Top scholarly briefs filed before MSC to be honored

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On July 26, the WMU-Cooley Law Review will host its 33rd annual Distinguished Brief Award ceremony at the Country Club of Lansing. The event celebrates the best of Michigan’s practicing bar and formally recognizes authors of the most scholarly briefs filed with the Michigan Supreme Court in 2017 as determined by a panel of judges and professors from across the state.

These briefs are evaluated using seven set criteria: question presented, point headings, statement of case, argument and analysis, style, mechanics and best overall brief. The purpose of the award is to promote excellence in legal writing. The winning briefs will be published in an upcoming edition of the WMU-Cooley Law Review.

The winning briefs that will be recognized during the ceremony are:

• Nexteer Automotive Group v. Mando America Corp

 Attorneys and Law Firms:
  Mary Massaron; Plunkett Cooney, P.C.
  John J. Bursch; Bursch Law, PLLC
  Alexandra W. Wald; Cohen & Greeser LLP
  Mark Spatz; Cohen & Greeser LLP          

• AFT v. State of Michigan

  Attorneys and Law Firm:
  Gary P. Gordon; Dykema Gossett PLLC                            
  Jason T. Hanselman; Dykema Gossett PLLC                  
  W. Alan Wilk; Dykema Gossett PLLC                                  
  Steven C. Liedel; Dykema Gossett PLLC

During the ceremony, Massaron will present the keynote. She is a former law clerk to Justice Patricia J. Boyle of the Michigan Supreme Court and has concentrated her practice in appellate law for almost 30 years. Massaron has handled or supervised the handling of more than 400 appeals resulting in approximately 50 published opinions, including more than 100 appeals in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. She has won numerous victories before the Michigan Supreme Court, overturning multi-million dollar judgments and establishing new legal principles. She has won the Cooley Law Review Distinguished Brief Award for the brief she wrote in Gilbert v. DaimlerChrysler in 2005. In addition, she received distinguished service awards from the Michigan Municipal League, and Marygrove College, and Lawyer of the Year from Michigan Lawyers Weekly in 2002 and again in 2009.