01.17.2020

Plunkett Cooney, one of the Midwest’s oldest and largest full-service law firms, recently named five attorneys as its newest shareholders.

Abe Barlaskar, Sean M. Carty, Emily M. Coyle, Scott W. Malott and Jeffrey M. Schroder were recently approved by the firm’s Board of Directors as the firm’s newest shareholders. The promotion from associate attorney is based on the recommendations of the firm’s Shareholder Evaluation Committee and is effective January 1, 2020.

Barlaskar is a member of the firm’s Bloomfield Hills office who focuses his litigation practice on defending insurers and personal line carriers, rental car companies, trucking companies, and corporations and municipalities in negligence and general liability matters, No-Fault matters, insurance coverage disputes and extra-contractual claims. He also represents retail clients in litigation matters, including premises liability, food-borne illness cases, as well as other commercial disputes and criminal matters.

Admitted to the State Bar of Michigan and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Barlaskar has been named as a Michigan Super Lawyers Rising Star since 2015. He is a 2011 cum laude graduate of Western Michigan University Cooley Law School and a 2005 graduate of the University of Michigan.

Carty is a member of the firm’s Banking, Bankruptcy & Creditors’ Rights Practice Group. He focuses his practice in the areas of commercial loan originations, commercial leasing and real estate transactions. Carty represents various financial institutions in asset-based, real estate and construction loan originations covering a variety of industries. He also represents landlords and tenants in large commercial leasing transactions.

A member of the firm’s Bloomfield Hills office, Carty graduated, cum laude, from the University of Detroit School of Law in 1991. He received his undergraduate degree, with distinction, from the University of Michigan in 1988.

Coyle is a member of the firm’s Bloomfield Hills office who focuses her practice in the areas of loan workouts and foreclosures, commercial real estate, and loan documentation and sales. Coyle’s practice also includes expertise with respect to investigating fraudulent or suspicious claims stemming from motor vehicle accidents.

Coyle graduated summa cum laude from Western Michigan University Cooley Law School in 2010. She received her undergraduate degree from Juniata College in 2003.

Malott is a partner in the firm's Transportation Law Practice Group who focuses his practice on insurance-related claims involving no-fault law, motor vehicle negligence, premises liability and property liability, including theft and damage.

A member of the firm’s Bloomfield Hills office, Malott has been named a Michigan Rising Star in Civil Litigation Defense by Michigan Super Lawyers. He received his law degree from Western Michigan University Cooley Law School, cum laude, in 2011 where he received several academic awards. Malott received his undergraduate degree from the Haworth College of Business at Western Michigan University in 2004.

Rounding out Plunkett Cooney’s 2020 class of new shareholders is Jeffrey M. Schroder, who is a member of the firm’s Bloomfield Hills office. Schroder serves as co-leader of Plunkett Cooney's Cannabis Industry Group, and he is a member of the firm’s Healthcare and Governmental Law practice groups.

A former Assistant Michigan Attorney General, Schroder focuses his practice in the areas of cannabis and liquor license applications and compliance, healthcare compliance and audit defense, fraud and embezzlement recovery, municipal law, and zoning/land use. His practice includes all aspects of state and local regulatory compliance, as well as related business issues, including license approvals, transactions, real estate and related litigation.

Admitted to practice in state and federal courts in Michigan, Schroder received his law degree from Wayne State University Law School in 2001 and his undergraduate degree, magna cum laude, from Albion College in 1997.

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 140 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 newest shareholders, contact the firm’s Director of Marketing and Business Development John Cornwell at (248) 901-4008; jcornwell@plunkettcooney.com.

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