BSP - Key Persons
Amanda M. Navarre focuses her practice on Product Liability.
Prior Experience
Honors & Leadership
Personal
Prior to joining Bush Seyferth, Amanda served as an Intern to the Magistrate in the Oakland County 52-1 District Court. During law school, she served as a Summer Associate for Bush Seyferth.
Amanda received her J.D., from Wayne State University Law School in 2023 where she also served as Vice-Chancellor for Moot Court and the Executive Articles Editor of The Wayne Law Review. She received her B.A., in English Language and Literature from the University of Michigan.
Amy Bice Larson, licensed and active in both Michigan and Texas, has extensive experience in product liability cases. Her practice focuses on handling catastrophic cases involving product liability. She represents clients at all stages of litigation, from coordinating complex discovery as national discovery counsel for a major automotive manufacturer through representation at trial. Additionally, she has counseled clients in matters involving federal agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Amy serves on the firm's DE&I committee and she is a regular contributor and participant in panels and events for diversity, equity and inclusion in the legal industry. She is passionate about the firm's measurable commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.
Andrew M. Mast focuses on product liability and complex discovery matters. He has extensive experience in producing accurate and efficient results in sophisticated electronic discovery, as well as litigating automotive product liability, regulatory and contracts matters.
Prior to joining Bush Seyferth PLLC, Drew served as an Associate Litigation Attorney at Seyburn Kahn P.C. and Clark Hill PLC. In law school, he interned for the Honorable Gerald E. Rosen and the Honorable David M. Lawson of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and the Honorable Mary Ellen Brennan of the Oakland County Circuit Court.
Drew received his J.D., cum laude, from Wayne State University Law School in 2011. There he served as a Student Bar Association Representative and Student Executive Board Member for three years. He was also a Senior Note and Comment Editor and Voting Member of the Executive Board for the Wayne Law Review. Drew received his B.A. with honors in social policy from James Madison College at Michigan State University.
Barbara K. Hunter, BSP's Chief Financial Officer (CFO), manages the finance department. She has more than 25 years of Law Firm experience. Prior to joining BSP, Barbara served as a Financial Operations Manager and a Controller at two major Michigan law firms.
Barbara attended Davenport University, where she acquired her Bachelors and Masters of Business Administration.
Bishop A. Bartoni has extensive litigation experience, trial experience and has successfully defended numerous clients across the United States in cases involving catastrophic injuries from automotive, consumer products, and logistic focused companies. Bishop focuses on complex litigation, with an emphasis on product liability.
Brian D. King focuses his practice on product liability, class actions, and commercial litigation. Brian also has extensive litigation experience in insurance and commercial motor vehicle matters.
Brian works as an Assistant Golf Coach at Detroit Catholic Central, his high school alma mater. Brian is also passionate about public lands and conservation and is a member of the Backcountry Hunters and Anglers and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.
Charles S. Smith focuses his practice on product liability litigation. Over the course of his career, Charles has honed his passion for emergent technologies and aptitude for social media research to obtain favorable results for his clients. His attention to detail and commitment to excellence have made him a valuable asset to companies in an array of fields, including the automotive, aviation, and heavy-equipment industries. Charles also has experience in a number of other areas of practice, including construction, real estate, insurance, employment, and intellectual property.
Chelsea B. Robinson focuses her practice on product liability and discovery.
Chelsea is the youngest Board of Trustee member of a university in the country.
Job Titles:
- First - Chair
- Retired Founding Member
Cheryl A. Bush has extensive first-chair trial experience and has obtained exceptionally positive results for her clients, including Fortune 500 companies, by winning 96% of her jury trials. She served as National Counsel for a major automotive manufacturer, handling catastrophic air bag trials and coordinating discovery throughout the country. Her cases, which have spanned 30 states, often involved high-level nationwide media exposure.
Cheryl teaches regularly on trial advocacy, particularly in the area of automotive product liability. She is a Fellow in both the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Society of Barristers. Cheryl retired at the end of 2023 after a distinguished career spanning nearly 40 years of exceptional legal service.
Darin J. Lang focuses his practice on product liability litigation and commercial motor vehicle litigation. He is experienced in arbitrations, mediations, and other forms of alternative dispute resolution. He has tried numerous cases to verdict and has appeared on behalf of his clients in state and federal courts in Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
Derek Linkous focuses his practice on complex commercial litigation and leads BSP's embedded appellate counsel practice. He frequently represents manufacturers in state and federal courts throughout the country, assisting with presenting the most persuasive legal arguments and preserving the record. He has experience with a broad range of business litigation, including class actions, contract disputes, environmental issues, and product liability.
Dylan J. Goodwin focuses his practice on defending big name automobile manufacturers at a national capacity with a focus in product liability litigation. He also possesses extensive litigation experience in advanced technologies, E-Discovery Management, and various other types of catastrophic personal injury lawsuits. Dylan is committed to the mentoring, advancement, and support of diverse individuals. He serves as a member on BSP's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee.
