2/16/05

Thomas Howlett, chair of the State Bar's Law and the Media Committee (standing, extreme left) presented some intriguing hypothetical cases to more than 30 journalists at Heritage Newspapers in Southgate February 10, as part of a statewide newsroom seminar series. The seminars, which are conducted free of charge by the committee members, most of whom also have a journalistic backgrounds, address some of the common practical and substantive difficulties that journalists face in covering the state's legal system. District Court Judge Michael McNally provided the perspective from the bench. Committee panel members included: James Mitzelfeld, an assistant United States Attorney and former Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter at The Detroit News; Andrew Doctoroff, a Detroit area litigator who previously worked at NBC News and The Los Angeles Times and Thomas Rombach, a Macomb County lawyer and former reporter at The Dearborn Press and Guide. Committee members Katherine Kakish and Cecil Jesse Green were also present to answer journalists' questions. The Committee also conducts seminars that help lawyers deal with the media. To request a seminar please contact Thomas Howlett at (248) 540-3333. For more information visit www.michbar.org, click on SBM General Information and Committees. (Photograph by James Karshner)

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