assist in the firm’s recruiting efforts and enhance professional development opportunities.

Brian Aquart ’09 launched the podcast Why I Left, which explores the “great resignation.”

Justin J. Hakala ’09 was named to the 2022 Class of Go To Lawyers for medical malpractice law by Michigan Lawyers Weekly.

Ben Sobczak ’09 was elected to the State Bar of Michigan’s Cannabis Law Section Council. He will provide regulatory and transactional-based services to cannabis companies in various jurisdictions throughout the United States and Canada.

2010s

Anisa Allen ’11 was recently promoted to managing attorney for Progressive House Counsel.

Erika Riggs ’11 was selected to receive the American Bar Association’s On the Rise — Top 40 Young Lawyers Award. She is a co-founder and partner at Disability Attorneys of Michigan.

Zoila Del Castillo ’13 was appointed deputy secretary of state for economic opportunities for the New York State Department of State by Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Steven D. Schaefer ’13 was named director of the Regulatory Transparency Project at The Federalist Society.

Mike Serra ’13 recently published an article, “Looking Under the Hood on the Right to Repair,” in the Michigan Bar Journal. He was also recognized by Crain’s Detroit Business as a member of its 2022 40 Under 40 class.

Michael Butterfield ’14 was included in the 2023 edition of Best Lawyers’ Ones to Watch in the areas of commercial litigation, insurance law and product liability litigation — defendants.

Henry E. Ibe ’14 wrote an article, “Undesirable: Black prejudice in U.S. immigration,” for the Detroit Legal News. Ibe is an associate attorney at Quan Law Group in Houston.

Rachel Pinch ’15 leads the Law Office of Rachel M. Pinch (formerly the Law Office of David S. Hankus), where she represents claimants throughout Michigan in claims for Social Security disability benefits and supplemental security income.

Portrait headshot photograph of Noraline Issak smiling in a white blouse dress with her arms/hands crossed in a pose
Noraline Issak

Noraline Issak ’18 was admitted to the Bar of the U.S. Supreme Court in November 2022. Nellie L. King, president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, moved for her admission before the full court with Chief Justice John Roberts presiding.

Lewis Kolak ’18 joined Vector North America as general counsel.

Alexandru Salar ’18 joined Collins Einhorn Farrell. Salar focuses his practice on defense litigation for the firm’s general and automotive liability practice group.

Massimo Badalamenti ’19 joined the O’Reilly Rancilio legal team as an associate. His practice focuses on general litigation and disputes.

Jerry Yacoo ’19 joined Collins Einhorn Farrell as an associate in the firm’s general and automotive liability practice group.

2020s

Mark V. Breaugh ’20 joined Maddin Hauser as an associate attorney. Breaugh is a member of the complex litigation and risk advisory group, where he works on a range of business and civil litigation matters.

Portrait headshot photograph of Monique S. Eubanks smiling in a grey colored blazer and white blouse underneath with a grey colored metallic pearl necklace
Monique S. Eubanks

Monique S. Eubanks ’20 was selected as a 40 Under 40 honoree for the Michigan Chronicle’s 2022 class. She is a litigator in Dykema’s Detroit office, where she focuses her practice on business and commercial litigation and product liability matters.

Anna Kozak ’20 joined Nemeth Law as an associate attorney.

Essence Patterson ’20 was named president of the Detroit Bar Association barristers section for the 2022-23 year. She is an associate at Honigman.

Briana L. Combs ’21 recently joined the appellate law practice group of Plunkett Cooney, where she focuses her practice in the areas of commercial litigation, government law, employment litigation, first- and third-party motor vehicle negligence, and medical malpractice.

Zoë Grenfell ’21 joined Dalton and Tomich as an associate, focusing her practice on religious land use and the denominational trust law practice groups.

Lindsey LaForest ’22 participated in “The legacy and impact of 50 years of Title IX,” the 19th episode of NAWLTalks, a National Association of Women Lawyers podcast.