Blogs

Spotlight on Demonstrations in the ICLE Partnership

By Rebekah Page-Gourley posted 18 days ago
One thing we consistently hear from ICLE customers is that you want more demonstrations. Even if a lawyer tends to read a book chapter or listen to an MP3 of a webcast to get up to speed on a given practice topic, there is something uniquely helpful about seeing other lawyers in action. Demonstrations are a great way to fill in the gaps if you are new to an area, or you are refreshing yourself on something you haven’t had to tackle in a while. The ICLE Partnership includes dozens of helpful demonstrations, including various types of court hearings, client meetings, depositions, and mediations. The most recent addition to the collection is Evidence Demo ...

Q&A with Judge Paul F. Kraus, 20th Circuit Court (Ottawa County)

By Max Matthies posted 18 days ago
Hon. Paul F. Kraus became Ottawa County's fifth Circuit Court Judge on January 1, 2023. Judge Kraus serves in the Family Division of the Circuit Court and his docket includes adoptions, child neglect/abuse cases, juvenile delinquency, divorce, and other domestic matters. Prior to becoming judge, he worked for the Ottawa County Prosecutor's Office, serving as a senior assistant prosecuting attorney and the family unit division director. In that capacity, he advocated for protecting children in neglect and abuse cases and handled a caseload of felony child abuse. Judge Kraus provided legal representation to the Ottawa County Department of Health and Human Services ...

Q&A with Judge Kathleen A. Feeney, Michigan Court of Appeals (Third District)

By Nicole McNair posted 11-21-2025
Judge Kathleen A. Feeney was elected to the Michigan Court of Appeals on November 8, 2022, after serving for more than 22 years on the Kent County Circuit Court and most recently as the Court’s Chief Judge Pro Tem. In 2000, Judge Feeney was the first woman appointed or elected to the Kent County Circuit Court. She graduated with high honors from Michigan State University’s Honors College and was the Outstanding Woman Law Graduate from the University of Illinois College of Law. Judge Feeney worked for Foster, Swift, Collins & Smith, and Mika, Meyers, Beckett & Jones. She received the State Bar of Michigan Outstanding Young Lawyer Award in 1995. After ...

Spotlight on New Content in the ICLE Partnership

By Rebekah Page-Gourley posted 09-23-2025
Did you know that your Partnership increases in value every week? In addition to continually updating our existing online resources, ICLE is constantly adding new content of all kinds to the Partnership, from forms and checklists to timely on-demand seminars and helpful How-to Kits. Here’s a short rundown on our content-creation process, where to find the newest practice resources, and how to get involved. Content Creation at ICLE Numerous paths lead to the creation of new Partnership resources. Here are some of the most significant ones: Formal Planning . Several times a year, ICLE lawyers meet to discuss upcoming legal developments, identify ...

Q&A with Judge Paul Stutesman, 45th Circuit Court (St. Joseph County)

By Rebekah Page-Gourley posted 09-02-2025
Hon. Paul Stutesman is a judge for the 45th Judicial Circuit for St. Joseph County, Michigan. He was appointed to the court by former Governor Jennifer Granholm in 2005. For attorneys who have never been to your court, what is your check-in process? Most civil cases are conducted on Zoom unless there are evidentiary issues. For criminal cases, we take them according to the docket. We schedule each case individually, so, for example, we don’t have 15 cases set at 9:00 a.m. When is your motion call? Are there a maximum number of motions heard during motion call? All motions should be set with our court administrator. She will need to know what the ...

Spotlight on ICLE’s “What’s New” Feature for Online Books

By Rebekah Page-Gourley posted 08-22-2025
If you’re an ICLE Partner, you probably know that the Premium Partnership includes 57 online books filled with authoritative legal analysis, hyperlinks to primary law, and downloadable forms and exhibits. You may also know that ICLE lawyers work with contributing authors to continually update these resources with changes in the law every two weeks . This means that when the Michigan Supreme Court or Michigan Court of Appeals publishes an opinion, it gets included in the discussion where applicable. When Michigan Court Rules (MCR) amendments impact a chapter, we make sure the chapter reflects those. The same goes for statutory changes, new federal law impacting ...

