Read this email on the Web

Law School Newsletter - Raising the bar
May 1 to June 5, 2014 Make a Gift

Wayne Law News


Golf outing brings alumni, friends together
to raise money for student scholarships

The 2014 Wayne Law Golf Outing on June 2 raised $15,000 toward an endowment to provide student scholarships to assist second- and third-year students at Wayne Law.
more


Law School Commencement honors 175

Wayne Law's 2014 Commencement ceremony May 12 honored 175 recipients of degrees for December 2013 and candidates for degrees in May 2014 and August 2014.  
more

Wayne Law's bar passage rate jumps 6 points
to 76 percent; state average is 64 percent

Wayne Law’s state bar exam passage rate continues to climb, with 76 percent of graduates who took the exam in February passing.
more


Wayne Law art installation honors
Rosa Parks, Judge Damon J. Keith

 A striking, color-saturated art installation of 26 wood, fiber and fabric totems opened June 3 at Wayne Law to honor civil rights pioneers Rosa Parks and Judge Damon J. Keith.
more


Wayne Law Review awards Valerie Newman

Valerie Newman, '92, was honored May 7 by the Wayne Law Review with the Richard J. Barber Alumni Achievement Award.
more


Reception welcomes Class of 2014 as alumni

The Alumni Relations office at Wayne Law hosted a reception May 8 at Circa to welcome the Class of 2014 as alumni.
more

Law School to host poster exhibition
about historical boycott movements

Wayne Law's Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights will host an exhibition featuring posters from more than 20 historical and contemporary boycott movements.
more


Detroit high school students offer solutions
to city issues at Wayne Law symposium

Leaders and residents heard solutions for critical issues facing Detroit from high school students of the Cody Academy of Public Leadership during a symposium May 9 at Wayne Law.
more

African legal leaders visit Law School

A delegation of lawyers, judges, legal scholars and human rights advocates from 11 sub-Saharan African nations visited Wayne Law on May 23.
more


Second-year student Paul Stewart wins
national environmental writing competition

Paul Stewart, a second-year student at Wayne Law, has won the national 2013-14 Beveridge & Diamond Constitutional Environmental Law Writing Competition.
more


Graduating student Rebecca Wrock wins
animal law award from state bar section

Rebecca K. Wrock, who graduated May 12 from Wayne Law, has won the 2014 Wanda A. Nash Award from the Animal Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan.
more


Dean Jocelyn Benson speaks about voting,
elections for Law Day celebration in Detroit

Wayne Law Dean Jocelyn Benson for Law Day 2014 on May 1 was part of a panel discussion on historical and current issues regarding voting and the election process.
more


Luncheon honors Wayne Law's
fall 2014 scholarship recipients

A luncheon for Wayne Law fall 2014 scholarship recipients was May 9 at the Detroit Athletic Club.
more


Professor Robert Sedler's book published
in second edition for international audience

A second edition of "Constitutional Law in the United States" by Wayne Law Distinguished Professor Robert Sedler has been released.
more

Upcoming Events

Opening reception - Boycott! The Art of Economic Activism poster exhibition - June 16

Boycott! The Art of Economic Activism poster exhibition - June 17 to 20

WSU Alumni Association Young Alumni Professionals Mixer - June 18

Detroit Climate Conversation - June 26

More Events

Alumni Accomplishments

Matthew Allen, '00, published an article, "The SEC Whistleblower Program - What Employers Need to Know," in the February 2014 issue of Michigan Defense Quarterly and in Spring 2014 issue of Michigan Business Law Journal. Allen is a business, securities and intellectual property litigator and trial lawyer and a principal with Miller Canfield.

Eric Berg, '11, was honored April 17 by the Transition to Independence Program, an initiative of Wayne State University School of Social Work providing comprehensive academic and social services to students aging out of foster care. Berg was recognized as one of  three "champions" of the TIP program for providing pro bono legal services to TIP students. He is a labor law attorney with Gregory, Moore, Jeakle & Brooks in Detroit. Read the School of Social Work writeup on its honors event here.

Jonathan Colman, '08, was named partner at Barron Rosenberg Mayoras & Mayoras PC in Troy. He concentrates his practice in probate litigation, business and commercial litigation and business law.

Marilena David-Martin, '09, was awarded with the Regeana Myrick Outstanding Young Lawyer Award by the State Bar of Michigan Young Lawyers Section. The award honors commitment to public service, exemplary service to the State Bar and exceptional professional accomplishments. David-Martin, an active community volunteer, is an assistant defender at the State Appellate Defender Office in Detroit. She also was awarded the Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan Justice for All Award for her work investigating convictions involving the now closed Detroit Crime Lab.

Gary Donohue, '99, has joined Brooks Kushman PC as a senior attorney. Before his new job, he oversaw all aspects pertaining to trademarks, copyrights and patents for Ally Financial as intellectual property counsel.

