Butzel adds three attorneys to growing firm
Attorneys specialize in litigation and intellectual property
DETROIT, Mich. – Butzel law firm continues to grow to meet evolving client needs. The firm recently added associate attorneys Joseph Kuzmiak, Maya Smith and Barrett R. H. Young.
Joseph Kuzmiak
Based in Butzel’s Detroit office, Kuzmiak concentrates his practice primarily in the areas of business and commercial litigation.
He graduated top of his class receiving his law degree, summa cum laude, from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. While in law school, Kuzmiak served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Law Review, was a member of the Moot Court Board of Advocates, and participated in the school’s Federal Pro Se Legal Assistance Clinic. He also externed for Michigan Supreme Court Justice Brian K. Zahra.
Prior to law school, Kuzmiak gained business analytical experience by holding cost accounting and analytical roles in multiple industries in the metro Detroit area. He earned a Master of Science in Finance and Bachelor of Business Administration degrees from the University of Michigan-Dearborn.
Maya Smith
Smith, based in Butzel’s Detroit office, concentrates her practice in the areas of intellectual property and emerging technology, including data protection and cybersecurity.
She assists clients on compliance and enforcement matters, managing cyber risk, breach investigations and response, and emerging technologies. She also assists on trademark prosecution, copyright filing, technology licensing and intellectual property litigation.
Smith graduated from the Western Michigan University (WMU) Cooley Law School where she was an active member of the Black Law Student Association and the Sports and Entertainment Law Society. She served on WMU’s Law Review. Smith earned a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Spelman College. Prior to law school, she worked as a Legislative Aide for the Georgia State Representative of the 62nd District. Smith was also a paralegal at a Georgia based Bankruptcy Firm. As an undergraduate, Smith volunteered with Advocacy for Action, working as a case manager and served as the Georgia Executive Director for Operations for the Grl-Pwr Foundation.
Barrett R. H. Young
Based in Butzel’s Detroit office, Young concentrates his practice in commercial and appellate litigation.
Young clerked for Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Richard Allen Griffin. Before his clerkship, he was the Senior Counselor to Deputy Secretary of Labor Patrick Pizzella. Prior to his time at the Labor Department, he was an associate in King & Spalding LLP’s Washington, D.C. office.
He earned his law degree from The University of Chicago and his undergraduate degree from Harvard University.
