Michigan Court of Appeals
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder recently announced the reappointment of Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Christopher Murray to the Board of Law Examiners.
The Board of Law Examiners is responsible for the investigation and examination of anyone applying for admission to the State Bar. Board members are nominated by the court and appointed by the governor for five year terms.
Murray has served on the Court of Appeals since 2002 and is currently chief judge pro tem. He previously served as a judge on the Wayne County Circuit Court, as deputy legal counsel to Governor Engler, and worked as an attorney in private practice at Keller Thomas.
Murray received his bachelor's degree from Hillsdale College and his law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law.
His five-year term will expire June 30, 2021.
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Wayne State University Law School
Wayne State University Law School Assistant Professor Kirsten Matoy Carlson has been selected to receive the WSU Academy of Scholars Junior Faculty Award for the 2016-17 academic year.
The award is given annually to a select number of junior faculty members who have a significant record of publications or creative achievement and who have achieved national or international recognition very early in their careers.
Carlson will be honored at the academy's annual banquet in October. She will receive a $1,000 award for research and development, as well as the opportunity to present her research at one of the academy's monthly meetings.
At Wayne Law, Carlson teaches American Indian Law and Civil Procedure. She serves on the State Bar of Michigan Standing Committee on American Indian Law.
Her research focuses on legal advocacy and law reform, with particular attention on the various strategies used by Indian nations and indigenous groups to reform federal Indian law and policy effectively. Carlson's research integrates traditional legal analysis with social science methodologies for studying legal and political advocacy.
From May 2014 through July 2016, she has a National Science Foundation Law and Social Science Program grant to fund her research project, "Legal Mobilization, Rights Claims, and Federal Indian Policy Reform." Carlson previously received a National Science Foundation dissertation research grant to study the constitutional entrenchment of aboriginal and treaty rights in Canada. As a Fulbright Scholar, she researched attitudes toward the Waitangi Tribunal and the treaty claims settlement process in New Zealand.
Her articles have been published in the University of Colorado Law Review, American Indian Law Review, Georgia State Law Review, Michigan Law Review and Michigan State Law Review.
One of Carlson's articles, "Congress and Indians," was cited in an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Prior to joining Wayne Law, she advocated nationally and internationally to protect the rights of Indian nations as a staff attorney at the Indian Law Resource Center. She led the center's advocacy efforts to restore criminal jurisdiction to Indian nations to end violence against women in Indian Country.
Carlson earned a bachelor of arts degree in international studies from Johns Hopkins University; master of arts degree in Maaori studies from the University of Wellington, New Zealand; and law degree and doctorate in political science from the University of Michigan.
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Bodman PLC
Bodman PLC attorney Marc Bakst, of the firm's Detroit office, has been elected to the Michigan Israel Business Bridge Board of Directors for a three-year term ending in 2019.
The Michigan Israel Business Bridge, founded in 2007, works to bridge the international gap between Michigan and Israel. The Bridge began as an effort to close the gap between Michigan's renowned base of manufacturing, human resources, and infrastructure, and Israel's technological workforce and desire to expand its manufacturing, development and distribution in North America, forming a beneficial partnership. Today, MIBB continues to strengthen the bonds between the countries through networking events to showcase current Israeli innovation like 3D printing, smart vehicles and the newest medical devices.
The Bridge has formed ongoing partnerships with the Michigan Economic Developments Corporation, the Israel Economic Mission based in Chicago and the Export Institute in Israel.
Bakst, a member of Bodman's Banking Practice Group, represents clients in the areas of creditors' rights, bankruptcy, reorganization and insolvency. He regularly represents secured and unsecured creditors, debtors, trustees and creditors' committees in loan workout and other negotiations, and in state and federal courts.
Bakst is listed in The Best Lawyers in America 2016 under Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law and Litigation-Bankruptcy, and in Michigan Super Lawyers 2007-2015 under Bankruptcy & Creditor/Debtor Rights. He is listed as a 2016 "Top Lawyer" by DBusiness magazine.
Bodman is also pleased to announce the firm has been ranked "Highly Recommended" in Trademark Law and "Recommended" in Intellectual Property Law in Managing Intellectual Property's IP Stars 2016. In addition, attorney Susan M. Kornfield, a member of the firm's High Technology, Intellectual Property, and Workplace Law practice groups, has been selected as a "Trademark Star."