Q&A with Judge Andrew Kowalkowski, 44th District Court (Oakland County)

By Matthew Franson posted 08-01-2025
Hon. Andrew W. Kowalkowski was appointed judge for the 44th District Court in April 2022. Before his appointment to the bench, Judge Kowalkowski was an administrative law examiner for the Michigan Department of State, and before that, he was a general practitioner focused on criminal defense in and around Oakland County. Where can lawyers find your courtroom protocols, and what is something that lawyers often miss about them? Currently, we do not publish any prescribed courtroom protocols, although that is something we are considering for the future. My courtroom is a hybrid of in-person and Zoom. Dispositive motions, preliminary exams, trials, ...

Q&A with Judge Dennis Wiley, 5th District Court (Berrien County)

By Claire Petzel posted 07-01-2025
Hon. Dennis Wiley earned his juris doctorate degree from Notre Dame University in 1973. He was appointed to the 5 th District Court in Berrien County by Governor John Engler in 1996. Prior to his appointment, Judge Wiley worked as a prosecuting attorney in Berrien County. For attorneys who have never been to your court, what is your check-in process? For criminal cases, attorneys should appear at the criminal division clerk’s office or the judicial desk. For civil cases, they should appear at the civil division clerk’s office. (Berrien County is a consolidated trial court, so we are divided into criminal, civil, and family courts.) When is your ...

Spotlight on ICLE Legal Updates

By Rebekah Page-Gourley posted 06-11-2025
ICLE’s Legal Updates are a great way to stay up-to-date on recent developments that matter to your practice. The collection includes short analysis of a variety of timely topics ranging from highlights of recent regulatory and statutory changes to developments in artificial intelligence. In the past year, we’ve introduced several new series of Legal Updates that we feel are particularly helpful for ICLE Partners: Monthly Caselaw Updates : This series provides summaries of each month’s Michigan Supreme Court and Michigan Court of Appeals published opinions, arranged by practice area, with links to the full opinions. While case summaries appear ...

Q&A with Judge Victoria A. Valentine, 6th Circuit Court (Oakland County)

By Lindsey DiCesare posted 06-02-2025
Hon. Victoria A. Valentine was elected to the 6th Circuit Court in 2016, and she serves on the business court. Judge Valentine is also the judicial liaison to the Oakland County Bar Association’s circuit court committee and a board member of the Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society. She is an active member of the State Bar of Michigan and has served on the Civil Procedure and Courts Committee. Prior to becoming a judge, Judge Valentine was a partner at Valentine & Associates PC. Judge Valentine has also served as president-elect of the Oakland County Bar Association and a trustee of the Oakland County Bar Foundation. For attorneys who have never ...

Q&A with Judge Jeffrey C. Nellis, 51st Circuit Court (Mason County)

By Lisa Geherin posted 05-01-2025
For attorneys who have never been to your court, what is your check-in process? For both probate and family court matters, folks should check in at the probate court window on the first floor. I start from the position that the best case scenario is for cases to be heard live. Cases get delayed when we are trying to connect people, and, in our rural area, a good connection is often a problem. Also, having everyone in the room together enhances prospects for truthfulness and lends to the formality of the proceedings. From the attorney perspective, I expect that if you file an appearance in our court that you should expect to appear live when required. ...

Q & A with Judge Lisa Sullivan, Clinton County Probate Court

By Rachael Sedlacek posted 04-04-2025
Hon. Lisa Sullivan sits as a judge for both the Clinton County Probate Court and the Clinton County Family Court. She is a past president of the Michigan Probate Judges Association and currently chairs its legislation committee. She has served as chair of the Family Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan and as president of the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan. Over the years, Judge Sullivan has been a frequent presenter at ICLE seminars on family law issues and a contributing author and editor of its publications. For attorneys who have never been to your court, what is your check-in process? Check in at the Probate Court window ...

FinCEN Exempts U.S.-Based Companies and Individuals from CTA Reporting

By Tala Dahbour posted 04-02-2025
By: Brandy Bruyere , Angela Gamalski , Thomas P. Healy , and In-Sung Yoo On March 21, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued a rule that removes the requirement for U.S.-based companies and persons to file Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) beneficial ownership information (BOI) reports. Effective immediately, all domestic reporting companies and U.S. persons are exempt from submitting beneficial ownership reports to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Foreign reporting companies that are created under the laws of another country and registered to do business in a U.S. state or tribal jurisdiction ...

