01.09.2026

The Board of Directors of Plunkett Cooney, one of the Midwest’s oldest and most accomplished full-service law firms, recently named Charles L. Bogren, Michael D. Hanchett, Matthew R. Planey and Gregory A. Stout as the firm’s newest partners.

Bogren is a Co-leader of Plunkett Cooney's Governmental Law Practice Group and a member of the Labor & Employment Practice Group who focuses primarily on these complex and diverse areas of the law and related litigation. A member of the firm’s Grand Rapids office, Bogren’s expertise includes the defense of municipalities and other public entities in First Amendment disputes, due process claims, Open Meetings and Freedom of Information acts matters, and employment related litigation with a particular focus on civil rights suits brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

Admitted to practice law in the state and federal courts in Michigan and Illinois, Bogren is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, the Illinois State and Kalamazoo County bar associations, as well as DRI, an association of lawyers defending business. He is a 2018 graduate of the University of Kansas Law School and a 2012 graduate of the University of Michigan.

Hanchett serves as co-leader of Plunkett Cooney’s Governmental Law Practice Group, and he is a member of the firm’s Labor and Employment Law Practice Group. His public-sector experience is expansive and includes general counsel services for municipalities. He also represents their interests in state and federal courts when government liability disputes arise.

Hanchett has particular expertise defending police liability litigation, including search and seizure, use of force, pursuits and corrections law. In addition, he has experience representing municipalities in employment law, including claims of alleged discrimination, retaliation and civil rights claims brought under state and federal laws.

A member of the firm’s Bloomfield Hills office, Hanchett has the distinction of being honored by Best Lawyers in America as “One to Watch” in municipal law since 2021 and by Michigan Lawyers Weekly as a 2024 “Up & Coming” Lawyer. He graduated from the University of Toledo College of Law in 2016 and received his undergraduate degree from Ferris State University in 2013.

A member of the firm’s Columbus office and Torts & Litigation Practice Group, Planey has more than two decades of experience handling insurance defense claims, including transportation law disputes that involve first- and third-party motor vehicle liability claims. Planey also handles matters involving personal injury, product liability and construction litigation. His decades of experience also includes providing insurance coverage opinions, defending extra-contractual/bad faith and punitive damage claims, as well as investigating fraudulent arson and theft claims. 

Planey is a member of DRI and the Insurance Coverage Committee of the Ohio Association of Civil Trial Attorneys, as well as the Ohio State and Columbus bar associations. He graduated, cum laude, from the University of Toledo School of Law in 1996 and received his undergraduate degree, summa cum laude, from Youngstown State University in 1993.

Rounding out Plunkett Cooney’s 2026 class of new partners is Stout, who is a member of the firm’s Columbus office and Real Estate Litigation & Title Insurance Practice Group. He focuses his practice on the areas of general litigation, title insurance litigation and banking and finance law.

Stout represents various clients involved in escrow defalcations and coverage matters and those requiring issuance of closing protection letters. He represents corporate clients in litigation, including commercial loan workouts, easement and pipeline litigation, receiverships, defense of consumer litigation and disputes related to mortgage repurchase agreements, as well as clients involved in contract and residential real estate disputes. In addition to his title insurance work, Stout has extensive experience representing clients across five states in creditor-based bankruptcies and foreclosure litigation, and he handles consumer bankruptcy and complex commercial matters.

Admitted to practice in state and federal courts in Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, Indiana and Michigan, Stout received his law degree from Salmon P. Chase College of Law in 2001 and his undergraduate degree from Baptist Bible College in 1994.

Established in 1913, Plunkett Cooney is a leading provider of business law and litigation services to clients in the private and public sectors. The firm employs attorneys in seven Michigan cities, Chicago, Illinois; Columbus, Ohio; and Indianapolis, Indiana.

Plunkett Cooney has achieved the highest rating (AV) awarded by Martindale-Hubbell, a leading, international directory of law firms. Plunkett Cooney has also received national recognition by Best Lawyers^® as one of the 2026 “Best Law Firms” in the nation, and it has received Mansfield Rule Certification Plus 2024-2025 for midsize law firms from Diversity Lab, which recognizes leaders in DEI within the legal industry.

For more information about Plunkett Cooney’s newest partners, contact John Cornwell of the firm’s Practice Development Department at (248) 901-4008; jcornwell@plunkettcooney.com.                 

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