"The Michigan State Bar Foundation conducted a national search for its next executive director and has found the right leader in Jennifer S. Bentley," said Foundation President Alfred Butzbaugh. He added, "Jennifer's background as a public interest lawyer and senior legal aid manager will help the Foundation advance its mission of access to justice for the poor."
"I am honored the Foundation has selected me as its executive director. I am excited about working with the Foundation's Board and staff and its many partners to continue the Foundation's excellent work and to explore new opportunities in the future," said Bentley. She will begin full time duties near the end of January, 2017, a year that will mark the 70th anniversary of the Foundation.
For 20 years, Bentley has been a staff attorney and manager in several legal aid programs, most recently serving as chief development officer to lead efforts for expansion and growth for the statewide nonprofit Michigan Advocacy Program. Her work has involved a wide range of administrative duties, program development, policy planning and service delivery innovations. She has been involved in statewide and national work to increase resources for civil legal aid to the poor. She earned a certificate in fundraising management from the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy. She received a law degree from the Indiana University School of Law and a B.A from Aquinas College.
The Foundation provides leadership and funding to advance access to justice for the poor and improve the administration of justice. In 2016, the Foundation awarded nearly $20 million to nonprofit agencies providing civil legal aid to the poor. The Foundation also administers the Access to Justice Fund, a partnership with the State Bar of Michigan and Michigan's nonprofit civil legal aid offices to increase resources for civil legal aid for the poor. For additional information about the Foundation see www.msbf.org.
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Based on a peer-review survey open to all metro Detroit lawyers, DBusiness magazine recently named 11 attorneys from Plunkett Cooney to its 2017 list of "Top Lawyers."
Below is a list of Plunkett Cooney's attorney who received the 2017 DBusiness Top Lawyer designation:
- D. Jennifer Andreou (partner, Detroit) Medical Malpractice Law.
- Douglas C. Bernstein (partner, Bloomfield Hills) Bankruptcy and Creditor/Debtor Rights Law, Banking and Financial Service Law.
- Charles W. Browning (partner, Bloomfield Hills) Insurance Law .
- Jeffrey C. Gerish (partner, Bloomfield Hills) Appellate Law.
- James R. Geroux (Of Counsel, Detroit) Workers' Compensation Law.
- Robert G. Kamenec (partner, Bloomfield Hills) Appellate Law.
- Mary Massaron (partner, Bloomfield Hills) Appellate Law.
- Megan P. McKnight (senior attorney, Bloomfield Hills) Information Management & Discovery Law.
- Saulius K. Mikalonis (senior attorney, Bloomfield Hills) Environmental Law.
- Stanley A. Prokop (Of Counsel, Detroit) Insurance Law.
- Mary Catherine Rentz (partner, Detroit) Insurance Law.
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Goodman Acker PC was recently selected by the City of Southfield as a winner in their 2016 Community Pride Program. The program, which is sponsored each year by the City of Southfield, along with Southfield Parks and Garden Club, promotes and encourages beautification throughout the city.
Honorees are nominated by Southfield community members and selected through an intense judging process.
Goodman Acker is located on 10 Mile Road, between Greenfield and Southfield Roads. It has been in the city for over 20 years.
Gerald Acker, senior partner stated, "We take great pride in being part of this beautiful city and we are honored to receive this prestigious award."
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Bodman PLC is pleased to announce that three associate attorneys have joined the firm: Christopher A. Attar, a tax attorney; Robert J. Cambridge, a corporate attorney; and Jason E. LaBelle, a labor and employment attorney. LaBelle and Attar practice in Bodman's Detroit office and Cambridge is based in the Troy office.
Attar, who joined Bodman from the tax department of a global accounting firm, has a diverse business background which includes experience as a tax intern with another major accounting firm, a transfer pricing intern with a large industrial company, and an intern involved in various aspects of real estate finance and management. In his legal practice, he assists corporate clients with tax planning and compliance, the tax aspects of reorganizations and transactions, and other federal and state tax matters.
Attar is a graduate of Wayne State University Law School. He is a member of the State Bar of Michigan Young Tax Lawyers Committee and is fluent in Armenian.
Cambridge represents business clients in matters involving entity selection and formation, mergers and acquisitions, and complex corporate transactions. Cambridge practiced previously with a business law firm in Northeast Ohio where he advised clients on general corporate law matters, capital raising activities and compliance with federal and state securities laws. He is a member of the Association for Corporate Growth (Cleveland Chapter) and the Ohio Venture Association.
Cambridge is the author of two articles published in the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Journal: "Lifting the Ban on General Solicitation: New, Yet Uncertain Avenues for Companies to Raise Capital," and "Crowdfunding Where's the Crowd When You Need One?"
Before entering private practice, Cambridge worked as a law clerk in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Cleveland. He is a graduate of Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.
LaBelle counsels public and private sector employers on employment matters and advises management on contract negotiations and other labor issues. Before joining Bodman, LaBelle practiced with a contract and insurance litigation law firm where he focused on appellate advocacy and complex substantive motion practice.
Before becoming an attorney, LaBelle worked in business development and as a branch business manager for a global car rental and fleet management company.
LaBelle is a graduate of Michigan State University College of Law. He is a member of the American Bar Association and is active in the University of Michigan Alumni Association Mentor Program.
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University of Detroit Mercy School of Law Professor Catherine J. Archibald has written a ground-breaking article on transgender bathroom rights which is the first of its kind to be published in a law journal. Her article, "Transgender Bathroom Rights," will be published this month in the fall 2016 edition of the Duke Journal of Gender Law & Policy: Catherine Jean Archibald, Transgender Bathroom Rights, 24 DUKE J. GENDER L. & POLICY (forthcoming Dec. 2016).
This is the only law journal article of direct relevance to the case of Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board. On October 28, 2016, the Supreme Court announced that it will review the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit concerning a transgender student, Gavin Grimm, who seeks to use the boys' bathroom in a Virginia high school. The Fourth Circuit ruled in favor of the student and granted Grimm the right to use the boys' bathroom. The Supreme Court then issued an emergency stay in the case and will hear oral arguments sometime this term.
The case marks the first time the U.S. Supreme Court has considered the controversial issue. The lawsuit argues that the high school's bathroom policy is unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment and violates Title IX of the U.S. Education Amendments of 1972, a federal law which prohibits discrimination based on sex by schools that receive federal money. The legal issue is whether the federal law can be interpreted to also ban discrimination based on gender identity.
Archibald finds that after winning the right to same-sex marriage in all 50 states just last year, the LGBT community is once again battling in court for its rights, this time for the right of transgender people to use bathrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity. In its "Dear Colleague Letter on Transgender Students," the federal government recently interpreted federal law as requiring that transgender students be permitted to use bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond with their gender identity in schools receiving federal funding. In two separate lawsuits, 20 states have challenged the legitimacy of this interpretation.
Archibald's article examines the current court battles over transgender bathroom and locker room rights and discusses possible outcomes of the most contentious legal issues in dispute. These issues include: the procedures used by the federal government in issuing its interpretation; the substantial legitimacy of the interpretation; and the constitutional authority of the federal government to issue its interpretation. The article concludes that courts should uphold the federal government's recent interpretation of federal civil rights law, because the federal government's interpretation is a reasonable interpretation, lawfully issued, that mirrors the best practices and medical and psychiatric recommendations for the protection and inclusion of a vulnerable group.
A draft of Archibald's article is accessible at https://ssrn.com/abstract=2837108.
Published: Mon, Dec 19, 2016
