SBM Blog

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.”

In Memoriam: Justice Robert Griffin

Robert Griffin, the 96^th justice of the Michigan Supreme Court and a former United States Senator, died April 16, 2015 at the age of 91.

Justice Griffin served in the U.S. Army before returning to attend law school at the University of Michigan, where he graduated in 1950. He began his legal career as a law clerk for Michigan Supreme Court Justice John Dethmers, before moving to Traverse City where he practiced law until 1956. That year, Griffin was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He was appointed to the U.S. Senate in 1966, and was re-elected in 1972. Griffin later returned to Michigan to practice law before his election to the Michigan Supreme Court, where he served from 1987 to 1994. He received many honors over the years, including the State Bar of Michigan’s Frank Kelley Distinguished Public Service award in 2003.

State Bar of Michigan Executive Director Janet Welch, who was a law clerk for Justice Griffin, applauded Griffin’s distinguished legal and political career, and in particular his impact on young lawyers.

"In his tenure on the Michigan Supreme Court, Justice Griffin was a wonderful role model for new lawyers, embodying integrity, thoughtfulness, and dispassionate, meticulous legal reasoning,” she said.

State Bar President Tom Rombach agreed, noting that the Michigan legal community was fortunate to have an ambassador like Griffin.

“Justice Griffin was known in Washington, D.C. and throughout the country for his integrity, sense of fairness, and ability to solve problems,” Rombach said. “He loved Michigan and the practice of law, and we were very lucky to have him in our corner. He will be missed.”

A viewing is scheduled at the Robert P. Griffin Hall of Justice, 280 Washington St., Traverse City from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday. A funeral service will be held at noon Tuesday at the First Congregational Church, 6105 Center Rd., Traverse City. Funeral arrangements will be handled by the Reynolds Jonkhoff Funeral Home in Traverse City.

Posted by Lynn Ingram

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

In Memoriam: Hon. Claudia House Morcom

The Hon. Claudia House Morcom died Aug. 17. A true civil rights giant, 50 years ago Judge Morcom risked her life to register minority voters and desegregate public facilities in Mississippi. She devoted her life to establish racial and gender equality through her work as an attorney.

Judge Morcom earned her juris doctor at Wayne State University Law School and became the first African American woman to work at one of the nation's first integrated law firms, Goodman, Crockett, Eden, Robb, and Philo. She served as the southern regional director of the National Lawyers Guild Committee for Legal Assistance and director of Wayne County Neighborhood Legal Services Program for the indigent. She became the first African American woman appointed to Wayne County Circuit Court in 1983 and served as a delegate to the United Nations Council on Human Rights.

For her work, she received the Wayne State University Center for Peace and Conflict Studies Peace Award, the Wayne State University Outstanding Alumni Award, Damon Keith Humanitarian Award, Center for Constitutional Rights Award, State Bar of Michigan Champion of Justice Award, National Coalition of 100 Black Women Outstanding Community Leadership Award and the American Civil Liberties Award.

A visitation will be held 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday, August 22 at Swanson’s Funeral Home, 806 E. Grand Blvd. in Detroit. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, August 23 at Plymouth United Church of Christ, located at 600 E. Warren in Detroit. The service will be preceded by a family hour at 10 a.m.

Memorial donations may be made to the Judge Claudia House Morcom Annual Scholarship and sent to Wayne State University's Fund Office at 5475 Woodward Ave., Detroit, MI 48202.

Posted by Samantha Meinke

Donald E. Martin died Jan. 11, 2012. He was a graduate of Valparaiso University School of Law and served as Ingham County Prosecutor from 1986-1996, before joining the law firm of Foster, Swift, Collins and Smith. He served on the State Bar of Michigan's Judicial Qualifications Committee, as chair of the Appellate Defender Committee of the State Appellate Defender Office, and for one year as president of the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan. 

Funeral services for Don Martin are set for 11 a.m. Saturday at Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lansing. His arrangements are being handled by Estes-Leadley Greater Lansing Chapel. For more information about Mr. Martin, read this article in the Lansing State Journal or Mr. Martin's obituary.

- See more at: http://sbmblog.typepad.com/sbm-blog/2012/01/in-memoriam-donald-e-martin.html#sthash.0b3do90F.dpuf

In Memoriam: David K. Page

David K. Page, a partner at Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP, passed away on July 1 at the age of 80. 

Page's legal practice focused on corporate transactions, including corporate governance, financing, acquisitions, sales and mergers, public offerings and private placements. He was an active and committed community leader and was the chairman of the board of Meadowbrook Insurance Group, Inc., a company with nearly $3 billion in assets based in Southfield, Michigan.

