Great Lakes Legal Conference 2025: Speakers
Aaron V. Burrell
Dickinson Wright PLLC, Troy
Aaron V. Burrell focuses his practice in the areas of complex commercial litigation, labor and employment law, appellate law, and minority business enterprises. Mr. Burrell is a member of the Board of Commissioners of the State Bar of Michigan (SBM) and the American Bar Association's Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession. He is also a member of the boards of directors of Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School and the Oakland County Bar Association; a past president of the D. Augustus Straker Bar Association; a foundation fellow of the Oakland County, Michigan, and American Bar Foundations; and prior co-chair of the SBM's Equal Access Initiative. Mr. Burrell has been named a 40 Under 40 honoree by "Crain's Detroit Business," an Up and Coming Lawyer by "Michigan Lawyers Weekly," and a Michigan Super Lawyer. He is an active member of the Detroit Bar Association and the Wolverine Bar Association. In addition to his contributions to ICLE, Mr. Burrell is a contributor to "Employment Discrimination Law" (BNA 2015) and a coauthor of the "Michigan Class Action Compendium" (Defense Research Institute).
John G. Cameron, Jr.
Dickinson Wright PLLC, Grand Rapids
John G. Cameron, Jr., practices in the areas of real estate and construction law. Mr. Cameron is admitted to practice in Michigan, Illinois, Colorado, and North Carolina. He attended the U.S. Naval Academy, received his AB in economics and business administration from Albion College in 1971, and graduated cum laude from Wayne State University Law School in 1974. He has written numerous chapters and articles and is the author of the five-volume treatise "Michigan Real Estate Forms and Practice" (Aspen Publishers) and "A Practitioner's Guide to Construction Law" (ALI-ABA). He is also author of ICLE's "Michigan Real Property Law." Mr. Cameron is listed in "Who's Who in American Law" and "The Best Lawyers in America" and has been named a Michigan Super Lawyer annually since 2006. He is an elected member of both the American Law Institute and the American College of Real Estate Lawyers, served as the public director on the board of the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, and for six years served on the National Board of Editors of "The Practical Real Estate Lawyer." A former instructor on real estate law at Grand Valley State University's Seidman School of Business and at Grand Rapids Community College, Mr. Cameron lectures frequently on real estate law throughout the United States and teaches real estate transactions as an adjunct professor of law at the University of Michigan. He served as law clerk to the Honorable William H. Webster, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, in 1974-1975. As a specialist in real estate transactions and construction law matters, Mr. Cameron represents a wide variety of clients in a variety of real estate and construction law matters. He was awarded an LLM degree from the University of Michigan.
Mary Chartier
Chartier & Nyamfukudza PLC, Okemos
Mary Chartier is a criminal defense litigator and partner at the firm. Ms. Chartier has extensive experience litigating serious and complex criminal defense cases and has successfully defended clients in numerous federal and state trials. She has served as lead counsel and defended people of numerous crimes, including those involving terrorism, racketeering, drug dealing, human rights violations, crimes against the United States, bank robbery, criminal sexual conduct, and homicide, as well as white-collar crimes, such as money laundering, mortgage fraud, and health care fraud. Ms. Chartier has argued and won cases at the Michigan Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Ms. Chartier is a fellow of the American Board of Criminal Lawyers, the American Bar Foundation, the Michigan State Bar Foundation, and the Ingham County Bar Foundation. She is also a member of the Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan (CDAM) and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Ms. Chartier is the past president of the Ingham County Bar Association. She taught law school students for over 10 years, including teaching the nation's first medical marijuana class. Ms. Chartier has been recognized for her criminal defense work, including being named one of the Leaders in the Law by "Michigan Lawyers Weekly," receiving the Distinguished Barrister’s Award by the Davis-Dunnings Bar Association, being honored as the 2020 Leo A. Farhat Outstanding Attorney of the Year, and receiving the Michael Franck Award from the State Bar of Michigan. The firm also won the 2022 international Legal Impact Reisman Award for their work in defending and exonerating those wrongfully accused and wrongfully imprisoned.
