Fourteen Dickinson Wright Attorneys Elected as Members

Dickinson Wright PLLC is pleased to announce the election of 14 new member attorneys to the firm, effective January 1, 2018.

Joshua Burgener is a Member in the firm’s Nashville office. He focuses his practice on the areas of commercial & business litigation, labor & employment litigation, class action, internal investigations and white-collar crime, and general civil litigation. He represents clients in business disputes in state and federal court and provides legal counsel on a range of topics. Josh has significant experience representing clients in commercial disputes and employment matters, including trade-secret litigation and the enforcement of non-compete and non-solicitation agreements. Josh is a member of the Nashville Bar Association, the Tennessee Bar Association, and the American Constitution Society. He received his B.A. from Vanderbilt University and his J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School.

Justin Bustos is a Member in the firm’s Reno office. He focuses his practice on complex litigation and appeals. He has significant experience assisting clients at both the trial court and the appellate level in all aspects of business disputes, including contract disputes, business fraud, torts, class action lawsuits and intellectual property. He also has significant experience in the area of complex criminal litigation. Mr. Bustos is President of the Board of Directors for the Washoe County Bar Association and is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Young Lawyer Section of the State Bar of Nevada, and the Appellate Section of the State Bar of Nevada. He is recognized in Mountain State Super Lawyers “Rising Star” and Nevada Business “Legal Elite.” Mr. Bustos received his B.S. from the University of Nevada, Reno and his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School.

Sarah Cavanaugh is a Member in the firm’s Ft. Lauderdale office. Her practice area includes corporate and business law matters, with a primary focus on mergers and acquisitions. She counsels clients regarding all stages of business growth and exit strategies, from choice of entity issues and general corporate counseling to complex mergers, acquisitions and divestitures. Ms. Cavanaugh received her B.A. from The Pennsylvania State University and her J.D. from Villanova University School of Law.

Joshua Cepluch is a Member in the firm’s Columbus office. He counsels clients on complex real estate transactions in a variety of areas, including office, retail, industrial, multi-family, mixed-use, and assisted living. He has experience with the acquisition, sale, and development of real property and regularly represents lenders and borrowers in a variety of financing matters, including construction loans, mezzanine loans, workouts, and syndications and participations. He advises real estate funds and other investors with respect to joint ventures and other investment structuring issues. Mr. Cepluch is a member of the American Bar Association, the Ohio State Bar Association, and the Columbus Bar Association. He received his B.S. and M.C.R.P. from The Ohio State University and his J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School.

Nicholas Curcio is a Member in the firm’s Grand Rapids office. He represents municipalities and businesses in a broad range of transactional and litigation matters. His practice includes negotiating governmental agreements, advising on constitutional and regulatory issues, and litigating cases in state and federal courts. He has particular expertise in real property and land use matters, including zoning appeals and municipal regulation of vacation rentals and medical marijuana. Mr. Curcio is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, the Grand Rapids Bar Association, and the Michigan Association of Municipal Attorneys. He is recognized in Michigan Super Lawyer “Rising Star”. Mr. Curcio received his B.A. from the University of Notre Dame and his J.D. from the University of Notre Dame Law School.

Salina Hamilton is a Member in the firm’s Detroit office. She focuses her practice on the areas of commercial & business litigation, specializing in complex and large-scale eDiscovery practice. She has experience in all phases of commercial litigation in state and federal courts, including pretrial discovery, motion practice, alternative dispute resolution, and trial practice. She also has experience in negotiating, drafting and reviewing a variety of contracts. Ms. Hamilton is a member of the Defense Research Institute, the Federal Bar Association, the Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association, and the State Bar of Michigan. She is recognized in Michigan Super Lawyer “Rising Star.” Ms. Hamilton received her B.A. from Alma College and her J.D. from Michigan State University College of Law.

Benjamin Kennedy is a Member in the firm’s Reno office. He concentrates his practice in the area of real estate including real estate finance, joint ventures, acquisition, disposition, complex title matters, development and leasing. His work also includes the formation and governance of business entities, local government representation, and both stock and asset purchase and sales. He is a member of the Washoe County Bar Association and the American Bar Association. Mr. Kennedy received his B.S. from the University of Nevada, Reno and his J.D. from the University of Montana School of Law.

Jomy Methipara is a Member in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. He has significant experience in patent prosecution and opinion work, U.S. and foreign patent procurement, and appeal proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). He also has substantial experience in counseling clients and rendering opinions on matters related to patentability, infringement, validity, freedom-to-operate, and prosecution strategy involving domestic and foreign patents. Mr. Methipara is a member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association. He received his B.S. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his J.D. from the John Marshall Law School. He is licensed to practice law in Virginia and the District of Columbia.

