DETROIT (Feb. 26, 2009) - Wayne State University Law School students, alumni, friends and supporters will once again meet to honor the legal community's finest as they attend the 12th annual Treasure of Detroit Gala from 5:30 - 10:30 p.m. at the Westin Book Cadillac Detroit on Saturday, March 28, 2009.

Since its inception in 1998 the Treasure of Detroit has become Wayne Law's premiere event for honoring those who have made a lasting contribution to the growth and success of the Law School as well as to the practice of law.

This year's event is hosted by Wayne Law, the Wayne Law Board of Visitors, the Wayne Law Alumni Association and Wayne Law Dean Robert M. Ackerman. The Wayne Law Class of 1959 will serve as Official Event Hosts and the Wayne Law Class of 1984 will serve as Honorary Event Hosts. Class of 1984 25th Anniversary Steering Committee members include Bernadette M. Dennehy, Kevin I. Green, Kenneth R. Marcus, Patricia Nemeth and John J. Wallbillich. Bodman LLP will serve as the event's Presenting Sponsor.

Those who will be honored at this year's Gala include George J. Bedrosian, '59, Carl Ziemba '48 (honored posthumously), and Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Chief Justice Marilyn Kelly, '71.

Chief Justice Marilyn Kelly

George J. Bedrosian

Carl Ziemba

"The stature that this year's honorees have attained in the legal community is extraordinary," said Wayne Law Dean Ackerman. "They have made immeasurable contributions to the profession of law and to this Law School. I am honored to play a role in this event and look forward to an evening with Wayne Law students, alumni, faculty and friends."

Chief Justice Marilyn Kelly, '71, was a courtroom attorney for 17 years in Michigan before taking the bench. In 1988 she was elected to the Michigan Court of Appeals for a six-year term, and in 1994 she was reelected. She was elected to the Michigan Supreme Court for an eight-year term in 1996, and reelected in 2004 for an eight-year term which expires January 1, 2013. In January 2009 her colleagues selected her to serve as Chief Justice. The Detroit native serves the law school as a member of its Board of Visitors. She is a member of the Oakland County Bar Association where she has been active as Chair of the Family Law Committee and Committee Co-Chair of the President's Task Force on Improved Dispute Resolution. She has been an arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association and a panel member of the State Attorney Discipline Board. She is also editor of the 6th Edition of Michigan Family Law published by ICLE and past member and president of the Michigan State Board of Education, as well as past president of both the Women's Bar Association and the Women Lawyer's Association of Michigan. In 2003, Justice Kelly became a Fellow of the Michigan State Bar Foundation.

George J. Bedrosian, '59, served as a partner at Goodman, Eden, Millender & Bedrosian for over 35 years. The Detroit native was appointed on Feb. 22, 2005, by former Chief Judge Bernard A. Friedman as the district's first Ombudsman and the nation's second after Delaware. Present Chief Judge Gerald E. Rosen asked that Bedrosian continue to serve as Ombudsman. Bedrosian is actively involved in alternative dispute resolution, including facilitation, mediation and arbitration. He is a member of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and served on Michigan's Standard Jury Instructions-Civil Committee for 25 years. He has also served as president of the Michigan Trial Lawyers Association, chairman of the State Bar of Michigan Negligence Law Section, chairman of the State of Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission, and as a member of the Wayne Board of Visitors. Bedrosian has held numerous other memberships and fellowships with organizations specializing in the administration of justice. He has continuously been honored in "Best Lawyers in America" and was the 1997 recipient of the Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association Nathan B. Goodnow President's Award.

Carl Ziemba, '48, began his career in the Prosecutor's Office in Detroit and later worked for Michigan Senator Philip Hart in Washington, D.C. on refugee and immigration matters. He was widely known as one of Michigan's best appellate lawyers, and he ably represented defendants at every level from Detroit Recorder's Court to the U.S. Supreme Court. Ziemba's work took him far beyond the Michigan appellate system. He argued cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth and Seventh Circuits and the U.S. Supreme Court. His appearances before the Michigan Supreme Court spanned 25 years. Ziemba's last appearance before that court was in 2002. His landmark cases vincluded Michigan v. Mosley (1977), in which the U.S. Supreme Court addressed the admission of a defendant's custodial confession; People v. Aaron (1980), in which the Michigan Supreme Court abolished the common-law felony murder rule; and People v. Konrad (1995), which clarified the meaning of "constructive possession." Upon his death, the Carl Ziemba Scholarship was created at Wayne Law via a $3.1 million estate gift.

The Treasure of Detroit Gala contributes financial support to the law school. This year the funds raised from the event will go toward the building of the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights and Community Engagement and for student support.

The evening will begin with a VIP reception at 5:30 p.m. and a dinner at 6:30 p.m., with an awards program, silent auction and dancing taking place thereafter. Tickets begin at $150.00 and sponsorship packages for the Treasure of Detroit event are still available. RSVP for the 12th annual Treasure of Detroit Gala at https://specialevents.wayne.edu/Treasure2009. For more information regarding sponsorship opportunities, please contact Mary Hollens, Senior Development Director, at (313) 577-4141 or am2674@wayne.edu.

The Wayne Law Class of 1984's 25th Anniversary Reunion will also be a centerpiece of the 2009 Treasure of Detroit Gala. Class members are invited to a pre-Gala pub crawl at the Circa 1890 Saloon from 3:30 - 5:15 p.m. on Saturday, March 28, 2009. Class members are also invited to a brunch at the Westin Book Cadillac Detroit from 10 a.m. - noon on Sunday, March 29, 2009. RSVP for the brunch to Toni Robertson at (313) 577-3113 or by email to tonirobertson@wayne.edu. If you have any questions regarding the reunion, please contact Kevin Green at kevin_green@mascohq.com or Ken Marcus at kmarcus@honigman.com.

Additionally, the Wayne Law Class of 1969 marks its 40th anniversary this year and will announce a reunion date at this year's Treasure of Detroit Gala. Class of 1969 committee members include David D. Joswick, Daniel G. Wyllie, Barry P. Waldman, Richard J. Burstein and David W. Potts.

About Wayne Law
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.