Straker Bar's Trailblazers Award honors two Federal magistrate and attorney to be recognized at dinner event

U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Mark Randon, Eastern District of Michigan, and attorney Avery Williams will be awarded the D. Augustus Straker Bar Association's Trailblazers Award at a ceremony and dinner in their honor on Thursday, June 10, at the Somerset Inn in Troy from 5 to 9 p.m. Now in its seventeenth year, the Trailblazers Award recognizes pioneers in the legal community based upon their continuous individual contributions to the betterment of the legal profession. Past honorees include the U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Damon Keith, Dennis Archer, and Cornelius Pitts among others. In addition to the 2010 Trailblazers Award honorees, the dinner also awards several scholarships to law students, and provides networking and advertising opportunities for all those with interest in the African American legal community. Randon was sworn in as a magistrate judge for the Eastern District of Michigan in July of 2009. A member of the Michigan bar for eighteen years, he served as a Wayne County 36th District Court judge in Detroit from 2001 to 2009. Randon has also worked as a labor and employment attorney for Honigman, Miller, Schwartz, and Cohn; Miller, Canfield, Paddock, & Stone PLLC; Lear Corporation; and the Detroit Board of Education. Among several organizations, he is a member of the Association of Black Judges of Michigan, the Federal Bar Association, and the State Bar of Michigan. Randon earned a bachelor's degree from Michigan State University and his law degree from the University of Michigan. Williams co-founded and co-manages Williams Acosta PLLC, a diverse business law firm. A charter member, former president, and former board member of the D. Augustus Straker Bar Association, Williams is also a nationally renowned expert in the area of eminent domain litigation. A member of the Michigan bar for twenty-eight years, he has represented the City of Detroit, the Detroit/Wayne County Stadium Authority and several large national corporations in various eminent domain-related cases, including the dual Stadia Project and the Waterfront Reclamation and Casino Development Project in Detroit. Williams is currently the president of the Board of Directors of the Water Access Volunteer Effort (WAVE), a member of the Board of Directors of the Coalition on Temporary Shelters (COTS), and a member of the American Bar Association and State Bar of Michigan. Williams graduated from Michigan State University and earned his law degree from the University of Michigan. The Somerset Inn is located at 2601 West Big Beaver Road in Troy. For additional information about the Trailblazers Dinner, contact Myron Lloyd, Straker president-elect, at (313) 407-9433 or www.strakerlaw.org/. The D. Augustus Straker Bar Association was founded in 1990 by a group of African American lawyers in Oakland County with a mission to increase minority representation in the legal profession, support and encourage legal practice opportunities for minorities, and facilitate equal justice for underserved members of the Oakland County community. Published: Thu, May 13, 2010

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