Butzel Long Top-Ranked in Litigation by Chambers USA

Butzel Long Top-Ranked in Litigation by Chambers USA

07/08/2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DETROIT, Mich. – Butzel Long has been ranked in the top tier in the area of litigation in Michigan by Chambers USA – America's Leading Lawyers for Business 2008 The Client's Guide. Several of the firm’s attorneys and practice areas have achieved Chamber's top-ranked status. The Butzel Long practice areas include: corporate/mergers and acquisitions, employee benefits and executive compensation, labor and employment, litigation and real estate law.
The following Butzel Long attorneys and their key practice areas are highlighted in Chambers USA:

Philip J. Kessler – Litigation: General Commercial

Richard E. Rassel – Litigation: General Commercial

James C. Adams – Real Estate

Stephen A. Bromberg – Real Estate

Robert G. Buydens – Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation

David F. DuMouchel – Litigation, White-Collar Crime and Government Investigations

John P. Hancock, Jr. – Labor and Employment

Justin G. Klimko – Corporate/Mergers and Acquisitions

Edward M. Kronk – Litigation: General Commercial

Leonard M. Niehoff – Labor and Employment

James S. Rosenfeld – Labor and Employment

Philip J. Kessler is Chairman of Butzel Long and is a member of the firm's Board of Directors. He is based in the firm's Detroit office. He has concentrated on the prosecution and defense of a wide variety of business disputes on behalf of individuals, partnerships, and private and public corporations. Areas in which Mr. Kessler has had significant experience include anti-trust litigation, audit malpractice, bankruptcy litigation, contract litigation, corporate control contests, distributorship litigation, false advertising claims, health care and pharmaceutical counseling and litigation intellectual property litigation, intra-corporate and partnership disputes, merger and acquisition related litigation, probate and trust litigation and securities fraud claims. He is a resident of Franklin.
Richard E. Rassel is past Chairman and CEO of Butzel Long. He is based in the firm's Detroit office. He is currently Director of Global Client Relations and serves on the firm's Board of Directors. He practices primarily in the area of business litigation and arbitration with a special concentration in media law. Mr. Rassel is a resident of Bloomfield Hills.

James C. Adams is a shareholder based in Butzel Long's Bloomfield Hills office. He has substantial practice experience including representation of developers, lenders, architects, construction contractors and construction managers, public and private corporations, municipalities and public agencies, in connection with all aspects of real estate, including: acquisition public and private financing tax incentives and other economic inducements affordable housing development condominium structuring and development, land use and zoning distressed project work-outs construction of municipal, commercial, and residential projects selling, leasing, and otherwise disposing of property and funding, construction, operation, and maintenance of urban transit systems. He is a resident of Ann Arbor.

Stephen A. Bromberg is a senior attorney based in the firm's Bloomfield Hills office. He has served as a Director and President of Butzel Long. With more than 40 years of specialized experience in real estate transactions and litigation, Mr. Bromberg represents borrowers and institutional lenders, purchasers and sellers, non-profit entities and contractors and owners in all kinds of office, commercial shopping center, apartment and subdivision matters, major construction and zoning matters and workouts, reorganizations and foreclosures. He is involved with numerous high-profile development projects. Mr. Bromberg is a resident of Bloomfield Hills.

Robert G. Buydens is a shareholder and is based in the firm's Detroit office. He concentrates his practice in the area of employee benefits including preparation of pension, money purchase, employee stock purchase, and profit sharing plans for individuals, partnerships, corporations and multiple-employer organizations, and the preparation of master plans for profit and non-profit corporations. He has experience in providing advice on and drafting welfare benefit plans, including self-funded health care plans, flexible benefit plans, disability plans, and life insurance plans. He is experienced in executive compensation including the preparation of deferred compensation plans, management incentive plans, bonus plans and stock option plans. Mr. Buydens has been active in the multi-employer and multiple-employer pension area and is experienced in advising clients on plan terminations and withdrawals from multi-employer and multiple-employer plans. He also has acted as an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association on (ERISA) disputes. He is a resident of Grosse Pointe Shores.

David F. DuMouchel is an attorney and shareholder based in Butzel Long's Detroit office. He chairs the firm's Corporate Compliance, Internal Investigations and Criminal Defense practice. His practice is limited to criminal defense, professional licensure and criminal health care matters, internal corporate investigations and compliance. He has particular expertise in the Clery Act regarding safety and security on campus at higher education institutions. Mr. DuMouchel is a resident of Birmingham.

John P. Hancock, Jr. is an attorney and shareholder in the firm's Detroit office. His practice focuses on collective bargaining negotiations and arbitrations as well as counseling of both public and private employers. He also has done extensive employment litigation and OSHA litigation. Mr. Hancock has served as chief negotiator in numerous collective bargaining negotiations for public schools, municipal and public utilities. Mr. Hancock is a resident of Grosse Pointe Park.

Justin G. Klimko is an attorney and shareholder practicing in Butzel Long's Detroit office. He has extensive experience in securities regulation, corporate financing, mergers and acquisitions and general corporate matters, fields in which he has practiced since 1980. Mr. Klimko is a resident of Grosse Pointe Woods.

Edward M. Kronk is an attorney and shareholder practicing in the firm's Detroit office. Mr. Kronk's practice has been devoted principally to litigation with an emphasis on product liability defense and automotive-related commercial litigation. In addition, Mr. Kronk is a member of the firm's Global Automotive Team and has substantial experience advising automotive suppliers on government compliance and warranty issues. He is the former Co-Chair of the firm’s Litigation Department. He is a resident of Beverly Hills.

Leonard M. Niehoff is an attorney and shareholder in Butzel Long's Ann Arbor office. He has substantial experience in litigation involving media law, higher education law, civil rights, constitutional law, First Amendment, business and employment issues. He has handled significant matters for a variety of media clients. He is a resident of Chelsea.

James S. Rosenfeld is an attorney and shareholder in Butzel Long's Detroit office. He practices in the area of labor and employment law and serves as the manager of Butzel Long's Labor and Employment Practice Group. He has extensive experience in litigating a wide variety of labor and employment cases, including trial and appellate work in both state and federal court. He also has experience negotiating collective bargaining agreements, and handling labor arbitrations and hearings before the National Labor Relations Board. He is a resident of Huntington Woods.

About Chambers

Chambers USA is published annually by Chambers and Partners in London, England. The book provides law firm and attorney recommendations throughout the United States. The book is compiled from more than 14,000 interviews conducted with clients and lawyers. Comments that sum up or represent the general opinion are quoted in the text.

About Butzel Long

Butzel Long was established in 1854 and is headquartered in Detroit. Butzel Long is one of America's leading law firms, with 240 attorneys and offices in Detroit, Bloomfield Hills, Lansing and Ann Arbor, Michigan, New York City, Washington, D.C., Boca Raton and Palm Beach, Florida, as well as Alliance offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Mexico City and Monterrey. The firm represents clients from diverse industries on a regional, national and multi-national level and is the sole Michigan member of Lex Mundi, a global association of 160 independent law firms. Visit the Butzel Long website at www.butzel.com ().

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Media Contact: Maribeth Farkas at Caponigro Public Relations Inc., (248) 355-3200.