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Washtenaw County
LEGAL NEWS
—A Detroit Legal News Publication
Vol. 8 , No. 95
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PERMIT NO. 152
legalnews.com
Monday, January 7, 2013
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NEWSPAPER OF RECORD SERVING THE BUSINESS, LEGAL AND FINANCIAL COMMUNITIES OF WASHTENAW COUNTY
MONDAY PROFILE
Lloyd E. Powell
Washtenaw County Public Defender Lloyd E.
Powell has held that title for 33 years. Before that,
he served as a trial attorney for the prosecution and
public defense, as well as a criminal defense trial
attorney in private practice. And that followed a military career in law enforcement that included service
in Europe and Asia, and a promotion to Chief of
Investigations for the Office of Provost Marshall at
U.S. Army Headquarters in Seoul, Korea.
A graduate of Wayne State University Law School
and Wayne State University Graduate School of
Business, Powell has received many awards over the course of more than
50 years of public service.
He is the chief public defender and director of a high volume county
governmental law firm comprised of 15 fulltime trial attorneys, 18 volunteer attorneys, and about 90 of what he considers the best and brightest student trial lawyers and investigators from law schools around the country.
BY JO MATHIS
Legal News
Residence: Ann Arbor.
What is your idea of perfect happiness? Being actively involved
in purposeful work that protects and benefits humankind by righting wrongs, relieving suffering, achieving justice, and providing
youth with opportunities for successful growth.
What is your greatest fear? Misunderstanding or being misunderstood.
Which living person do you most admire? Nelson Mandela.
What is the trait you hate most in yourself? Not suffering fools
gladly.
What is the trait you hate most in others? Deceitfulness—especially when it results in unethical and dishonest professional conduct that does harm to others.
Jocelyn Benson named interim dean
at Wayne State University Law School
Ackerman announced
in the fall that he
would not seek
another 5-year term
BY STEVE THORPE
Legal News
Newly named Wayne State
University Law School Interim
Dean Jocelyn F. Benson is a firm
believer in moving forward,
whether on her daily run, in a
marathon or leading an educational institution.
So does her run still happen
on a day like this, when the
weather is being somewhat less
than cooperative? “Always!
Every day,” she says, with a
laugh. “I actually enjoy running
in the snow. I don’t enjoy running in sleet, but then there’s
always the treadmill.”
Benson was named as Interim
Dean of on Dec. 17 and will lead
the school until a new dean is
chosen near the end of 2013.
However long she holds the
position, she’s excited about the
school’s prospects.
“The law school is in a position to move forward significantly over the next year and I’m
excited to lead it during that
time,” Benson says.
Outgoing Dean Robert Ackerman announced in the fall of
2012 that he would not seek
reappointment to another fiveyear term as dean and is slated to
return to Wayne Law as a professor in the fall of 2013.
After earning her bachelor’s
degree magna cum laude from
Wellesley College, Benson
earned a master of philosophy as
a Marshall Scholar at Oxford
University and her law degree
from Harvard Law School.
In 2004 Benson helped develop the first nationwide Election
Protection program for the
Democratic National Committee.
Benson has been a member of
the faculty since 2005 and served
as associate director of the
school’s Damon J. Keith Center
for Civil Rights.
She is the author of “State
See BENSON, Page 2
If you suddenly had an extra room in your house, what would
you do with it? More exercise equipment, and a larger library.
What was your most memorable meal? The most recent one
shared with a friend, and those prepared by my mother for family
and friends during the holidays.
If you could take back one thing you did… I would never have
purchased the automobile that was always breaking down.
WCBA ‘speakeasy’
What is your most treasured material possession? My Nordic
track.
If you could do one thing professionally… I would provide a
more equitable distribution of needed resources nationwide to all
major components of our criminal justice system—especially the
usually underfunded defense component.
What are your favorite websites? All that relate to our legal profession.
What were your proudest moments as a lawyer? Our many
successes over the years in achieving justice as a competent, dedicated and highly motivated professional team, and my personal
successes toward that end as a trial lawyer.
It’s 7 a.m. Monday. How are you feeling? Enthusiastically looking forward to another productive day and already at work, or on
the way after an hour of aerobic exercises.
What would surprise people about your job? The hard but satisfying work involved in carefully covering all required bases in
order to provide top quality professional service with the utmost
competency and cost effectiveness.
Introvert or extrovert? Both—depending on circumstances. But
primarily an extrovert.
