Seminar series aimed at new attorneys

The Oakland County Bar Association will kick-off OCBA U, its innovative continuing legal education program aimed at new attorneys and law students on Sept. 8 at the OCBA offices in Bloomfield Hills.

“We recognize that once law school is over, the learning process for new lawyers continues,” said OCBA President David Anderson. “OCBA U blends law school knowledge with real world experience.

It’s an opportunity for our members, who are among the area’s most respected attorneys and judges, to help new lawyers grow their careers by teaching them the skills they need to succeed.”

OCBA U is broken down into two seminar series.  The first series will run twice-monthly on Thursday evenings in September and October.  Each evening consists of two “Practical Knowledge” classes covering the “nuts and bolts” of practicing certain types of law and presented by OCBA members who practice in those areas.  These seminars are geared toward new lawyers who may be unsure what area of law to pursue or who may be thinking about adding an additional or switching to a new practice area.  Panelists will not teach substantive law; rather, “nuts and bolts” seminars are meant to give attendees a glimpse of a “day in the life” of an attorney practicing a certain area of law.

Seminars begin on Sept. 8 with attorneys J. Matthew Catchick of Catchick Law PC and Lisa Stern of Hertz Schram PC discussing family law, and Thomas E. F. Fabbri of Clark Hill PLC and Molly Giles
of Prince Law Firm presenting probate law. 

On Sept. 22, Christine Piatkowski of Christine Piatkowski PLC and Melinda Deel of Melinda N. Deel PLLC will cover juvenile law.  Later that evening, J. Randall Secontine of the Law Office of J. Randall Secontine will discuss criminal law. 

The presenters on Oct. 13 will be real estate practitioners David G. Michael of Lipson Neilson and E. Joe Wloszek of Cummings, McClorey, Davis and Acho; and environmental attorneys  W. Richard Braun of Collins, Einhorn, Farrell PC and Kyle Jones, chief environmental counsel for FCA US LLC. 

The fall series ends on Oct. 27 with a presentation on Employee Benefits Law by attorneys Frederick William Gregory II and Roberta Granadier of Dickinson Wright PLLC and tax law by Alexander G. Domenicucci of Seyburn Kahn PC and Evan H. Kaploe of Maddin, Hauser, Roth, & Heller PC as well as Jennifer Lynn Mayer and Becky Pugliesi, both of whom are solo practitioners. 

 The second “semester” of OCBA U begins Jan. 12, 2017 and consists of seminars similar to those in the “Intro” series.  Titled “Court Rules,” these seminars provide a unique primer for best advocacy practices in Oakland County courts according to the court personnel who work there.  Each seminar will begin with a judicial staff attorney who will cover pretrial matters and effective motion practice. 

The second part of the each seminar will be a moderated panel of sitting judges discussing best practices in oral advocacy and the dos and don’ts of practicing in their courtrooms. 

This series kicks off with a Jan. 12 seminar on Oakland County Circuit Court—Civil Cases with J. Scot Garrison, staff attorney to Judges Rae Lee Chabot, Shalina D. Kumar, and Phyllis C. McMillan. 

On Feb. 9, 2017, Victoria King, staff attorney to Judges Leo Bowman, Hala Jarbou, and Michael Warren, will discuss Oakland County Circuit Court – Criminal Cases.  The series continues on March 2, 2017 when Jacob Cunningham, staff attorney to Judges Mary Ellen Brennan, Jeffrey S. Matis, and Karen McDonald, outlines procedures on Oakland County Family Court. 

The series winds up on April 13, 2017 with a discussion on Oakland County Probate Court.  Ryan Deel, staff attorney to Judges Linda S. Hallmark, Daniel A. O’Brien, and Kathleen A. Ryan, will participate.

Seminar fees for the “Practical Knowledge” series are $20 per seminar for OCBA members and $40 for non-members.  Fees for the “Court Rules” series are $40 per seminar for OCBA members and $80 for non-members. 

Register online at www.ocba.org/events.

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