Hon. B. Chris Christenson
7th Circuit Court, Flint
Hon. B. Chris Christenson joined the 7th Circuit as a Family Division judge in January 2021. Previously, he practiced in the areas of criminal law, business and contract litigation, real estate and construction law, general civil litigation, and probate administration. Active in the State Bar of Michigan (SBM), Judge Christenson served on its board of commissioners from 2007 to 2010 and was recently reelected for a term expiring in 2023. He is also a member of the Centennial American Inn of Court and the Friends of Berston Field House's board of commissioners. Judge Christenson is a past president of the Genesee County Bar Association, a former chair of the SBM's Young Lawyers Section, and a former board of directors member of both the Centennial American Inn of Court and Legal Services of Eastern Michigan. In addition, he is a licensed real estate salesperson in Michigan and was formerly a licensed residential builder and limited licensed appraiser.
Kim A. Coggins
Coggins Law, Marinette, Wisconsin
Kim A. Coggins practices in the areas of municipal law, civil litigation, commercial law, real estate law, and domestic relations. He practices in both Michigan and Wisconsin. He is a 1977 graduate of Michigan State University and a 1981 graduate of Thomas M. Cooley Law School. Mr. Coggins is a member of the Michigan and Wisconsin State Bar Associations and the Menominee and Marinette County Bar Associations and has served as a member on several committees for the State Bar of Michigan.
Jerome Crawford
Jerome Crawford, Pleasantrees Cannabis Company, Harrison Twp.
Jerome Crawford serves as chief legal officer for the company, a Michigan cultivator and seller of cannabis. Mr. Crawford is responsible for the gamut of the company’s legal needs and spearheads social equity initiatives to ensure the company makes positive, genuine, and lasting impact within local communities. On a national level, he most recently served as cochair of the "Men of Color Project," an initiative of the American Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division that aims to address the lack of diversity and advancement of men of color in the legal profession. In addition to breaking ground as the first Black in-house counsel of a major cannabis manufacturer in the state of Michigan, Mr. Crawford is a law professor at Wayne State University Law School.
Peter Cunningham
State Bar of Michigan Executive Director, Lansing
Peter Cunningham was selected as the sixth executive director of the State Bar of Michigan (SBM) and began his appointment on March 1, 2022. Before this appointment, Mr. Cunningham first served as director of governmental relations from 2012 to 2015 and then as assistant executive director from 2015 to 2022. Before his work with the SBM, he served as the executive director of the Michigan Campaign for Justice, a nonprofit created to promote improvement in Michigan's public defense system. Mr. Cunningham has served on the SBM's executive leadership team for seven years.
Robert A. Easterly
Easterly Law PLLC, East Lansing
Robert A. Easterly is the managing attorney at the firm. He specializes in the areas of criminal law, municipal law, and business law. Mr. Easterly previously worked as a summer associate and associate attorney for Foster Swift Collins & Smith and as a city attorney for the City of East Lansing. He is a member of the Cannabis Law, Criminal Law, Probate and Estate Planning, and Solo and Small Firm Sections of the State Bar of Michigan (SBM) and represents District E on the SBM's Board of Commissioners.
Thomas Fuentes
Judicial Information Services, Lansing
As MiFILE Delivery Manager Tom focuses on expanding and enhancing the MiFILE product for all stakeholders. Tom began working in the courts over 14 years ago; starting as a law clerk in the Third Circuit Court—Juvenile Division, where he later also served as adoptions coordinator. He then transitioned to district court administration, as court administrator for 52-3 District Court in Rochester Hills. He has been with the Michigan Supreme Court, focusing on the MiFILE project since 2019. Tom holds a J.D. from Wayne State University Law School and is a certified scrum master and product owner.
