Michigan Lawyers Weekly articles from September 2008

Michigan Lawyers Weekly archives from September 2008

Apples to oranges: Criminal law specialists comment on Michigan's pretrial custody laws.
September 1, 2008... Byline: Melissa P. Stewart, Esq. Criminal Law Last month, the nation was captivated when Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was led off to jail as punishment for violating the terms of his bond, which stemmed from felony charges of perjury...

Commentary: Michigan COA bars 'reform' proposal from ballot.(Court of Appeals)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff 'Reform Michigan Government Now' Analysis End of the line or temporary setback? Time will tell. But, for now, the Michigan Court of Appeals decision in Citizens Protecting Michigan's...

Game on: Michigan Court of Appeals rules lawsuit against Bounce Party can stand.
September 1, 2008... Byline: Melissa P. Stewart, Esq. Five-year-old Trent Woodman got more than he bargained for when his birthday celebration at Bounce Party in Kentwood ended with a broken leg. During the course of his party, Trent slid down a slide five...

National Association of Women Lawyers releases checklist aimed at increasing female leaders.
September 1, 2008... Byline: Melissa P. Stewart, Esq. Practice Management Two years ago, the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL) challenged the legal community to double the percentage of female equity partners, general counsel and law professors...

'You should've gone to the convention': Michigan Court of Appeals rejects petition by reform group.
September 1, 2008... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff 'Reform Michigan Government Now' Analysis A constitutional convention was needed to effect the constitutional changes proposed by Reform Michigan Government Now (RMGN). That's the conclusion...

A 'Shore' thing: Grosse Pointe Park-based attorney founds Lakeshore Bar Association.
September 1, 2008... Byline: Douglas J. Levy The average lawyer puts in between 40 and 50 hours of pro bono work. And Timothy A. Dinan figures he's reached that figure so far for 2008. But the Grosse Pointe Park-based criminal defense attorney's...

With e-discovery becoming the norm, demand for legal support on the rise.
September 1, 2008... Byline: Douglas J. Levy Emerging Trends If there's one thing that Windy Brown, a Denver-based legal consultant, has learned, it's that "no area of the law is immune from the pressures of technological change." Never has that...

'Quantity,' 'quality' injected into Michigan constitutional analysis.
September 1, 2008... Byline: Todd C. Berg, Esq. 'Reform Michigan Government Now' Analysis The Michigan Court of Appeals has read words into Michigan's Constitution. The words are "quantity" and "quality." And, even though they don't appear in the...

Constitutional convention not only way for Reform Michigan Government Now to pursue proposal.
September 1, 2008... Byline: Todd C. Berg, Esq. 'Reform Michigan Government Now' Analysis Reform Michigan Government Now's (RMGN) proposal to overhaul portions of Michigan's Constitution isn't the type of "general revision" that only a constitutional...

Michigan Lawyers in the News: September 1, 2008.
September 1, 2008... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Appointments Dennis W. Archer of Dickinson Wright PLLC was named co-chair of the Bipartisan Policy Center's National Transportation Policy Project. Elections Jennifer Sheehan Anderson of...

Michigan Attorney Discipline Board Case Summaries: September 1, 2008.
September 1, 2008... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Final Notice Of Suspension And Restitution Case No. 07-37-GA Notice Issued: Aug. 21, 2008 Ronald G. Kraft, P 16196, Southfield, Michigan, by the Attorney Discipline Board, affirming...

Michigan Court of Appeals Case Summaries: September 1, 2008.
September 1, 2008... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Default - Setting Aside An insurer's negligence in failing to timely answer a complaint against its insured should not have been imputed to the insured party when the trial...

Michigan Court of Appeals Unpublished Civil Case Summaries: September 1, 2008.
September 1, 2008... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Law Suit To Enforce Order - Intervention Where the Department of Labor & Economic Growth determined that an employer (North Star) owed its former employee (Newton) a bonus and...

Michigan Court of Appeals Unpublished Criminal Case Summaries: September 1, 2008.
September 1, 2008... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Affirmed Convictions Assault With Intent To Do Great Bodily Harm Less Than Murder. Sufficient Evidence. "Defendant argues that the evidence was insufficient to prove he possessed the specific...

