SBM Blog

SBM's Got Talent: Never Acted, Gets Starring Role

The Livingston Daily reports on the starring role of criminal defense lawyer Jim Buttrey in the Howell production of "Inherit the Wind." Buttrey has never acted before but the play's director says he is "perfect." See for yourself. Performances are April 11 and 12 at 7:30, and April 6 and 13 at 2:30, at the Howell High School Freshman Campus, 1400 W. Grand River Ave.

Persistently Prosecuting The Legitimacy Of "Yooper"

Never underestimate the power of a fired-up Scrabble competitor. It started when Delta County Prosecutor Steve Parks’ friend challenged Parks' use of “Yooper” (an eleven-point word). When the dictionary didn't back Parks up, Parks decided to challenge the dictionary.  For more than a decade he researched his topic (George Gipp “The Gipper,” Tom Izzo, and Hon. John D. Voelker are all notable, and self-identified, Yoopers), gathered documentation, contacted at least two editors at Merriam-Webster, and lobbied for his addition. Thanks to his persistence, the upcoming edition of the Merriam-Webster dictionary includes “Yooper – a native or resident of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.” Persistence pays off, you betcha.

 

HT: Mlive

Barry Howard Named 2013 Winner Of Hilda Gage Award For Judicial Excellence

The Michigan Judges Association has named former Oakland County Circuit Court chief judge Barry Howard as  the winner of its 2013 award for judicial excellence. The award is named for former Michigan Court of Appeals judge Hilda Gage. Now a prolific mediator of counsel to Lipson, Neilson, Cole, Seltzer & Garin PC, Howard co-chaired the State Bar's Judicial Crossroads Task Force along with former State Bar President Ed Pappas. For their work on the Task Force, which has received state and national recognition, the two were awarded the State Bar's Champion of Justice award.

Congratulations To Michigan's Own Legal Rebels

You may want to claim the title yourself, but only MSU College of Law profs Renee Knake and Dan Katz can claim formal "Legal Rebel" status from ABA Journal in 2013.  Readers of this blog already know what the ABA Journal recognized with this honor -- that Knake and Katz are "change leaders" in the profession. From the Journal:

Congratulations, too, to MSU College of Law and its dean, Joan Howarth, for the support of this vision.

 

One Michigan-Based Law Firm On List Of 50 Best Firms For Women Lawyers

Working Mother and Flex-Time Lawyers have put Michigan's Honigman Miller on its 2013 list of 50 Best Law Firms for Women. An executive summary suggests that women are making progress toward equity in the law firm setting. The award list is determined on the basis of applications that ask 300 questions about workforce representation, time off and leaves, child care, flexibility, leadership, compensation and advancement of women, and development and retention of women. The winning firms, according to Working Mother and Flex-time Lawyers, lead the industry in supporting flexible work arrangements and offering generous paid parental leave, and ensure that lawyers who take advantage of family friendly programs are not excluded from the partnership or leadership track.

Here are key Honigman stats that earned it recognition:

• Female Equity Partners 18%
• Female Nonequity Partners 30%
• Lawyers Working Reduced Hours 6%

Milwaukee-based Foley and Lardner, with 34 attorneys in its Michigan office, also earned a spot on the list.

HT: MiLW Blog

Marc Lipton Named To Multi-District Meningitis Plaintiffs' Committee

National Law Journal (reg. req.) reports that a Massachusetts federal judge has chosen several lawyers, including Michigan's Marc Lipton, to lead multidistrict litigation against the compounding pharmacy associated with the fungal meningitis outbreak that caused 14 deaths and 259 infections in Michigan, and many more nationwide. Here's the order. Thomas Sobol, a Boston partner at Seattle's Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, was appointed lead counsel, with Boston associate Kristen Johnson Parker as his alternate. The other appointees are Mark Chalos, a Nashville partner at San Francisco's Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, with partner Elizabeth Cabraser as his alternate; Kim Dougherty, a Boston lawyer at Baltimore-based Janet, Jenner & Suggs; Patrick Fennell of Crandall & Katt in Roanoke, Va.; J. Gerard Stranch IV, a partner at Nashville's Branstetter, Stranch & Jennings; and Mark Zamora, the founding partner of Mark Zamora and Associates of Atlanta.

On April, Attorney General Bill Schuette announced his attention to seek a grand jury to probe to  whether the compounding pharmacy broke any state laws when it distributed tainted steroid injections to Michigan patients; to seek truth for victims, and to restore public faith in healthcare system.

From Michigan Lawyer To NHL's Newest Coach

Congratulations to Jon Cooper, the Cooley law school grad recruited in 1999 by Judge Thomas E. Brennan, Jr.  to coach his son's hockey team, on being chosen by Steve Yzerman as Tampa Bay Lightning's new coach. Read Tampa Bay's "Passion Takes Cooper From Lawyer to Lightning Coach." Dreams do come true. 

