04.01.2016

At the recent annual business meeting of Plunkett Cooney – one of the oldest and largest law firms in the Midwest – partners Jeffrey C. Gerish, Jeffrey S. Hengeveld, Matthew J. Stanczyk and Thomas P. Vincent were elected to the firm’s board of directors.

Re-elected to three-year terms were Vincent and Gerish. Hengeveld and Stanczyk were elected to the board for the first time. In addition, partners Michael S. Bogren and Michael P. Ashcraft, Jr. were elected to serve as chairman and secretary/treasurer of the board, respectively.

A member of Plunkett Cooney’s Appellate Law Practice Group, Jeffrey C. Gerish practices in the areas of appellate law, insurance coverage and commercial litigation. He has successfully represented clients in numerous published decisions issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, the Michigan Supreme Court and the Michigan Court of Appeals. He is also a member of the firm’s Insurance Coverage Practice Group.

Licensed to practice in Michigan and Indiana, Gerish, who is a member of Plunkett Cooney’s Bloomfield Hills office, received both his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Michigan. He is a member of the Oakland County Bar Association, the State Bar of Michigan, the Michigan Defense Trial Counsel, the American Bar Association and the DRI – The Voice of the Defense Bar.  

Jeffrey S. Hengeveld, who is also a member of the firm’s Bloomfield Hills office, focuses his practice primarily in the area of professional liability with an emphasis on litigation brought against attorneys, accountants, insurance agents and real estate professionals.

A member of the firm’s Professional Liability Practice Group, Hengeveld is licensed to practice in state and federal courts in Michigan. He received both his law and undergraduate degrees from Michigan State University in 2003 and 1999, respectively. Hengeveld is member of the Oakland County, American and Federal bar associations, as well as the State Bar of Michigan, ALFA International and the members’ attorney program of the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals.

Matthew J. Stanczyk serves as Plunkett Cooney’s Product Liability Practice Group Leader. He is a member of the firm’s Detroit office and his practice includes complex litigation involving toxic torts, fire-related claims, construction issues and commercial warranty matters. He represents product manufacturers, general contractors, construction managers, transportation firms, property restoration and remediation firms, commercial property owners and managers, among others who have litigation matters in the state and federal courts in Michigan and Ohio.

Stanczyk received his law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy Law School in 1986 and his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan in 1983. He’s a member of numerous associations, including the Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association, the DRI – The Voice of the Defense Bar, the Southeast Michigan Chapter of the Building Owners and Managers Association and the Scaffold Industry Association, among others.

Thomas P. Vincent is a partner in Plunkett Cooney’s Bloomfield Hills office and is one of the firm’s most accomplished trial attorneys having tried over 100 cases to jury verdict. His practice includes the areas of employment law, commercial disputes and general litigation claims. A member of the firm’s board of directors since 1999, Vincent’s clients include academic institutions, major retailers, financial institutions, high net worth individuals and the policy holders of some of the world’s largest insurance companies.

Vincent, who has received numerous legal industry honors and awards, graduated from Michigan State University College of Law in 1981. He received his undergraduate degree from Wayne State University in 1977. He is a member of the Oakland County Bar Association, the State Bar of Michigan, the American Bar Association and the Association of Trial Lawyers of America.

In addition to the election of new board members, partner Michael S. Bogren was re-elected to a one-year term as chair of the firm’s board of directors. Bogren is the managing partner of Plunkett Cooney’s Kalamazoo office and has been a member of the board since 2003, serving as chair since 2012. He is a member of Plunkett Cooney’s Governmental Law Practice Group and focuses his practice in the areas of municipal law, civil rights and labor and employment law.

A 1982 cum laude graduate of University of Detroit School of Law, Bogren has extensive experience representing municipalities in both state and federal court claims involving police liability, due process matters, first amendment issues, Michigan Open Meetings and Freedom of Information Act violations, zoning disputes and employment law.

Firm board members also elected Michael P. Ashcraft, a partner in the firm’s Bloomfield Hills office, to continue on in his role as the board’s secretary/treasurer for another one-year term. Ashcraft, who serves as the Plunkett Cooney’s Professional Liability Practice Group Leader, is one of the state’s leading professional liability attorneys. He concentrates his practice primarily on the defense of attorneys and accountants in malpractice claims. He also represents insurance brokers and agents, securities brokers, real estate brokers and agents, investment advisors, officers and directors, and notaries public in professional liability cases in state and federal courts.

Admitted to state and federal courts in Michigan and Nebraska, Ashcraft graduated, cum laude, from Michigan State University College of Law in 1992. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan in 1987. Ashcraft is a member of the Oakland County Bar Association’s Negligence Section, the State Bar of Michigan’s Professional Ethics Committee and the American Bar Association’s Committee on Professional Responsibility and Liability.

Established in 1913, Plunkett Cooney is a leading provider of transactional and litigation services to clients in the private and public sectors. The firm employs approximately 140 attorneys in nine Michigan cities, Columbus, Ohio and Indianapolis, Indiana. Plunkett Cooney has achieved the highest rating (AV) awarded by Martindale-Hubbell, a leading, international directory of law firms, and it was named by American Lawyer Media’s as a “ go-to” law firm in 2016. The firm has also received several awards naming it among the top workplaces in the legal industry.

For more information about Plunkett Cooney’s newly-elected board members and officers, contact the firm’s Director of Marketing & Business Development John Cornwell at (248) 901-4008 or via email at jcornwell@plunkettcooney.com.