Elizabeth R. Brown is the Accounting Director at BSP. Prior to joining BSP, Elizabeth gained her experience as an accounting administrator, where she worked her way up to accounting analyst then senior accounts payable analyst for a logistics and supply chain management company. She also has experience as biller and collector, and supervisor of client accounting.
Elizabeth received her certificate in Medical Billing, cum laude, from Oakland Community College. She later went on to receive her Associate in Applied Science / Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting, magna cum laude, from Oakland Community College.
Job Titles:
- Antrim Bar Association, Member
Heather C. Gin focuses her practice on product liability.
Job Titles:
- Lawyers Association, Member
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Associate at Bush Seyferth PLLC
Jeffrey ("Jeff") A. Turner is an Associate at Bush Seyferth PLLC, focusing his practice on complex commercial litigation, with particular emphasis on critical motions and appeals. He has led briefing teams on appeal and in the trial courts in many industries, including class actions, intellectual property, and product liability. He has supported cases as embedded appellate counsel in the trial court, assisting with preserving the record for appeal and crafting persuasive legal arguments.
Jordan Varona serves as the IT Coordinator for BSP Law. He plays a vital role in deploying, maintaining, and supporting desktop hardware and technology within the firm. He collaborates closely with employees across the firm, ensuring that technological solutions are seamlessly integrated to support the company's objectives. Prior to this role, Jordan served as an IT Administrative Assistant in which he provided IT support across all levels of a law firm. He also has experience as an office manager. He graduated from California State University - East Bay with a B.A. in History.
Julie M. Miller is a Trial Paralegal for Bush Seyferth PLLC with over 18 years of experience in high-profile product liability, general negligence, and complex commercial litigation cases nationwide. She provides detailed research and case preparation while managing all aspects of litigation with local counsel, investigators and experts. In 2010, Julie managed, organized, and participated in more than a dozen high-profile arbitrations that were executed during a three-month period of time.
In addition to her role as trial paralegal, Julie is involved in the firm's marketing initiatives and prepares multimedia presentations for client meetings, mediations, mock trials and trials. She has extensive experience in vehicular claims and components including front and side air bag systems, sensing and seat belt systems and general crashworthiness.
Julie came to Bush Seyferth PLLC in 2003 after five years at Feeney Kellett Weinner & Bush, where she managed all aspects of product liability and automobile negligence cases. Julie also has experience working in-house at a major automotive manufacturer in the Office of the General Counsel as a paralegal for advertising, marketing and promotion matters. She resides in Rochester Hills with her husband Rich and their sons Jack and Nicholas.
Justin Weiner focuses his practice on complex business litigation, including work as National Discovery Counsel in product liability and class action cases. He also has an extensive background in litigation regarding intellectual property. Justin has experience earning favorable results for his clients in state and federal courts in motion practice, on appeals, and in trials. Justin graduated from The University of Chicago, The Law School, with honors, in 2007.
Justin is a graduate of the University of Michigan, where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Biology and Economics, with high distinction. He went on to the University of Chicago, The Law School to earn his J.D., with honors.
Lane Morrison focuses his practice on product liability litigation and commercial litigation, with an emphasis on critical trial motions and appeals. He has extensive experience representing automotive and heavy truck manufacturers in catastrophic personal injury cases, insurers and other national corporations in complex commercial disputes, and architects and engineers in professional liability claims. Lane prides himself on actively crafting creative legal strategies to obtain the best results for his client.
Lane received his J.D. from the University of Alabama School of Law, where he was an Articles Editor for the Alabama Law Review and a member of the Order of the Coif. He was also a member of the Labor & Employment Moot Court Team. He holds an undergraduate and master's degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Alabama.
Lane has represented multiple individual tenants in wrongful eviction proceedings. He previously served as a board member for Volunteer Lawyers Birmingham in Birmingham, Alabama, which is one of the State's largest providers of pro-bono legal services.
Job Titles:
- Professional Development & Diversity Director
- Senior Associate / DE & I Director
- Senior Associate / Professional Development & Diversity Director
Lena M. Gonzalez litigates complex commercial and insurance coverage cases in federal and state courts for clients ranging from global manufacturing companies to private individuals. Lena routinely handles disputes involving commercial contracts, including complex breach of contract and breach of warranty, and tort defense. In her insurance coverage practice, Lena represents national insurers in life and auto-insurance no-fault matters.
Lena provides strategic direction to develop BSP's goals and initiatives to foster diversity and inclusion at BSP and in the larger legal community. She works to grow, retain, and advance the number of women and diverse attorneys and professional staff at the firm. Lena oversees the Joel Stern Scholarship Fund, which provides financial support to students from diverse backgrounds who contribute to the diversity of their law school student body. For the past two years, Lena has served in a leadership role on BSP's DE&I Committee. She has organized several DE&I events for the firm, specifically BSP's Speed Networking event, which gave diverse law students the opportunity to network with in-house counsel, judges, representatives from bar associations, and other legal professionals with diverse experience and backgrounds from across the country. Lena has worked extensively to create a partnership between BSP and Project Clean Slate, a pro bono initiative with the City of Detroit. Lena regularly participates and speaks on panels and sessions focused on DE&I.