Emily Rysberg is a Member in the firm’s Grand Rapids office, practicing both family law and municipal law. In her family law practice, Ms. Rysberg has significant expertise handling prenuptial agreements, divorce, post-judgment custody disputes, as well as parenting time, and child and spousal support matters. In her municipal practice, Emily serves in a general counsel role for numerous local municipalities, assisting with contract, ordinance, personnel, and litigation matters. Ms. Rysberg has successfully represented both domestic and municipal clients at the trial court and appellate levels. Ms. Rysberg is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, the Grand Rapids Bar Association, and the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan. She received her B.S. from the University of Michigan and her J.D. from the Thomas M. Cooley Law School.

Adam Schira is a Member in the firm’s Columbus office. He focuses his practice on the areas of education law, labor & employment, appellate, and emerging businesses. He provides legal services to school districts, community schools, career-technical schools, and other educational institutions in a wide range of legal areas and matters, including: federal and state education laws and regulation; labor and employment; staff and student disciplinary matters; policy review; contract negotiations; public records issues; discrimination claims; and special education matters. Mr. Schira is a member of the Ohio State Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the Ohio School Boards Association, the Council of School Attorneys, and the Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools. He received his B.A. from Xavier University, his M.S. Ed. from the University of Pennsylvania, and his J.D. from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, and he is an alumnus of the Teach for America Program.

Joel Schwarz is a Member in the firm’s Las Vegas office. He practices in complex commercial litigation, including landlord-tenant litigation, intellectual property litigation, and civil appeals. He has successfully tried cases in both State and Federal Courts in Nevada. He is well attuned to Nevada’s landlord-tenant statutes, and is also able to counsel clients on a wide range of intellectual property laws and technology disciplines. Mr. Schwarz received his B.S. from St. Louis University, summa cum laude, and his J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law, magna cum laude. Between his undergraduate studies and law school, Mr. Schwarz attended graduate school in molecular cellular biology, studying the genetic mechanisms for muscle development. Mr. Schwarz also worked as an academic professional in a lab investigating heritable differences in pain and drug sensitivity. Mr. Schwarz is a member of the State Bar of Nevada and the Clark County Bar Association, and has been admitted to practice in the Ninth Circuit and Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. He is recognized in Mountain State Super Lawyers and Nevada Business “Legal Elite”.

Jared Smith is a Member in the firm’s Troy office. He provides straightforward and effective advice to business entities and individuals in transactional, corporate and information technology matters. He has expertise in mergers and acquisitions, brewing regulations, joint ventures, corporate finance and securities, corporate governance and compliance matters. He also regularly counsels clients regarding information technology issues, including cloud-based systems, software as a service, IT outsourcing, web hosting, data privacy and data security, enterprise resource planning, electronic medical records and e-billing software, social media metrics and digital marketing. He is recognized in Dbusiness Top Lawyers. Mr. Smith received his B.A. from Tufts University and his J.D. from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.

Emma Wolfe is a Member in the firm’s Lexington office. Her practice includes the representation of clients in a wide variety of complex business and commercial litigation matters. Specifically, Ms. Wolfe focuses on trade secret and unfair competition litigation. She has represented clients in a number of federal and state courts, both prosecuting and defending claims of misappropriation of trade secrets, false advertising, trademark dilution and unfair competition. Ms. Wolfe also has extensive knowledge about intricate and complex class action, procedural and eDiscovery issues. In addition to the foregoing, her litigation experience includes matters related to commercial and residential real estate and leasehold disputes, environmental and toxic tort litigation, as well as many other general business and contract disputes. Ms. Wolfe is a member of the Defense Research Institute, the Kentucky Bar Association, and the Fayette County Bar Association. She received her B.A. from the State University of New York at Geneseo and her J.D. from the University of Kentucky College of Law.

Robert Zora is a Member in the firm’s Detroit office. His practice focuses on the area of commercial & business litigation, with particular experience and expertise advising clients regarding director and member disputes, shareholder oppression and fiduciary duty issues, and other disputes arising out of shareholder agreements. He also frequently counsels clients regarding various commercial contract matters, business and real estate disputes, non-compete and anti-solicitation agreements, and intellectual property and licensing disputes. Mr. Zora is a member of the Federal Bar Association and serves on the Board of Directors of the Chaldean American Bar Association. Prior to joining the firm he served as law clerk to the Honorable Sean F. Cox at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. He received his B.A. from the University of Michigan and his J.D. from Wayne State University Law School.