Award winners: Legal spotlight shines brightly on honorees at OCBA meeting

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By Tom Kirvan

Legal News

It has become a yearly occasion to formally express "thanks," and the Annual Meeting of the Oakland County Bar Association on Wednesday, June 6, served as an opportunity to salute a host of 40-year honorees from the local legal community.

Thirty-nine members of the bar reached the 40-year milestone this year, including the outgoing president of the OCBA, Peter Alter, a graduate of Columbia University Law School and an attorney with Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss in Southfield.

Also receiving special recognition for their legal longevity were: Alan Ackerman, Stanley Bershad, Michael Black, Malcolm Brown, Carole Chiamp, David Christensen, Stephen Dawson, Larry Dressell, Dennis DuBay, Harry Ellman, Herschel Fink, Gerald Fisher, Harold Fried, George Hilborn, Myles Hoffert, Michael Jacob, Robert Justin, Lawrence Kaluzny, Robert Kaplow, Philip Kessler, Robert Koory, Gary Krochmal, Robert Lenihan II, Arthur Liss, Joseph McCarthy, Patrick McCauley, Mark Morely, Michael Mulcahy, Robert Nix II, District Court Judge William Richards, Robert Schwartz, James Stegman, James Van Dyke, J. Bryan Williams, James Williams, R. Jamison Williams Jr., Sharon Woods, and James Zellen.

The recipient of the Distinguished Service Award, the most coveted honor presented by the OCBA each year, was Charles Brown, chair of the OCBA Veterans Committee.

"Under his leadership, the Veterans Committee raised in excess of $52,000 in donations for the 2012 Operation Afghan/Iraq Pack service project in which it provided needed items to deployed military troops in 16 separate units in the Afghanistan war zone," outgoing OCBA President Peter Alter stated at the Annual Meeting awards ceremony. "Mr. Brown has consistently taken pro bono cases through the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law's Project Salute program and has represented countless military veterans in processing their claims for VA benefits and services."

A graduate of Michigan State University, Brown was awarded his law degree from Emory University. A Marine veteran of the Vietnam War, Brown was wounded in action during the Tet Offensive in 1968 and was awarded the Navy Cross, the second-highest combat related medal in the U.S. military, for his heroism under fire.

Oakland County 46th District Court Chief Judge Susan Moiseev was the winner of the Distinguished Public Servant Award for 2012.

"Judge Moiseev exemplifies the highest level of passion and dedication for which this award is presented," Alter told those assembled for the awards ceremony at the Marriott at Centerpoint in Pontiac. "She has been a strong supporter of the OCBA and has been dedicated to its mission--not just as a member of the board of directors, but also by being involved in many of its activities and programs."

Former chief counsel of the Legal Aid and Defender Association of Detroit, she has served on the district court bench for more than 25 years. Moiseev is a past president of the Michigan District Judges Association and was a member of the Judicial Crossroads Task Force of the State Bar of Michigan, chairing the Access to Justice subcommittee.

Co-recipients for the Professional Award were LaNita Haith and Michael McCarthy. The award is presented annually to those who exemplify the "highest standards of professionalism and/or judicial practice."

Haith heads her own law firm and specializes in criminal law and probate work. She is a former magistrate for the Michigan Bureau of Workers' Disability, and is a past winner of the "Spirit of Detroit Award" and the "Dent-Murphy Trailblazer Award" from the Wolverine Student Bar Association of the MSU College of Law.

McCarthy, who also has his own firm, represents indigent defendants as appointed counsel in both the trial and appellate courts. A graduate of the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, he has practiced law for 32 years and is a member of the Criminal Justice Act Defender Panel in the Eastern District of Michigan.

Lynn Alexander, president and CEO of Your Aging Well Advisor, received the Allene and Martin Doctoroff Liberty Bell Award. The honor is presented annually to a non-lawyer who promotes a better understanding of the U.S. Constitution, encourages greater respect for the law and the courts, and whose community activity has strengthened the American system of justice.

Alexander is the founding co-chair of the Oakland County SAVE Task Force (Serving Adults who are Vulnerable and/or Elderly), and has served as a state cabinet official, a state commissioner for Aging Services, and has worked in Oakland County's executive office for senior issues.

The Committee of the Year Award was presented to PALS, short for Providing Access to Legal Services.

"Chair Syeda Davidson, Vice Chair Mark Harper, and all of the committee members continue to find and develop ways to serve the needs of the community through legal education, community service, and pro bono opportunities," Alter said.

Other members of the committee include David Carl Anderson, Amanda Breasbois, Lindsay Citrin, Raymond Correll, Kathy Fox, Mona Jabr, Paula Zimmer, along with staff liaison Jenna Huskinson.

The recipient of the Sanford Rosenthal Memorial Award, which recognizes community service, was Agnes Hagerty, a longtime board member with Alternatives for Girls.

Vice president of legal affairs for Trinity Health, Hagerty has served on the AFG board for 15 years, including a four-year tenure as chair of the nonprofit organization that provides prevention, shelter, mentoring, and peer/outreach programs for girls and young women in need.

Pro Bono Awards were presented to Jeffrey Poe for his work with the Family Law Assistance Project and to Joseph Cunningham for his service to the Legal Aid and Defender Association.

Poe, a graduate of Cooley Law School, is in general practice with his father, Myron, at Poe Law Offices in Royal Oak.

"He is a steadfast believer in equal access to the courts and likes to take cases that present a challenge," Alter said of Poe.

Cunningham, an attorney who specializes in taxation and family law, has served on the State Bar's Family Law Council and chaired its QDRO/Taxation Committee.

"In this capacity, he developed pro bono services for low-income clients who needed a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) prepared as part of their defense," Alter said.

"Through his efforts, many legal aid clients can look forward to an adequate standard of living when they reach retirement age."

Published: Wed, Jun 20, 2012

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