What do you consider the most overrated virtue? Self-pride when there is a proclivity to devolve into arrogance, egotism and
megalomania.
See PROFILE, Page 3
Above left, left to right: Jeffrey D.
Alber, Annie Oxner and Naomi E. Fink
pose for a picture Jan. 3 at Conor
O’Neill’s Irish Pub in downtown Ann
Arbor. The occasion was the monthly
`speakeasy’ arranged by Washtenaw
County Bar Association President
Pat Conlin. The gatherings provide an
opportunity for local law professionals to meet in an informal setting.
Above are Karl Fink and his brother, Jim.
At left are Judge Joe Burke, Pat Conlin and Robert O’Reilly.
Photos by Jo Mathis
Page 2, Washtenaw County Legal News
Benson is interim dean
From Page 1
Secretaries of State: Guardians of
the Democratic Process,” published in 2010. It is the f irst
major look at the role of the secretary of state in enforcing election and campaign finance laws.
Benson was also the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for
Michigan’s Secretary of State in
the election that year.
She also founded and became
president of Military Spouses of
Michigan, a group dedicated to
providing support and resources
for the spouses of those serving
in the military.
Early in her career Benson
clerked for Judge Damon J. Keith
and worked as a legal assistant to
Nina Totenberg at National Public Radio. Her experience clerking for Judge Keith was the
beginning of a passionate commitment to the city of Detroit.
At a time when many were
fleeing the city, she and her husband chose to move in.
“I live in the city, my husband
and I were married on Belle Isle,
clerked for Judge Keith, who’s an
icon of our city, and it’s very
important to me that the city continue on the upward path it’s been
on for the past decade,” Benson
says. “It’s reemerging as a vibrant
place to live, work and play. It
makes it really exciting to be leading the law school right now
because the school has an important role to play in that process.”
Inn of Court to meet Jan.8
The Washtenaw County Inn of
Court Team 3—Motions at Trial
– will meet at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 8 at the Ann Arbor Justice Center, 15th District Court,
301 E. Huron, Ann Arbor.
An hour-long presentation
beginning at 6 p.m. will follow the
social networking and check-in.
Participants include leader
Mag. M. Colleen Currie; and
team members: masters James
Cameron, Patrick McLain and
Judy Moskus; barristers Richard
Apkarian and Michelle Heikka;
associate Noah Hurwitz; and law
students Max Coolidge and Ashley Muhleman.
Out of respect for the hard
work put into each presentation,
support for each team through
attendance at meetings is mandatory. Any two unexcused
absences will result in dismissal
from the Inn. If you are unable
to attend this program, contact
Kyeena Slater at [email protected] or 734-994-4912.
Monday, January 7, 2013
Nominations now open for
major State Bar awards
Nominations are now open for
the following State Bar of
Michigan awards that will be
presented at the September 2013
annual meeting in Lansing:
The Champion of Justice
Award is given for extraordinary
individual accomplishments or
for devotion to a cause. No more
than five awards are given each
year to practicing lawyers and
judges who have made a significant contribution to their community, state, and/or the nation.
The Kimberly M. Cahill Bar
Leadership Award was established
in memory of the 2006-07 SBM
president, who passed away in
January 2008. This award will be
presented to a recognized local or
affinity bar association, program
or leader for excellence in promoting the ideal of professionalism or
equal justice for all, or in responding to a compelling legal need
within the community during the
past year or on an ongoing basis.
The John W. Cummiskey Pro
Bono Award, named after a
Grand Rapids attorney who was
dedicated to making legal services available to all, recognizes a
member of the State Bar who
excels in commitment to pro
bono issues. This award carries
with it a cash stipend to be
donated to the charity of the
recipient’s choice.
The John W. Reed Michigan
Lawyer Legacy Award was introduced in 2011 and is named for a
longtime and beloved University
of Michigan Law School professor and Wayne State University
dean. This award will be presented periodically to a professor
from a Michigan law school
whose influence on Michigan
lawyers has elevated the quality
of legal practice in the state.
All SBM award nominations
are due by 5 p.m. Monday, April
1, 2013.
The Liberty Bell Award recipient is selected from nominations
made by local and special-purpose bar associations. The award
is presented to a non-lawyer who
has made a significant contribution to the justice system. The
deadline for this award is Monday, May 13, 2013.
