HIRZEL LAW - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Senior Attorney
• Senior Attorney With

Brandan A. Hallaq is a senior attorney with Hirzel Law, PLC where he litigates cases involving defective construction, contract disputes, shareholder/member disputes, quiet title actions to determine interests in property, enforcement of restrictive covenants, real estate foreclosure actions, and bankruptcy matters representing creditors. Mr. Hallaq is a contributor to the Institute of Continuing Legal Education (ICLE) on the topic of residential real estate transactions. Mr. Hallaq is also a licensed Real Estate Broker in the State of Michigan and leads the real estate transactions department at Hirzel Law, PLC where he negotiates and prepares the necessary documents for business and real estate transactions, including purchase agreements, franchise agreements, loan/financing documents, and commercial and residential leases and mortgages. In each year from 2018 through 2020, he has been recognized as a Rising Star in the area of real estate law by Super Lawyers Magazine, a designation that is given to no more than 2.5% of the attorneys in the State of Michigan each year. He was also recognized as a 2020 Up & Coming Lawyer by Michigan Lawyer's Weekly, an award given to no more than 30 attorneys in the state each year, and he was recognized in the inaugural issue of the 2021 Best Lawyers in America: "Ones to Watch" list for professional excellence in real estate law. Mr. Hallaq obtained his Juris Doctor degree, cum laude, from Wayne State University Law School where he served as an editor on the Wayne Law Review. Prior to joining Hirzel Law, PLC, Mr. Hallaq worked for a Federal Judge and in a Fortune 500 corporation's in-house legal department. Mr. Hallaq also currently serves as a co-chair of the Residential Transactions and Finance Committee for the Real Property Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan.

Job Titles:

• Paralegal

Job Titles:

• Senior Attorney
• Senior Attorney With

Chantelle R. Neumann is a senior attorney with Hirzel Law, PLC and is in charge of the firm's Collections Department. Mrs. Neumann is an experienced creditors' rights litigator and appellate attorney. She has been named a Michigan "Rising Star" in creditor debtor rights by Super Lawyers Magazine from 2016 to 2021 - a designation given to no more than 2.5% of the attorneys in Michigan each year. Mrs. Neumann is a member of the Macomb County Bar Association. She has also participated in the National Creditors Bar Association and Michigan Creditors Bar Association. Mrs. Neumann received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Michigan. She then obtained her Juris Doctor degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School, where she graduated cum laude. During law school, Mrs. Neumann served as a Judicial Intern in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan for the Honorable Gerald E. Rosen. She also served as the Comments Editor on the Board of Editors for the Thomas M. Cooley Law Review and as a Fisher Class Senator for the Student Bar Association.

Job Titles:

• CFO
• COO
• Support Staff Member

Ed Wesolowski, Specific Performance Ordered in Condo Unit Sale Case, __ Mich Law Weekly __ (Oct 15, 2014).

Job Titles:

• of Counsel

Job Titles:

