SBM Blog

Janet Welch to be Honored with Carolyn A. Stell Award at Reception in November

The Woman Lawyers Association of Michigan will honor State Bar of Michigan Executive Director Janet K. Welch with the Carolyn A. Stell Award at the 25th Annual Stell Reception, from 6-8 p.m. on Nov. 8 at the Kellogg Center in East Lansing. 

Janet Welch is the executive director of the State Bar of Michigan. In this role, she oversees the day-to-day operations of the State Bar, implements policies set by the Board of Commissioners and the Representative Assembly, and directs the efforts of State Bar staff.

Ms. Welch, who joined the Bar in December 2000 as general counsel, is the first woman to head the more than 39,000-member statewide organization. A Michigan native, she is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Albion College and the University of Michigan Law School. She is also a graduate of the Kennedy School of Government State and Local Senior Executive Program at Harvard University and was a Fulbright Scholar in comparative literature at the University of Zagreb in the former Yugoslavia.

Before coming to the State Bar of Michigan in 2000, Ms. Welch served as Michigan Supreme Court counsel for four years. She has had an extensive career in state government that started as a legislative analyst for the Michigan House of Representatives. In 1980, she was chosen to create a nonpartisan legislative analysis office for the Michigan Senate, and served as its director for five years before attending law school.

After a clerkship with Michigan Supreme Court Justice Robert P. Griffin, Ms. Welch accepted a position as executive analyst in the Office of the Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, where her work included analysis of legislative issues affecting the judicial system. In that capacity, she served as reporter for the Commission on the Courts in the 21st Century, and as staff to the Michigan Justice Project. In 1998, the Council of State Governments named her a Toll Fellow for outstanding achievement and service to state government.

The Stell Reception is named in honor of the first female judge on the Ingham County Circuit Court bench, Carolyn A. Stell. At the event, the Stell Award is presented to a local member of the bench or bar in recognition of his or her contributions to the legal community and to the advancement of women in the legal profession. The Carolyn A. Stell Scholarship, a $1,000 grant, will also be presented to a deserving female law student at the reception. Proceeds from the reception benefit the scholarship fund. 

Tickets to the reception cost $40. Register online. Email [email protected] with any other questions. 

Michigan Muslim Bar Association to host 6th annual scholarship dinner Oct. 25

The Michigan Muslim Bar Association will host its 6th annual scholarship dinner 6 p.m. Oct. 25 at Byblos Banquet Hall, located at 7258 Chase Road in Dearborn. The event costs $30 for students, $50 for individuals and $500 for a table of 10. RSVPs are required by Oct. 17. For more information or to register, email [email protected] or call 313-570-4390. 

Taste of Diversity will take place Oct. 19 in Birmingham

 The State Bar of Michigan is proud to partner with the Oakland County Bar Association and many other bar associations and law firms to present "Taste of Diversity" from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Oct. 19 at The Bird & The Bread in Birmingham. It costs $30 to attend. Register online. 

Reminder: 2017-2018 State Bar of Michigan dues invoices now available online

On September 20, the State Bar of Michigan sent e-mail notifications to members that the 2017-2018 State Bar of Michigan annual disclosure statement and dues notice was available online. Members of the State Bar need to complete annual disclosure statements and pay dues prior to November 30, or be subject to a late fee.

To complete the annual disclosures and pay dues online with a debit or credit card, or to print the dues statement to pay by check, members should go to e.michbar.org and log in using their previously assigned logins and passwords. Dues paid online will be updated the following business day and a bar card will be issued within three business days. Dues paid by mailing a statement and check will take longer to process, and members who do so may not receive a bar card for several weeks after payment is processed.

If members have any problems logging into their accounts, they should please e-mail [email protected]. Our Member Services Department will contact them. If members have any problems with the online dues payment process or printing an invoice, please e-mail [email protected] to be contacted by our Dues Department.

Effective with the 2017-2018 fiscal year beginning October 1, 2017, the Michigan Supreme Court has increased the Discipline Dues portion of the annual dues by $15. Michigan Supreme Court Administrative Order No. 2017-1 orders the amount of discipline dues be increased to $105 in the 2017-2018 fiscal year, and further increased to $120 in the 2018-2019 fiscal year. The changes for the 2017-2018 fiscal year are reflected in the dues statement online and on the paper invoice. Read Administrative Order 2017-1.

Michigan Lawyers: Please Participate in 2017 Economics of Law Practice Survey

The State Bar of Michigan Economics of Law Practice Survey only happens once every three years, but the survey results get used daily throughout the state in courtrooms, law firms, and by lawyers in all occupational areas. Private practitioners can take the survey at surveymonkey.com/r/17private, and non-private practitioners can take the survey at surveymonkey.com/r/17nonprivate. This year’s survey should take no more than five minutes to complete.

In the 2008 Michigan Supreme Court decision Smith v. Khouri, the court referenced the SBM Economics of Law Practice Survey as the primary resource for trial courts in determining attorney fees. It provides the benchmark for more than 50 specific fields of practice by geographic location.

The survey is designed to capture information relevant to the various occupational areas of Michigan attorneys. Private practitioners will be asked questions about their specific practice areas, and those in non-private practice occupations, such as those working as in-house counsel, in government service, non-profit organizations, academia, legal services, and more, will be asked for information about salaries, benefits, hours worked, and job satisfaction.

When members participate in the survey, their privacy will be fully protected and their replies will remain strictly confidential. Results will be reported in the aggregate only—no individual results will be identifiable. The State Bar will not have access to any respondent’s financial information, and attorneys will not be asked to provide a P number or any other identifying information to take the survey. The survey will be conducted by a third-party vendor on an independent website. However, to help members find the survey, a link to the survey will be provided on the State Bar website.

To sweeten the pot and make participation in the survey a little more fun, participants will be eligible to enter a drawing for prizes, including two $500 Amazon gift cards, and five $100 Amazon gift cards.