An awards committee cochaired by former SBM President
Nancy Diehl and SBM PresidentElect Brian Einhorn reviews nominations for the Roberts P. Hudson,
John W. Reed, Champion of Jus-
tice, Frank J. Kelley, Kimberly M.
Cahill, and Liberty Bell awards.
The SBM Pro Bono Initiative
Committee reviews nominations
for the Cummiskey Pro Bono
award. These recommendations are
then voted on by the full Board of
Commissioners at its June meeting.
Last year's non-winning nominations will automatically carry
over for consideration this year.
Nominations should include sufficient details about the accomplishments of the nominee to
allow the committees to make a
judgment.
Any SBM member can nominate candidates for awards. To
apply online or download application forms visit www.michbar.org/programs/eventsawards.cf
m. Cummiskey Award nominations can be directed to Robert
Mathis at [email protected]; all other nominations
can be submitted to Joyce
Nordeen, State Bar of Michigan,
306 Townsend St., Lansing, MI
48933 or [email protected]. For more information
visit the State Bar’s website,
www.michbar.org, or call (517)
346-6373 or (800) 968-1442, or
fax (517) 482-6248.
Trucking company pays $4.85 M to settle case
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WASHTENAW COUNTY
LEGAL NEWS
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Employers advised
to review disability
leave policies
National trucking company
Interstate Distributor Co. recently paid $4.85 M to settle a lawsuit brought by the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) over Interstate’s
allegedly unlawful disability
leave policies.
The EEOC and nine former
employees alleged Interstate’s
policies violated the Americans
with Disabilities Act (ADA)
because employees were automatically discharged after exhausting
their 12 weeks of leave afforded
under the Family and Medical
Leave Act (FMLA), unless they
could return to work without any
medical restrictions, according to
Honigman employment attorneys.
The EEOC alleged that Interstate’s policies denied reasonable
accommodations under the ADA
to hundreds of disabled employees since 2007. Interstate also
purportedly failed to engage in
an “interactive process” with the
disabled employees to determine
what, if any, reasonable accommodations could be implemented
to allow the employees to continue employment.
In addition to paying $4.85
million to settle the case, the settlement places a myriad of other
requirements on Interstate through
2015. Among other requirements,
Interstate must implement new
anti-discrimination policies; notify
employees that Interstate’s no
medical restrictions and 12-week
maximum leave policies are discontinued; and notify the EEOC
within 14 days of modifying any
equal opportunity policies.
The settlement between the
EEOC and Interstate coincides
with the EEOC’s recent report for
fiscal year 2012 in which it reported that “the EEOC secured a historic monetary recovery through
[its] private sector administrative
enforcement—$365.4 million—
the highest level of monetary
relief ever.” Of this figure, $36.2
million “came from investigations
and conciliations of systemic
charges of discrimination,” such as
the Interstate settlement, which is
“four times the amount received in
the previous fiscal year.”
In light of the Interstate settlement and the EEOC’s increasing
enforcement efforts, Honigman
attorneys advise employers to
review their disability leave policies, and to remember that
exhaustion of all 12 weeks of
FMLA leave does not necessarily
mean a disabled employee is not
entitled to additional leave under
the ADA.
Monday, January 7, 2013
Lloyd E. Powell profile
From Page 1
When and where were you happiest? Now and here!
What’s your greatest achievement: My current "world class"
work team after many years of public service in the military, law
enforcement and our legal profession.
What would you say to your 16-year-old self? Continue to work
hard, keep focused and stay on course.
What would be your ideal job? The one I have now and have
held for the past 33 years.
What one thing do you wish people knew about your work?
That our "world class" professional team can always be relied
upon to provide top quality legal representation and that we
derive great fulfillment in doing so.
Favorite joke: “Listen to Lloyd because when they wrote the
Constitution and ratified it, Lloyd was there!” —Brian Mackie.
What is something most people don't know about you? My
deep religious conviction as a Christian and my devotion to our
country—imperfections notwithstanding.
What do you wish more people understood? That the major
components of our criminal justice system (the police, the prosecution, the defense, the courts and corrections) are all inter-related, and if the system is to continue to function as it should in the
quest for justice, there has to be a more equitable and balanced
distribution of resources to avoid the cultural tendency nationally
to under-fund the defense component.
If you could have dinner with three people, living or dead,
who would they be? My mother, father and sister—with Frederick Douglas, Martin Luther King and Thurgood Marshall as alternates.
