1/2/02

One of the nation's most experienced labor lawyers, James E. Tobin of Miller Canfield Paddock and Stone, PLC has been named the recipient of the 2002 Distinguished Service Award. The award will be presented to him in January at the annual mid winter meeting of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan. This honor is given each year by the section to a Michigan attorney who exemplifies outstanding service and professionalism in the practice of labor and employment law.

"Jim Tobin represents the highest example of how we serve our clients and our profession," said Roy Roulhac, chair of the Labor and Employment Law section. "For more than 50 years he has contributed significantly to the spirit and the body of knowledge of labor law. We are very pleased and honored to recognize him with the Distinguished Service Award."

Some of Tobin's career highlights include negotiating the first ever labor contract between the Detroit Board of Education and the Detroit Federation of Teachers. He has negotiated more than 100 labor contracts, and has represented employers in about 700 arbitration cases covering the full spectrum of labor and employment law. During one round of contentious school district contract talks in the early 1970s, Tobin and a colleague spent three days locked in a district office building in suburban Detroit, negotiating until a contract could be reached.

A graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, Tobin joined Miller Canfield in 1948, after serving with the United States Fourth Marine Division in World War II. During his service he was wounded and evacuated at Iwo Jima, which was the last of four amphibious assaults he made with his unit in the Pacific theater.

A resident of Birmingham, Tobin and his wife Dorothy, have three children and seven grandchildren. They will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary on Christmas Day, 2002.

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