1. BY MIKE SCOTT
Legal News
Call it the opportunity of a movie plot.
Entertainment law may or may not be the
opportunity of a lifetime for many Michigan-
based lawyers. But as the film industry’s reach
into the state continues to grow, there is
expected to be an increasing number of
growth opportunities for legal work in the
new Midwest capital of Hollywood.
Matt Bower never thought he would get the
opportunity to practice entertainment law on a
regular basis again. The partner with Safford
& Baker in Bloomfield Hills worked for two
different entertainment lawyers in New York
City while attending law school at Benjamin
N. Cardozo School of Law.
In that role, Bower represented actors and
other movie and television talent. He helped
to negotiate contracts and advise on copyright
legal issues. But Bower wanted to move back
to Michigan, preferring the Midwestern
lifestyle over those on either the West or East
Coast.
“I guess you could say that I had given up
my dreams of working with entertainment
law,” Bower said.
Bower and Richard Herman, an intellectual
property lawyer with Richard A. Herman PC
in Bingham Farms, will be presenting “Top 10
Legal Mistakes of Filmmakers and How to
Avoid Them,” as a breakout session at CBS
Radio’s “Michigan Makes Movies Expo”
scheduled for Sunday, July 12 from 10 a.m. to
6 p.m. at the Rock Financial Showplace in
Novi.
This session will provide some advice to
filmmakers on what they should and shouldn’t
do from a business perspective when working
on a project. Two of the mistakes that will be
covered include not getting contracts in writ-
ing and issues related to fair use so that any
preconceived misconceptions are quickly
cleared up, Bower said.
“We want to identify any red flags that our
clients need to be aware of,” Bower said. “Our
role is to look out for our artists’ best interests
so that the law won’t impede their ability to
get things done.”
It is unclear yet how significant of an
impact the growing movie industry in Michi-
gan will have on area law firms. The trickle-
down effect has been positive with hotels,
restaurants, car rental services and many con-
tractors, and there has been some work avail-
able for law firms, Herman said.
Volume 82, Number 135 Troy, Michigan Wednesday, July 8, 2009, ONE DOLLAR
■ Rules Tightened
Financial crises almost
always result in tighter rules.
Page Two
■ GM Assets
Appeals loom in General
Motors’ plan to sell assets.
Page Three
■ Under Analysis
Spencer Farris discusses one
law not taught in law school.
Back Page
SHORT
TAKES
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Serving the Oakland County Legal Community Since 1927
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MADE IN MICHIGAN
Law firms hope to capitalize
on growth of movie industry
Judge to take the mound at home
of 1st place Detroit Tigers, July 21
The Family Media-
tion Council-Michigan
will sponsor a work-
shop titled “Marketing
for Mediators” pre-
sented by Gretchen
Ruff on Saturday,
August 22, and again
on Saturday, August
29, from 8:30 a.m. to
1:30 p.m. at the Dispute Resolution Center-
Courthouse Annex, 110 North Fourth Street,
Suite 100, in Ann Arbor.
Ruff has 30 years of experience as a mar-
keting professional serving several Fortune
500 companies.
The cost to attend is $200 per person.
To register or for additional information,
contact Shirley Robertson at 1-800-827-4390
or Shirley@familymediation.com.
PONTIAC (AP) — The Arts, Beats & Eats
festival in suburban Detroit may be without its
main sponsor, but it hasn’t lost hope.
The Detroit Free Press, The Detroit News
and The Oakland Press report the annual
Labor Day event in Pontiac is announcing
some changes, including a $2 gate fee and a
new name.
Organizers are hoping the admission fee
will offset the loss of sponsorship money, and
it now is being called Arts, Beats & Eats-Fes-
tival of Hope because it’s focusing on raising
money for charity.
Chrysler sponsored the event for 11 years
including as title sponsor the last five, but
dropped out for 2009.
The festival has made other changes to try
to keep prices down. No food item will cost
more than $5, and there will be free admission
and parking during certain hours on Sept. 4.
—————————
On the Net:
Arts, Beats & Eats: http://www.artsbeat-
seats.com.
DETROIT (AP) — Federal prosecutors
have charged a member of the Southfield City
Council with accepting a $7,500 bribe.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Cares says
in a criminal complaint dated last Thursday
that William Lattimore accepted the money on
or about Aug. 1, 2007. The complaint doesn’t
offer any details on the charge or who else
may have been involved.
Lattimore previously told the Detroit Free
Press and The Detroit News that he was a wit-
ness in a federal probe involving former state
Rep. Mary Waters and Sam Riddle, the Detroit
Democrat’s former campaign manager.
Lattimore tells the newspapers in an e-mail
he “can no longer speak on this issue.” His
attorney, Arlene Woods, wouldn’t comment.
Messages seeking comment on the charge
were left with Waters and Riddle.
NEW YORK (AP) — Struggling automotive parts sup-
plier Lear Corp. said it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
protection after receiving the support it needed from
lenders and bondholders.
The company, which makes automotive seating systems
and electronics, had been negotiating with its lenders and
bondholders for additional support for its restructuring
plan. It previously received a commitment for $500 million
in loans to finance its bankruptcy from a group of lenders
led by J.P. Morgan and Citigroup.
Lear said it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of
New York. Subsidiaries outside the U.S. and Canada are
not part of the filings, the company said.
Lear has asked the bankruptcy court to allow it to con-
tinue to provide pay and benefits for its workers without
interruption and to continue to allow it to provide payments
for its U.S. and Canada pensions.
It plans to present its restructuring plan to the court
within 60 days.
The Southfield, Mich.-based company’s filing, which
had been expected since last week, makes it the first major
automotive parts maker to seek court protection since Vis-
teon Corp., the former parts arm of Ford Motor Co., filed
for Chapter 11 in May.
Parts suppliers have been hammered by the recession as
consumers continue to shun new car purchases and
automakers slash production.
Lear’s troubles stem partly from its heavy dependence
on the slumping North American and European auto mar-
kets, with 36 percent of its sales coming from North Amer-
ica and 49 percent coming from Europe.
“Necessity hath no law. Feigned neces-
sities, imagined necessities . . . are the
greatest cozenage that men can put upon
the Providence of God, and make pretense
to break known rules by.”
OLIVER CROMWELL
BY TOM KIRVAN
Legal News
Justin Verlander, Edwin Jackson, and rookie Rick Porcello
have taken turns in the pitching spotlight for the first place
Detroit Tigers this season, helping buoy pennant hopes for
baseball fans across the state.
U.S. District Court Chief Judge Gerald Rosen will round
out the pitching rotation Tuesday, July 21 when the Central
Division leading Tigers take the field against the Seattle
Mariners at Comerica Park.
A right-hander, Rosen isn’t likely to strike fear in the hearts
of Seattle batters that night. His fastball may not even register
on the radar gun, he smiles.
Yet, the chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the East-
ern District of Michigan figures to sport his fair share of pitch-
ing butterflies when he takes the mound to fire the first pitch.
The ceremonial first pitch.
Rosen, a graduate of Kalamazoo College and George Wash-
ington University Law School, will don a Tigers cap that night
and proceed to the mound, hoping to toss a strike to Detroit
catcher Gerald Laird in what amounts to his Major League
pitching debut. Whatever the outcome of the first pitch, don’t
expect Rosen to abandon his day job. That, after all, is what
earned him the opportunity to showcase his pitching talents.
Last summer, in a pre-game event at Comerica Park, Rosen
presided over a naturalization ceremony for 97 new U.S. citi-
zens. The group included Tiger second baseman Placido Polan-
co, a former All-Star and Gold Glove performer with a career
batting average over .300.
This year, officials with the U.S. Customs and Immigration
Services Office expect some 60 people to take the citizenship
oath on July 21. Despite reports to the contrary, no member of
the Tigers is expected to be among the group, officials indicat-
ed. U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds will administer the
oath, following in the legal footsteps of her esteemed judicial
colleague from the federal court.
The Tigers, as is their custom, have donated a pair of tickets
to each person who will become a naturalized citizen that
evening. Surely they all will be cheering when Rosen winds up
for the first pitch.
“I’ve been practicing,” Rosen admits.
MORE INSIDE
Calendar ..............................3
Classified Ads ......................2
Daily Crossword...................3
Legal Notices .......................6
Mortgages Recorded ...........4
The Christian Legal Society of Thomas M. Cooley Law School’s Auburn Hills cam-
pus hosted a panel discussion titled “Love and the Law” on Monday, June 22,
about how to successfully manage relationships and a legal career. Taking part in
the panel discussion were (left to right) U.S. District Court Judge Denise Page
Hood, Eastern District of Michigan; Reverend Nicholas Hood III; Cooley Assistant
Dean Martha Moore; Khalif Rhodes, 3rd year law student; Courtney Rhodes, 3rd
year law student; Third Judicial Circuit of Michigan Judge Ed Ewell; Cooley Asso-
ciate Professor Florise Neville-Ewell; and Roeiah Epps, 1st year law student. “It is
– whether one or two people are in the field – a stressful field,” Ewell, who has
been married to Neville-Ewell for 21 years, said. “I think having a Christian per-
spective brings a lot of maturity, wisdom and patience – which you need in a rela-
tionship.” Photo by John Meiu
Chief Judge of
the U.S. District
Court in Detroit,
Gerald Rosen will
rely on his family
roots when he
takes to the
mound later this
month. His late
father, Stanley,
was a Minor
League player in
his baseball hey-
day. Rosen, an
avid Tigers fan,
played the sport
himself through
junior high before
turning his com-
petitive attention
to tennis.
Photo by John Meiu
Lear Corp. files
for Chapter 11
‘Love & the Law’ discussed
(See MICHIGAN MOVIES, Page 2)
(See LEAR, Page 2)
Matt Bower
is a partner
with Safford
& Baker in
Bloomfield Hills
Richard
Herman is an
intellectual
property
lawyer in
Bingham
Farms
‘Marketing for Mediators’
sponsored by council
Councilman named
in bribery complaint
Pontiac festival has new
name, $2 admission fee
OAK front page Jul8-3 7/7/09 2:12 PM Page 1