Leading attorneys Peter J. Livingston and Jeffrey D. Smith join Honigman as partners

Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP is pleased to announce that Peter J. Livingston and Jeffrey D. Smith joined the firm as partners in the firm’s Corporate and Litigation Departments, respectively. Each brings to Honigman more than 30 years of experience. Both have national reputations and are well-respected in their areas of practice. Livingston and Smith will be located in the firm’s fast-growing Kalamazoo, Michigan, office. They joined Honigman from Varnum LLP.

Peter J. Livingston is a corporate attorney with a focus on advising family businesses in a wide variety of industries. His practice includes general corporate, business reorganizations, mergers, acquisitions, business succession and estate planning matters. Livingston has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America since 2012 and was named one of its “Lawyers of the Year” in corporate law in 2014. He earned his J.D. from the University of Notre Dame Law School and a B.B.A. from the University of Notre Dame. Livingston is admitted to practice in Michigan.

Jeffrey D. Smith is a litigator who focuses on defending product liability, warranty, and admiralty claims and on handling complex litigation matters. Many of his clients are national and international manufacturers, including marine, automotive, furniture and consumer products manufacturers. Smith is a member and past vice chair of the Business and Industry Risk Management Council of the National Marine Manufacturers Association and has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America since 2010. He earned a J.D., with high distinction, from The John Marshall Law School and a B.S. from Michigan State University. Smith is admitted to practice in Michigan, Indiana and Florida.

Honigman’s corporate and litigation practices are well regarded among its clients and peers. For nine consecutive years, these practices have received a #1 ranking in Michigan from Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, a well-recognized client and peer review publication. Regarding the firm’s corporate practice Chambers noted in its 2013 publication, “This group is singled out as Michigan's market-leading corporate practice, and is highly recommended across a broad spectrum of transactional and regulatory specialties. The team has a strong focus on the private equity sector and is also active in the fields of public M&A, corporate governance and venture capital.” Regarding the firm’s litigation practice Chambers noted, “This group is regarded as one of Michigan's finest litigation practices. It handles a diverse range of commercial disputes and has distinguished itself most notably in the areas of antitrust, securities, corporate governance, e-discovery and real estate tax appeals. It is also known as one of the leading IP litigation teams in the state.”

From Honigman’s Kalamazoo office, the firm serves clients locally, nationally and internationally. The firm opened its Kalamazoo office in September 2008 with a handful of attorneys and staff. Since then, Honigman has had phenomenal growth over the past five years and now has 22 attorneys, 17 paralegals, specialists, patent agents and other professionals and 16 administrative staff, totaling 54. Kalamazoo is a full-service office with a particular focus on life sciences, intellectual property, venture capital, corporate law, litigation and community banking.