BIOGRAPHIES OF COMMISSION MEMBERS AND STAFF


RICHARD D. McLELLAN

Richard D. McLellan, is the head of the Government Policy and Practice Group of Dykema Gossett PLLC, a Michigan-based law firm. He is responsible for the firm's public policy, administrative law and lobbying practices in Lansing and Washington, D.C.

As a business and community leader, Mr. McLellan is a former Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and President of the Library of Michigan Foundation. He is presently the President of the Michigan/Japan Foundation.

In 1990, Mr. McLellan was appointed by President George Bush as a Presidential Observer to the elections in the People's Republic of Bulgaria. The elections were the first free elections in the country following 45 years of Communist rule.

Following the 1990 elections, Mr. McLellan was named Transition Director to then Governor-elect John Engler. In that capacity, he assisted in the formation of Governor Engler's Administration.

By appointment of Governor John Engler, he is a member and secretary of the Michigan International Trade Authority, a member of the Michigan Jobs Commission, and a member of the Library of Michigan Board of Trustees.

In addition, Mr. McLellan formerly served as Chairman of the Michigan Corrections Commission. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Detroit College of Law at Michigan State University, the Chief Okemos Council of the Boy Scouts of America, the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, the Oxford Foundation and the Cornerstone Foundation. He is a member of the Board of Governors of the Cranbrook Institute of Science.

He is a graduate of the Michigan State University Honors College and the University of Michigan Law School. He has served as an adjunct professor of international studies at Michigan State University.

Mr. McLellan is a member of the Board of Directors of the Mercantile & General Life Reassurance Company of America and a Trustee of JNL Trust established by the Jackson National Life Insurance Company. He is Chairman of the Michigan Competitive Telecommunications Providers Association.

ANTHONY DEREZINSKI

Mr. Derezinski is Vice Chairman of the Michigan Law Revision Commission, a position he has filled since May 1986 following his appointment as a public member of the Commission in January of that year.

Mr. Derezinski is Assistant Director for policy services of the Michigan Association of School Boards. He also is an adjunct professor of law at The University of Michigan Law School.

He is a graduate of Muskegon Catholic Central High School, Marquette University, the University of Michigan Law School (Juris Doctor degree), and Harvard Law School (Master of Laws degree). He is married and resides in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Mr. Derezinski is a Democrat and served as State Senator from 1975 to 1978. He is a member of the Board of Regents of Eastern Michigan University, and also of the Board of the Michigan Theater Foundation.

He served as a Lieutenant in the Judge Advocate General's Corps in the United States Navy from 1968 to 1971 and as a military judge in the Republic of Vietnam. He is a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Derezinski Post No. 7729, the International Association of Defense Counsel, the National Health Lawyers' Association, and the National Association of College and University Attorneys.

MAURA D. CORRIGAN

Judge Corrigan is a public member of the Michigan Law Revision Commission and has served since her appointment in November 1991.

Judge Corrigan is a judge on the Michigan Court of Appeals and was nominated by her colleagues and appointed by the Michigan Supreme Court to serve as Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals, effective January 1, 1997.

She is a graduate of St. Joseph Academy, Cleveland, Ohio; Marygrove College; and the University of Detroit Law School. She is married and has two children.

Prior to her appointment to the Court of Appeals, Judge Corrigan was a shareholder in the law firm of Plunkett & Cooney, P.C. She earlier served as First Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, Chief of Appeals in the United States Attorney's Office, Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor, and a law clerk on the Michigan Court of Appeals. She was selected Outstanding Practitioner of Criminal Law by the Federal Bar Association as well as awarded the Director's Award for superior performance as an Assistant United States Attorney by the United States Department of Justice. She has served on numerous professional committees and lectured extensively on law-related matters.

GEORGE E. WARD

Mr. Ward is a member of the Michigan Law Revision Commission and has served since his appointment in August 1994.

Mr. Ward has been the Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in Wayne County since January 1986. Prior to this, he was a clerk to a justice of the Michigan Supreme Court and in private civil practice for twenty years in the City of Detroit.

He is a graduate of Sts. Peter and Paul High School, Saginaw, the University of Detroit, and the University of Michigan Law School. He is married and the father of five children.

Mr. Ward is an Adjunct Professor of State and Local Government and Franchise Law at the Detroit College of Law at Michigan State University; a member of the Boards of Directors of Wayne Center, Wayne County Catholic Social Services and Wayne County Neighborhood Legal Services; a former member and President of the Board of Control of Saginaw Valley State University; a former commissioner of the State Bar of Michigan; a former commissioner and President of the Wayne County Home Rule Charter Commission; and former Executive Director of the City of Detroit Charter Revision Commission.

BILL BULLARD, JR.

Mr. Bullard is a legislative member of the Michigan Law Revision Commission and has served on the Commission since July 1996.

Mr. Bullard is a Republican State Senator representing the 15th Senatorial District. He was first elected to the Michigan House of Representatives in 1982 and served in that body until his election to the Senate in June 1996. He is currently Chairman of the Senate Government Operations Committee and also serves on the Education, Health Policy and Senior Citizen Committees.

He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and the Detroit College of Law. He is married and has three children.

Mr. Bullard is the recipient of the first annual "Legislator of the Year" award from the Michigan Townships Association and also the Guardian Award from the National Federation of Independent Business.

GARY PETERS

Gary Peters was elected to the Michigan Senate on November 8, 1994. He serves as Vice Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, and a member of the Education, Judiciary, and Families, Mental Health and Human Services Committees. He is also a member of the Michigan Law Revision Commission.