U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit Case Summaries: September 1, 2008.
September 1, 2008... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Sentencing - Enhancement The court, after taking defendant's guilty plea to aggravated sexual abuse of a minor, erred by refusing to enhance defendant's sentence on the mistaken...

Commentary: Learn from these law firm models - they give clients what they really want.
September 1, 2008... Byline: Ed Poll LawBiz Coach's Corner A constant theme in these columns has been the growing business-client dissatisfaction with the current model (especially at large firms) of hourly rate billing, a high hourly rate structure and...

Senior investors, safety of clients' assets among top compliance issues for investment advisers.(Conference news)
September 1, 2008... Byline: James J. Eccleston Finance Recently, the Securities and Exchange Commission revealed its current examination priorities for investment advisers. Speaking before the 10th Annual IA Compliance Best Practices Summit, Lori...

Get ready, 403(b) plan sponsors - Jan. 1 is an important date.
September 1, 2008... Byline: Manuel Marques and Patrick Burke Finance Change has arrived for employers sponsoring a 403(b) plan, which is the popular 401(k) retirement plan's cousin. More importantly, the effective date for the change is four months...

Verdicts & Settlements September 1, 2008: Asthma, heart attack disputed as cause of death.
September 1, 2008... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff's decedent, Ilene Robins, presented sporadically over the years to a walk-in clinic operated by defendant Tilak Garg, M.D. Though Robins had asthma, she was a smoker. She also had a family...

Verdicts & Settlements September 1, 2008: Carrier can't prove car's ownership, must pay.
September 1, 2008... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff Kevin Zoerman was in an accident while driving an uninsured vehicle owned by his wife, and sustained wrist, ankle, facial and dental injuries. He sought first-party PIP benefits, claiming he...

Verdicts & Settlements September 1, 2008: Injured painter opts for structured settlement.
September 1, 2008... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff was a 29-year-old painter who worked for a painting sub-contractor. On Oct. 9, 2006, while walking on a large construction site, the plaintiff was struck on his hard hat by a falling piece...

Commentary: The Main Course.(Mitchell's Fish Market)
September 8, 2008... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff How to rouse the average Michiganian's culinary interest? Tell him or her that a new fish place has opened. Because if there's one thing the Great Lakes State values, it's a nice cut of whitefish,...

Mich. Attorney Gerald S. Surowiec: 'Often in error, never in doubt'.(Michigan)
September 8, 2008... Byline: Melissa P. Stewart, Esq. Practice Profile Gerald S. Surowiec entered the practice of law before the constant din of fax machines, e-mail indicators and BlackBerries provided the soundtrack for a typical law firm. He...

Verdicts & Settlements September 8, 2008: Auto giant saddled with $5.6M verdict.
September 8, 2008... Byline: Melissa P. Stewart, Esq. Verdicts and Settlements Plus A weekend hunting trip that turned nearly fatal has left Chrysler LLC on the hook for a recent $5.65 million verdict. That's because Tony Broeren sustained head and...

Mid-sized business-law firm in Detroit focuses on meeting entrepreneurs' legal needs.
September 8, 2008... Byline: Melissa P. Stewart, Esq. Business of Law "The problem with most lawyers is that they think like lawyers." Or so says Robert C. Kotz, a founding member of Kotz, Sangster, Wysocki and Berg, P.C. in Detroit. Perhaps...

New (legal) world order.(Association of Litigation Support Professionals)
September 8, 2008... Byline: Douglas J. Levy Legal Support Denver-based legal consultant Windy Brown said she co-founded the Association of Litigation Support Professionals (ALSP) after finding an article posted on a Yahoo group for litigation support...

Med-mal suit tossed because Michigan Supreme Court didn't 'presume' NOI's 'validity'.(notice of intent)
September 8, 2008... Byline: Todd C. Berg, Esq. Melissa Boodt's defective notice of intent to sue shouldn't have gotten her wrongful-death medical-malpractice lawsuit dismissed with prejudice. At worst, under the Michigan Supreme Court's "presumption of...