His personal list of volunteer work with charitable organizations is extensive. Along with leadership roles at many area nonprofit organizations, he was the chair of the Children’s Hospital of Michigan Foundation board of trustees, the vice chair of the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, and a trustee or director on the boards of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, the Detroit Zoological Society, City Year Detroit and both The Jewish Fund and the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit (previously serving as president of each).

He earned an LL.B., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School and a B.A., summa cum laude, from Dartmouth College. In addition, he was a Fulbright Scholar at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Page is survived by his wife, Andrea, children, Mark, Jason and Sarah, and grandchildren.

Posted by Samantha Meinke

In Memoriam: Hon Cornelia G. Kennedy

The Honorable Cornelia G. Kennedy, the first woman appointed federal judge in Detroit, passed away on Monday at her home in Grosse Pointe Woods at the age of 90.

Judge Kennedy was born in Detroit on August 4, 1923. She earned a Bachelor of Arts and her law degree from the University of Michigan. She subsequently clerked for the Honorable Harold W. Stephens, Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She was the first woman to clerk for that court.

After 20 years in private practice in Detroit, she was elected to the Wayne County (Michigan) Circuit Court. In 1970 President Richard M. Nixon appointed her to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. She was the first woman to sit on that court, and in 1977 she became the first female chief judge of a federal district court in the United States.

She was elevated to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit by President Jimmy Carter in 1979. She was the second woman to sit on that court, and held that position until her retirement on June 30, 2012. Judge Kennedy and her sister, the Honorable Margaret G. Schaeffer, were the first sister judges in the United States. Judge Schaeffer sat on the 47th District Court in Farmington Hills, Michigan from 1974-1992.

Judge Kennedy is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Charles S. and Angela Kennedy; her grandchildren, Elizabeth and Matthew; her sister, Dr. Christine G. Gram; and 28 nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, June 27, 2014 at 11:00 a.m. at Grosse Pointe Congregational Church. A luncheon will follow. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to The Honorable Cornelia G. Kennedy Scholarship, c/o Alexandra Haddad, University of Michigan Law School, 701 S. State St., Suite 4000, Ann Arbor, MI 48109. For more detail, please visit http://www.verheyden.org/book-of-memories/1867695/Kennedy-The-

Posted by Samantha Meinke

In Memoriam: Hon. Mary M. Waterstone

Retired Judge Mary M. Waterstone, of Detroit, recently passed away at the age of 74. She was a 1965 graduate of the University of Michigan Law School. She was a clerk for U.S. District Judge Fred W. Kaess and in 1968 became an adjunct associate professor at Wayne State University Law School. In 1991, she was appointed judge of the 36th District Court, and in 1997 to the Wayne County 3rd Circuit Court.  Judge Waterstone was a member of the State Bar of Michigan, the American Bar Association, the Detroit Bar Association, the Federal Bar Association, and the Michigan District Judges Association. A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday, June 1 at the Jefferson Avenue Presbyterian Church, 8625 East Jefferson Avenue (between Burns and Jefferson). A reception following the service will be held at Sinbad's Restaurant, 100 St. Clair Street.

Posted by Samantha Meinke

In Memoriam: Ronni Tischler

Ronni Tischler, of Farmington Hills, died March 14, at the age of 59. She was a 1996 graduate of Wayne State Law School where she served as editor-in-chief of the Wayne Law Review.  She was a law clerk to Justice Conrad Mallett of the Michigan Supreme Court, and a recipient of the Women's Bar Association (Oakland County Chapter of WLAM) annual award. She is survived by her children, Michael Robinson and Rachel Robinson.

In Memoriam: Joseph L. Sax, Environmental Law Pioneer

Joseph L. Sax, a renowned scholar of environmental law who pioneered the public trust doctrine during his tenure at the University of Michigan Law School, died March 9 in San Francisco.  Prof. Sax taught at the law school from 1966 to 1986, during which time he wrote Michigan's Environmental Protection Act. The New York Times obituary is here; an appreciation by a Berkeley Law colleague is here.

In Memoriam: Chokwe Lumumba

Chokwe Lumumba, of Jackson, Mississippi, died Feb. 25, at the age of 66. He was mayor of Jackson, Mississippi at the time of his death. Born Edwin Finley Taliaferro in Detroit, Mr. Lumumba was a graduate of Kalamazoo College and a 1975 graduate of Wayne State Law School.  His extensive history as a civil rights lawyer is described in this obituary in yesterday's New York Times.