James Harrington, III
Law Offices of James J. Harrington III PLC, Novi
James J. Harrington III, the managing member of Harrington Law PLC, concentrates his practice solely upon complex family law cases, with a significant portion of his practice involving family law mediation and divorce arbitration. He also consults with other family law lawyers in complex matters and is frequently added to family law litigation teams as co-counsel. He has been a member of the State Bar of Michigan and its Family Law Section for 49 years and in 2021 he received the Family Law Section Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2021 he also was admitted to the "Michigan Lawyers Weekly" Family Law Hall of Fame. He is a Fellow in the Michigan Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and was the first Michigan lawyer to receive family law certification from the National Board of Trial Advocacy. Mr. Harrington has also received the AAML divorce arbitration certification. He is former chair of the State Bar of Michigan Family Law Section, has held every officer position, and has testified on behalf of the section on multiple occasions before the Supreme Court of Michigan and the Michigan Legislature. He has been published in “Michigan Bar Journal,” SBM’s “Family Law Journal,” and “Michigan Dispute Resolution Journal.” In addition, Mr. Harrington is co-editor of the national LexisNexis practice guide 2016-2023 “Michigan Family Law” and author of the Alternate Dispute Resolution, Attorney Fees, Marital Property, Pretrial Discovery, Motion Practice, and Spousal Support chapters. Mr. Harrington is a frequent presenter at many family law seminars including the Family Law Institute and the Upper Michigan Legal Institute. He presented on Family Law issues in 2022 and 2019 at the National AAML-Business Valuation Resources Seminars in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is a recipient of the Blaine Johnson Award for outstanding contributions to continuing legal education. He graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 1973, after having served two years of active duty in the United States Navy, at the Law Center Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Ashley Lowe
Lakeshore Legal Aid, Pontiac
Ashley Lowe has spent her career advocating for marginalized and disadvantaged people who have faced barriers accessing the justice system. Ms. Lowe is the Chief Executive Officer of Lakeshore Legal Aid, a non-profit law firm providing free legal services to people living with low income, older adults, and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in the Detroit Metro region. Prior to joining Lakeshore, Ms. Lowe was the Associate Director of Clinical Education at Wayne State University Law School and a Professor at Thomas M. Cooley Law School where she founded and directed the Family Law Assistance Project. She began her career in Michigan at Dickinson Wright. An active member of the State Bar of Michigan, she currently chairs the Justice Initiatives Committee and co-chairs the State Planning Body. She is a member of the Justice For All Taskforce and the Legal Services Association of Michigan. Ms. Lowe co-chaired and remains an active member of the Domestic Violence Committee. Ms. Lowe trains attorneys and speaks frequently about trauma-informed legal practice and establishing the right to counsel in eviction cases. Ms. Lowe earned her law degree and Master of Business Administration at Georgetown University.
Silvia Alexandria Mansoor
Foley, Baron, Metzger & Juip, PLLC
Silvia Mansoor specializes in all aspects of litigation, including medical malpractice defense work. Ms. Mansoor is the current chair of the Young Lawyers Section of the State Bar of Michigan and an active member of the Oakland County Bar Association.
Joseph Patrick McGill
President of State Bar of Michigan
Foley, Baron, Metzger & Juip, PLLC
Joseph Patrick McGill is the 90th president of the State Bar of Michigan. A member at Foley, Baron, Metzger & Juip, McGill’s practice includes complex litigation matters including business torts, construction litigation, product liability, commercial disputes, and probate and estate planning. He has served on the Board of Commissioners since 2015.
McGill currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Michigan State Bar Foundation and previously served as chair of the Representative Assembly. He is a proud Irish American and helped found the Michigan Irish American Chamber of Commerce, now known as Irish Network Detroit. He also is past president of the Catholic Lawyers Society Detroit and the Incorporated Society of Irish American Lawyers.
McGill earned his Bachelor of Arts in finance from Michigan State University, Doctor of Law from University of Detroit Mercy, Master of Business Administration from University of Detroit Mercy, and Masters of Laws in both taxation and corporate/finance law from Wayne State University. He and his wife, Lauren, and son, William, live in Plymouth.
Takura Nyamfukudza
Chartier & Nyamfukudza PLC
Takura Nyamfukudza focuses his practice on criminal defense. He and his business partner, Mary Chartier, recently secured the release of five wrongfully imprisoned individuals who had collectively spent 82 years in prison for crimes that he and Ms. Chartier were able to prove they did not commit. The team is not just committed to exonerating people; the firm has also exonerated four dogs who were unjustly placed on "doggie death row." Mr. Nyamfukudza practices in state and federal courts throughout Michigan, including handling appellate cases in the Michigan Supreme Court and the Michigan Court of Appeals. He is a past president of the Davis-Dunnings Bar Association. Mr. Nyamfukudza is a member of the State Bar of Michigan (SBM), has been appointed to the SBM's Board of Commissioners, and is the current chair of the SBM's Criminal Law Section. He is also a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan (CDAM), and the Michigan Association of OWI Attorneys. Mr. Nyamfukudza served on the Michigan Joint Taskforce on Jail and Pretrial Incarceration, as faculty for the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission’s trial skills program, and as the defense attorney who tried the case for the Supreme Court Administrative Office's remote jury trial pilot project. He has presented on issues related to the criminal justice system and criminal defense, including at a statewide conference offered by the Michigan Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights and the People's Law School where he educated those in attendance on issues related to the Fourth Amendment. The State Appellate Defender Office has tapped him to lecture on the topic of remote jury trials. Mr. Nyamfukudza is a recurring speaker at the CDAM’s annual conferences. He received the SBM's Regeana Myrick Outstanding Young Lawyer Award for 2015. Notably, the firm won Reisman's International 2022 Legal Impact Award for embodying Clio's mission of transforming the practice of law for good.
