Bloomfield Hills; Los Angeles; September 16, 2003

The law firm of Dykema Gossett PLLC announces that fourteen litigators from Feeney Kellett Wienner & Bush P.C. have joined the firm’s Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and Pasadena, California offices.

Bloomfield Hills Office:

James P. Feeney has had a long and distinguished career as a trial lawyer and is nationally known for his representation of auto manufacturers in some of the highest exposure product liability cases across the United States. Mr. Feeney was also retained by Time-Warner to defend the highly-publicized Jenny Jones case. A resident of Birmingham, Michigan, Mr. Feeney received his J.D. cum laude and his B.A. Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Michigan.

Clay A. Guise maintains a general litigation practice, with an emphasis on products liability, commercial, and premises liability litigation. A resident of Birmingham, Michigan, Mr. Guise received his J.D. cum laude from the University of Michigan and his M.P. Aff. from the University of Texas and his B.A. cum laude from Williams College.

Kathleen M. Horchler’s practice focuses on general litigation and appellate work, with an emphasis on products liability, premises liability and consumer law. A resident of Waterford, Michigan, Ms. Horchler received her J.D. from the University of Michigan and her B.S. summa cum laude from Adrian College.

Jerry L. Johnson has extensive experience in automotive product liability defense, as well as general tort and commercial litigation. Before joining Feeney Kellett Wienner & Bush, he was a partner at a major law firm in metropolitan Detroit. A resident of Huntington Woods, Michigan, Mr. Johnson received his J.D. with honors and his B.S. magna cum laude from the University of North Dakota.

Peter M. Kellett is a Practice Group Leader for the Litigation Practice Group.  Mr. Kellett was one of the founding partners of Feeney Kellett Wienner & Bush.  His practice focuses on professional and general negligence, automotive and other products liability.  He has handled numerous product liability cases involving catastrophic injury and death, consumer product class action cases, and a variety of commercial and breach of contract matters.  Most recently, Mr. Kellett has served as national counsel to a major automotive manufacturer for air bag related death and catastrophic injury claims, a role in which he tried the first child air bag death case to a successful defense verdict. A resident of Grosse Pointe, Mr. Kellett received his J.D. cum laude and Order of the Coif from Wayne State University and his B.A. from the University of Michigan.

Lauren M. London’s practice focuses on commercial law and class actions. During law school, she served as Articles Editor for the Wisconsin Law Review, completed a summer associateship at a law firm in Madison, Wisconsin and clerked for Judges Evenson, Taggart and Reynolds of the Sauk County, Wisconsin Circuit Court. A resident of Ann Arbor, Michigan, Ms. London received her J.D. from the University of Wisconsin, Dean’s List and her B.S. with honors from Brown University.

Sarah A. (McLaren) Kirkwood’s practice focuses on trial and appellate work, with an emphasis on products liability and commercial litigation. Prior to joining Feeney Kellett Wienner & Bush, Ms. Kirkwood specialized in automotive and other products liability, commercial litigation and appeals at a major law firm in the metropolitan Detroit area. A resident of Huntington Woods, Michigan, Ms. Kirkwood received her J.D. from the University of Michigan and her B.A. summa cum laude from Wayne State University.

Paul L. Nystrom maintains a general litigation practice, with an emphasis on products liability, premises liability and commercial litigation. A resident of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, Mr. Nystrom received his J.D. cum laude from Wayne State University and his B.A. from Michigan State University.

Brittany M. Schultz’s practice focuses on products liability, premises liability, and warranty law. Ms. Schultz contributed to several law review articles, including the Fall 1999 South Carolina Law Review article entitled, "Prosecutorial Misconduct in Grand Jury Investigations." Ms. Schultz was also a member of Moot Court, a scholarship recipient, and research assistant to Professor Peter J. Henning. She is an elected member to the Oakland County New Lawyer's Committee. A resident of Birmingham, Michigan, Ms. Schultz received her J.D. from Wayne State University and her B.A. from the University of Michigan.

Brian T. Smith’s practice focuses on products liability, premises liability, torts and litigation. While in law school, he was a member of the Inns of Court, the Frank Murphy Honor Society and the Order of Barristers. A resident of Clinton Township, Michigan, Mr. Smith received his J.D. cum laude, Frank Murphy Honor Society, and B.A. summa cum laude from the University of Detroit Mercy.

Pasadena Office:

Patricia M. Coleman’s practice focuses on defending class action, product liability, breach of warranty, and general liability cases. Ms. Coleman began her career as a teacher prior to entering law school. A resident of a Pasadena, California, Ms. Coleman received her J.D. from Loyola Law School and her B.A. from the University of California at Los Angeles.

Alex W. Craigie’s practice focuses on the defense of products liability cases for major automotive and industrial equipment manufacturers. A resident of Pasadena, California, Mr. Craigie received his J.D. from Loyola Law School and his B.A. with honors with high distinction from the University of California at San Diego.

K. Lynn Finateri’s practice focuses on automotive products liability, construction defect, and general liability matters. Before and during law school, Ms. Finateri was a legal assistant at Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. A resident of Los Angeles, California, Ms. Finateri received her J.D. from Loyola Law School and her B.S. from Arizona State University.

Derek Whitefield is the managing member of Dykema Gossett’s Pasadena, California office. He has an extensive background in automotive occupant protection and safety issues. He handles high stakes automotive crashworthiness cases throughout the country, and also has experience handling other types of product liability, commercial, and general litigation. A resident of Altadena, California, Mr. Whitefield holds a J.D., cum laude, from Wayne State University and a B.A. from Michigan State University, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa.