DETROIT (Jan. 3, 2011) - Wayne State University Law School and the Federal Bar Association are pleased to host Motion Day with Judge Bernard Friedman of the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, at 9:30 a.m.-noon on Thursday, Jan. 27, 2011. The event will take place in the Law School's Spencer M. Partrich Auditorium.

"We are honored once again to welcome Judge Friedman to the Law School," said Wayne Law Dean Robert M. Ackerman. "This event allows our students to experience a live courtroom session conducted by one of the federal judiciary's most highly regarded trial judges."

Added Professor Anne M. Burr, director of Wayne Law's Legal Research and Writing Program, "We are very lucky to have a jurist of Judge Friedman's stature at the Law School. First-year students, future litigators and those considering clerkships will be glad they took advantage of this opportunity."

Motion Day provides an opportunity for students to spend a day in federal court, without leaving the law school. Experienced counsel will argue actual pretrial motions before Judge Friedman, who will then rule or take the matters under advisement. Students are able to observe a variety of oral argument styles, as well as the procedures of the federal district court.

Motion Day is sponsored by the Legal Research and Writing faculty and kicks off the first-year Moot Court program. As part of that program, first-year law students at Wayne Law research and write an appellate brief for the federal court of appeals. They then argue the positions taken in their brief before three-judge panels consisting of local attorneys and judges.

Judge Friedman was appointed to the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, by President Ronald Reagan on April 20, 1988, and became chief judge in 2004. He served in that capacity until last year, when he passed the gavel to Chief Judge Rosen. Prior to 1988, Judge Friedman served as judge for the State of Michigan, 48th District Court, for six years.

Judge Friedman began his law career as assistant prosecutor in the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office before venturing into private practice as well as serving as city attorney for Inkster, Mich. He also served as a U.S. Army lieutenant in the Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps from 1967 to 1968 on active duty and continued for five more years as a U.S. Army Reserve lieutenant in the JAG Corps from 1968 to 1973.

A native of Detroit, Judge Friedman earned his law degree from the Detroit College of Law in 1968. He is a member of both the Michigan Bar Association and the Oakland County Bar Association.

For more information about this event, contact Marilyn Vaughan at (313) 577-4822.

Wayne State University is a premier urban research university offering more than 400 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to nearly 32,000 students.

For more information about Wayne State University Law School, visit law.wayne.edu.