Who is your favorite character of fiction? Perry Mason starring
Raymond Burr.
Favorite words: “Promise yourself to be too large for worry, too
noble for anger, too strong for fear and too happy to permit the
presence of trouble.” —The Optimist’s Creed.
Favorite movie: “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
What’s one thing you can do now that you couldn’t do 20
years ago? Rely on my current transportation (hybrid SUV),
which has been almost perfect for the past seven years.
Favorite place to spend money: Amazon.com.
What is your motto? Think, expect and work only for the best.
Where would you like to be when you're 90? Still healthy, productive and at the top of my game!
Washtenaw County Legal News, Page 3
Robert P. Young, Jr. elected to second term
The justices of the Michigan
Supreme Court have unanimously elected Robert P. Young, Jr. to
a second term as chief justice.
The justices choose a chief justice at the beginning of every
odd-numbered year.
Young pledged to continue
court reforms aimed at improving public service and transparency.
“The State Court Administrative
Office has already started working
with the trial courts to become
more effective through performance measurement,” the chief justice noted. “Performance measurement has been used in the private
sector for years, and it can be just
as effective in the public sector. We
look at factors that affect the public’s experience of the courts –
access and fairness, timeliness,
cost-effectiveness, and others – and
find ways to measure the courts’
performance on each. Those measurements in turn provide very valuable information about how well
the courts are functioning and
where they can improve.”
“It may seem counter-intuitive
to say that we can apply measurements to the quality of justice, but
in fact it can be done, in no small
part by focusing on the public’s
experience,” Young said. “For
example, to assess ‘access and fairness,’ courts could ask litigants to
answer questions about their experience, including ‘Did the judge
hear your side of the story? When
you left the courtroom, did you
know what to do next? Did court
staff answer your questions?’”
Starting this year, SCAO will
begin posting performance measures online, making that information available to the public,
Robert P. Young Jr.
Young said. More information
about the plan is available at
http://www.courts.mi.gov/Admin
istration/admin/op/Pages/Performance-Measures.aspx.
A Detroit native, Young
earned both undergraduate and
law degrees from Harvard University. He began his legal career
in 1978 with the law f irm of
Dickinson, Wright, Moon, Van
Dusen, & Freeman. In 1992, he
joined AAA Michigan as its
vice-president, corporate secretary and general counsel.
Governor John Engler appointed Young to the Michigan Court of
Appeals in 1995, followed by
Young’s election to that court in
1996. In 1999, Engler appointed
Young to the Michigan Supreme
Court, to which Young was elected
in 2002 and re-elected in 2010.
Young served as an adjunct
professor at Wayne State University Law School for a number of
years. Young has served on the
boards of many charitable business and civic organizations,
including United Community
Services of Metropolitan Detroit
and Vista Maria, a resource center for disadvantaged young
women and girls. He has also
served as a trustee of the Detroit
Institute of Children, The Detroit
Historical Society, and the Governor’s Task Force on Children’s
Justice Concerning Child Abuse
and Neglect.
A former commissioner of the
Michigan Civil Service Commission, Young was a trustee of Central Michigan University, University Liggett School, and the
Grosse Pointe Academy. He is a
former chair of the Greater
Detroit Chamber of Commerce
“Leadership Detroit” program.
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IF N D A N S
Attorney Joseph H.
Spiegel has the
experience to quickly
determine the merits
of a potential claim.
We aggressively
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losses resulting from
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Common investment
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Joseph H. Spiegel provides the highest quality legal service.
The small rm setting enhances individualized attention to each
client.
Spiegel has been representing victims of securities and investment
fraud for over 38 years. He has handled over 1000 securities
arbitrations and lawsuits before FINRA (Financial Industry
Regulatory Authority), NYSE (New York Stock Exchange), AAA
(American Arbitration Association), and in state and Federal
Courts. He is the founder and a regular speaker at annual
Midwest Securities Law Institute, now in its 25th year, conducted
with Michigan State College of Law.
Spiegel can also assist your clients in Business matters, Corporate
and Commercial Litigation.
Spiegel has substantial experience in handling in securities-related
matters and serves as Mediator for dispute resolution.
CONTACT
JHS
LAW OFFICES
JOSEPH H. SPIEGEL, P.C.
825 Victors Way, Suite 300
Ann Arbor, MI 48108
(734) 761-8475
Fax (734) 761-9632
vwww.josephspiegel.com