Stephanie Farkas, '10, joined the law offices of Shannon M. Smith PC in Bloomfield Hills. She serves on the executive councils of the State Bar of Michigan's Young Lawyers Section and Criminal Law Section.

Floyd Gates Jr., '98, has joined the Grand Rapids office of Miller Canfield as senior counsel. He has more than 16 years of experience as a litigator and a corporate and banking attorney. He advises financial institutions, businesses and insurance carriers throughout the United States.

Linda Hallmark, '77, served as the chairperson and moderator for the Governor's Task Force on Children's Justice Summit from May 21 to 23 at the Grand Traverse Resort in Traverse City. The focus of the summit was Medication and Mental Health Concerns for Children in Care. Hallmark is chief judge pro tem of the Oakland County Probate Court and also serves in the Circuit Court Family Division. She is one of 18 members of the multidisciplinary task force appointed by the governor to focus on setting policies and protocols for victims of child abuse and neglect.

Johnny Hamood, '10, has joined Goodman Acker PC. He specializes in civil and personal injury litigation.

Clark Johnson, '70, was elected by the students of the Michigan State University College of Law as the Distinguished Doctrinal Faculty Member of the Year for 2014. He served as assistant attorney general of Michigan and was a partner in the law firm of Schmidt Nahas Coburn and Johnson. He joined the law college faculty in 1973. He teaches Contracts, Equity, Insurance Law, Medical-Legal Problems, Mortgages, Property and Secured Transactions.

James Kamp, '84, was recognized in the 2014 IP Stars directory published by Managing Intellectual Property magazine. He is a partner in Honigman's IP Department and the IP Litigation and Patent practice groups.

Larry Mann, '80, announced his retirement from his partnership position with Bowman and Brooke in Bloomfield Hills. Mann is a former Wayne Law professor.

Shanta McMullan, '07, was re-elected to serve a one-year term on the Board of Directors of the Wolverine Bar Association. She concentrates her practice at Butzel Long on the management side of labor and employment law.  

Kenneth Neuman, '86, was appointed to the Board of Directors for the Home Builders Association of Southeastern Michigan. He is managing partner at Neuman Anderson PC, based in Birmingham.

Leslie Rojas, '08, joined The Health Law Partners PC as an associate in the firm's Southfield office. She focuses on health care compliance with federal and state health care regulations, health information privacy and technology issues, fraud and abuse issues, and transactional and corporate aspects of health care.


More Alumni Accomplishments

Faculty Accomplishments

Christopher Lund gave a talk May 13 at the Mid-Michigan Labor Employment Relations Association in Lansing. He spoke about  "Modern Controversies Regarding the Intersection of Religion and Employment Law."

Robert Sedler presented "The 2012 Presidential Election and its Aftermath, The Eighteenth Century Constitution Meets the Two Party Political System" on May 1 at the Orchard Lake campus of Oakland Community College for the Adult Learning Institute.


More Faculty Accomplishments

Professors in the News

Robert Ackerman was interviewed by the Detroit Legal News for an Asked and Answered column about football helmet safety and liability.

Laura Bartell continues to be a much sought-after expert on the details of Detroit's bankruptcy case. In one recent report, she was quoted by Michigan Radio in Will objections slow Detroit's trip through bankruptcy?

Jocelyn Benson wrote a guest column, We should be protecting voice of the voters, not silencing it, published in the Detroit Free Press.

Peter Hammer wrote a guest column, A nation moving backward: The erosion of voting rights, for the Detroit Free Press. The column also was printed in the Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser.

Peter Henning has been interviewed and quoted extensively throughout the United States and abroad about the American criminal case against Credit Suisse bank. In one recent instance, he was interviewed for a Swiss Radio report, Credit Suisse: The U.S. strategy.

John Mogk was quoted in a Bloomberg News report, Detroit Blight Census Leaves Fate of Isolated Residents Unspoken, and by other media outlets, including Al Jazeera America TV, on the same topic.

Nick Schroeck was interviewed for the Craig Fahle Show on WDET radio for a segment titled "New EPA Emissions Standards Expected To Bring Dramatic Changes."

Robert Sedler was quoted in a Detroit News article, "Wayne County clerk to decide if Conyers stays on primary ballot."

Michael Steinberg was quoted widely after the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, for which he is legal director, won a federal ruling on a ballot issue. One of the news stories about the case was a Detroit Free Press article, Conyers camp celebrates federal judge's ruling putting him on ballot.


More Professors in the News


Connect with Wayne Law alumni and friends on Facebook

Follow Wayne Law on Twitter

Wayne State University Aim Higher
Wayne State University Law School
471 W. Palmer St.
Detroit, MI 48202
(313) 577-4629

If you believe this e-mail was sent to you in error, or you do not want to continue receiving this communication,
please unsubscribe at lawalumni@wayne.edu.