Retired Oakland County Circuit Judge James Alexander and current Oakland Circuit Judge David Cohen were in the spotlight May 21 at the Annual Awards Ceremony presented by the Jewish Bar Association of Michigan. The event, which took place at the Somerset Inn in Troy, was highlighted by the presentation of the Avern Cohn Lifetime Achievement Award to Judge Alexander and the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Champion of Justice Award to Judge Cohen. “This year’s event was standing room only, a true testament to the accomplishments of our honorees, and the remarkable growth of our organization,” said attorney Jordan Zuppke, president of the Jewish Bar Association of Michigan. “JBAM is a necessary pillar of our community, strengthening the voice of Jewish legal professionals across Michigan. I strongly encourage all attorneys and law students reading this to become members. There are great events and networking opportunities that we offer. To our sponsors, board members, and all of those who volunteered, again, thank you for being part of our mission.” Pictured: (seated, l-r) Judge Cohen, Jordan Zuppke, and Judge Alexander; (middle row) Past Presidents Nargiz Nesimova and Elisheva Mosko; (back row) Jessica Davidov, David Sachs, Jerome Sabbota, Mitchell Ribitwer, Cole Levine, Robert Goldman, Victor Wandzel, and Loren Shevitz.

headlines Flint-Genesee County

• Five esteemed jurists get their due at OCBA ceremony May 1
• Congress can restore voting rights
• Statewide survey of Michigan family-law practitioners finds family court system in crisis — and calls for legislative action
• Playing the blame game in the wake of another shooting
• Cooley Law School grad launches his civil litigation career in Grand Rapids

headlines National

• Bill Kurtis’ memoir tells how law school trained him for covering trials
• ACLU and BigLaw firm use ‘Orange is the New Black’ in hashtag effort to promote NY jail reform
• Justice Barrett’s home targeted in attempted swatting call
• Texting-and-driving charges dropped against woman without right hand
• Fender warns guitar makers to stop producing Stratocaster look-a-likes
• General counsel compensation climbs, aligned with equity and company scale