Prior to being in the legislature, Mr. Peters was Vice President, Investments, for a major national financial services firm. He serves as a Securities Arbitrator for the New York Stock Exchange, National Association of Securities Dealers, and the American Arbitration Association.

Mr. Peters taught Strategic Management and Business Policy at Oakland University, and was an instructor in the Finance & Business Economics Department at Wayne State University. His educational credentials include a B.A. from Alma College (Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa), an M.B.A. in Finance from the University of Detroit, and a J.D. from Wayne State University Law School.

His previous government experience includes a term on the Rochester Hills City Council where he served as Chair of the Solid Waste Management Committee, Vice Chair of the Budget & Finance Committee, and a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals and Paint Creek Trailways Commission.

Mr. Peters' community involvement includes serving on the Board of Directors for Common Cause of Michigan, a member of the Environmental Policy Advisory Committee for the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) and as Chair of the Air Issues Committee for the Michigan Sierra Club.

Senator Peters is also a commissioned officer in the U.S. Naval Reserve. He is married to Colleen Ochoa and has two children, Gary, Jr., and Madeleine Adriana.

MICHAEL E. NYE

Mr. Nye is a legislative member of the Michigan Law Revision Commission and has served on the Commission since March 1991.

Mr. Nye is a Republican State Representative representing the 58th House District. He was first elected to the Michigan House in November 1982. He is Chair of the House Judiciary and Civil Rights and serves on the House Oversight & Ethics Committee.

He is a graduate of Purdue University and University of Detroit Law School. He is married and has two children.

Mr. Nye was named the 1991 Legislator of the Year by the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police and the 1990 Michigan Environmental Legislator of the Year by the Michigan Environmental Defense Association.

He is a member of the Michigan Sentencing Guidelines Commission, a member of the Trial Court Assessment Commission, and Chairman of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) Task Force on Criminal Justice. He has received the Michigan Aeronautics Commission's Individual Award of Excellence (1996), and the Michigan Association of Counties special award for court reform legislation.

Mr. Nye has been a leader against Drunk Driving and has received the GLADD award (Government Leader Against Drunk Driving) from the Mothers Against Drunk Drivers.

TED WALLACE

Representative Ted Wallace is a legislative member of the Michigan Law Revision Commission and has served on the Commission since April 1993. Representative Wallace is a Democrat from Detroit and has represented the 5th House District since November 1988.

Representative Wallace served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam war and is an in-active member of the Michigan National Guard.

He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting from Wright State University and a law degree from the University of Michigan Law School. He also took post-graduate classes at the University of Michigan Institute of Public Policy, and post-legal classes at Wayne State Law School.

Representative Wallace is a practicing attorney in the Detroit area and was previously an adjunct professor at Wayne State University and an assembler for the Chrysler Corporation. Representative Wallace has been a tax analyst for the General Motors Corporation and a tax accountant for Arthur Anderson and Company.

He is affiliated with the Michigan Democratic Party, Urban League, T.U.L.C., University of Michigan Alumni Association, and other various legal organizations. He is also a life member of the N.A.A.C.P. and a member of the issues committee of the Michigan State N.A.A.C.P. His past history has included tenure as President of the Democratic Voters League; Vice-President, Young Democrats; Member, Board of Governors Young Democrats; Chairman, Upper Neighborhood City Council; Delegate to the 1972 Black National Convention; and Vice-President, Government Affairs, Greater Dayton Jay-Cees.

Representative Wallace is the immediate-past Chairman of the Michigan Legislative Black Caucus. He serves as Parliamentarian for the National Black Caucus of State Legislators. He is a member of the Michigan Sentencing Guidelines Commission, and serves in the House as an Assistant Floor Leader. He is also the Democratic Vice-Chair of the House Judiciary and Civil Rights Committee and a member of the House Tax Policy Committee.

Rep. Wallace is married to the former Bernice Jones, and has three children.

DIANNE M. ODROBINA

Since January, 1996, Ms. Odrobina, as the Legislative Council Administrator, has served as the ex-officio member of the Michigan Law Revision Commission.

Ms. Odrobina has served the Michigan Legislature in several capacities since 1991, serving as the Director of the Senate Majority Policy Office from February 1993 to January 1996. She was previously an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for Wayne County and an attorney for Macomb County Friend of the Court.

Ms. Odrobina holds the degrees of Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Michigan State University, Master of Business Administration from the University of Detroit, and Juris Doctor from Wayne State University and is completing her degree as Master of Asian Studies from the University of Michigan.

KEVIN C. KENNEDY

Mr. Kennedy is the Executive Secretary to the Michigan Law Revision Commission, a position he has filled since December 1995.

Mr. Kennedy joined the faculty of the Detroit College of Law at Michigan State University in 1987 and has taught courses in civil procedure, conflict of laws, international trade, and international litigation.

He is a graduate of the University of Michigan, Wayne State University, and Harvard University. He was a law clerk at the U.S. Court of International Trade, was a private practitioner in Hawaii, and served as a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice. He is married.

Mr. Kennedy is the author of more than thirty law review articles concerning international law, international trade, and civil procedure.

GARY GULLIVER

Mr. Gulliver acts as the liaison between the Michigan Law Revision Commission and the Legislative Service Bureau, a responsibility he has had since May 1984.

Mr. Gulliver is currently the Director of Legal Research with the Legislative Service Bureau. He is a graduate of Albion College (with honors) and Wayne State University Law School. He is married and has four children.

Mr. Gulliver is also a Commissioner of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws.


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