Mahde is a graduate of the University of Michigan-Dearborn, where he received his Bachelor of Arts, with distinction, in Philosophy and Political Science and served as the student body Vice President. Mahde went on to receive his J.D. from Wayne State University Law School in May 2015. At Wayne Law, Mahde was elected by the faculty to the Order of the Coif and was a recipient of the Arthur F. Lederle Scholarship, Robert and Marie Fayz Scholarship, and Michigan Muslim Bar Association Scholarship. He also served as a Student Attorney with the Wayne State University Law School Asylum and Immigration Clinic and as a member of the Student Trial Advocacy Program and Student Board of Governors.
Michele L. Hill serves as a the Operations Supervisor for BSP. Prior to this role, Michele was the firm's docketing clerk. In 2022, Michigan Lawyers Weekly recognized Michele as an "Unsung Legal Hero" for her exceptional talent in her work at BSP. Before joining the BSP team, Michele gained several years of experience in administrative and customer service roles. She graduated from Dorsey Business Schools in Wayne, Michigan and went on to be an office administrator for several different companies, including Dorsey Schools, Ingersoll-Rand, and The National Transit.
Nicole K. Haelterman focuses her practice on critical motions and appeals.
Prior Experience
Honors & Leadership
Robyn J. Vance is a Trial Paralegal at Bush Seyferth PLLC. Robyn assists in all aspects of litigation, including fact investigation, written discovery and motions, collaboration with experts, depositions, mediation, and settlement. She also assists with the development of defense strategies, drafting complex briefs and case evaluation summaries, and more.
Prior to joining BSP, Robyn gained experience as a paralegal at Vandeever Garzia, P.C. She has over 25 years of experience in the legal field. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business and Accounting from University of Phoenix.
Roger P. Meyers leads the firm's complex business and commercial litigation practice and serves as the firm's general counsel. He routinely handles disputes involving business ownership and governance, mergers and acquisitions, commercial contracts, fraud and fiduciary duties, securities, health care, non-competes and unfair competition, and trade secrets. He also has significant experience in appeals, arbitrations, class actions, and internal investigations, and has tried or arbitrated several disputes to final judgment. In addition to handling major business and governance disputes across industries, Roger has a particularly deep background in the health care, private equity and financial services, and technology / telecommunications industries.
Roger has appeared in federal courts throughout the country, including California, Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and West Virginia, as well as the Delaware Court of Chancery and in FINRA, AAA, and JAMS arbitrations.
Roger came to his legal career with a decade of prior professional experience, including as general manager of a business with nearly $10 million in annual revenues and as a software consultant in the health care industry.
Rose M. Ojala is a Discovery Paralegal focusing on automotive product liability for the past 17 years. She handles drafting discovery responses, responses to motions to compel, and other discovery pleadings. She also handles extensive document productions, including technical document review and communications with client liaisons to effectively and efficiently work through discovery disputes and discovery response coordination. She assists in the preparation of company witnesses for depositions, including preparation of witness materials, exhibits and direct and re-direct outlines. She also consults on all other discovery related matters for various clients of the firm.
Before joining the firm in 2003, she worked at Feeney Kellett Wienner & Bush for three years as a legal secretary and legal assistant in all areas of defense litigation.
After attending Oakland University, Rose began her career in 1992 in the area of workers' compensation defense at LeVasseur, Leslie & Johnson in Southfield, Michigan.
Ryan J. Vanderford focuses his practice on product liability litigation. Ryan also possesses extensive litigation experience in class action defense, insurance recovery, and mass tort litigation. He serves as a member on BSP's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee.
Stephanie A. Douglas leads BSP's appellate, class action, and complex briefing teams. She focuses on translating complex legal and technical arguments into simple, understandable, and persuasive language.
Stephanie specializes in strategic decisions and issue preservation. She advises clients and other counsel on trial-level issues and appeals in state and federal courts around the country.
Stephanie enjoys analyzing complex issues on nearly any topic, including constitutional law, contracts, product liability and other torts, tax, statutory interpretation, and employment law. Her clients include auto makers, private software companies, and insurers.
Susan M. McKeever is a member of BSP's appellate, class action, and complex briefing team, representing clients at trial and on appeal in a broad range of matters in state and federal court.
Susan specializes in analyzing and briefing a variety of complex issues, including constitutional law, contracts, ethics, federal rules and procedure, financial services, insurance, jurisdiction and removal, product liability, statutory interpretation, and tax. Her clients include auto manufacturers, financial services companies, home builders, insurers, and software companies.
Thomas G. Cribbins focuses his practice on Product Liability.
Timothy D. Kelley is a Paralegal at BSP and facilitates the coordination of all aspects of a case, including legal research, drafting motions, e-filings, and trial preparation. Prior to becoming a paralegal, Tim was a Legal Assistant for BSP. He brings 30 years of experience working within the legal field. Before joining BSP, he was a Judicial Executive Assistant for the 8 th Judicial District Court.
Zakary A. Drabczyk focuses his practice on critical motions and appeals.