Section: In Practice
43 results
In Practice Winter 2020
Meegan Brooks, ’13: An Advocate for the Retail Industry
Throughout law school, Meegan Brooks, ’13, was most interested in cases involving retail brands and other companies that she admired. Brooks joined Sedgwick LLP as a 2L summer associate and became enamored with its retail practice group, which specialized in defending consumer class actions. “I identified their work as being fun and cool and interesting,” she says.
In Practice Winter 2020
Craig Kramer, ’87: Mental Health Ambassador
“My overarching goal is to help transform mental health care worldwide. It’s broken everywhere, and it is a global problem,” says Craig Kramer, ’87, Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) first mental health ambassador. But raising awareness about and erasing the stigma of mental illness were not part of his plan as a Michigan Law graduate—nor was it where he started.
In Practice Winter 2020
James Blakemore, ’13, and Josh Garcia, ’13: Blockchain Made Them a Team
Blockchain has come into focus in the last several years. James Blakemore, ’13, and Josh Garcia, ’13, have expertise in the technology, which, as Blakemore explains, “allows people to verify transactions and come to consensus regarding the current distribution of an asset, like bitcoin, without relying on third parties like banks.”
In Practice Fall 2020
Chris Burtley, ’15: Reimagining Supply Chains After Historic Disruption
Months before COVID-19 became a global pandemic, Chris Burtley, ’15, was called into the first of what would become a series of meetings about a novel coronavirus that was emerging in Wuhan, China, and beginning to threaten global supply chains. “When a client asked me in January to join calls related to the coronavirus, we thought of it as a small project to keep an eye on, not something that would become the biggest issue we have seen in decades.”
In Practice
Lawrence García, ’95: Moving Detroit’s Legal Team in New Directions
When the mayor of Detroit asked Lawrence García, ’95, to lead the city’s legal department, he jumped at the opportunity, knowing it would challenge him professionally and give him a meaningful platform to influence the trajectory of Detroit. “The law department has always had a lot of bench strength and excellent lawyers, but historically you haven’t heard people worried about going up against the office—whether it’s in litigation or in business dealings.”
In Practice Fall 2020
Carla Newell, ’85: Riding a Tech Boom in Silicon Valley—Again
As public interest in consumer genomics has exploded in recent years, Carla Newell, ’85, found herself at the center of the industry’s boom as the chief legal officer and chief risk officer at Ancestry, a leading family history and consumer genomics company.
In Practice Winter 2020
Asim Rehman, ’01: Overseeing the Nation’s Largest Police Department
How does one go from working as corporate counsel at MetLife—providing global litigation support to more than 40 foreign MetLife companies—to overseeing the NYPD? “I was working on police accountability issues because they were important to me,” Asim Rehman, ’01, says. “Not because I was looking for a job.”
In Practice
Tim Kochis, ’73: A Pioneer in Personal Financial Planning
Any success in life is a combination of three things: talent, hard work, and luck, says Tim Kochis, ’73. While Kochis admits he’s had a few lucky breaks in his 45-year career as a personal finance and investment manager, he also attributes his success in large measure to his Michigan Law degree, which has proven to be a “valuable calling card.”
In Practice
Michelle Silverthorn, ’08, on the Challenges and Opportunities of Diversifying the Workplace
How do you foster a diverse and welcoming environment for all people within the legal profession, particularly those at law firms? It’s a pressing question for the legal industry, and one that Michelle Silverthorn, ’08, is working to address.
In Practice
Marc Howze, ’95: Steering Deere & Company
Nothing Runs Like a Deere. The tagline that originated in the 1970s—first with John Deere-made snowmobiles—has since become iconic. It’s also a phrase that could aptly describe the career of Marc Howze, ’95, Deere & Company’s senior vice president and chief administrative officer.