• Partner
• Senior Attorney

Gregory J. Fioritto graduated from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor with High Distinction in 1997, where he obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and received numerous honors, including Phi Beta Kappa and recognition as an Angell Scholar. Mr. Fioritto earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Michigan Law School in 2000. Previously, Mr. Fioritto was a partner with Zelmanski, Danner & Fioritto, PLLC (ZDF). He has spent nearly his entire legal career practicing in the field of condominium, HOA, and community association law. Mr. Fioritto has extensive experience in virtually every facet of condominium and HOA law, including, but not limited to: drafting master deeds, bylaws, and HOA covenant amendments, guiding associations successfully through the amendment process, drafting rental restriction amendments (including rental caps and bans), managing condominium conversions, handling Fair Housing disputes and claims, counseling boards and managers on insurance and casualty loss matters, collecting unpaid assessments, conducting lien foreclosures, assisting associations with civil litigation, trials, and appeals, bylaw enforcement, and FHA certification issues. Mr. Fioritto also has experience working with real estate developers to establish new condominium projects. He has assisted developers with the drafting of all legal documentation needed to establish a new condominium project and is experienced in working with municipalities and government agencies to obtain the necessary approvals and permits for site plans and Planned Unit Developments (PUD's). He is well-versed in the many kinds of developer-related matters that can affect associations before during and after the "transition of control" of a community from the developer to the co-owners, including the application of the Condominium Act and other laws to "unfinished" condominium and HOA projects, construction defect litigation, and the enforcement of association rights in developer disputes. He has significant expertise in assisting new associations in transition negotiations with developers and maximizing the association's leverage in such negotiations by upholding their rights under the Condominium Act and other laws to the fullest extent possible. Mr. Fioritto has attended literally hundreds upon hundreds of board and association meetings over the course of his career. This extensive experience has given him a strong interest in educating homeowners and board members on the potential benefits of the proper use of parliamentary procedure at meetings. He is also extremely well-versed in the practical aspects of meeting management and frequently guides association boards on the fundamental "Do's" and "Don'ts" of conducting annual meetings, board meetings, and elections of directors. He has lectured on a frequent basis for many years on condominium and HOA-related topics at seminars sponsored by the Community Associations Institute (CAI) and the United Condominium Owners of Michigan (UCOM). As a partner at his previous firm, Mr. Fioritto helped pioneer the firm's "Condo & HOA B.E.A.T. (Board Education and Training)" program, an ongoing series of educational sessions about community association legal issues. The firm offered the B.E.A.T. educational program at no cost to attendees as a community service in furtherance of its ongoing mission to expand educational opportunities and resources for community associations across Michigan. In further service of ZDF's educational aims, Mr. Fioritto helped create ZDF's "Neighborhood Know-How" program. The firm's attorneys partnered with municipalities on a regular basis to provide valuable educational sessions to local association boards and members at no cost to the municipality or the program's attendees. From September 2020 through July 2023, Mr. Fioritto served as a Co-Chairperson of the Community Association Institute's Legislative Action Committee (LAC). In this role, Mr. Fioritto helps guide the LAC as it monitors and reviewed state and federal legislation that could affect community associations. He also worked with state legislators in Lansing to help make improvements in the laws that affect community associations. As part of the LAC, he helped draft certain parts of the Discharge of Prohibited Restrictive Covenants Act that became law at the end of 2022; this law enables associations to more easily remove offense discriminatory covenants that might appear in the chain of title of a community association's restrictions. He also helped craft a bill that would strengthen the Condominium Act's reserve funding requirements which the LAC hopes to introduce in the current legislative session. For nearly six years, Mr. Fioritto served on the Board of Directors (as President and Secretary) of his own condominium association while living in Canton, Michigan. These many years of service on his own condominium board gave him a much more complete perspective and understanding of the practical problems and legal issues that association boards encounter on a daily basis. In addition to community association law, Mr. Fioritto has experience with commercial and residential real estate transactions, and small business formation (including corporations and limited liability companies). Mr. Fioritto currently resides in New Baltimore and now spends his free time managing a house divided, with one son attending the University of Michigan and the other attending Michigan State University. He enjoys attending Michigan football games in the Fall when the opportunity arises (Go Blue!) as well as vacationing up north in the state's "thumb area."

Job Titles:

• Paralegal

Job Titles:

• Paralegal

Kayleigh B. Long is a Member at Hirzel Law, PLC and focuses her practice in the areas of appellate law, community association law and civil litigation. Ms. Long received her Bachelor of Arts degree in International Studies from Indiana University. Prior to attending law school, Ms. Long joined Teach for America, teaching kindergarten in Harper Woods, Michigan and southeast Washington, D.C., and received a Master of Arts in Teaching from Oakland University. Ms. Long then obtained her Juris Doctor degree from Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, where she graduated in the top 5 of her class and served as the Senior Executive Editor on the Indiana Law Review. Her law review note was published in the Indiana Law Review, and she has published articles in the Denver Law Review and Michigan Real Property Review. Ms. Long was named a Michigan Super Lawyer's Rising Star in Real Estate Law in 2020, an award given to only 2.5% of the attorneys in Michigan each year.

