The Legal Assistants Section of the State Bar of Michigan will host Richard G. Ward, principal shareholder of the Southfield law firm of Sullivan, Ward, Bone, Tyler & Asher, P.C., as keynote speaker at their Section meeting on Friday, September 22 during the State Bar of Michigan's Annual Meeting.

The Section's business meeting and election will be held from 9:30-10:00 a.m. on Friday, September 22 and the seminar, which is free of charge and open to all State Bar members, will immediately follow. Both events will be held at Cobo Hall.

Ward represents architects, engineers and other construction and manufacturing designers in professional liability and negligence suits. He counsels and represents business clients on questions of faculty product design and manufacturing, construction contract documents and general commercial litigation. He also represents clients on both environmental and agricultural matters. He has developed a substantial foreign clientele for entities distributing goods and materials in the United States.

An avid and experienced pilot, Ward has acquired particular expertise in aviation law; representing pilots and airlines on commercial, regulatory and operational issues and manufacturers on product liability issues. He is admitted to practice law in both Michigan and Florida.

Client counselor, litigator and trained arbitrator, Ward is a member of the American Arbitration Association's distinguished National Panel of Arbitrators, as well as the State Bar of Michigan, the Florida Bar, American and International Bar Associations, Asia-Pacific Bar Association and the Lawyers-Pilots Bar Association. He has lectured to a number of design and manufacturing professional organizations on risk management and liability in their industries.

Ward is a 1952 graduate of Michigan State University and received his law degree from Wayne State University in 1959. He served to the rank of First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army during the Korean War.

The State Bar of Michigan's 65th Annual Meeting will be held Wednesday through Friday, September 20-22 at the Cobo Conference/Exhibition Center in downtown Detroit.

For further information on the Legal Assistants Section seminar, please contact Kelly A. LaGrave, CLAS at (517) 371-8287 or klagrave@fosterswift.com.