Congratulations To George Sinas, Michigan Lawyers Weekly 2013 Lawyer Of The Year

First, Michigan Lawyers Weekly set the stage by picking a very impressive crop of of thirty lawyers for its 2013 class of Leaders in the Law.  The criteria for selection included success in the legal profession, a passion for the law, client and community service, and a record of achievement demonstrating the strength of character and ability to be a leader in the Michigan legal community.  The 2013 class included lawyers from throughout the state, from a wide range of practice areas, and diverse demographics, and ideologies:

• Nicholas Andrews - Liss, Seder & Andrews PC, Bloomfield Hills
• Joseph Aviv - Honigman Miller Schwartz & Cohn LLP, Bloomfield Hills
• Robert Brower - Miller, Johnson, Snell & Cummiskey PLC, Grand Rapids
• Cheri Chandler - Smith Haughey Rice & Roegge, Ann Arbor
• Bruce Courtade - Rhoades McKee PC, Grand Rapids
• Eric Dobrusin - The Dobrusin Law Firm PC, Pontiac
• Daljit Doogal - Foley & Lardner LLP, Detroit
• Alan Gocha - Oakland Law Group PLLC, Farmington Hills
• Sean Fitzgerald - Kreis, Enderle, Hudgins, & Borsos PC, Grand Rapids
• William Hampton - Secrest Wardle, Troy
• Ronald Hodess - Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone PLC, Tro
• Tracy Larsen - Barnes & Thornburg LLP, Grand Rapids
• Michael Lee - Law Offices of Lee & Correll, Southfield
• Aileen Leipprandt - Hilger Hammond PC, Grand Rapids
• Rodney Martin - Warner Norcross & Judd LLP, Grand Rapids
• Paul McKenney - Varnum LLP, Novi
• Kristin Murphy - Rader, Fishman & Grauer PLLC, Bloomfield Hills
• Lawrence Nolan - Nolan, Thomsen & Villas PC, Eaton Rapids
• Richard Paige - Bush Seyferth & Paige PLLC, Troy
• Michael Pitt - Pitt, McGehee, Palmer, Rivers & Golden PC, Royal Oak
• Stephen Postema - Office of the City Attorney, Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor
• Brian Potestivo - Potestivo & Associates PC, Rochester Hills
• Matthew Schneider - Michigan Supreme Court, Lansing
• Harold Schuitmaker - Schuitmaker, Cooper, Schuitmaker, Cypher & Knotek PC, Paw Paw
• Hon. Angela Kay Sherigan - Wojnecka & Sherigan PC, Shelby Township
• George Sinas - Sinas, Dramis, Brake, Boughton & McIntyre PC, Lansing
• Stuart Sklar - Fabian Sklar & King PC, Farmington Hills
• Kester So - Dickinson Wright PLLC, Lansing
• Michael Sullivan - Collins Einhorn Farrell PC, Southfield
• Sen. Gretchen Whitmer - Michigan Senate, Lansing

Next, they asked membes of the class to vote on the 2013 Lawyer of the Year. And their choice, announced Thursday at the Leaders in the Law luncheon in Troy, was greeted with hearty applause and smiles -- George Sinas, past chair of the State Bar's Negligence Section.  Congratulations to all.

Michigan Attorney Named One Of Lawyers USA's Top Seven Lawyers Of the Year

Michigan's Valerie Newman has several accomplishments to be proud of in 2012, including her victory in her first case before the U.S. Supreme Court, Lafler v. Cooper.  That's the reason Lawyers USA cited for recognizing her as one of the seven lawyers who made a significant impact in the legal world during 2012. Not to brag, but the State Bar of Michigan has recognized Newman's exceptional talents for some time now.  Along with past SBM president Nancy Diehl, Newman has chaired both the Bar's Custodial Interrogation Task Force and its Eyewitness Identification Task Force, yet one more way in which she is having a significant impact in the legal world.

HT: MiLW Blog

Breaking: Jocelyn Benson Named Interim Dean of Wayne State Law School

Wayne State University has announced the appointment of Jocelyn Benson as interim dean of the Law School effective today. Robert Ackerman did not seek reappointment to a new five-year term, and left the deanship on Nov. 28,  the last day of law classes. He will return to full-time teaching next semester.  John Rothchild, associate dean and associate professor of law, has served as acting dean.

Dean Benson is the associate director of the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights, and founded and is the executive director of the nonpartisan Michigan Center for Election Law and Administration, which hosts projects that support transparency and integrity in elections. Prior to joining Wayne's law faculty, she clerked for Judge Damon J. Keith on the U.S. Court of Appeals. Like Dean Ackerman, she is a graduate of Harvard Law School.