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NEXT Conference 2018 Speakers

	Christopher T. Anderson Headmaster Million Dollar Solo Lawyer Preparatory Academy Christopher T. Anderson focuses on practice management, systems, and staffing, and has helped thousands of lawyers move toward more success for their firms, families, and clients. He helps lawyers understand the fundamentals of running their business, with emphases both on clients and the stakeholders of the law firm, including an uncompromising focus on meeting the law firm owners’ own definitions of personal, professional, and financial success.

	Nicole Black Legal Technology Evangelist MyCase Nicole Black is an attorney, author, journalist, and legal technology evangelist at the company. She is the nationally recognized author of Cloud Computing for Lawyers (2012) and co-authored Social Media for Lawyers: The Next Frontier (2010), both published by the American Bar Association. She also co-authored Criminal Law in New York, a Thomson Reuters treatise. She writes regular columns for The Daily Record, Above the Law, and Legal IT Pros; has authored hundreds of articles for other publications; and regularly speaks at conferences regarding the intersection of law, mobile and cloud computing, and internet-based technology.

	John J. Bursch Bursch Law PLLC, Grand Rapids John J. Bursch founded his firm, an appellate boutique that represents Fortune 500 companies, foreign and domestic governments, top public officials, and industry associations in high-profile cases, primarily on appeal. He recently argued and won his 11th U.S. Supreme Court case since 2011 (Lee v. United States). Mr. Bursch has argued 28 Michigan Supreme Court cases and has successfully litigated hundreds of matters around the country, including five with more than $1 billion at stake. A study reported in Villanova Law Review found that over the 2012 to 2015 terms, Mr. Bursch's Supreme Court certiorari petitions had one of the highest grant rates in the country. Another reported in the Empirical SCOTUS blog included him on "a veritable who's who of Supreme Court litigators" list, with the sixth-highest win rate among all lawyers with four or more 5-4 Supreme Court decisions since the 2005 term.

	Justice Elizabeth T. Clement Michigan Supreme Court, Lansing Hon. Elizabeth Tripp Clement joined the court on November 17, 2017, becoming the 113th justice and the 11th woman to serve on the bench. Before her appointment by Governor Rick Snyder, she served as chief legal counsel for the governor, advising him on a wide variety of legal, legislative, and policy matters. Her duties as chief legal counsel also included working with the Attorney General’s Office on litigation affecting the state of Michigan, negotiating tribal compacts and settlement agreements, and interviewing and recommending appointees to Court of Appeals and Supreme Court judicial vacancies. Justice Clement previously held the positions of cabinet secretary and deputy chief of staff, as well as deputy legal counsel in the Governor’s Office. She also served as legal counsel for Senate Majority Leader Michael Bishop in 2010, providing legal research, analysis, and advice on legislation and management of the office.

	Hon. Joseph J. Farah Genesee County Circuit Court, Flint Hon. Joseph J. Farah practiced law for 18 years before being appointed to the Genesee County Circuit Court in 1998. He was originally assigned to the Family Division, handling domestic and juvenile cases until 2005, and is currently assigned to the Civil/Criminal Division. Along with being a member of the judiciary, Judge Farah has taught a dozen law school classes concerning the law of evidence and has been a regular presenter to lawyers and judges concerning evidence and many other topics. He is currently a board member of the Michigan Judges Association, Michigan Board of Law Examiners, and other groups.

	Charles A. Fleck Moderator Charles A. Fleck Law Offices, Lansing Charles A. Fleck is chair of the Law Practice Management and Legal Administrators Section of the State Bar of Michigan, and a council member of the Master Lawyers Section. He is also a member of the ABA Law Practice Management Section. Mr. Fleck started his firm in 1983 after graduating from Thomas M. Cooley Law School. He also owns and operates Fleck Detective Agency (since 1992). Mr. Fleck served as a purchasing agent and vice president of purchasing for 12 years before and during law school.

	JoAnn L. Hathaway Practice Management Advisor State Bar of Michigan, Lansing JoAnn L. Hathaway is a practice management advisor for the State Bar of Michigan. Ms. Hathaway previously worked as a legal liability claims director and risk manager, paralegal, and legal administrator. She is an Adobe Acrobat Certified Expert, and holds software certifications in LexisNexis Time Matters and Billing Matters software. She is active in the ABA Law Practice Management Division, serving on the Publications Board, Law Practice Today editorial board, and the State and Local Bar Outreach Committee. She is a frequent speaker on law firm technology, insurance, and risk and practice management topics.

	Barron K. Henley Affinity Consulting Group Barron K. Henley is a member of the American, Ohio, and Columbus bar associations, and the Worthington Estate Planning Council. He is also a member of the ABA Law Practice Management Section, a board member for the ABA TECHSHOW, and is the former chair of the Ohio State Bar Association Law Office Automation and Technology Committee. Mr. Henley heads Affinity’s document assembly/automation and software training departments; he is a renowned expert on Microsoft Word, Adobe Acrobat, and HotDocs document assembly software; and has authored legal-specific manuals on HotDocs, Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Word, Excel, and Outlook. Barron is also an expert in launching new law firms, overhauling existing firms, and documenting and reengineering law firm processes. He teaches continuing legal education (CLE) classes throughout the U.S. and Canada.

	Hon. Timothy G. Hicks Muskegon County Circuit Court, Muskegon Hon. Timothy G. Hicks taught, counseled, and coached at two rural schools before starting his law career in 1983. He practiced law for 13 years before his appointment to the 14th Circuit Court (Muskegon County) in 1996, serving as chief judge from 1998 to 2003. Judge Hicks is active in the Michigan Judges Association and served as its president in 2012. He was one of the 12 state court judges who, from 2008 through 2010, piloted innovations in the conduct of jury trials. Judge Hicks summarized that experience in an article in the June 2011 Michigan Bar Journal and has participated in seminars and programs concerning the pilot program and implementation of those reforms. He has taught business law at Central Michigan University and also teaches classes for the Michigan Judicial Institute. He is a member of the Committee on Model Criminal Jury Instructions.

