Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer recently announced the appointment of Michael Fawaz to the Board of Law Examiners.
Fawaz is a commercial litigation and appellate attorney with Howard & Howard Attorneys PLLC. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Michigan and a law degree from Michigan State University College of Law.
Fawaz is appointed for a term commencing July 1, 2021 and expiring June 30, 2026. He succeeds Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Christopher M. Murray whose term expired June 30, 2021.
The Board of Law Examiners is responsible the investigation and examination of all persons who initially apply for admission to the bar of this state. The board may adopt suitable regulations, subject to approval by the Supreme Court, concerning the performance of its functions and duties.
This appointment is not subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.
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Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer recently announced the appointments of Marlena E. Taylor to the 36th District Court of the City of Detroit and Yvonna C. Abraham to the Third Circuit Court of Wayne County.
Taylor currently serves as an assistant prosecuting attorney for Wayne County. She has been with the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office since 2011, serving in both the juvenile and adult divisions and currently serves as a team leader of the General Trials Division. During her time with the Prosecutor's Office, Taylor worked with juvenile offenders as the senior assistant prosecuting attorney for the Right TRAC Diversion Program.
Taylor earned her law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. She also earned a Bachelor of Applied Arts in Integrative Public Relations and Master of Public Administration from Central Michigan University. Taylor is a deacon with the Galilee Missionary Baptist Church, a member of the University of Detroit Mercy Inns of Court program, and a member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
"I am so incredibly grateful for this opportunity to continue to serve, in this new capacity, the community where I was born, raised and educated," said Taylor. "My prayer is that my servant heart shows through, and I make my family, friends, and the city proud."
This appointment was made to fill a partial term, which expires at noon on January 1, 2023, after Judge Deborah Lewis Langston stepped down effective July 1, 2021. If Taylor wishes to serve the remainder of Langston's term, expiring January 1, 2025, she would be required to run for reelection in November of 2022.
Abraham currently serves as the magistrate and director of probation for the 20th District Court in Dearborn Heights. She also serves as a faculty member for the Michigan Judicial Institute New Magistrate Training Seminar. Abraham previously served as a judicial attorney with the Wayne County Circuit Court and as a solo practitioner. She also served as an adjunct professor at Lawrence Technological University teaching courses in business law.
Abraham earned her law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law and Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Michigan-Dearborn. She is the president of the Michigan Association of District Court Magistrates, and a member of the State Bar Judicial Ethics Committee, State Court Administrator's Office court forms committee, and Women Lawyer Association of Michigan. She is also a member of the Henry Ford College Business Advisory Board, the Wayne Mental Health Advisory Board, the Arab American Women's Business Council Board, and HYPE Athletics Community Board.
"I am honored and humbled to be chosen by the governor to serve on the Wayne County Circuit Court bench," said Abraham. "As a magistrate, I understand the importance of fair and impartial proceedings and distributing justice with uncompromising integrity. I look forward to serving the people of Wayne County and the people of Michigan."
This appointment was made to fill a partial term, which expires at noon on January 1, 2023, after Judge Lita Masini Popke stepped down effective March 15, 2021. If Abraham wishes to seek a full six-year term, she would be required to run for reelection in November of 2022.
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Miller Canfield is pleased to announce that Kasturi Bagchi and Alan Aboona have joined the law firm's nationally recognized Financial Institutions Group.
Bagchi is a principal attorney with more than 20 years of experience handling real estate development and finance matters. Previously a partner in Honigman's real estate practice, she counsels and manages risk for clients in loan, real estate and other asset-based transactions. She is licensed in Michigan, California, and New Jersey and serves on the Indo American Chamber of Commerce USA Board of Directors.
Aboona is an associate attorney who represents national, regional and local financial institutions in real estate, construction, working capital and equipment financing, including syndicated transactions, tax credit and other government-supported financings and asset-based lending.
Miller Canfield's Financial Institutions Group provides services across a broad range of legal disciplines, including general and asset-backed transactions, real estate finance, public finance, insolvency, restructuring, workout, foreclosure, and bankruptcy services.