Job Titles:

• Senior Attorney

Job Titles:

• Managing Member

Job Titles:

• Administration Lead / Accounting Associate

Job Titles:

• Attorney

Job Titles:

• Legal Assistant

Job Titles:

• Associate
• Attorney
• Member of the Michigan Regional Advisory Board of the Anti - Defamation League

Matthew D. Levine is an associate attorney and joined Hirzel Law in 2023. Mr. Levine graduated from James Madison College at Michigan State University in 1996 with a degree in International Relations. He obtained his Juris Doctorate at Wayne State University Law School in 2000, where he was a member of the International Moot Court Team. Upon graduation, Mr. Levine served as a law clerk for judges in the Oakland County Circuit Court, assisting the court with legal research and writing, trial preparation, and jury coordination. Since leaving the court, Mr. Levine has focused his practice on real property and consumer finance law with an emphasis on property rights, mortgage loans, regulatory compliance, eviction, and municipal ordinances. Mr. Levine has experience in family law, no-fault, and personal injury law. Mr. Levine has litigated matters from the trial level in district and circuit courts throughout Michigan, through final appeals with the Michigan Supreme Court. He has also litigated matters in the Eastern and Western Districts of the United States District Courts. Mr. Levine has been a member of the Michigan Regional Advisory Board of the Anti-Defamation League since 2013. He served as Chairperson of the Michigan Regional Advisory Board from 2019-2021. While still serving as a board member, Mr. Levine also serves on the Anti-Defamation League national leadership as a member of the young leadership network of ADL ACT: Advocate. Connect. Transform.

Matthew W. Heron is a Member at Hirzel Law, PLC. He concentrates his practice in community association law, condominium law, real estate law, zoning and land use. Mr. Heron focuses on drafting and amending condominium bylaws, master deeds, declarations, deed restrictions, covenants and easements for numerous community associations. He is also responsible for drafting opinion letters on community association issues and attending community association meetings. Mr. Heron is a former federal law clerk to then Chief Judge Lawrence P. Zatkoff, and has experience in litigation matters including mortgage disputes, insurance coverage, non-compete agreements, and breach of contract. Representative appellate decisions in these areas include

Job Titles:

• Attorney

Melissa Francis has been a practicing attorney for 21 years. She is a graduate of Plymouth-Canton High School and earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree in International Relations from Michigan State University's James Madison College in 1998. She earned her Juris Doctorate from Wayne State University Law School in 2001. She is admitted to practice law in the State of Michigan, Federal District and Bankruptcy Courts for the Eastern and Western District of Michigan, and the United States Supreme Court. With 19 years of experience in Debtor and Creditor side Bankruptcy practice, Melissa is able to assist Creditor clients exercise their rights in Chapter 7, 11, 12, and 13 Bankruptcy cases. Ms. Francis is also able to help small business clients learn more about their Bankruptcy options under the Bankruptcy Code's new Subchapter V of Chapter 11. Since association collections matters routinely involve bankruptcy issues, her vast experience in that field provides the Firm with a unique resource that provides tremendous value to the firm's clients. Melissa is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute. She was a speaker at the 2019 Community Association Institute Law Conference in New Orleans discussing Consumer Bankruptcy and its impact on Community Associations. She was also a speaker at the 2019 American Bankruptcy Institute Detroit Conference on Veteran's Day. Ms. Francis is a Past Dean of the Metro Detroit Alumni Senate of Delta Theta Phi Law Fraternity International. She is active in the Plymouth-Canton Community as a member of the St. Thomas A'Becket Church choir, Spotlight Players Theater Company, and the Plymouth-Canton Marching Band Alumni Community.

Job Titles:

• of Counsel
• Counsel to

Michael D. McCulloch is Of Counsel to Hirzel Law, PLC and among other things he assists the firm with Northern Michigan cases and matters. Mr. McCulloch has over 35 years' experience as an attorney emphasizing Michigan condominium law, real estate law, estate planning and litigation. As a graduate of Michigan State University in Telecommunications and later Thomas M. Cooley Law School on an oratory scholarship, he simplifies and explains complex issues to clients and effectively advocates for them in court and with adversaries.

Job Titles:

• Attorney
• Associate Attorney With

Michael Pereira is an associate attorney with Hirzel Law, PLC and focuses his practice on association enforcement litigation. Mr. Pereira received his Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of Michigan. After graduating from Michigan, Mr. Pereira worked to recover unclaimed property held in trust by the State of Michigan. Mr. Pereira earned his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, where he graduated magna cum laude and second in his class. While in law school, Mr. Pereira served as a teaching assistant, in the student bar association in various roles, as treasurer for the St. Thomas More Society, and first as a junior member, then as the Executive Editor of Outside Articles, for the Detroit Mercy Law Review. Following graduation from Detroit Mercy, Mr. Pereira spent a number of years with the Michigan Court of Appeals, first as a research attorney, then as a law clerk to Judge Patrick M. Meter and Judge Anica Letica.

