SBM Blog

SBM Members: Save 15% on ABA Books!

SBM members can now save 15% on ABA books. The discount applies to all regularly priced book purchases at the ABA web store. Simply use the special discount code MICHBAR at checkout. To start saving 15% on your ABA book purchases visit www.ShopABA.org or call (800) 285-2221 and use the special discount code MICHBAR.

NEXT Conference 2018—Save the Date

The State Bar of Michigan Next Conference will take place Sept. 26–28 at DeVos Place in Grand Rapids. 

Have fun, make connections, and recharge your law practice at the 2018 NEXT Conference. In just a day and a half, you’ll engage with experts whose sole goal is to help you save time, save money, and increase your bottom line.

This year the popular Judicial Perspectives educational track will return, featuring Michigan Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Clement, Kent County Circuit Court Judge Christopher Yates, Ottawa County Circuit Court Judge Jon Hulsing, Muskegon County Circuit Court Judge Timothy Hicks, Genesee County Circuit Court Judge Joseph Farah, and Kalamazoo County Circuit Judge Pamela Lightvoet.

Lawyer Trust Accounts Seminar Will Take Place in June

June 19, 2018 • Michael Franck Building, Lansing

This half-day ethics seminar features presentations on how to manage lawyer trust accounts, including how to effectively use forms, checklists, and other recordkeeping resources. The seminar, which is open to lawyers and their staff, is an excellent way to learn how to comply with Michigan Rules of Professional Conduct 1.15 and 1.15A. Participants will receive practical information as well as materials prepared by presenters: SBM Professional Standards Division Director Danon Goodrum-Garland, SBM Assistant General Counsel Nkrumah Johnson-Wynn, Professional Standards Assistant Division Director Alecia Ruswinckel, and Attorney Grievance Commission Senior Associate Counsel Rhonda Pozehl. More Information

On Balance Podcast: Check Out the Latest Episode

The latest episode of the State Bar of Michigan’s On Balance podcast features Lea Ann Sterling, a Traverse City attorney who owns and manages Sterling Law Office in Empire and Gaylord and wrote award-winning pictorial guidebooks Historic Homes of Olde Town, Columbus, Ohio, and Historic Cottages of Mackinac Island. Hosts JoAnn Hathaway and Tish Vincent discuss with Sterling how she took her law practice from survival mode to a stage-one business.

On Balance delivers useful and entertaining ideas on managing life as a lawyer. To subscribe in iTunes, follow two easy steps: 1. Using your mobile device, click on this link or enter this link in your browser: http://ow.ly/HOOZ30hZOy1. 2. Click the "Subscribe" button that shows up right under the name of the podcast. To access On Balance in Google Play, follow these three steps: 1. Using your mobile device, click this link or enter this link in your browser: http://ow.ly/GDas30hYSEy. 2. Click the subscribe button (located just beneath the On Balance logo). 3. Click the subscribe button that appears in the pop up.

Change Coming to Dues This September

In mid-September, we hope you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the changes we’re making to streamline the process you will use to complete your mandatory disclosures and pay your annual dues. This year, you will be able to complete your mandatory disclosures online and either pay your dues online or mail your check to our lockbox.

As a reminder, you will be receiving notification by email in mid-September to complete your mandatory disclosures and pay your dues. Make sure you keep your email address up to date with us, so you will receive that email notification. If you change jobs, Supreme Court rules require that you update your contact information. Providing and updating your email address will help ensure that you receive email dues notifications.

2018 SBM Election Notice—Voting Begins May 25

Electronic ballots for the 2018 State Bar of Michigan elections will be distributed via email on May 25. SBM members who do not have an email address on file will receive a paper ballot. Online voting will end at 11:59 p.m. on Friday, June 15, and paper ballots must be received postmarked no later than June 15.

There are contested races for the Judicial Tenure Commission, the Board of Commissioners in Districts D, G, H, and I, and the Representative Assembly in Circuit 7. Unless your address on file is in one of the circuits or districts where there is a contested race, you will only receive a ballot for the Judicial Tenure Commission race.