Legislative Preview - Medical Malpractice: NOIs may lose their 'manners'.(notice of intent)
September 8, 2008... Byline: Todd C. Berg, Esq. Legislative Preview - Medical Malpractice No longer will medical-malpractice plaintiffs have to allege in their notices of intent to sue the "manner" in which a doctor's breach of the standard of care...

Lack of specifics about 'manner' of death sinks med-mal plaintiff's NOI.(Medical Malpractice)
September 8, 2008... Byline: Todd C. Berg, Esq. Michigan Supreme Court - Medical Malpractice: Analysis Be more specific. That's the lesson from the Michigan Supreme Court's decision in Boodt v. Borgess Medical Center, et al. In Boodt, a...

Litigation support certification will make sure technical, legal skill sets are clearly defined.(Association of Litigation Support Professionals)
September 8, 2008... Byline: Douglas J. Levy Legal Support Thanks to advancements in courtroom technology, the widespread use of e-discovery, and the fact that more law firms are going "paperless," the field of litigation support has grown rapidly. ...

Michigan Lawyers in the News: September 8, 2008.
September 8, 2008... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Appointments Derek L. Cottier of Dykema was appointed to the firm's executive board. Robert M. Nemzin of Butzel Long was appointed to serve as a Fellow in the American Bar Association's Real...

Michigan Attorney Discipline Board Case Summaries: September 8, 2008.
September 8, 2008... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Notice Of Order Of Discipline Imposing 'No Discipline' Case No. 08-39-JC Notice Issued: Aug. 29, 2008 George E. Jacobs, P 36888, Flint, Michigan, by the Attorney Discipline Board Genesee...

Michigan Attorney General Case Summaries: September 8, 2008.
September 8, 2008... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Schools Urban High School Academies - Single-Site Requirement An urban high school academy duly chartered under Part 6C of the Revised School Code, 1976 PA 451, MCL 380.1 et seq, that operates...

Michigan Court Of Appeals Case Summaries: September 8, 2008.
September 8, 2008... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Forum Non Conveniens - Dismissal Where Mexican citizens sued Ford Motor Company in Wayne County Circuit Court for product liability arising from a rollover accident that...

Michigan Court of Appeals Unpublished Civil Case Summaries: September 8, 2008.
September 8, 2008... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Business Law Receivership - Termination The trial court properly terminated a receivership, which had been established to oversee the distribution of plaintiff's assets, because the receiver...

Michigan Court of Appeals Unpublished Criminal Case Summaries: September 8, 2008.
September 8, 2008... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Affirmed Convictions Armed Robbery; Conspiracy To Commit Armed Robbery; Felon In Possession Of A Firearm; Larceny Of A Firearm; Carrying A Firearm With Unlawful Intent; Felony Firearm. No...

Commentary: Managing multigenerational law firms: How to mentor the mixed work force?
September 8, 2008... Byline: Cheryl J. Leone Practice Management To be successful in managing your employees, you need to understand the steps to good generational management. So what are they? Accept that there are differences among generations...

Commentary: Professional liability coverage can be matter of hits and myths.
September 8, 2008... Byline: William C. Saturley and Joseph S. Callanan Insurance There are several common misapprehensions about lawyers' professional liability (LPL) insurance that brokers and malpractice attorneys see among their clients. Here are five....

Commentary: What's the bottom line on the cost of associate loyalty?
September 8, 2008... Byline: Ed Poll Lawyers and law firms that find themselves faced with more business than they can reasonably handle (assume we're talking normal times and not today's "Twilight Zone" conditions) may decide to add a new associate. ...

Verdicts & Settlements September 8, 2008: Man hurled into wall by friend in test pickup.
September 8, 2008... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff In November 2006, Tony Broeren, an electro-mechanical engineer at a Tier II auto supplier, was preparing to return home from a week of deer hunting with five friends in central Michigan. He was...

Verdicts & Settlements September 8, 2008: Programmer wins copyright infringement case.(Brief article)
September 8, 2008... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff In 1983, plaintiff Joel Goldman, a computer software programmer, provided defendant Tom Givens, who founded Healthcare Management Systems Inc., with an evaluation copy of his software, which related to...

