Brandeis Magazine

Michael Bien of San Francisco, a partner at Rosen, Bien & Galvan, continues to earn accolades for winning a landmark case when he proved at trial that overcrowding in California’s prisons is the primary cause of constitutionally deficient medical and mental-health care. A judicial panel subsequently ordered the state to reduce its prison population. For his work, he was named co-Attorney of the Year for California by The Recorder and Attorney of the Year for constitutional law by California Lawyer. He also earned a Public Service Award from Northwestern Law School, his alma mater.

Congratulations to Lori Lefkovitz, who was named chair of the Jewish Studies Program at Northeastern University. For the past 13 years, she had been founding director of Kolot: Center for Jewish Women’s and Gender Studies at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Philadelphia.

Irene Goranitis writes that her two sons, Alexander and Paul, have graduated from the University of Massachusetts–Amherst and are interested in careers in the biomedical field. She continues to practice primary care internal medicine in Boston and Dedham, Mass.

Rick Lavin joined Cole Real Estate Investments as executive vice president and general counsel, capital markets.

Janet (Weintraub) Gool writes, “Our daughter, Sarai, and her husband, Eliran, became the proud parents of Yair Yitzhak, making my husband, Yochanan, and me grandparents for the first time. I attended the birth on May 31 in Jerusalem.”