Blume

Johnson

Emaus

Bates

DETROIT (Dec. 15, 2008) - The Wayne State University Law Alumni Association (LAA) is pleased to announce the election of new officers to its 2008-2009 Board of Directors. New officers include President Sean Blume, '02, Vice President Suzanne Johnson, '84, Treasurer Jon Emaus, '06, and Secretary Matthew Bates, '08.

"I am honored to lead the Law Alumni Association with Suzanne, Jon and Matthew, and look forward to connecting with a greater number of Wayne Law alumni through upcoming events and activities," Blume said. "Wayne Law is our law school, and the LAA exists to strengthen ties and provide outlets for alumni to express pride in their alma mater."

The LAA is an independent organization made up of Law School alumni, and is a sub-unit of the Wayne State University Alumni Association. The 40 members of the LAA Board of Directors include prominent and professionally active legal practitioners.

The LAA Board of Directors participates in and hosts a number of events each year, including professional meetings, seminars, receptions with the faculty, reunions, an annual Student/Alumni Golf Outing (scheduled for June 19, 2009), and the Law School's annual Treasure of Detroit Gala (scheduled for March 28, 2009). The Board also provides special assistance in the areas of placement, mentoring, community relations, adjunct teaching and fund-raising.

"The Law Alumni Association has long helped develop and enhance relationships between this law school and its graduates," said Wayne Law Dean and Professor Robert M. Ackerman. "We are fortunate that the LAA Board of Directors is so involved and invested in the future of Wayne Law and its graduates. I congratulate Sean, Suzanne, Jon and Matthew, and thank all Board members for their continuing service to this Law School."

Blume started his own firm, The Law Offices of Sean A. Blume, PLLC, more than two years ago. The firm focuses on representing youth in Wayne County in neglect and abuse cases. He has served as a Wayne Law development officer, a site coordinator for the non-profit Jim Casey Initiative, a project facilitator for the Foster Youth Demonstration Project, and as staff attorney to Sheila Cockrel of the Detroit City Council. He is a mentor with the Michigan Youth Opportunities Initiative (MYOI), an initiative geared at improving outcomes for youth transitioning from foster care to adulthood. While at Wayne Law, Blume served on the Student Board of Governors, received the Dean's Award for Outstanding Service to the Law School from then Dean Joan Mahoney, and was honored by the American Bar Association for his work by being named the Midwest Regional Student Bar Association President of the Year. He was appointed to the LAA Board in 2001 as a student representative.

Johnson has over 15 years of experience guiding small businesses to Fortune 500 companies in contract negotiation, securities regulation and international privacy matters. Most recently, Johnson recruited and counseled teams from information technology, internal audit and human resources departments to develop a worldwide privacy compliance program for Masco Corporation. While at Dykema Gossett, she counseled clients on acquisitions, public offerings, SEC reporting and entity restructurings. She was recently honored by the Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association as the 2008 Pro Bono Attorney of the Year. She serves on the Oakland University Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects, and has been a board member of the LAA since 2002.

Emaus manages medical malpractice insurance and marketing at Vertical Claims Management. He is serving a second consecutive term as treasurer, and has been a member of the LAA since 2004. While attending Wayne Law, Emaus was president of the Student Board of Governors, and received WSU's Outstanding Graduate/Professional Student Award. He also received a 2007 Distinguished Volunteer Award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Bates, a recent Wayne Law graduate, represented the Law School on the WSU Student Council, and served as president of the Student Board of Governors. In those positions, Bates advocated for students in areas such as financial aid, diversity, curricular reform and the hiring of a new Dean. In recognition of his work, he was awarded a Campus Life Leadership Award for Outstanding Graduate/Professional Student Leader.

All meetings of the Board are held on Tuesdays in the Law School's 3rd floor faculty lounge. Upcoming Board meetings are scheduled for Jan. 13, 2009, March 3, 2009, May 5, 2009, and July 18, 2009. For more information on the Wayne Law Alumni Association or upcoming LAA events, visit www.law.wayne.edu/alumni or call Joye Clark at (313) 577-2161.

Wayne State University Law School has educated and served the Detroit metropolitan area since its inception as Detroit City Law School in 1927. Located at 471 West Palmer Street in Detroit's re-energized historic cultural center, the Law School remains committed to student success and features modern lecture and court facilities, multi-media and distance learning classrooms, a 250-seat auditorium, and the Arthur Neef Law Library, which houses one of the nation's 40 largest legal collections. Taught by an internationally recognized and expert faculty, Wayne Law students experience a high-quality legal education via a growing array of hands-on curricular offerings, five live-client clinics, and access to well over 100 internships with local and non-profit entities each year. Its 11,000 living alumni, who work in every state of the nation and more than a dozen foreign countries, are experts in their disciplines and include leading members of the local, national and international legal communities. For more information, visit www.law.wayne.edu.