CLOSE-UP
MEDIA
DOCTOR
H
KIMBERLY LIFTON
Staff Writer
erschel Fink calls himself a media
junkie.
A senior partner at Honigman
Miller Schwartz and Cohn, he
works around the clock to protect
journalists' rights guaranteed by the First
Amendment.
"I'm like an emergency room doctor," explains
Fink, 47, who represents the Detroit Free Press,
Scripps-Howard Broadcasting (Channel 7) and
24
FRIDAY, JULY 8, 1988
Journalist-turned-lawyer Herkhel
Fink works around the clock for
the First Amendment
Capital Cities-ABC (WJR). "I'm as close to
emergency room law as you get."
Time is not a luxury for media clients. News
happens fast. If a subpoena is issued to a reporter,
it must be addressed immediately. And if a story
needs to be reviewed for potential libel, it too must
be addressed immediately.
"I deal in minutes," Fink says. "I make myself
available any time of the day or night. It's ex-
citing. I still think of myself as a journalist."
It's 8:15 a.m. and day 24 of the murder trial
of Jesse James Mack, who would soon be convicted
of killing 11-year-old Tameka Rice and her
parents. Fink parks his car and catches the
elevator to his 22nd floor law office in Detroit.
He has come to work a bit earlier than usual
to solve a problem. The Wayne County Pro-
secutor's office has subpoenaed a few news
reporters, including Free Press staff writer
Margaret Trimer.
He quickly grabs a cup of coffee and walks
with staff attorney Michael Gruskin and Detroit
News attorney James E. Stewart to Detroit
Recorder's Court to try and quash the subpoenas.
"How crucial could she be this far into the