Photo by Glenn Triest
ix or seven times a year,
Sheldon Stark was in-
volved in seminars for
lawyers who represent
persons charging em-
ployment discrimination.
He also was invited to
speak at management
workshops on the subject.
"It finally occurred to me that there
was no seminar for employees," said
Mr. Stark, a partner in the Royal Oak
law firm of Stark and Gordon who spe-
cializes in employment discrimination
and civil-rights law.
"Everyone in my field answers sim-
ilar questions from callers each day,
so why not provide the answers to, say,
100 people at the same time?"
Born out of that question was the
first "Employee Rights Seminar for
Non-Lawyers." It will be held from 8
am. to 4:30 p.m. April 23 at the Kings-
ley Inn in Bloomfield Hills.
The seminar is sponsored by the
Detroit Chapter of the National
Lawyers Guild. Mr. Stark has been
chapter president since 1992. He calls
the National Lawyers Guild "the le-
gal arm of the progressive movement."
Business has been brisk at Mr.
Stark's office since corporate down-
sizing began early in the 1980s.
"My calls from prospective clients
have been at the same high level since
then," said Mr. Stark, a Huntington
Woods resident. "The only effect I've
seen from the economy is that during
hard times companies' cash-settle-
ment offers go down, and they offer re-
instatement in lieu of money more
often."
Even though he deals with unset-
tling disputes every working day, Mr.
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Stark says the United States provides
the best system for resolution.
"I got very involved in the civil-
rights movement in college in the
1960s," Mr. Stark said."Discrimina-
tion was part of our lives then, and it
is today. In our country, at least, our
redress is in the courts and not
through bloodshed like we're seeing
in the former Yugoslavia. That's why
I'm glad I do what I do."
A 1966 graduate of the University
of Michigan with a bachelor's degree
in psychology, Mr. Stark graduated
magna cum laude from the Universi-
ty of Detroit School of Law in 1973. He
has been listed in The Best Lawyers
in America book, a ranking by col-
leagues, since 1987.
Mr. Stark says the employee rights
seminar, which he calls a "people's law
school," has generated quite a bit of
interest in the community.
"We're expecting between 150 and
200 people," he said. 'The average cost
of a management seminar on the
same topic is $150-200. We're charg-
ing $75, or $80 at the door, and that
includes lunch.
"The faculty is the same you would
see at a seminar for lawyers. Almost
all are members of the Lawyers
Guild."
The guest speaker during a noon
luncheon will be Douglas Fraser, for-
mer president of the United Auto
Workers who is now a professor of la-
bor history at Wayne State Univer-
sity. Mr. Fraser will discuss labor-law
reform and the future of the work-
place.
For further information on the sem-
inar, call the Detroit Chapter of the
National Lawyers Guild, 963-0843.
Ernp I o ucc
❑
Lawyer Sheldon Stark calls seminar
"people's law school."
STEVE STEIN STAFF WRITER
Sheldon Stark is president
of the Detroit Chapter of the
National Lawyers Guild.
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