Verdicts & Settlements September 8, 2008: Serious impairment sustained, but not threshold.
September 8, 2008... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff On March 16, 2005, the plaintiff was driving in a parking lot when she was struck on the front side of her car by the defendant. Defendant admitted negligence at trial, and the only issues were whether...

Michigan COA's denial of religious school's expansion request violated equal protection clause.(Michigan Court of Appeals)
September 15, 2008... Byline: Melissa P. Stewart, Esq. A municipality's zoning-variance policies can run afoul of the Constitution's equal protection clause, even though they comply with the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Person's Act...

Michigan Lawyers in the News: September 15, 2008.(Brief article)
September 15, 2008... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Appointments The Michigan Defense Trial Counsel selected the following attorneys to positions within the organization: Dean Altobelli of Miller Canfield, regional chair for the Lansing Area; David...

Michigan Attorney Discipline Board Case Summaries: September 15, 2008.
September 15, 2008... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff 'No Discipline' Order Misdemeanor Driving While Impaired - Probation Order Vacated A hearing panel incorrectly imposed an order of probation upon an attorney who was convicted of driving while...

Michigan Court of Appeals Case Summaries: September 15, 2008.
September 15, 2008... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Sentencing - Payment Of Appointed Counsel The trial court erred by ordering defendant to reimburse the county $300 in appointed counsel costs because the court did not consider...

Michigan Court of Appeals Unpublished Civil Case Summaries: September 15, 2008.
September 15, 2008... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Consumer Law Anti- Lockout Statute - Damages Where the trial court awarded plaintiffs damages for violations of MCL 600.2918 of the Michigan Consumer Protection Act (MCPA), (commonly...

Michigan Court of Appeals Unpublished Criminal Case Summaries: September 15, 2008.
September 15, 2008... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Affirmed Convictions Murder, Second Degree; Assault With Intent To Murder; Felony Firearm. Jury Trial. "Defendant argues that his jury trial waiver was coerced because he was never informed of the...

Michigan Supreme Court Orders Case Summaries: September 15, 2008.(Case overview)
September 15, 2008... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Judgment Affirmed Citizens Protecting Michigan's Constitution v. Secretary of State. (Lawyers Weekly No. 06-67606) (12 pages). On order of the Court, the briefs and oral arguments of the parties...

U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit Case Summaries: September 15, 2008.
September 15, 2008... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Sentencing - De Novo Hearing On Remand Where the federal district court's sentencing enhancement, based on obstruction of justice, was reversed on appeal, the court did not err on...

Commentary: Trial Techniques: Are the savings from online mock trials worth lack of personal focus?
September 15, 2008... Byline: Edward P. Schwartz Over the last couple of years, there has been a proliferation of online mock trial tools. While these Web sites legitimately promote themselves as quick, convenient and inexpensive alternatives to traditional...

Commentary: Make citations help advocacy, not hinder it.
September 15, 2008... Byline: Julie Baker and Lisa Healy Trial Techniques The Bluebook. It was everyone's favorite part of law school, right? Dense, complex, with rules spread out in such a way that no matter how much you looked, you were certain to miss...

Commentary: The risks, the rewards, the reality of e-discovery.
September 15, 2008... Byline: Daniel Estrada Trial Techniques Despite some attorneys' aversion to e-discovery, electronic evidence is a fact of life. Companies generate an immense amount of electronically stored information (ESI), and much of it is relevant...

Commentary: Experiences of real people help gauge a case's worth.
September 15, 2008... Byline: Richard Gabriel Trial Techniques What is a case worth? The answer to that complex question is usually determined by three factors: the calculation of actual and economic damages, the cost of litigation and appeal, and how...

Commentary: Overcoming skepticism.
September 15, 2008... Byline: Richard Gabriel Trial Techniques Every day, attorneys and their clients walk into courtrooms across the country counting on jurors to be fair, impartial and open-minded. Yet two fundamental juror conditions - skepticism and...

Standing their ground: Labor and employment law firms in Michigan.
September 15, 2008... Byline: Melissa P. Stewart, Esq. Over the past five years, mammoth labor and employment law firms have marched into Michigan with hardly a misstep. Littler Mendelson has opened an office in the Renaissance Center in Detroit, Ogletree...