All eligible members with an email address on file with the State Bar may vote securely online. This can be done by one of two methods. First, beginning on May 25, eligible members will receive an email message informing you it is time to vote. Included in the message will be an embedded link taking you directly to the voting site and a ballot containing only the races for which you are entitled to vote. The email will come from [email protected] with the subject line "Vote Now in the 2018 State Bar of Michigan Election—E-Ballot enclosed" and not from the State Bar.

Alternatively, you may reach the voting website from the SBM Member Area, where you will need to sign in and click on the VOTE NOW button to be directed to the voting website.

PLEASE NOTE: To ensure that you receive your ballot, please add [email protected] to your email contact list. You could also let your IT department know to add this address to its “safe mail” list. Please be assured that the site is secure and you will have the same level of privacy and anonymity as if voting by mail. The system will prevent anyone from voting more than once. If you have questions, contact Marge Bossenbery at [email protected] or (517) 346-6327, or Carrie Sharlow at [email protected] or (517) 346-6317.

In Memoriam: Wallace D. Riley, 38th SBM President

The State Bar of Michigan mourns the loss of its 38th president, Wallace D. Riley, who died May 17 at the age of 90.

“Wally Riley leaves a legacy of extraordinary accomplishments,” SBM Executive Director Janet Welch said. “To most people, his service as president of the American Bar Association and the State Bar of Michigan might stand out as his signature achievements, but to those who knew him best, his most defining legacy was his devotion to his cherished wife, Dorothy, and his partnership with her on her path to becoming a pioneering icon in her own right in Michigan legal history. They became, and will always remain, the ‘First Couple’ of the Michigan legal profession.”

"All of us are so saddened by the news of the passing of Wallace Riley,” SBM President Donald G. Rockwell said. “Wally was a true pillar in the State Bar of Michigan and the American Bar Association. He was greatly loved by all who knew him and he will be deeply missed."

Riley was elected president of the State Bar of Michigan for the 1972-1973 bar year, and was elected president of the American Bar Association for the 1983-1984 bar year. He earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy in 1947 from the University of Chicago, where he also earned letters in basketball and baseball; earned three degrees from the University of Michigan, including a Bachelor of Business Administration in 1949, a Master of Business Administration in 1952 and a Juris Doctor in 1952; and he also earned a Master of Laws Degree in 1954 from George Washington University. He had a long and very distinguished legal career in Detroit, and founded the legendary law firm of Riley and Roumell in 1968 with his wife, Dorothy Comstock Riley, and friend, George T. Roumell. Prior to founding that firm, he practiced law with Burke, Burke and Smith in Ann Arbor, served as a first lieutenant in the Judge Advocate General Corps of the United States Army, a member of the special counsel staff of Special Counsel to Secretary of the Army Joseph N. Welch in connection with the Army-McCarthy Hearings before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the United States Senate, and practiced law in Detroit with Dykema, Jones & Wheat. He also served as an instructor at the University of Michigan, teaching labor relations, taxation and real estate valuation and finance.

Riley was a very active volunteer with the State Bar of Michigan, Michigan State Bar Foundation, Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society, Detroit Bar Association, Federal Bar Association and American Bar Association. He served as president of the Michigan State Bar Foundation from 1974 to 1982, and a founding member of the Foundation Fellows Program. He served as president of the Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society and president of the Michigan Historical Center Foundation. He chaired the Michigan Attorney Discipline Board from 2000-2002. He served as chair of the Young Lawyer Section of the State Bar of Michigan and the Detroit Bar Association. He was national director and chairman of the Continuing Legal Education Committee of the ABA Young Lawyers Section. He served as president of the Federal Bar Association Detroit Chapter and 6^th District National Vice President of the FBA. He also co-wrote the “Wayne County Practice and Procedure Handbook” with Allan Neef.

