09.08.2020

Ten Plunkett Cooney attorneys were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in the inaugural edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch 2021.

The “Ones to Watch” awards are recognitions given to attorneys who are earlier in their careers for outstanding professional excellence in private practice in the United States. The award recipients typically have been in practice for five to nine years, focusing on one or more of the 77 areas of expertise that were recognized.

The methodology for determining these awards remains the same as it did when Best Lawyers was founded almost 40 years ago: a peer-review survey in which lawyers within their own geographic region nominate their peers. These lawyers are not allowed to select nominees from the same area(s) in which they practice, and it is not a fee-based listing.

Below is the list of Plunkett Cooney attorneys who have received the inaugural 2021 Best Lawyers “Ones to Watch” recognition:

Plunkett Cooney’s Bloomfield Hills, Michigan Best Lawyers Ones to Watch:

• Ryan M. Bates (Associate - Bloomfield Hills) – Insurance Law
• Stephanie M. Brochert (Associate - Bloomfield Hills) – Insurance Law
• Rochelle L. Clarke (Associate - Bloomfield Hills) – Education Law, Municipal Law
• Michael C. Dennis (Associate - Bloomfield Hills) – Insurance Law, Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants

• Justin J. Hakala (Associate - Bloomfield Hills) – Defendants: Medical Malpractice Law, Product Liability Litigation

• Katherine M. Nighswander (Associate - Bloomfield Hills) – Insurance Law

Plunkett Cooney’s Detroit, Michigan Best Lawyers Ones to Watch:

• Emily M. Coyle (Partner - Detroit) – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law

• Theodore L. Degenhardt IV (Associate - Detroit) – Litigation - Construction
• Jamie Lynn McCutcheon (Associate - Detroit) – Insurance Law

Plunkett Cooney’s Grand Rapids, Michigan Best Lawyers Ones to Watch:

• Michele Dunsky-Adams (Associate – Grand Rapids) – Insurance Law

Ones to Watch-awarded lawyers can be recognized for multiple years, but he or she cannot indefinitely remain recognized on the list. After a candidate has been in practice for 10+ years, he or she is eligible to be nominated for the traditional Best Lawyers designation.

Established in 1913, Plunkett Cooney 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. The firm was also selected by Crain’s Detroit Business as its inaugural Law Firm of the Year.

For more information about Plunkett Cooney’s 2021 “Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch,” contact the firm’s Director of Marketing and Business Development John Cornwell at (248) 901-4008; jcornwell@plunkettcooney.com.

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