Heart of gold: Julie A. Nelson-Klein: Part-time lawyer, part-time magistrate in Michigan.(Interview)
September 15, 2008... Byline: Melissa P. Stewart, Esq. Practice Profile Julie A. Nelson-Klein walked through the doors of Detroit College of Law in 1979 with dreams of becoming a corporate lawyer. "I thought it would be so glamorous," she said. ...

The LEED creed.(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)
September 15, 2008... Byline: Dustin Block Juli Kaufmann never did answer the question: Can a building be LEED certified without being green? The question arises because Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design is the most popular of the green-building...

Green industry tills fertile ground for lawsuits.
September 15, 2008... Byline: Dick Dahl As LEED projects proliferate, lawyers foresee an era of green-construction lawsuits. Eight years ago, the U.S. Green Building Council launched a voluntary program called Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design...

All a lawyer needs to know: 2008 Michigan State Bar Annual Meeting & Solo & Small Firm Institute.
September 15, 2008... Byline: Douglas J. Levy Whether it's controlling metadata, dealing with problem employees or advising business clients in a down economy, this week's 2008 State Bar Annual Meeting & Solo & Small Firm Institute will cover it all. The...

Eager to lead: New dean of Michigan State College of Law.(Joan Howarth)(Interview)
September 22, 2008... Byline: Douglas J. Levy Joan Howarth is new at running a law school, but she firmly asserts that being in charge is her calling. Howarth, 57, in her third month as dean of the Michigan State College of Law, says she is "very...

Law professor of Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Mich. says time is money - so where is the money?(Michigan, Joan P. Vestrand)
September 22, 2008... Byline: Douglas J. Levy Business of Law For a profession that ranks high on the socioeconomic meter, practicing law is on the low end in one regard: billing. "We are relegated to the bottom of the food chain when it comes to...

Michigan Supreme Court: The cost of retroactivity.
September 22, 2008... Byline: Todd C. Berg, Esq. Michigan Supreme Court - Financial Impact: Analysis Two U.S. Supreme Court decisions 13 years apart may cause Michigan state and county governments to lose millions of dollars. Thus far the decisions have...

LEED liars need not apply.(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)
September 22, 2008... Byline: Robbie Whelan and Chris Thompson If you say your building is green enough, the U.S. Green Building Council will take your money and your word. The council argues it has little choice because, on any given day, it is shepherding...

Green group strives for passing grade on LEED accreditation test.(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)
September 22, 2008... Byline: Jim Stasiowski and Becky Hurley LEED has a credibility problem. Since 2001, the U.S. Green Building Council and an affiliate have trained, tested and titled 57,000 contractors, architects and other building professionals as...

Inviting dissent leads to retention, top honor.
September 22, 2008... Byline: Douglas J. Levy 21st Century Innovators When his law firm got the idea of creating a retention policy, Lawrence J. Murphy anticipated that criticism would surface. So the firm, Varnum, Riddering, Schmidt & Howlett LLP of...

Michigan Supreme Court rules facts affect whether 'forecloser' fouled up with its 'follow-up'.
September 22, 2008... Byline: Todd C. Berg, Esq. Michigan Supreme Court - Due Process The amount of "follow-up" required by the constitution depends on the case. That's the instruction given by the U.S. Supreme Court in Jones v. Flowers. And,...

Michigan Lawyers in the News: September 22, 2008.
September 22, 2008... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Appointments Thomas L. Shaevsky of Butzel Long was appointed vice chair of the Employee Benefits Committee of the Oakland County Bar Association. Michael R. Kramer of Dickinson Wright PLLP was...

Michigan Court of Appeals Case Summaries: September 22, 2008.
September 22, 2008... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Double Jeopardy - Carjacking / Assault - Intent To Rob While Armed Defendant's convictions of carjacking and assault with intent to rob while armed, both arising from the same...

Michigan Court of Appeals Unpublished Civil Case Summaries: September 22, 2008.
September 22, 2008... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Asbestos Cases - 'Bundling' On remand from the Michigan Supreme Court, we deny the railroad's complaint for a writ of superintending control, and hold that the trial court did...

