11.01.2021

Plunkett Cooney partner Douglas C. Bernstein was recently selected to serve as a member of the Michigan State Bar Foundation’s new Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts (IOLTA) Community Investment Committee.

The IOLTA Community Investment Committee is a volunteer group of the Michigan State Bar Foundation Board of Trustees. Members use their collective expertise to provide guidance in developing effective cultivation and stewardship of participating IOLTA financial institutions, accountholders and administrators. The IOLTA Community Investment Committee provides guidance for future long-term planning and development of strategies to support the IOLTA Growth Plan, including the Leadership Bank program and Banking on Justice campaign.

The Michigan State Bar Foundation provides leadership and grants to improve access for all to the justice system, including support for civil legal aid to the indigent, law-related educational opportunities and conflict resolution services. The foundation administers the IOLTA program, and it works closely with Michigan financial institutions to facilitate their participation in the Leadership Bank Program, which recognizes the institutions that are committed to helping underserved individuals and families by paying higher interest rates than required on IOLTA accounts held at their institutions.

A member of Plunkett Cooney’s Bloomfield Hills office, Bernstein serves as the firm’s Business Law Department Leader. He concentrates his practice in the areas of commercial litigation, loan restructuring, commercial loan documentation, bankruptcy, banking-related litigation and appeals. His clients include numerous regional and national banks, credit unions and loan servicers, as well as automotive suppliers and charitable foundations.

Prior to joining Plunkett Cooney, Bernstein worked as an in-house attorney at Michigan National Corporation for over 20 years. He subsequently joined the Standard Federal Bank Legal Department when the bank merged with Michigan National Corporation in 2001.

Bernstein earned his undergraduate degree in 1978 from Wayne State University and his law degree in 1982 from the Detroit College of Law. He has received several honors for his legal work, including an AV rating by Martindale-Hubbell, a leading peer-to-peer professional ratings service, selection as a Michigan Super Lawyer by Super Lawyers magazine for over 12 years and a Best Lawyers in America® designation from 2014 to 2021.

Plunkett Cooney is one of Michigan’s leading law firms to the banking and finance industry. The firm represents numerous local, regional and national lenders in loan originations, loan workouts, acquisition of new banking powers, regulatory/legislative issues and related litigation. Plunkett Cooney attorneys also serve as counsel to businesses in the areas of bankruptcy and creditors’ rights with noteworthy participation in numerous complex and high-profile bankruptcy and creditors’ rights matters, including the city of Detroit’s historic bankruptcy.

Established in 1913, Plunkett Cooney, which is one of the Midwest’s oldest and most accomplished law firms, is a leading provider of business and litigation services to clients in the private and public sectors. The firm employs approximately 150 attorneys in seven Michigan cities, Chicago, Illinois; Columbus, Ohio; and Indianapolis, Indiana. Plunkett Cooney has achieved the highest rating (AV) awarded by Martindale-Hubbell, a leading, international directory of law firms.

For more information about Doug Bernstein’s selection to the IOLTA Community Investment Committee, contact the firm’s Director of Marketing and Business Development John Cornwell at (248) 901-4008; jcornwell@plunkettcooney.com.

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