LANSING, MI, October 16, 2020 – The Michigan Supreme Court recently announced the following appointments and reappointments to the Attorney Discipline Board – the adjudicative arm of the attorney discipline system in Michigan. The Board oversees panels that hear attorney misconduct cases and also imposes sanctions, subject to appeal to the Michigan Supreme Court.
Dr. Linda Hotchkiss (layperson member) was reappointed to the Board for a term commencing on October 1, 2020, and ending on October 1, 2023. Hotchkiss is a board certified psychiatrist.
Alan Gershel and Linda Orlans were appointed as attorney members of the Board for terms commencing on October 1, 2020, and ending on October 1, 2023. Gershel was an assistant U.S. Attorney in Detroit, serving in several leadership positions, and was a professor at Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School, where he taught criminal law, criminal procedure, white collar crime, and evidence, and previously served as the Grievance Administrator for the Attorney Grievance Commission. Orlans is the founding partner of Orlans PC, a multistate law firm focused on real estate law, is a Trustee and former Board Chair at Michigan State College of Law, and serves on the boards of several institutions and community organizations in Detroit.
Jonathan E. Lauderbach was appointed chairperson of the Board and Michael B. Rizik, Jr. was appointed vice-chairperson of the Board for terms ending October 1, 2021. Lauderbach is a partner in the Midland office of Warner Norcross & Judd LLP and has served on the Board since 2015. Rizik practices law at Rizik & Rizik Attorneys at Law in Grand Blanc, where he focuses his practice on commercial transactions and litigation, family law, serious personal injury cases, and wrongful death litigation.
The Attorney Discipline Board consists of six attorneys and three non-attorneys appointed by the Supreme Court. Also serving on the Board are Barbara Williams Forney, Karen D. O’Donoghue, Michael Hohauser, and Peter A. Smit. Appointees serve on a volunteer basis.