SBM Blog

SBM Honored Francine Cullari and Carl Ver Beek with Roberts P. Hudson Awards

Francine Cullari and Carl Ver Beek are two of the finest and most distinguished members of the legal profession. They were granted the State Bar of Michigan's highest honor, the Roberts P. Hudson Award, at the SBM Awards Banquet on Wednesday, Sept. 17 at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel in Grand Rapids.

Francine and Carl have been leaders in the law, by being highly competent practitioners and mentors, and by taking on leadership roles within the legal profession. To find out what each of them did to earn this highest honor, visit State Bar of Michigan Award Winners. To see more photos of Francine and Carl, visit our Facebook page, which contains a complete photo gallery from the Awards Banquet.

Posted by Samantha Meinke

How did the Michigan Court of Appeals rule in an interesting FOIA case? Find out in today's e-Journal

In Rataj v. City of Romulus, plaintiff Michael Rataj, a Detroit-area attorney, learned that a Romulus police officer had assaulted a citizen who was under arrest while the citizen's hands were handcuffed behind his back at the Romulus Police Department in the early morning of Aug. 1, 2012. It was later revealed that the arrested citizen had provoked the police employee by spitting on him and calling him a racial epithet.

An employee of the police department confirmed that the assault did take place, and that it was caught on video. 

When Rataj requested a copy of the video under Michigan's FOIA law, the city told him it was exempt from disclosure because the video would "constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of an individual's privacy," that it was related to "departmental discipline," and that it "consisted of police personnel records."

So, Rataj sued in Wayne County Circuit Court, which ruled that the video, and some other requested records, were exempt from disclosure under MCL 15.243(1)(a). Rataj appealed.

Find out how a three-judge panel of the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled in today's e-Journal.

The e-Journal is a free daily online publication of the State Bar of Michigan that provides case summaries organized by areas of legal practice, legal news and updates, public policy updates, a calendar of events, and classified and fields of practice listings. Sign up for your subscription.

Posted by Samantha Meinke

Michigan Legal Help Website Launches Spanish-Language Version

Low-income Spanish speaking persons who cannot afford to hire an attorney and need legal help can now access help on a Spanish-language version of MichiganLegalHelp.org. Since the English-language version of the site launched in 2012, 760,000 visitors have accessed free, accurate legal information and forms to help them handle simple legal matters on their own.

Magna Carta Exhibit Visits Michigan Law Library in October

The University of Michigan Law School will host an American Bar Association exhibit on the Magna Carta  8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily from Oct. 1 through Oct. 23 at the Law Library, in the Smith Addition (Underground Law Library) at 801 Monroe St. in Ann Arbor.

The exhibit, "Magna Carta: Enduring Legacy 1215-2015," is open to the public and was created by the ABA and curated by the Library of Congress to commemorate the 800th anniversary of the sealing of the document. It will feature spectacular images on free-standing banners that will tell the story of the Magna Carta and its catalyst role in promoting the rule of law.

Visit the ABA's website for more information on the exhibit.

Posted by Samantha Meinke

Michigan Supreme Court Appoints New Grievance Administrator

The Michigan Supreme Court has appointed Alan M. Gershel administrator of the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission. Gershel will assume his new post Oct. 13.

Prior to taking on his new role of grievance administrator, Gershel served as a professor at Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing and as an attorney with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit.

He will oversee a staff of 28, including 13 attorneys and 15 support staffers.

Read the order.

Posted by Samantha Meinke

 

SBM honors the new lawyers of 1964 for 50 years in the practice of law

The State Bar of Michigan welcomed the new lawyers of 1964 to the annual Golden Celebration. Held in conjunction with the 2014 SBM Annual Meeting, the event celebrates attorneys for 50 years in the practice of law.

Posted by Samantha Meinke

Thomas C. Rombach Sworn in as State Bar of Michigan President

Thomas C. Rombach, of New Baltimore, has been sworn in as the 80th president of the State Bar of Michigan. Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert P. Young Jr. officiated at the Sept. 18 ceremony, which took place in conjunction with the SBM Annual Meeting at DeVos Place in Grand Rapids.

Mr. Rombach is a solo practitioner and focuses his practice on representing criminal and civil litigants.

Also sworn in as officers for 2014-2015 were President-Elect Lori A. Buiteweg, of Ann Arbor; Vice-President Lawrence P. Nolan, of Eaton Rapids; Secretary Donald G. Rockwell, of Flint; and Treasurer Jennifer M. Grieco, of Birmingham.

Mr. Rombach will lead an organization of over 43,000 members that works to improve the administration of justice, promotes the legal profession, and builds public understanding of the legal system. He has been involved in State Bar work for almost a decade and has served on many of its committees and groups. He was elected to the SBM Board of Commissioners in 2006 and has served as treasurer, secretary, vice president, and president-elect.

