Personable but tough, Chris Chesney honed his legal litigation craft through years of special investigations litigation serving corporate clients. Chris prides himself on thinking outside of the box to create novel and winning arguments. Before Chris cut his teeth in the courts, he developed practical skills at the Michigan House of Representatives, advised business owners in South Africa, and conducted grassroots research in Scotland. Not every litigator understands what it’s like working on 70-foot-high scaffolding in a Houston oil refinery. Chris currently serves as an officer and Governing Council member for the State Bar of Michigan’s Litigation Section, serving as Treasurer for the 2,400-member section. He also presents at industry symposiums to continue his rise as a next-generation litigator. At Cronkhite Counsel, Chris serves as trial counsel using years of investigative work and real-world experience to outwork and outmaneuver opponents.

R.J. serves as a strategic partner and counselor to his clients and their business needs across multiple industries, including automotive, finance, health care, leasing, property development, real estate development, staffing, technology, and telecom. He prioritizes developing an intimate understanding of his clients’ unique goals and challenges and applies his deep knowledge of the law to ensure proactive and results-based legal counsel. A formidable and accomplished advocate, R.J. also acts as lead trial counsel when legal disputes arise after exhausting preventive measures. Clients describe R.J. as an engaged litigator whose attention to detail, tenacity, and professionalism set him apart from other counsel. He obtains cost-effective results by quickly digging into the facts and leveraging the results in favor of his clients. R.J. previously served as chair of the State Bar of Michigan’s 2,300-member Litigation Section. Michigan Super Lawyers® has consistently recognized him as a Rising Star in Business Litigation, an award granted to only 2.5 percent of Michigan attorneys under 40. R.J.’s peers have elected him to the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation, an honorary society comprising one percent of each jurisdiction’s attorneys, judges, law faculty, and legal scholars whose public and private careers have demonstrated outstanding dedication to the highest principles of the legal profession and welfare of their communities. He is a founding member of his community’s Rotary Club.

Melvin J. Babi serves as managing partner of Babi Legal Group, P.L.L.C., a respected general practice law firm in Birmingham, Michigan. In his private practice, Melvin advises consumers and small businesses in areas including business law, bankruptcy, debt-resolution, real estate law, corporate law, and criminal and civil litigation. Melvin also consults for various business clients providing expert advice on a broad range of legal, business, and compliance matters. As a business consultant Melvin oversees legal issues and best-practices for all departments, including consulting services, marketing, sales, finance, human resources, corporate governance, and business policy. Melvin's business consulting practice involves navigating through the complex legal landscape to achieve highly favorable outcomes. A trusted advisor and skillful advocate, he is known for impeccable ethics and astute handling of time-sensitive, business-critical, and confidential Information.

Born into a family with ties to the intelligence community, Greg developed a strong sense of service early in life. This background also shaped Greg’s ability to identify patterns, uncover insights, and notice details that others overlook. Greg pursued his undergraduate studies at Virginia Tech, where he further sharpened his investigatory, analytical, and problem-solving skills through his role as an Associate in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s (ODNI’s) Intelligence Community Center for Academic Excellence (IC CAE). His work culminated in a formal written and oral briefing presented to a representative of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Greg is also a graduate of The Heritage Foundations Young Leaders Program, where he gained deep insights into the federal government’s inner workings and regulatory landscape, while also contributing to the collection and analysis of data assessing military capabilities of foreign nations. Greg later returned to his home state of Michigan to contribute to the startup phase of a company that leveraged artificial intelligence and autonomous systems initially designed for military and intelligence applications to the highly regulated field of autonomous passenger vehicles. It was during this time that he realized his skills in investigation, analysis, and problem-solving would be best utilized in service to his community through a career in law. While in law school, Greg received the CALI Award in his Business Organizations class, an honor given to the student with the highest grade in the course and was elected as Secretary of the Hellenic Bar Association of Michigan. He refined his investigatory and regulatory skills as a Compliance Extern at the University of Michigan Athletic Department amid a nationally notorious and closely scrutinized NCAA investigation, where he researched and enforced internal compliance with NCAA bylaws and HIPAA regulations, drafted legislative relief waivers, and conducted Title IX audits to ensure internal policies and procedures complied with federal legislation. After law school, Greg began his practice as an attorney serving corporate clients in matters of civil litigation including special investigations and fraud. Today, he channels his commitment to service into effective advocacy for clients in business and employment disputes. His background has shaped his approach as an aggressive, tenacious, and diligent trial attorney who leaves no stone unturned in pursuing his clients’ interests.

