This is the first issue of a newly redesigned Raising the Bar e-newsletter for alumni and friends of Wayne Law. The new, more streamlined design allows for better use of photos, easier viewing on smaller screens, better grouping of stories and a quicker read while still allowing access to expanded content on our website. Raising the Bar is emailed each month.

The annual Mark Weiss Day at Comerica Park on Friday, Aug. 5, raised more than $5,500 for scholarships at Wayne Law. More than 90 people attended a pre-game picnic and saw the Detroit Tigers play the New York Mets at the event to benefit the Mark Weiss Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Students admitted for fall semester 2016 at Wayne Law gathered for an Admitted Student Dinner on Thursday, July 21, at HopCat in Detroit. The students were able to meet and speak with faculty, staff and current students. Similar dinners were offered in February in Ann Arbor and in March in East Lansing and Grand Rapids.

• Sept. 22 - Wayne Law Alumni Reception at State Bar Annual Meeting

• Oct. 13 - 24th annual Bernard Gottfried Memorial Labor Law Symposium

• Oct. 14 - Wayne Law Reunion

Two former law school classmates have joined forces to create a law firm dedicated to solving immigration problems for people who want to live and work in the United States. Zainab Boxwala, '11, and Chelsea Zuzindlak, '12, met at Wayne Law and worked together in the Law School’s Asylum and Immigration Law Clinic. That work inspired them to practice immigration law as a career.

Shirley Kaigler, LL.M. '93, has handled estate planning for many — from high-profile clients such as Rosa Parks to hospice patients in need of pro bono services. She is a partner with Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss PC and immediate past practice group coordinator of the firm’s Estate Planning/Wealth Planning/Probate Group.

Nine of the 30 Michigan attorneys on the 2016 Women in the Law list by Michigan Lawyers Weekly are alumnae of Wayne Law. They are Jody Aaron, '82; Dora Brantley, '93; Kerry Cahill, '04; Alisha Cieslak, '09; Lynn Gandhi, '86; Melissa Graves, '02; Jennifer Lord, '92; Dawn Schluter, '89; and Lisa Zimmer, '93.

Monika Holzer Sacks honored for outstanding contributions to continuing legal education

Monika Holzer Sacks, '78, received the Blaine B. Johnson Jr. Award from the Institute of Continuing Legal Education and the Family Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan for her outstanding contributions to continuing legal education. She is a shareholder in Nichols Sacks Slank Sendelbach & Buiteweg PC in Ann Arbor and Birmingham.

Phillip Korovesis elected vice president
of Leadership Oakland board

Phillip C. Korovesis, '87, has been elected vice president of the Leadership Oakland board of directors. He is an attorney and shareholder with Butzel Long in Detroit.

Katelyn Young, a rising second-year student, has been awarded the Mark A. Miller Memorial Fund Scholarship. The award is given each year by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan to a summer intern of a judicial officer at the court. The scholarship honors the memory of Miller, who was a law clerk to U.S. District Judge George Caram Steeh. Miller died in 2010 at age 53.

Numerous Wayne Law students have been featured recently in the Detroit Legal News. Read these feature stories by clicking on their names: Ebonie Byndon-Fields, James Carpenter, Ian Edwards, James Kehoe, Nicole Lockhart, Matt Makepeace, Kimberly Moehle, Rosana Moura, Christopher Rambus, Marie Reimers and Madeline Sinkovich.

Professor Laura Bartell is being honored with the Editors' Prize for best article published in the American Bankruptcy Law Journal in 2015. She will accept the award for her article, "Motions to Withdraw the Reference – An Empirical Study," at the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges annual meeting in October in San Francisco.

Peter Hammer speaks, writes about
racism, Flint, community benefits ordinance

Professor Peter Hammer, director of the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights, was interviewed by YES! Magazine for its report, How we report on structural racism can hurt us - or heal us. Hammer also wrote a guest column, Community Benefits Ordinance provides real benefits, for the Michigan Chronicle. In addition, his research on the Flint water crisis was featured in the Detroit Free Press in Professor: Blame Treasury, not just DEQ, in Flint water mess, on Michigan Radio for Report scrutinizes treasury department's role in Flint water crisis and in The Detroit News in WSU prof critical of Treasury, EMs in Flint.

Peter Henning interviewed by Washington Post, Bloomberg Radio, Guardian

Professor Peter J. Henning was interviewed by numerous media outlets recently. Among those, he was quoted by The Washington Post for its story, In New Orleans, scandal tarnishes a jazz star and the libraries he was asked to help. In addition, he was a guest on Bloomberg Radio for a report, Court Allows SEC To Keep Judges. Henning also was quoted by The Guardian for Flint water crisis: charges against low-level state workers draw scrutiny and Man faces prison after allegedly trying to deposit 10,000 bottles in Michigan.

Nick Schroeck quoted about Enbridge spills, I-75

Assistant (Clinical) Professor Nick Schroeck, director of the Transnational Environmental Law Clinic, was quoted by the Detroit Free Press for Enbridge hit with a $177M bill for Michigan, Illinois oil spills and  'No more Band-Aids' for I-75: Big tear-up starts Monday, MDOT says. He also was a guest on Michigan Radio discussing Will 14-year I-75 project relieve congestion and improve safety?