Nicholas M. Ohanesian
Social Security Administration, Office of Hearings Operations (OHO), Grand Rapids
Nicholas M. Ohanesian currently serves as the Hearing Office Chief Administrative Law Judge for the Social Security Administration, Office of Disability Adjudication in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Prior to taking the administrative bench at SSA, he worked for a decade at the National Labor Relations Board, first in Peoria, Illinois and later as the Resident Officer in Jacksonville, Florida. Along the way he has taught at a series of academic institutions and currently teaches coursework at Michigan State University, College of Law and Grand Rapids Community College. In 2012 he was a Visiting Professor in the Law Department at the American University of Armenia as a Fulbright Specialist. He publishes regularly in the fields of administrative law, labor law and disability law. Finally, he is active in the State Bar of Michigan serving as a Commissioner for District C and a member of the Professional Ethics Committee.
Hon. David A. Perkins
Wayne County Probate Court, Detroit
Hon. David A. Perkins assumed office in 2019. He previously served as a Wayne County Juvenile Court referee for 17 years, magistrate for the 30th District Court, assistant corporation counsel for Wayne County, and judge advocate for the Michigan National Guard. Judge Perkins earned his JD from Howard University and a BA from Rutgers University.
Nathan R. Piwowarski
McCurdy Wotila & Porteous PC, Cadillac
Nathan R. Piwowarski is a shareholder of his firm, practicing in the areas of elder law, estate planning, and estate administration. Contested probate matters makes up a significant portion of his practice. Mr. Piwowarski is the public administrator for Wexford and Lake Counties, serving as personal representative of decedent estates with no known heirs. He is also a special assistant attorney general for the Department of Health and Human Services, representing the department in contested guardianship and conservatorship proceedings throughout northwest Lower Michigan. A member of the Probate and Estate Planning Section of the State Bar of Michigan, Mr. Piwowarski serves on the section's council and has served as the chair of its Legislative Development and Drafting Committee and Committee on Special Projects.
Hon. Melissa L. Pope
Chief Judge, Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi Tribal Court, Fulton
Hon. Melissa L. Pope currently serves as the Chief Judge of the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi Tribal Court. She has been consistently reappointed by Tribal Council since February 2011 with the most recent four-year appointment made in December 2022. Judge Pope has also served in the elected position of Chief Justice of the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians Tribal Court of Appeals since 2009. In addition, Judge Pope has been teaching American Indian Law as a Member of the Adjunct Faculty at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law since 2007.
Jennifer Quick
Oakland County Bar Association, Bloomfield Hills
Jennifer Quick is executive director of the 2,500-member strong Oakland County Bar Association and the Oakland County Bar Foundation. She has spent over 15 years in non-profit leadership including as executive director of the Northville Educational Foundation and of the Ferndale Area Chamber of Commerce. Prior to working in the non-profit arena, Jennifer specialized in sales and marketing mainly in the real estate industry.
While at the helm of the above non-profits, Jennifer led those boards through annual strategic planning sessions ensuring that the outcomes of each include actionable strategies that her boards and teams were able to implement with effective results.
While working for the Ferndale Area Chamber, Jennifer was recognized by the Michigan Association of Chamber Professionals for her for strong collaboration with community partners, advocacy efforts, fiscal responsibility, and innovative and effective programming.
Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Arts in Advertising from Michigan State University and a Michigan Real Estate Individual Broker license.
Molly Ranns
State Bar of Michigan Director of the Lawyers and Judges Assistance Program, Lansing
Molly Ranns is the director for the State Bar of Michigan’s Lawyers and Judges Assistance Program, where she has been working for the past decade. She is also a licensed professional counselor, a nationally board-certified counselor, and an internationally certified advanced alcohol and drug counselor. Ms. Ranns is passionate about helping legal professionals with issues pertaining to general wellness, mental health, and substance use concerns. She has experience working with impaired professionals, substance use disorders, as well as mental health diagnoses, and presents regularly on topics pertaining to law student and lawyer well-being. Ms. Ranns graduated with a MA in counseling from Michigan State University in 2009.