Michigan Court of Appeals Unpublished Criminal Case Summaries: September 22, 2008.
September 22, 2008... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Affirmed Convictions Armed Robbery. Evidence. "Clearly, a bag full of cologne bottles is not an object that is specifically designed to be dangerous, such as a loaded gun. However, a generally safe...

Michigan Supreme Court Orders Case Summaries: September 22, 2008.
September 22, 2008... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Proposed Court Rule Amendment ADM File No. 2008-24 Proposed Amendment of Rule 2.614 of the Michigan Court Rules. (Lawyers Weekly No. 06-67716) (2 pages). Staff Comment: The proposed amendments of...

U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit Case Summaries: September 22, 2008.
September 22, 2008... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Law Campaign Contribution Laws - Investigation The U.S. Attorney General may conduct independent investigations of suspected criminal violations of campaign contribution laws...

Commentary: Nat'l Defense Authorization Act: An unheralded expansion of the Family and Med Leave Act.(National Defense Authorization Act)
September 22, 2008... Byline: Sonja L. Lengnick, Esq. Business Law The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) should now be familiar to all employers with 50 or more employees. It is one of the most technically complex employment laws and has proven...

Commentary: With closely held businesses, breaking up is hard to do.
September 22, 2008... Byline: David B. Deutsch, Esq. Business Law Most of the business indicators of a struggling economy are fairly predictable: lower profit margins, layoffs, bankruptcies, and business closures. However, another trend has become apparent:...

Commentary: There's a reason no one dreams of becoming the managing partner.
September 22, 2008... Byline: Ed Poll LawBiz Coach's Corner In years past, it was a cliche that children dreamed of becoming president of the United States. That's likely still the case to some extent, but given today's gigantic salaries in segments of...

Commentary: Be aware of your client's duty to preserve, collect, and produce ESI held by 3rd parties.(electronically stored information)
September 22, 2008... Byline: Ronald C. Wernette, Esq. Business Law The legal landscape is now littered with parties - and their attorneys - who have been sanctioned by courts for electronic data discovery failures. Most of the litigation dealing with the...

Verdicts & Settlements September 22, 2008: Jones Act claimed in slip-and-fall on icy ship.
September 22, 2008... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff This personal injury case was brought pursuant to the Jones Act, 46 USC Sect. 30104 for negligence, and under the General Maritime Law for unseaworthiness, maintenance, cure and wages. The...

Verdicts & Settlements September 22, 2008: Scalding water pumped in wet suit, causes burns.
September 22, 2008... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff, William Scott, was employed by a non-party subcontractor as a commercial diver to perform underwater repairs on the Poe Lock in the Soo Locks. Morrish-Wallace Construction Co., the...

Verdicts & Settlements September 22, 2008: Annular tear on man leads to fusion surgery.
September 22, 2008... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff On Feb. 2, 2005, the 40-year-old plaintiff was walking in a parking lot when a commercial truck traveling less than 5 mph came very close to him. The plaintiff had to push off of the truck, but never...

Michigan Supreme Court: Gauging the going rate.
September 29, 2008... Byline: Todd C. Berg, Esq. Michigan Supreme Court - Attorney Fee 'Reasonableness' After they win cases, some Michigan lawyers are going to find a new set of requirements for getting paid. For the tens of thousands of cases each...

Child support countdown: New formula goes into effect in Michigan to determine 'Who has the kids?
September 29, 2008... Byline: Carol Lundberg Meticulously counting the "Who has the kids?" days can turn parenting into squabbling over money, and critics say Michigan's child-support formula has promoted that painful predicament for some moms and dads. A...

Lack of safe harbor raises questions about Michigan Supreme Court's proposed e-discovery rules.
September 29, 2008... Byline: Todd C. Berg, Esq. In federal court, if a party inadvertently destroys relevant electronically stored information (ESI) as part of its "electronic information system," then discovery violation sanctions probably won't be imposed....

A complete 180: Edward M. Czuprynski, independent candidate for Bay County prosecutor.
September 29, 2008... Byline: Melissa P. Stewart, Esq. Practice Profile Edward M. Czuprynski considers himself a maverick. The high school dropout and former criminal defendant has spent the last 30 years making waves as a member of Bay County's...