Riley was also very prominent in other civic activities. He served as a member of the City of Detroit Commission on Community Relations. He served as a lifetime member of the NAACP, on the Board of Directors of the Detroit Chapter of the American Cancer Society, on the Board of Directors of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, on the Board of Directors of SJS Bancorp Inc. and as Chairman of the Board of TechTeam Global Inc. He also served on the Michigan Board of Canvassers. For his outstanding achievements, he received many awards, among them the State Bar of Michigan Roberts P. Hudson Award and the Michigan State Bar Foundation Founders Award.

“Wally is a lawyer’s lawyer, a Bar person through and through, a civic leader, a scholar. He is politically savvy, a person of principle, a sports buff and a delightful friend,” George T. Roumell wrote in a 1983 Michigan Bar Journal when Riley became ABA President. “Few understand Bar activities the way Wally does. The hours and hours he has devoted to the interest of the Bar are legendary among those of us who practice with him.”

Volunteer to Serve on a State Bar Committee Today

Note: If you tried to volunteer and experienced technical issues, please try again! Complete the application before June 7 in any web browser except Internet Explorer. The application is not fully functional in Internet Explorer.

You are invited to apply to serve in one of the many volunteer opportunities offered by the State Bar of Michigan. We offer short-term, fast-moving opportunities to serve on innovative work groups and longer-term, more in-depth opportunities to serve on traditional standing committees. We have revised the volunteer application process to make it more streamlined, straightforward, and deliberate in order to help you quickly and easily find the right opportunity to help us continue to advance our core mission of promoting the professionalism of lawyers; advocating for an open, fair, and accessible justice system; and providing services to members that enable them to best serve clients.

Please include your resume or CV and links to your online professional bio and social media sites to help us find the perfect fit for you. Please note that in order to serve as a volunteer, the State Bar requires you to have an email address on record. If you have questions, email [email protected] or call (517) 346-6330 during regular business hours. If you are a current committee member and have any questions, contact your staff liaison. Find out more about SBM committees and work groups. View an invitation from SBM President-Elect Jennifer Grieco to serve as a volunteer.

State Bar of Michigan Announces 2018 Award Winners

The following individuals and organization will receive 2018 State Bar of Michigan awards at a banquet on Sept. 26 at the SBM NEXT Conference in Grand Rapids.

2018 State Bar of Michigan Award Recipients:

Roberts P. Hudson Award: Bruce A. Courtade and Julie I. Fershtman
Frank J. Kelley Distinguished Public Service Award: Hon. Marilyn J. Kelly and Robert P. Young Jr.
Champion of Justice Award: Miriam J. Aukerman and Robert J. Heimbuch
John W. Reed Lawyer Legacy Award: Professor Lawrence Dubin
John W. Cummiskey Pro Bono Award: Charles “David” Jones
Kimberly M. Cahill Bar Leadership Award: Women Lawyers Association of Michigan 

The following individuals will receive State Bar Representative Assembly awards at the Assembly’s Sept. 27 meeting in Grand Rapids.

2018 State Bar of Michigan Representative Assembly Award Recipients:

Michael Franck Award: Hon. Victoria A. Roberts
Unsung Hero Award: Michele P. Fuller

More information about each award recipient will be released prior to the SBM NEXT Conference, which will take place Sept. 26-28 in Detroit.

SBM Digital Library Offers Over 500 Free Resources

For many years, the Bar's Practice Management Resource Center has offered a lending library that ships printed copies of books upon request. As an enhancement to that service, a free online library is now available that allows members to download e-books and audio books to office computers, laptops, smartphones, and tablets. Unlike the lending library, which requires return shipping, the downloadable library items are free to members and will automatically delete after the designated lending period expires. Topics include business and client relations, career transitioning, financial management, technology how-to publications, self-help books, and The Nutshell series.

To browse titles in the digital library, visit the SBM Practice Management Resource Center Lending Libraries. Stay caught up with what the PMRC is doing by following them on Twitter @MIStateBarPMRC.