Sarah Santini
Judicial Information Services, Lansing
With over 25 years of experience in court administration, project management, and technology within the courts, she served as a court administrator in Genesee County before joining SCAO in 2019. Her focus is on proactively engaging with court stakeholders, understanding their needs, and ensuring they receive the necessary support throughout their technology journey with JIS. She holds a master’s degree in judicial administration from Michigan State University, is a certified court manager through the National Center for State Courts, and holds an ITIL 4 certification in the latest IT service management practices.
Hon. Kristen D. Simmons
54 District Court, Lansing
Judge Kristen D. Simmons was appointed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer in September 2019 to serve the 54-A District Court. Judge Simmons earned her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia, and Juris Doctor from Western Michigan University, Thomas M. Cooley Law School.
Judge Simmons has been a member of the Lansing community since 2009 and has served the public in various capacities. Prior to taking the bench, Judge Simmons served as the Litigation Manager for the Michigan Department of Corrections. She has served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Litigation, Elections and Employment law division; she was an Assistant City Attorney for the City of Lansing and served as a district court prosecutor and legal adviser for the Lansing Police Department and the Lansing Police Board of Commissioners. Judge Simmons has also served Ingham County as a public defender and was an enumerator for the U.S. Census Bureau. She also worked as an adjunct professor for Lansing Community College, where she taught Legal Writing, Business Law and was instrumental in launching a legal clinic in conjunction with LCC and Legal Services of South Central Michigan.
Judge Simmons was named by the Ingham County Bar Association as Top 5 Under 35 in 2017 and a Rising Star in 2015 by the Davis-Dunnings Bar Association.
Nathan Triplett
Public Policy Director, State Bar of Michigan, Lansing
Nathan Triplett serves as Director of Governmental Affairs for the State Bar of Michigan. For over 15 years, he has worked in and around state and local government as an attorney, organizer, policy advocate, and elected official. Before joining the SBM staff, Nathan served as Minority Legal Counsel for the Michigan House of Representatives and as the Director of Public Policy and Political Action at Equality Michigan. Triplett served on the East Lansing City Council for eight years. He was elected to serve as the city's youngest Mayor in 2013 and as President of the Michigan Municipal League. Today, Nathan serves as Chair of the Capital Area Transportation Authority Board of Directors, as a commissioner of both the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission and Ingham County Parks and Recreation Commission, and as Vice President of the MML Foundation. Triplett volunteers with Rotary International and the Boy Scouts of America and enjoys spending time outdoors with his two children. He is a graduate of Michigan State University's James Madison College with degrees in Political Theory/Constitutional Democracy and Social Relations. He also holds a Master of Public Policy degree from the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan and a Juris Doctor from the MSU College of Law.
Marisa Vinsky
Chartier & Nyamfukudza PLC, Okemos
Marisa Ariel Vinsky is a litigator at the firm. Before serving in her current role, Ms. Vinsky worked at the State Appellate Defender Office, specifically in the Juvenile Lifer Unit, where she fought for the rights of juveniles to obtain constitutional sentences. She also worked in the Michigan State University College of Law's Civil Rights Clinic. Ms. Vinsky is president-elect of the Ingham County Bar Association's (ICBA) Young Lawyers Section and cochair of its Criminal Defense Law Section. She is a member of the ICBA, the Davis-Dunnings Bar Association, Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan, the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan (WLAM), and the Jewish Bar Association of Michigan. Ms. Vinsky is a recipient of the ICBA's Top 5 Under 35 Award in 2021, the Mid-Michigan chapter of WLAM's Women Lawyer Stars Award in 2021 and 2022, the Davis-Dunning Bar Association's Rising Star Award in 2022, and has been recognized as an Up and Coming Lawyer by "Michigan Lawyers Weekly" in 2022.
Dawn Wagoner
Judicial Information Services, Lansing
In her 29 years with Grand Traverse County, Dawn was a Court Administrator, Deputy Court Administrator, and a Probation Officer for the 86th District Court. Prior to that she was a Deputy/Detective for the Grand Traverse County Sheriff’s Office. Dawn has a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement from Ferris State University, is a certified court manager through the National Center for State Courts and is ITIL certified. Her focus is on teamwork and providing great customer service.