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Six Bodman Attorneys Named 2018 Lawyers of the Year by The Best Lawyers in America

By: Bodman PLC

08/18/17

The internationally recognized peer-review journal The Best Lawyers in America has named six Bodman attorneys “Lawyers of the Year” for 2018: Robert J. Diehl, Jr., Susan M. Kornfield, David P. Larsen, Marguerite Munson Lentz, Dennis J. Levasseur, and Thomas Van Dusen.

The Best Lawyers in America is the nation’s oldest attorney-rating publication and one of the most respected peer-review journals in the world. Only a single lawyer in each practice area and designated metropolitan area is honored as the Lawyer of the Year, making this accolade particularly significant. Lawyers are selected based on particularly impressive voting averages received during the peer review assessments of their legal abilities, professionalism, and integrity.

Robert J. Diehl, Jr. was named 2018 Banking and Finance Law Lawyer of the Year for Detroit, an honor he also received in 2010. In 2012, he was named LitigationBanking and Finance Lawyer of the Year for Detroit. Diehl represents clients in complex business law matters and commercial transactions with a focus on debtor-creditor rights and bankruptcy. He serves in leadership roles with numerous organizations, including the Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion (member and past chair, board of directors), the Catholic Foundation of Michigan (founding member, board of directors), the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce (member, board of directors), Henry Ford Hospital Heart and Vascular Institute (member, board of advisors), VIP Mentoring (member, board of directors), and the Grosse Pointe Club (member, board of directors).

Susan M. Kornfield, the 2018 Copyright Law Lawyer of the Year for Ann Arbor, has been honored as Lawyer of the Year multiple times in the past for Trademark Law, Litigation–Patent, and Litigation–Intellectual Property. She assists clients in a range of intellectual property matters, including information systems acquisition, copyrights, trademarks, e-commerce, noncompete agreements and other post-employment restrictions, and protection against economic espionage. She has been selected as an expert witness, mediator, and arbitrator in intellectual property disputes, and serves on an Advisory Committee to Stanford University on matters involving libraries and academic information resources. Kornfield is a frequent speaker on IP issues to professional and academic groups and is active with national, state, and local bar associations and committees relating to computer law, intellectual property law, and entertainment law.

David P. Larsen was named the Litigation–Trusts and Estates Lawyer of the Year for Detroit. He represents high net worth individuals and financial institutions in the areas of estate planning, estate and trust administration, trust litigation, estate and gift tax, and closely-held business transactions and succession. Larsen was also recognized as 2016 Lawyer of the Year for Litigation-Trusts and Estates. He currently serves as a trustee of the Matilda Wilson Fund, a trustee of his alma mater, Alma College, and a board member of the Detroit Crime Commission.

Marguerite Munson Lentz has been recognized as the 2018 Trusts and Estates Lawyer of the Year for Detroit, an honor she also received in 2016. Lentz concentrates her practice in representing high net worth individuals in estate planning, probate, and trusts. She regularly advises nonprofit and tax exempt organizations regarding obtaining and maintaining exempt status, corporate governance, and general operational issues. She is a member of Inforum and a fellow of the American College of Trusts and Estates Counsel.

Dennis J. Levasseur was named 2018 Litigation–Banking and Finance Lawyer of the Year for Detroit. He also practices franchise/dealer litigation, complex commercial litigation, and securities litigation and arbitration, primarily for securities broker-dealers, in proceedings throughout the country. He was also the Detroit Lawyer of the Year for Litigation-Banking & Finance in 2016. Levasseur is a founder of the Historical Society of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and serves on the Executive Board of the Detroit Historical Society and as the Society’s Legal/Government Committee chair and vice president for legal affairs. He is city attorney for the City of Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan.

Thomas Van Dusen is the 2018 Troy Lawyer of the Year for Litigation–Trusts and Estates, an honor he also received in 2016. He concentrates his practice exclusively in litigation and alternative dispute resolution with a focus on insurance, commercial disputes, health care, class actions, and personal injury defense, including arbitration hearings, bench trials, jury trials, and appeals. He is a member of the National Diocesan Attorneys Association, the Defense Research Institute, the American Arbitration Association panel of arbitrators, and the Michigan Committee on Model Civil Jury Instructions.

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