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The fifth edition of a popular American Bar Association (ABA) book on civil rights law was recently released and includes significant contributions by four attorneys from Plunkett Cooney.
Partners Mary Massaron and Josephine A. DeLorenzo served as co-editors of "Sword and Shield: A Practical Approach to Section 1983 Litigation," which examines civil rights laws and the federal statute 42 USC § 1983. First published in 1998, "Sword and Shield" provides a comprehensive review of the fundamentals of Section 1983 litigation in state court.
"Having kept practitioners in mind, this new edition was reorganized to provide easier access to the information needed when handling civil rights claims," said Massaron, who is one of Plunkett Cooney's most accomplished appellate attorneys and who has edited this volume for each its past editions. "This treatise provides the readers with an analysis of practical considerations and a roadmap for handling litigation under Section 1983."
Also contributing chapters to "Sword and Shield" are Plunkett Cooney partner Michael S. Bogren and senior attorney Rhonda R. Stowers. Bogren, a member of Plunkett Cooney's Board of Directors and Governmental Law Practice Group, wrote Chapter 4: "Claims Under 42 U.S.C. § 1983: A discussion of Procedural Issues and Immunities." Stowers, who is a senior attorney and member of the Michigan Association of Municipal Attorneys (MAMA) board of directors, authored Chapter 9: "The Eighth Amendment."
42 U.S. Code § 1983 - Civil action for deprivation of rights commonly referred to as the Civil Rights Act, is a federal statute that allows lawsuits to be brought by people alleging that their rights protected by the U.S. Constitution or federal statutes have been violated by state or local governments or the agents of those governments.
This multi-author treatise, written by prominent practitioners and academics from around the country, includes a discussion of the procedural intricacies in federal court, a defense-oriented view of municipal liability under Section 1983, a plaintiff's perspective on bringing claims, analysis of police misconduct claims in the context of the complex search and seizure rules that police must follow under the Fourth Amendment, and the constitutional rights of public employees. It also offers background on the Supreme Court's recent expansion of the right of property owners, as well as students' constitutional rights in public school settings and individual immunity defenses under Section 1983. And it discusses jurisdiction, forum choice considerations, and the state courts' methodology.
Massaron is one Plunkett Cooney's most accomplished appellate attorneys with more than 400 appeals to her credit, approximately 50 of which are published decisions. She is a past chair of the American Bar Association State and Local Government Law Section and a past president of DRI The Voice of the Defense Bar. She has the distinction of being inducted into the prestigious American Academy of Appellate Attorneys, and she is perennially identified as a top appellate attorney in Michigan by Martindale-Hubbell, Best Lawyers in America and other leading peer review organizations.
DeLorenzo serves as co-leader of Plunkett Cooney's Appellate Law Practice Group. She focuses her practice exclusively in the areas of appellate and insurance law with particular expertise in governmental law, professional liability, no-fault law and insurance coverage. A 2008 graduate of the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, DeLorenzo serves as commissioner-at-large for the State Bar of Michigan's Board of Commissioners and treasurer of the Federalist Society - Michigan Lawyers Chapter.
Bogren has experience representing municipalities in both state and federal courts in civil rights cases, police liability claims, first amendment law, due process claims, Open Meetings Act claims, FOIA claims, zoning matters and employment litigation. He is a member of the Kalamazoo County and American bar associations, as well as the Public Corporation Section of the State Bar of Michigan and the Civil Rights Section of the Federal Bar Association.
Stowers focuses her practice in the areas of general litigation, governmental law and title insurance law. Her governmental law practice includes advising and defending municipalities on a range of topics, including the Freedom of Information Act, the Open Meetings Act, federal and state constitutions, civil rights, zoning law, charter amendments, ordinance drafting, and employment-related issues. In addition to her service on the MAMA board, Stowers serves a board member for the Michigan Municipal League Legal Defense Fund. She is also a member of the Genesee County Bar Association and the State Bar of Michigan.
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