ANTITRUST, FRANCHISING, AND TRADE REGULATION SECTION
The Antitrust, Franchising, and Trade Regulation Section will host its annual forum on Thursday, January 20, via Zoom. Thomas Ayres of Witmer Karp Warner & Ryan in Boston will speak on the development of the independent contractor/employee issue in franchising before the introduction of the PRO Act in Congress and how the act may change the analysis of the issue if passed. Contact Mark Burzych at (517) 381-3159 or mburzych@ fsbrlaw.com or Howard Lederman at (248) 639-4696 or hledermanlaw@gmail.com for more information or the Zoom link.
BUSINESS LAW SECTION
Congratulations to Douglas Toering, recipient of the 2021 Stephen Schulman Outstanding Business Lawyer Award. He was honored at the section’s annual meeting on September 28. The Fourth Annual Business Law Symposium will be held on Thursday, January 20, in Detroit. It promises to be an exciting event. For information, visit www.bizsymposium. com. Visit http://connect.michbar.org/busi- nesslaw/home to learn about the section and its upcoming events.
CANNABIS LAW SECTION
The Cannabis Law Section held its annual meeting and conference at the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort in late September. Allison Arnold was elected section chair, Thomas Lavigne as chair-elect, Barton Morris as secretary, and Michelle Donovan as treasurer. The section looks forward to continuing its regular webinars as well as in-person seminars to be announced after the first of the year.
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW SECTION
The section welcomes it 2021-2022 leaders: Sue Sadler, chair; Scott Sinkwitts, chair-elect; and Todd Schebor, secretary-treasurer. The annual Joint Environmental Conference was held virtually in November. For recordings and presentation materials and the latest issue of the Michigan Environmental Law Journal visit http://connect.michbar.org/envlaw.
FAMILY LAW SECTION
The Family Law Section’s January council meeting will take place on Saturday, January 15, at the Doubletree by Hilton on 42100 Crescent Blvd in Novi. All section members are welcome to attend. Due to the midwinter conference, there will not be a February meeting. The next council meeting will occur on Saturday, March 5, in Grand Rapids.
LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT LAW SECTION
The Labor and Employment Law Section invites nominations for its 2022 Distinguished Service Award which will be presented at its annual/midwinter Meeting on Friday, January 21. We hope you take this opportunity to highlight the accomplishments of a colleague deserving of the award. Please send nominations and a statement of qualifications for the award to the attention of chair John Runyan at jrunyan@michlabor.legal no later than Tuesday, November 30.
PROBATE & ESTATE PLANNING SECTION
The section recently filed an amicus brief in In Re Estate of Hermann Von Grieff (SC No. 161535) asking the Michigan Supreme Court to reverse the Court of Appeals holding that the determination whether the survivor spouse was willfully absent from the decedent spouse for one year or more preceding death — causing forfeiture of statutory spousal inheritance rights — should not include any period when a divorce action was pending.
WORKERS’ COMPENSATION LAW SECTION
Please join us at Crowne Plaza Lansing West on Friday, December 10, for our winter meeting. We anticipate presentations from the Michigan Workers’ Disability Compensation Agency director, the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board of Magistrates, and our section chair. Also scheduled are presentation on orthopedic foot and ankle injuries, and mindfulness.
YOUNG LAWYERS SECTION
The section held its board retreat in October, where it had the opportunity to brainstorm and plan for the coming year as well as engage in team building and fellowship. Also, the YLS was the proud recipient of a Michigan Center for Civic Education award for our partnership during the previous year and moving forward. Finally, the section held a statewide virtual town hall meeting, and looks forward to engaging its constituents in the coming months.