OUR COMMUNITY

22 | MAY 12 • 2022 

T

he Jewish Bar Association of 
Michigan (JBAM) is welcoming judg-
es, lawyers, legal professionals and 
law students as it celebrates its first premiere 
indoor event since the beginning of the pan-
demic.
On Monday, May 23, at 6 p.m., JBAM will 
hold its annual awards banquet at the Westin 
Southfield hotel, 1500 Town Center.
Last year on a Zoom event, Attorney 
General Dana Nessel received JBAM’s Ruth 
Bader Ginsburg Champion of Justice Award, 
and Judge Avern Cohn was 
honored with JBAM’s Lifetime 
Achievement Award.
With the unfortunate pass-
ing of Judge Cohn on Feb. 4, 
JBAM has named its lifetime 
achievement award in memory 
of Judge Cohn, the longtime 
community leader and stalwart 
of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern 
District of Michigan.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT
The recipient of the 2022 Avern Cohn 
Lifetime Achievement Award will be Judge 
Bernard Friedman, a senior judge of the U.S. 
District Court for the Eastern District of 
Michigan.
A native Detroiter, Judge Friedman grad-
uated Detroit College of Law and served 
in the U.S. Army JAG Corps. He worked 
in the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, 
then entered private practice. He served 
on the bench of the 48th District Court in 
Bloomfield Township from 1982-1988.

In 1988, he was appointed by President 
Ronald Reagan to the U.S. District Court. He 
was the chief judge from 2004-2009 and has 
been a senior judge since then. 
In a landmark case in 2014, Judge 
Friedman ruled that the Michigan’s banning 
of same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. 
The case was upheld by the U.S. Supreme 
Court, establishing the constitutional right 
nationwide.

CHAMPION OF JUSTICE
Accepting JBAM’s 2022 Ruth Bader 
Ginsburg Champion of Justice Award will 
be Judge Michelle Friedman Appel, a judge 
since 2003 on the 45B District Court serv-
ing Oak Park, Huntington Woods, Pleasant 
Ridge and Royal Oak Township.
Judge Appel succeeded her father, Judge 
Benjamin Friedman, who served 34 years on 
the court. Sadly, her father passed away on 
Feb. 4, the same day as Judge Cohn.
Judge Appel graduated from University of 
Michigan and University of Detroit School 
of Law. For two decades prior to her judge-
ship, she was in private practice and was an 
Oakland County commissioner 1999-2002.
She serves as chief judge of her court and 
active in aiding the state court system and 
educating attorneys. She also is president of 
the Michigan District Judge’s Association. 

She has helped establish Veterans Treatment 
Courts in the county and a Mental Health 
Treatment Court in her district.

DEDICATED VOLUNTEER
JBAM’s Volunteer of the Year is its first pres-
ident, Rachel Loebl Serman. Serman was a 
founder of the organization in 2014. 
Serman, a Huntington Woods-based attor-
ney, has worked tirelessly through the years 
as an officer, board member and committee 
member in all aspects of JBAM’s efforts to 
provide social, educational and charitable 
activities to the members and the commu-
nity.

STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP
Every year, the JBAM awards a $1,500 schol-
arship to a law student who exemplifies the 
character and values of the late attorney 
Charles J. Cohen. Cohen stressed the impor-
tance of legal education. JBAM chose to 
honor the life and legacy of Cohen by nam-
ing its educational scholarship in his name.
This year’s scholarship recipient of 
the Charles J. Cohen Esq. Scholarship is 
Louis Magidson, a second-year student at 
University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. 
A graduate of Michigan State University, he 
is the son of attorneys Rochelle Lento and 
Mark Magidson of Detroit. 
Louis Magidson focused on international 
relations and economics at Michigan State 
University. While an undergraduate, he stud-
ied in Brussels, Belgium, learning about the 
function of the European Union. Since then, 
he has explored many areas of law while 
working at several law firms.

TICKETS
Tickets to JBAM’s banquet are $36 for 
members and $45 for others. To register,, 
visit jlive.app/events/2190. For informa-
tion about the Jewish Bar Association of 
Michigan, visit jewishbar.org or email 
Ellie Mosko at ellie@moskolawpc.com. 

Welcome Back!

Jewish lawyers to honor a pair of judges at its 
first major event since the pandemic.

Avern Cohn

DAVID SACHS ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Hon. 
Bernard 
Friedman
Hon. Michelle 
Friedman Appel

Rachel 
Loebl 
Serman
Louis 
Magidson

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