Three Miller Canfield Attorneys Become Charter Fellows of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel
Orin D. Brustad and Deborah W. Thompson, principals in the Detroit office and Charles S. Mishkind, a principal in the Grand Rapids office, of the law firm of Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone, P.L.C., became fellows of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel. The American College of Employee Benefits Counsel, under the auspices of the American Bar Association Joint Committee on Employee Benefits, was formed to recognize employee benefits attorneys who have dedicated their careers to the field of employee benefits. Ms. Thompson and Messrs. Brustad and Mishkind will join attorneys who have been engaged in the field of employee benefits for at least 20 years, have demonstrated a continued commitment to the development and pursuit of public awareness and understanding of the law of employee benefits, and have provided exceptionally high-quality professional services to clients.
holds his B.A. and M.A. degrees from Yale University and received his law degree from Harvard Law School. He represents private and public sector clients in connection with employee benefits. He is a member of the Tax Section and the Real Property, Probate and Trust Sections of the American Bar Association, the Tax Section of the Michigan State Bar Association, and the Michigan Employee Benefits Conference. He is listed in Who's Who in America" and The Best Lawyers in America. In 1998, he was named to the list of Top Benefits Lawyers in the United States, according to a survey of peers published by The National Law Journal (May 25, 1998).Mr. Brustad resides in Ann Arbor.
received her law degree, cum laude, from Wayne State University Law School where she held the Silver Key and Gold Key Awards, as well as the Business Planning Award. Her B.A., with high honors in mathematics, is from Michigan State University where she was a member of the Honors College and was named Outstanding Senior Woman.Ms. Thompson is a member of the American, Michigan, and Detroit Metropolitan Bar Associations, and the Women Lawyers' Association. She also is a member of the Employee Benefits Committee of the Tax Section of the State Bar of Michigan, serving as chair from 1993-1995. She also is a member of the executive committee of the Michigan Employee Benefits Conference, serving as chair from 1998-1999. She presently serves on the Human Resources Committee of the Michigan Women's Foundation, and is a member of the Finance and Audit Committees of the Detroit Institute of Arts (past chair of the Special Task Force for Retiree Benefits). She formerly was a member of the Franklin Village Council (past trustee), and the Franklin Historical Commission (past vice-chair and commissioner). Ms. Thompson is listed in the Employee Benefits Law Section of The Best Lawyers in America. She is also a frequent speaker and writer on topics relating to employee benefits.
Ms. Thompson resides in Bloomfield Hills.
Charles S. Mishkind received his law degree from the University of Arizona Law School and obtained a masters in labor law from New York University Law Center, where he graduated with honors. He is a member of The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, the Michigan, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania Bars, various federal circuit and district courts, the Labor Section of the Michigan Bar as well as the Equal Employment Opportunity, Employee Rights, Employee Benefits, and International Labor Law Subcommittees of the Labor Section of the American Bar Association and the Wrongful Discharge Subcommittee of the ABA's Litigation Section. He is also a member of the ABA's Liaison Subcommittee with the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, is the ABA's Liaison Representative with the Michigan Office of the EEOC, and served as the program chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Subcommittee of the ABA's Labor Section. He is on the Editorial Advisory Board of the Employee Relations Law Journal and the Benefits Law Journal.
Mr. Mishkind serves as the legal advisor to the Grand Rapids NAACP and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Grand Rapids Urban League and is a frequent author and speaker on labor and employment law issues. He resides in Ada.
The 260-attorney law firm of Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone, P.L.C., established in Detroit, Michigan in 1852, has offices in Ann Arbor, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Howell, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Monroe, Troy, Washington, D.C., New York City, and in Gdynia, Katowice, and Warsaw, Poland; with an affiliated office in Pensacola, Florida.