From his earliest days of legal practice, Steve Couch’s approach to advocacy has been marked by two consistent qualities: fearlessness and creativity. Within his first six months in private practice, he helped his clients hold a Massachusetts police department accountable in a wrongful death case before a jury that only needed ninety minutes to reach its verdict. While Steve’s litigation practice would evolve over time, this event set the tone for the rest of his career. Born and raised near Detroit, Steve grew up in a family of small business owners, giving him insights into the challenges that entrepreneurs face daily. He internalized these early lessons, which informed his approach to getting to know his clients as well as possible when working with them to address their legal needs. After graduating from the University of Michigan, he attended Boston University School of Law. While at Boston University, he devoted himself to honing his skills in trial and appellate advocacy through the school’s clinical litigation programs and its National First Amendment Moot Court team. Over the years, clients have entrusted Steve with significant matters in that required unconventional strategies and tenacious advocacy to achieve the necessary results. In one case, Steve successfully defended a national insurance carrier against a $45,000,000 claim, guiding the client to a zero-dollar settlement. Steve was also a pioneer of tapping into the wealth of third-party data collections as a litigation tactic for investigating opposing parties’ fraud, perjury and other misconduct. In recent years, Steve worked with a boutique law firm litigating on behalf of clients across the country. He has successfully represented individuals and companies in both trial and appellate courts from coast to coast. He is excited to bring that base of experience to Cronkhite Counsel.

Brad is a partner and member of the firm’s Litigation Practice Team, concentrating in commercial litigation in state and federal courts. He focuses his practice on commercial contract disputes, creditor’s rights and collections, landlord/tenant matters, construction lien litigation and other real estate disputes.

Attorney Shiraz K. Khan is a licensed Attorney and Counselor at Law, admitted to practice in the State of Michigan, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Northern District of Illinois, and the United States Supreme Court. He is a member of the State Bar of Michigan and is registered with the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) under the U.S. Department of Justice. As a dedicated trial attorney, he is known for his steadfast commitment to justice. He wins - and brings a wealth of experience across multiple areas of law, including serious injuries and permanent losses, civil rights litigation, as well as individual tort matters. His involvement in high-stakes and high-profile cases has drawn national attention, and his legal insight has been featured in numerous leading media outlets, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, USA Today, Fox News, Esquire Magazine, MSN, Yahoo News, The Detroit News, The Miami Herald, The Detroit Free Press, The New York Daily News, The Boston Globe, U.S. News & World Report, CBS News, and NPR, among others. He has also appeared in national television interviews, including on CBS This Morning and CNN Newsroom. As the host of Trial and Truth, he frequently features prominent guests to explore thought-provoking perspectives on law and justice in America. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences from Wayne State University, followed by his Juris Doctor from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. At Wayne State, his academic focus was on biology and biomedicine, with research in the biology of aging and the prandiology of Drosophila. During law school, his studies emphasized business law, trial advocacy, healthcare law, commercial and international transactions, as well as intellectual property and trademark law. Drawing from a background that spans business, medical research, and the arts, Attorney Khan brings a multidimensional perspective to his legal practice. As the founder of The Shiraz Law Firm, PLLC, he approaches the law with a comprehensive, strategic mindset, tailored to the dynamic needs of his clients. Outside the courtroom, he is a talented singer-songwriter who has toured widely, performing for audiences across various venues in the United States, Canada and the UK. He is affiliated with SOCAN (Canada) and BMI (Worldwide) for music publishing. He is also a published poet, with a book titled More than Words and several other written works available online. Mr. Khan is deeply committed to public service. He frequently volunteers his time and has served as a keynote speaker for numerous organizations, focusing on demystifying the legal process and bridging the gap between the public and the legal system. He is a devoted husband and father of four, and enjoys spending time with his family when he is not advocating for his clients.

Harry Steven Ellman was admitted to the State Bar of Michigan in 1971 and practices law in Oakland, Wayne and Macomb counties. From 1971 to 1987 he was actively engaged in the general practice of law with a strong emphasis on real estate, secured transactions and business matters. From 1987 until 2006 he owned and operated a title insurance agency, Fidelity Title Company, specializing in commercial transactions insuring over Five Billion Dollars in closings. Since 2006 he has resolved many legal matters without the need to litigate. Harry recently settled a $3 Million Dollar breach of contract matter within 5 months without filing a lawsuit. Located in Bingham Farms, Michigan, we work with clients in the Detroit Metro area, including Farmington Hills.

Andrew R. Kravis, Esq. is an attorney licensed to practice in Michigan, New York and New Jersey. He is the CEO of Kravis & Wurgaft, P.C., a full service boutique law firm he founded in 2013. He is a graduate of Seton Hall University School of Law and received a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from The University of Southern California. Andrew’s law practice focuses on corporate, real estate, non-profit, litigation and intellectual property law.