Kornfield assists clients in intellectual property matters, including information systems acquisition, copyrights, trademarks, e-commerce, noncompete agreements and other post-employment restrictions, and protection against economic espionage. She handles transactional and litigation matters and has been lead counsel in national intellectual property litigation. She is chair of Bodman's Intellectual Property Practice Group and has been a member of the firm's Executive Committee for many years. Kornfield has been listed in Best Lawyers in America 2016, Michigan Super Lawyers 2016, and DBusiness "Top Lawyers" 2016.
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Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP
Honigman, Miller, Schwartz, and Cohn LLP is pleased to announce that Anessa Owen Kramer, a partner in the firm's Trademark and Copyright Practice Group, was elected president of the Michigan Intellectual Property Inn of Court by its members for the 2016-2017 cycle.
The organization's mission is to foster excellence in professionalism, ethics, civility and legal skills in intellectual property.
The Inn also elected Honigman's Emily Tait, a partner in the firm's IP Litigation Practice Group, as its treasurer.
Kramer represents a number of owners of famous and well-known trademarks in procuring, enforcing and protecting their global brands. She has received numerous professional accolades, including Crain's 40 Under 40 in 2007 and one of the Top 25 Women Business Lawyers in Michigan by Michigan Super Lawyers for 2014 and 2015. She was named one of Managing Intellectual Property magazine's "Top 250 Women in Intellectual Property in the U.S." in 2013 and one of its IP Stars every year since 2013. Kramer is regularly featured in The Best Lawyers in America, DBusiness magazine's "Top Lawyers," and in the World Trademark Review's The World's Leading Trademark Professionals.
Kramer earned a law degree from George Washington University Law School and a B.A., with honors, from Michigan State University.
Tait is the co-chair of Honigman's Intellectual Property Litigation Practice Group and concentrates her practice on resolving complex intellectual property disputes involving diverse technologies and industries. She has been recognized as a Top Lawyer by DBusiness and a Rising Star by Michigan Super Lawyers.
Tait earned a law degree from the University of Michigan Law School, a B.S. from the University of Michigan, and an LL.M from the University of Turin (Italy).
Dickinson Wright PLLC
Dennis Archer, the former mayor of Detroit and justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, as well as past president of the ABA, has been chosen to receive the ABA Medal, the highest award of the American Bar Association.
The son of a disabled cemetery caretaker, Archer was raised in Cassopolis, Mich., graduated from Western Michigan University in 1965, and taught learning-disabled children in the Detroit public schools from 1965-70 while earning his J.D. from the Detroit College of Law in 1970. He then began a career notable for the breadth of its professional, civic and charitable activities.
"I am indeed, humbled and deeply honored," Archer said. "I have been serving in our House of Delegates since 1979. And each year whenever the ABA Medal has been awarded, I have felt that those who were awarded the medal were outstanding legal giants and absolutely worthy of receiving the highest award that the ABA can bestow upon a lawyer or judge.
"As I sat there over the years I always wondered whether or not I might be found worthy even for consideration when you think about award winners of the magnitude of a Thurgood Marshall, Oliver Hill, Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Hillary Clinton. So when Paulette Brown let me know I would receive the award, I did all that I could to contain my emotions because it is such a unique and high honor."
In addition to practicing law at Detroit firms, Archer became known for his ability to relate to both jurors and the bench, including now as chairman emeritus at Dickinson Wright PLLC. Archer was on the faculty of Detroit College of Law from 1972-78 and at Wayne State University Law School from 1984-85.
Archer served as a justice on the Michigan Supreme Court from 1986-90, where Michigan Lawyers Weekly named him "most respected judge in Michigan" in his final year.
In addition to serving on numerous charitable and civic boards in his city, including the Detroit Arts Commission, YMCA of Detroit and United Way of Southeastern Michigan, Archer has been active in several bar associations, eventually serving as president of the State Bar of Michigan, Wolverine Bar Association and National Bar Association as well as making history by breaking the color barrier as the first African-American president of the ABA in 2003. He has been chairman of The InfiLaw System, a consortium of independent, ABA-approved for-profit law schools, since 2004.
In recognition of his leadership and wise counsel, he has received 17 honorary Doctor of Law degrees during his long career.
As mayor of Detroit from 1993-2001, Archer promoted economic growth to reinvigorate the downtown and worked with the federal government so that Detroit became one of the first cities to receive federal "empowerment zone" status. He also served as president of the National League of Cities.