Job Titles:

• Staff Member

Job Titles:

• Staff Member

Job Titles:

• Support Staff Member
• Law Clerk

Job Titles:

• Legal Assistant

Job Titles:

• Administrative Assistant
• Support Staff Member

Job Titles:

• of Counsel
• Counsel to

Richard M. Taubman is of counsel to Hirzel Law, PLC and the sole member of Taubman Law, PLLC. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1979 and Boston University School of Law in 1982. Mr. Taubman is an AV rated lawyer and is also a licensed real estate broker. He is a member of the Zoning and Land Use Committee of the Real Property Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan. He is a member of the Community Associations Institute, the Michigan Chapter of the American Planning Association and the Greater Metropolitan Association of Realtors. He has extensive experience in many types of real estate transactions and litigation. In recent years he has concentrated his practice in community and condominium association law as well as construction contracts and litigation. Mr. Taubman has worked with developers to create both commercial and residential condominiums, including condominium unit docks on a federal waterway. He assists many condominium associations, working through property management companies and directly with associations which are self-managed. His work has included governance issues, collections, amending documents and a multitude of other issues. Education Boston University School of Law Juris Doctor, 1982 University of Michigan Bachelor of General Studies, 1979

Job Titles:

• Support Staff Member
• Digital Marketing Manager

Job Titles:

• Law Clerk

Job Titles:

• Senior Attorney
• Senior Attorney With

Tracy N. Danner-Bond is a Senior Attorney with Hirzel Law. She graduated from Michigan State University with Honors in 1993, where she obtained her Bachelor of Arts in General Business Administration-Prelaw and was a member of the Spartan Marching Band and Spartan Brass. Ms. Danner-Bond earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law in 1997, where she was the Managing Editor of the University of Detroit Mercy Law Review and a member of the American Inn of Court. Prior to joining Hirzel Law, Ms. Danner-Bond was an attorney at Zelmanski, Danner & Fioritto since 2004, becoming a partner at the Firm in 2010. Ms. Danner-Bond previously practiced estate planning, probate, and tax law with a firm in downtown Ann Arbor. In addition to being certified in probate and estate planning law by The Institute of Continuing Legal Education, Ms. Danner-Bond has extensive experience in Community Association Law. She handles assessment collection matters, lien foreclosure, bylaw enforcement, governing document amendments, as well as FHA certification issues. Ms. Danner-Bond has presented lectures on Community Association topics for United Condominium Owners of Michigan, the Michigan Chapter of the Condominium Association Institute, Zelmanski, Danner & Fiorittio's Condominium and HOA Board Education and Training (B.E.A.T.) program, and various Canton Township events. Ms. Danner-Bond has been licensed to practice law in Michigan since 1998 and is admitted to practice before the United States Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and the United States Tax Court. Ms. Danner-Bond successfully argued before the Court of Appeals in Wells Fargo Bank v Country Place Condominium Association, 304 Mich App 582 (2014), a published case that established the meaning of "acquisition of title" with respect to liability for assessments levied on the foreclosed condominium unit after a lender foreclosure sale: from the foreclosure sale date forward, not at the end of the redemption period. Ms. Danner-Bond also successfully argued before the Court of Appeals in Federal National Mortgage Association v Lagoons Forest Condominium Association, 305 Mich App 258 (2014), a published case that ruled a lender grantee of a condominium unit who takes title via quitclaim deed following a mortgage foreclosure sale is the successor and assign of the foreclosing lender. The lender grantee is liable for assessments levied on the foreclosed condominium unit from the foreclosure sale date forward. Ms. Danner-Bond served 8 years on the Board of Directors for her own condominium association in Canton, Michigan. This first-hand experience as a Co-owner and Director, in addition to being a Community Association Attorney, allows her to relate well to the many challenges that Community Association Boards face each day. Ms. Danner-Bond resides in Plymouth with her husband, two children, and their rescue dog. She has numerous interests, including spending time with family and friends, riding her Harley, reading (and listening to audio books), cooking, and traveling.