He is an elected member of the National Conference of Bar Presidents and an elected member of the American Bar Association House of Delegates. He was the chairperson of the SBM Representative Assembly in 2002-2003. He has served as president of the Macomb County Bar Association and as a member of the Macomb County Board of Commissioners. He has also served on the boards of directors of 15 charitable and civic organizations.

He received his bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University and his law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School.

Posted by Samantha Meinke

Vanessa Peterson Williams Sworn in as SBM Representative Assembly Chair

Vanessa Peterson Williams, of Southfield, has been sworn in as the chair of the State Bar of Michigan (SBM) Representative Assembly for 2014-2015. The Hon. Cynthia D. Stephens officiated at the Sept. 18 ceremony, held during the SBM Annual Meeting at DeVos Place in Grand Rapids.

The 150-member Representative Assembly (RA) is the final policy-making body of the State Bar. It was created in 1971 by the Michigan Supreme Court at the request of SBM's Board of Commissioners in order to increase geographical representation and member participation in SBM policy. Ms. Williams represents Oakland County.

Ms. Williams served as editor-in-chief of “The Brief,” journal of the Tort Insurance and Trial Practice Section of the American Bar Association, and has also served as president of the Association of Defense Trial Council, a member of the board of directors of the Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association, and she serves on the ABA House of Delegates. She is a fellow of the Michigan State Bar Foundation and a fellow of the American Bar Foundation.

Since 2013, Ms. Williams has been the vice president, chief legal counsel and global privacy officer at iHS Automotive in Southfield. Prior to that she served as vice president, deputy general counsel and chief compliance officer at R.L. Polk & Co., a senior attorney at Michigan Basic Property Insurance Association, and an associate at Plunkett & Cooney P.C.

She graduated from the University of Alabama in 1992, earned her law degree from the College of William and Mary – Marshall Wythe Law School in 1995, and received her M.B.A. from Wayne State University in 2008.

Posted by Samantha Meinke

In Memoriam: Carl Smith Jr., 39th President of the State Bar of Michigan

The State Bar of Michigan mourns the loss of its 39th president, Carl H. Smith Jr., who died Sept. 9 at the age of 87.

Current State Bar President Brian Einhorn and Executive Director Janet Welch expressed deep sadness at his passing.

“Carl and his father represent the finest professional tradition of giving back through public service," Einhorn said. "The State Bar extends its deepest condolences and appreciation to the Smith family."

A 1953 graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, Smith served in a number of State Bar leadership capacities. He was first elected to the Board of Commissioners in 1966, and elected State Bar treasurer in 1970, vice president in 1971, president-elect in 1972, and president in 1973. He and his father, Carl Smith Sr., are the only father-son duo to have both served as president of the State Bar. Carl Smith Sr. served as the State Bar’s 15th president from 1949-1950, soon after founding the law firm of Smith & Brooker in Bay City. Carl Smith Jr. joined that firm after graduation from law school, and he practiced there for more than 50 years.

Smith also followed in his father’s footsteps in the military. Carl Smith Sr. served in World War I, losing his left arm in 1918 at Soissions Juvigney and earning the French Croix de Guerre with Silver Star and Purple Heart. Carl Smith Jr. and his brother Richard both served as Marines during World War II. Carl Smith, Jr. was stationed in Guam and Panama from 1944 until the end of the war.

He is survived by his wife Diane; children Jane H. Smith of Bay City, Peter T. Smith MD and (Molly Mann) of St. Clair Shores, MI., Roy A. Smith JD and (Amy) of Minneapolis, MN., Elizabeth J. and (David) LeValley of Bay City, MI., Abigail Smith and (Eric) Briggs of Whitmore Lake, MI; four grandchildren Sarah E. Niemczura (Jerry) of Arlington, VA, Caroline E. and (Greg) Tobias of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Spencer Carl Briggs and Vivian Marie Briggs of Bay City, MI; two step-grandchildren Christine Hill and Gregory (Courtney) LeValley; and one great grandson, Andrew Smith Latterell of Minneapolis, MN.

Visitation will be from 3-8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 11, and 11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 12 at the Trahan Funeral Chapel, located at 256 N. Madison Ave. in Bay City. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 12 at the Trahan Funeral Chapel.

Posted by Samantha Meinke

State Bar of Michigan Annual Meeting Set for Sept. 17-19 in Grand Rapids

Members of the legal community will gather Sept. 17-19 at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel and DeVos Place in downtown Grand Rapids for the State Bar of Michigan Annual Meeting and Solo and Small Firm Institute.

Among this year's highlights:

Members of the legal profession who have achieved the highest honors in the areas of leadership, professional integrity and pro bono and community service will be recognized at the SBM Awards Banquet, beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 17. Award winners from the Michigan State Bar Foundation, Michigan Defense Trial Counsel, and Michigan Association for Justice will also be recognized. SBM President Brian Einhorn, SBM President-Elect Tom Rombach, former SBM President Wallace Riley, MSBF Board of Trustees President Margaret Nichols, MDTC Immediate Past President Ray Morganti, and MAJ President Scott Goodwin will present the awards.