SBM Blog

State Bar of Michigan Launches Pro Bono Honor Roll

The State Bar of Michigan is proud to launch a new initiative to recognize Michigan attorneys for pro bono service. The A Lawyer Helps Pro Bono Honor Roll will recognize Michigan attorneys who provide 30 or more hours of pro bono legal services in a calendar year.

Individual attorneys, law firms, and corporations will be recognized at one of three recognition levels for providing 30, 50, or 100 or more hours of pro bono service in the previous calendar year. The State Bar of Michigan will publicize attorneys on the A Lawyer Helps Pro Bono Honor Roll through postings on the web, in the Michigan Bar Journal, and through other printed and electronic methods.

Individual attorneys and designated staff members, on behalf of their affiliated law firms and corporations, are encouraged to complete and submit an A Lawyer Helps Pro Bono Honor Roll online application. The application will be available on the State Bar of Michigan A Lawyer Helps website in early February of 2019. After 2019, eligibility in the honor roll will be determined on an annual basis. Attorneys can report their own pro bono work or their pro bono work can be reported by SBM Pro Bono Partner Programs.

The provision of pro bono legal services to low-income people plays an essential role in providing access to justice for those in need. In 2014 alone, Michigan attorneys provided more than 32,000 hours of free legal help for low-income clients, making a significant impact toward increased access to justice.

Also beginning in 2019, the Access to Justice (ATJ) Campaign will recognize individuals, law firms, and corporate legal departments that make significant total donations on tiered recognition lists, as well as law firms that achieve a per-attorney average donation of at least $300, starting with tiered levels of $300, $500, $750, or $1,000 per lawyer. You can find more information on the ATJ Campaign at atjfund.org. You can find more information about the A Lawyer Helps program at michbar.org/alawyerhelps. The new ATJ Campaign and A Lawyer Helps Pro Bono Honor Roll recognition lists will replace the Circle of Excellence.

For more information about the A Lawyer Helps Pro Bono Honor Roll, the application process, and how you can find pro bono volunteer opportunities, contact SBM Pro Bono Service & Justice Initiatives Counsel Robert Mathis at [email protected].

Access to Justice Campaign Launches New Initiative to Honor Financial Donors

The Access to Justice Campaign is proud to launch a new initiative to recognize Michigan attorneys who invest in access to justice through financial donations to the ATJ Fund. Beginning in 2019, the Access to Justice Campaign will publish three new annual statewide lists to recognize donors to the ATJ Fund, which supports civil legal aid services to low-income individuals and plays an essential role in increasing access to justice.

The Access to Justice Campaign will recognize law firms and corporate legal departments on a tiered basis, starting at $1,000. Individuals and solo practitioners will also be recognized on a tiered list, starting at $300. In addition, leadership firms that achieve a per-attorney average donation of at least $300 will qualify to be recognized on a tiered list that will include levels of $300, $500, $750 or $1,000 per lawyer.

Michigan is currently ranked 44^th in the country in per attorney giving to civil legal aid. Based on successful models from other states, the campaign has recently transitioned to a collaborative centralized fundraising effort to increase resources for fifteen civil legal aid programs. Financial donations make a meaningful difference in the ability of legal aid to help low income families in Michigan.

Also beginning in 2019, the State Bar of Michigan will launch the A Lawyer Helps Pro Bono Honor Roll to recognize Michigan attorneys who provide 30 or more hours of pro bono legal services in a calendar year. The Voluntary Pro Bono Standard, as adopted by the State Bar of Michigan Representative Assembly, encourages Michigan attorneys to provide 30 or more hours of pro bono legal services each year or contribute a minimum of $300 ($500 for those whose income allows) to support civil legal services to low-income individuals. Many attorneys and law firms exceed those standards and publishing tiered lists to recognize financial donations and contributions of pro bono services will provide additional recognition of the efforts of Michigan attorneys. The lists will replace the Circle of Excellence.

The Michigan State Bar Foundation and State Bar of Michigan will widely publicize recognition on all lists through web posts, in the Michigan Bar Journal and through other printed and electronic communications. Both programs will be featured on the A Lawyer Helps webpage. Find more information about the A Lawyer Helps program at michbar.org/alawyerhelps.

For more information about the Access to Justice Campaign please see atjfund.org, or contact ATJ Campaign Coordinator Laura Musachio at [email protected].  

Nominations Open For Kimberly M. Cahill Bar Leadership Award

Are you as proud of your bar association's work as Kristen Pursley and Donna MacKenzie are about what they have accomplished with the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan? 

Then consider nominating your association or a volunteer of your association for a State Bar of Michigan Kimberly M. Cahill Bar Leadership Award. The Kimberly M. Cahill Bar Leadership Award was established in memory of the 2006-2007 SBM president, who died in January of 2008. This award is presented to a recognized local or affinity bar association, program or leader for excellence in promoting the ideal of professionalism or equal justice for all, or in responding to a compelling legal need within the community during the past year or on an ongoing basis.

In 2018, the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan received the award because of its work to advance the interest of women in the legal profession, promote improvements in the administration of justice and promote equality and social justice. It has grown into a statewide organization containing nearly 600 members and seven regional chapters within which more than 350 women have taken on the leadership role of president, including Kimberly M. Cahill. WLAM and its seven regional chapters host over 50 events each year to improve communities across the state by reading to children, collecting donations for soup kitchens and participating in charity fundraisers. WLAM currently works to advance gender pay equity and to end family responsibilities discrimination. It also encourages the professional improvement of members by engaging them in business development seminars, pro bono service, legal education, leadership training, and networking events. In 1983 WLAM formed a charitable arm, the Women Lawyers Association Foundation. To date, the Foundation has awarded over $500,000 in scholarships to 246 law students.

Nominations are due by 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 15, 2019. For more information, visit State Bar of Michigan Kimberly M. Cahill Bar Leadership Award.