Q & A with Judge Andre Borrello, 10th Circuit Court (Saginaw County)

By Tala Dahbour posted 03-14-2025
Judge Borrello was elected to the 10th Circuit Court in 2016. Judge Borrello handles both criminal and civil cases for the Saginaw County Circuit Court and also presides over the Saginaw County Recovery Court with Judge Gafkay. Prior to taking the bench, Judge Borrello served as city attorney for the city of Saginaw at the law firm Gilbert, Smith, & Borrello. He also served as the Interim Deputy City Manager, Director of Public Utilities, and as the Saginaw County civil counsel. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and Juris Doctorate from Seattle University School of Law. For attorneys who have never been to your court, ...

FinCEN Pauses Enforcement on Beneficial Ownership Reporting Amid Litigation and Rule Changes

By Tala Dahbour posted 03-05-2025
On February 18, 2025, in the wake of ongoing litigation in the Smith case, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a notice that provided a new beneficial ownership reporting deadline under the Corporate Transparency Act: March 21, 2025. However, in a February 27, 2025, press release , FinCEN stated that it will not impose fines or penalties on companies that fail to file or update their beneficial ownership information (BOI) reports by the current deadlines. Per the press release, this pause in enforcement will remain in effect until an interim final rule is enacted, which is expected by the new March 21, 2025, deadline and will extend ...

Medicaid Asset Limit Increases

By Nicole McNair posted 02-13-2025
Effective February 1, 2025, the countable asset eligibility limit for an unmarried Medicaid applicant will increase to $9,660 (and potentially more if stimulus funds were received), subject to State Plan Amendment approval. See Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Notice of Proposed Policy, Project No 2449-Eligibility (Dec 30, 2024) . The allowance will be adjusted annually to match the Medicare Savings Programs asset limits required by Section 1905(p)(1)(C) of the Social Security Act. 42 USC 1396d . Countable assets are assets that are not excluded. For a married person to qualify, the couple’s combined countable assets must be less than ...

Q & A with Judge Kirsten Holz, 63rd District Court (Kent County)

By Nicole McNair posted 02-03-2025
Judge Kirsten Holz earned bachelors of arts degrees in government and in Spanish language from Cornell University. In 2007, she earned her juris doctorate degree from the Washington College of Law at American University. She was appointed to the bench by Governor Gretchen Whitmer in 2024. For attorneys who have never been to your court, what is your check-in process? After clearing security, attorneys will head to the clerk’s windows, which are situated to the left of the main entry. Once you check in with the clerks, you can head upstairs to whichever courtroom you’re directed. We have three primary courtrooms here at the 63 ...

Q&A with Honorable Janice K. Cunningham, 56th Circuit Court (Eaton County)

By Lindsey DiCesare posted 11-04-2024
Judge Janice K. Cunningham was elected on November 6, 2012, as the first woman circuit court judge in Eaton County and took office on January 1, 2013. She became Chief Judge for Eaton County Trial Courts effective January 1, 2020. Judge Cunningham hears civil, criminal, and family law cases. In addition to her normal caseload, Judge Cunningham also presides over the Adult Circuit Drug Court and Veterans Treatment Court. She is also the judicial volunteer for the SMILE program. Prior to taking the bench, Judge Cunningham was in private practice, where she specialized in family law. For attorneys who have never been to your court, what is your check-in process? ...

Cannabis Law Conference Highlights

By Rebekah Page-Gourley posted 10-11-2024
At the end of September, I attended the 9 th Annual Cannabis Law Conference , presented by the Cannabis Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan in cooperation with ICLE. Held in Kalamazoo at the recently renovated Radisson Hotel, the conference was filled with the excellent substantive presentations and fun networking opportunities I’ve come to expect from this group. Here are some of my takeaways: Rescheduling . Paul Armentano of NORML presented about the history of rescheduling petitions over the years and previewed what to expect with the potential federal reclassification of marijuana from schedule I to schedule III. While Paul thinks rescheduling ...

2025 Michigan Child Support Formula Effective January 1, 2025

By Lindsey DiCesare posted 09-30-2024
On January 1, 2025, the 2025 Michigan Child Support Formula (MCSF) and 2025 Michigan Child Support Formula Supplement (MCSF-S) will go into effect. Changes to the 2025 MCSF The 2025 MCSF updates and clarifies several sections of the current version. Changes include the following: 2025 MCSF 1.04(E) Clarifies that a deviation is not required if a deviation factor exists Clarifies that the list of deviation factors is not an exhaustive list Removes two deviation factors: 2021 MCSF 1.04(E)(9): Alternative health care coverage 2021 MCSF 1.04(E)(13): Costs associated with a parent’s conviction or crime Clarifies several ...