MASON - Michael E. Cavanaugh of Mason, vice president of Fraser Trebilcock, was named Michigan Lawyers Weekly "Leaders in the Law," and was recognized at recent luncheon in Troy.
He is one of just 25 lawyers in the state who were granted this award.
Cavanaugh is past-president of the Ingham County Bar Association, a member of the Steering Committee for Friends of Legal Aid, successfully argued two cases before the United States Supreme Court, a captain in the U.S. Army and a youth soccer coach.
"Mike has a unique blend of great intellect and work ethic combined with exceptional advocacy skills that results in tremendous success for his clients," said Thaddeus Morgan, president of Fraser Trebilcock.
In 1979, Cavanaugh was representing Dr. Ronald Hutchinson, a research scientist funded by the government who was studying aggression in primates, including monkeys and humans. In a story retold by Super Lawyers (2008), "The Navy and NASA were interested in human applications of the research during extended confinement in space and under the sea.
At that same time, Wisconsin Sen. William Proxmire, had just created the 'Golden Fleece Award' for what he considered wasteful government spending and announced a Golden Fleece for Dr. Hutchinson, alleging he had "made a monkey out of the American taxpayer."
Not only did a U.S. Senator ridicule a professor for conducting research, that same senator contacted the relevant agencies to defund his project.
After losing in the lower courts, the U.S. Supreme Court accepted the case.
Noted case
Today, most law students study Hutchinson v Proxmire, 443 U.S. 111 (1979), and the infamous "Golden Fleece Award," a case that Cavanaugh argued on behalf of the petitioner in the U.S. Supreme Court regarding free speech and libel. Cavanaugh practices commercial and employment litigation as well as alternative dispute resolution, with Fraser Trebilcock in Lansing.
- From Fraser Trebilcock
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