	Hon. Jon H. Hulsing Ottawa County Circuit Court, Grand Haven Hon. Jon H. Hulsing was appointed to the bench by Governor Jennifer Granholm in 2006 and has served in both the Family and the General Civil/Criminal divisions. A former police officer, Judge Hulsing was in private practice for six years and served as an assistant prosecuting attorney for Ottawa County for eight years. A summa cum laude graduate of the Thomas Cooley Law School, Judge Hulsing is a member of the Family Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan. He is the representative of the Michigan Judges Association to the Eye Witness Identification Task Force of the State Bar of Michigan. Judge Hulsing also serves on the General Civil Task Force of the Michigan Court Forms Committee. He currently serves as a board member of 70 X 7 Life Recovery, an organization providing addiction recovery, employment, and mentoring support for parolees and probationers. Judge Hulsing previously served on the boards of the Children's Resource Network and Court Appointed Special Advocates.

	Elizabeth C. Jolliffe Your Benchmark Coach Elizabeth C. Jolliffe is a career management and business development coach for lawyers and works most frequently with solo and small firm lawyers, associates with firms of all sizes, new and non-equity partners, and women lawyers both in and out of private practice. She founded her coaching practice in 2008 after being a partner, a former recruiting committee chair, and a commercial litigator at Clark Hill PLC, a large Detroit-based firm, for 19 years. Ms. Jolliffe is a past president of the Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association, current president of the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan Wayne Region, a board member of the Washtenaw County Bar Association, and active with the State Bar of Michigan and ABA Women Rainmakers Committee. She speaks frequently for the ABA, the State Bar of Michigan, ICLE and other bar associations, law schools, private firms, and other groups on the subjects of career management and business development. She places an emphasis on how to raise your profile, expand your network, develop business through a niche market, and take charge of your practice and career. She was certified as a professional coach in 2009 by the Coaches Training Institute.

	Hon. Pamela L. Lightvoet Kalamazaoo County Circuit Court, Kalamazoo Hon. Pamela L. Lightvoet was the first woman elected to the Kalamazoo County Circuit Court bench in 2006. She has been an active member of the Michigan Judges Association since 2007 and is president-elect, to begin her term on December 1, 2018. She has served on MJA's Rules Committee, Legislative Committee, and as chair of the Outreach Committee. Judge Lightvoet has also served as a member of the State Bar of Michigan Judicial Council since 2011 and the Judicial Ethics Committee since 2015. In 2013 the Supreme Court appointed Judge Lightvoet to the Michigan Court Reporting and Recording Board of Review and as Kalamazoo County's Business Court judge in 2014 (until her resignation from that court in 2016). Judge Lightvoet previously practiced as an insurance defense attorney with James, Dark, and Brill from 1993 to 2006 and was a partner in the firm from 2001 until her election to the bench.

	Odey K. Meroueh Moderator Meroueh & Hallman LLP Odey K. Meroueh, founder of the firm, practices in Wayne, Macomb, Oakland, and Washtenaw counties. He is on the State Bar of Michigan Solo & Small Firm Section Council and is also a member of the Young Lawyers Section. Mr. Meroueh received his JD from Washington University School of Law, where he was awarded the Excellence in Alternative Dispute Resolution Award.

	Jack Newton CEO & Founder Clio, British Columbia, Canada Jack Newton is founder of the firm, a pioneer in cloud-based practice management with more than 150,000 legal professionals in 130 countries depending on it every day. Mr. Newton has been recognized as EY's Entrepreneur of the Year, and the company has been named to Deloitte's Best Managed Companies, Deloitte Fast 50, Canada's Most Admired Corporate Cultures, and more. Mr. Newton has spearheaded efforts to educate the legal community on issues surrounding cloud computing (security, ethics, privacy) and has become a nationally recognized writer and speaker. He is cofounder and president of the Legal Cloud Computing Association, a consortium of leading cloud computing providers with a mandate to help accelerate the adoption of cloud computing in the legal industry.

	Kathryn L. Ossian Moderator Ossian Law PC Kathryn L. Ossian is a principal and leader of the firm's Information Technology Team, as well as deputy leader of the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice Group. Her information technology (IT) and intellectual property (IP) practice spans over 25 years and includes extensive experience in negotiating and drafting software licensing agreements; distribution and maintenance and other IT agreements; computer law; consulting clients in internet law; and IP dispute resolution. Ms. Ossian is a certified faculty member at the University of Phoenix teaching graduate level business law courses. She is listed in the IT Law Section of The Best Lawyers in America, as well as Michigan Super Lawyers in the IT/Outsourcing Section. Ms. Ossian is a frequent speaker and has published several articles relating to her areas of practice.

	Hon. Christopher P. Yates Kent County Circuit Court, Grand Rapids Hon. Christopher P. Yates was appointed to the Kent County Circuit Court in 2008, and has served in both the Criminal/Civil Division and the Family Division. He was assigned to run the court's specialized business docket in 2012. Prior to his judgeship, he served as a law clerk to Chief Judge James P. Churchill of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and to Hon. Ralph B. Guy Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Judge Yates also has worked as a federal prosecutor in Detroit; as an attorney-advisor in the Office of Legal Counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, DC; as chief federal public defender for the Western District of Michigan; and as a partner in two private law firms.

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NEXT Conference 2018 Speakers