Although frequently the first person of color to attain the many roles he has held, Archer worked tirelessly to ensure opportunities for everyone, regardless of race, gender, religion, national origin or physical ability.
Archer will receive the ABA Medal at the ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco during the General Assembly August 6 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at the second floor ballroom of Moscone Center West.
The ABA Medal recognizes exceptionally distinguished service by a lawyer or lawyers to the cause of American jurisprudence and is given only in years when the ABA Board of Governors determines a nominee has provided exceptional and distinguished service to the law and the legal profession.
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The Dollar Law Firm PLLC
James W. Low has been appointed by State Bar of Michigan Board of Commissioners to serve a two year-term in the American Bar Association (ABA) House of Delegates. He is one of 589 lawyers nationwide to serve in this capacity. The control and administration of the American Bar Association is vested in the House of Delegates, the policy-making body of the association. The House of Delegates, established in 1936, meets twice each year, at ABA Annual and Midyear Meetings. Action taken by the House of Delegates on specific issues becomes official ABA policy.
Low is the managing attorney of the Southfield office of The Dollar Law Firm PLLC, based out of Miami, Florida. He specializes in the representation of medical providers in No-Fault litigation. He is a 1998 graduate of Michigan State University and a 2001 graduate of the Michigan State University College of Law.
Low has previously served in leadership on a local, state, national, and international level. In bar leadership locally, Low was the Chair of the Oakland County Bar Association New Lawyers Committee, and currently serves on the OCBA Membership Committee.
At the state level, Low was a member of the Young Lawyers Section Executive Council, and further served as secretary-treasurer of the State Bar of Michigan Young Lawyers Section. Nationally, he served as Michigan's District Representative to the American Bar Association YLD, and as Michigan's coordinator for Disaster Legal Services for FEMA.
Internationally, Low has attended bar association conferences in Paris, Barcelona, Montreal, Brussels, London, Belfast, Rome, Riga, Aix-en-Provence, Copenhagen, and Dusseldorf as the American Representative. In addition, he was selected by the ABA YLD to represent the United States at the International Debate Championship in Montreal, where he took second place.
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Butzel Long
Butzel Long attorney Daniel P. Malone co-authored a peer-review technical paper on automotive safety. SAE International published it in April 2016, http://papers.sae.org/2016-01-07000. The technical paper discusses multiple key automotive safety issues. The article is titled, "NHTSA and the Next 50 Years: Time for Congress to Act Boldly (Again)."
Malone co-authored the technical paper with John F. Creamer, managing director of GlobalAutoRegs.com, an advisory service on international automotive regulations.
"It is a substantive piece aimed at shedding important light on several critical issues," said Malone. "Our core message is that unless Congress moves quickly and boldly to reform the U.S. approach to vehicle safety, the current regulatory and recall systems will fail to meet the challenges that surely lie ahead. The piece concludes by offering ten practical recommendations that Congress should find helpful if it chooses to act."
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Professional Resolution Experts of Michigan (PREMi)
The advent of Michigan's Business Court system and the ever-shrinking number of cases that go to trial each year have placed a greater emphasis on cost-effective mediation, arbitration, and other forms of alternative dispute resolution. Professional Resolution Experts of Michigan (PREMi) continues to respond to these trends, adding experienced, litigation-savvy ADR practitioners to its roster of experienced ADR practitioners.
Local attorney William J. Gilbride Jr. is the latest professional to join PREMi, the third addition in the past 12 months.
Gilbride has practiced with Abbott Nicholson PC since 1989, where he served as the law firm's managing partner and currently sits on its board of directors. Throughout his career, he has handled a wide array of matters involving contracts, shareholder rights, employment law, trade secrets, sales commission disputes, mergers and acquisitions, title and land use, foreclosures, intellectual property, supplier disagreements, government contracts, and professional licensure and disciplinary actions.
Within the legal community, Gilbride is active in state and local bar association activities, including his current service as treasurer of the State Bar of Michigan's ADR Section Council and as a fellow with both the Michigan State Bar Foundation and the Detroit Metropolitan Bar Foundation. He has earned the respect of his peers and colleagues, as evidenced by his accolades as a Michigan Super Lawyer, a DBusiness Magazine Top Lawyer, a Law Bulletin Publishing Leading Lawyer, and a Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Lawyer. Gilbride was also inducted into the American Board of Trial Advocates, an invitation-only group of accomplished trial lawyers who demonstrate high personal character and honorable reputation.
Published: Mon, Jun 20, 2016
