Butzel Long Attorney Named to ABA President's Legal Task Force

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ANN ARBOR — Butzel Long attorney and shareholder Claudia Rast was recently appointed to the American Bar Association’s President’s Legal Task Force on Cybersecurity.

The ABA Cybersecurity Legal Task Force is composed of ABA members with expertise in cybersecurity. ABA President Laurel Bellows issued the following statement in forming the task force:  “We live in a world where our national security is threatened by cyberterrorists, and where private enterprise is forced to respond to cybertheft of intellectual property on a daily basis. The ABA Cybersecurity Legal Task Force is examining risks posed by criminals, terrorists and nations that seek to steal personal and financial information, disrupt critical infrastructure, and wage cyberwar.  When our national security and economy are threatened, lawyers will not stand on the sidelines.” 

Rast’s other ABA responsibilities include work on the development of a global Rule of Law Index for environment and energy with the World Justice Project, an offshoot of the American Bar Association.

Based in Butzel Long’s Ann Arbor office, Rast has extensive experience counseling clients both large and small on issues related to business and technology, particularly online and web-based companies. She blends the study of law, business, and technology to assist companies in their choice and use of technology. 

As a board member and counsel to the Clean Energy Coalition, she developed the legal framework for the DOE’s $15 million grant to the CEC for the Michigan Green Fleets project and the Michigan Public Service Commission’s $4.5M grant for the Cities of Promise program. 

She also serves on the boards of the Michigan League of Conservation Voters and Ann Arbor’s New Enterprise Forum, where she coaches technology start-ups in their efforts to connect with management expertise, venture capital, and business partners.