SBM Blog

Join us for the Upper Michigan Legal Institute in June on Mackinac Island

You won't want to miss the opportunity to get the latest developments in case law, invaluable technology, and practice management tips at the Upper Michigan Legal institute, taking place this year during the Lilac Festival on June 14 and 15 at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island.

Sessions this year will provide updates on criminal, marijuana, real property, business, tax and family law; the art and science of persuasion; evidence double jeopardy and key evidentiary rules; durable power of attorney and estate planning; and zoning and land use. Register now.

Check out the Latest On Balance Podcast: The Opioid Crisis — Solutions for a Rising Epidemic

The latest episode of the State Bar of Michigan’s On Balance podcast features Harry Nelson, who discuss potential solutions to the opioid crisis. Hosts JoAnn Hathaway and Tish Vincent talk to him about the opioid crisis and his book, “The United States of Opioids: A Prescription For Liberating A Nation In Pain.” They discuss the needs for reform in healthcare laws and greater access to treatment for opioid addictions. Harry Nelson is founder and managing partner of Nelson Hardiman.

On Balance, on the Legal Talk Network, delivers useful and entertaining ideas on managing life as a lawyer. To subscribe to On Balance 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 purple "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.

SBM to Host Fifth Annual Brunch for Bars April 7 in Detroit

The State Bar of Michigan’s fifth annual Brunch for Bars will take place at 10 a.m. on Sunday, April 7, at the Fort Shelby Double Tree Hotel in Detroit.

This year’s brunch will focus on building membership through inclusiveness. Those in attendance will identify strategies to solve challenges every membership-based organization faces, including vying for the limited time of members, handling differences in the ways generations calculate return on time invested in volunteer efforts, and retaining relevance in a rapidly changing professional environment.

The brunch, sponsored by the SBM Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Committee, will take place the morning after the Wolverine Bar Association’s 57^th Annual Barristers Ball and offers an opportunity for leaders of local and affinity bar associations to network, share information, and discuss collaboration opportunities.

There is no cost to attend the event, but space is limited and registration is required. To register for brunch, fill out the form available at http://bit.ly/2EmPM7c. For more information, email Michelle Erskine at [email protected] or call (517) 346-6316.

SBM Seeks Applications for Pro Bono Honor Roll

The State Bar of Michigan invites individual attorneys, law firms and corporations to apply for the 2019 A Lawyer Helps Pro Bono Honor Roll (Honor Roll) by March 20.

SBM is launching the Honor Roll this year to offer individual attorneys and solo practitioners recognition for their qualifying pro bono service for the first time, in addition to recognition provided to law firms and corporations. The Honor Roll will recognize Michigan attorneys who have provided 30 or more hours of pro bono legal services in the previous calendar year. Individual attorneys, law firms and corporations will be recognized at one of three recognition levels for providing 30, 50 or 100+ hours of pro bono services in the 2018 calendar year. The State Bar will publicize the Honor Roll through postings on the web, in the Michigan Bar Journal and via 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 Honor Roll online application. The application is available on the State Bar of Michigan A Lawyer Helps website. The 2019 Honor Roll will be published in late April.

Attorneys who do not want to be publicly recognized for their pro bono services are still encouraged to report their pro bono service hours to the State Bar by submitting an application. The pro bono service information submitted will not be shared or publicized unless attorneys authorize the State Bar to include their names on the published version of the Honor Roll.

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.

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].

SBM ADR Section to Host How to Prepare for Mediation Teleseminar

The State Bar of Michigan Alternative Dispute Resolution Section will host a teleseminar about how best to prepare to mediate and arbitrate from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 2.

The teleseminar will feature a panel discussion focused on advice and anecdotes from senior, experienced practitioners on best practices, techniques, common mistakes to avoid and how best to prepare that will be moderated by Michael S. Leib, a mediator with Leib ADR in West Bloomfield. Panelists include Earlene Baggett-Hayes, founder and owner of the Law and Mediation Center in Pontiac, and Zena Zumeta, president of the Mediation Training & Consultation Institute, Zena Zumeta Mediation Services and The Collaborative Workplace in Ann Arbor. The panel discussion will be aimed at mediators, but will be beneficial to advocates as well.

The teleseminar costs $10 for Alternative Dispute Resolution, Family Law, Young Lawyers and Probate & Estate Planning Section members and law students, and $40 for other registrants. To register online or download a copy of the mail-in registration form, visit http://connect.michbar.org/adr. Dial-in instructions will be provided on participants’ registration confirmations. For additional information about the seminar, contact Michael Leib at (248) 563-2500 or [email protected].

On Balance Podcast: Michigan’s Rule Changes for Limited Scope Representation

The latest episode of the State Bar of Michigan’s On Balance podcast features Judge Michelle Rick and attorney Kim Jones, who discuss the problems faced by people with unmet civil legal needs due to an inability to secure legal representation. Guest host Darin Day talks with them about rule changes for limited scope representation in Michigan that aim to decrease the justice gap. They describe the new rules and provide examples of how Michigan attorneys can provide these types of limited legal services to clients. They also encourage lawyers to check out the Limited Scope Tool Kit.  

On Balance, on the Legal Talk Network, delivers useful and entertaining ideas on managing life as a lawyer. To subscribe to On Balance 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 purple "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.

Nominations Open for Major SBM Awards

Nominations are now open for major State Bar of Michigan awards that will be presented at a 2019 awards celebration.

These awards include the Roberts P. Hudson Award, Frank J. Kelley Distinguished Public Service Award, Champion of Justice Award, Kimberly M. Cahill Bar Leadership Award, John W. Cummiskey Pro Bono Award and John W. Reed Michigan Lawyer Legacy Award. All nominations are due by 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb.15. 

An awards committee co-chaired by SBM Vice President Robert J. Buchanan and SBM Secretary Dana M. Warnez reviews nominations for the Roberts P. Hudson, John W. Reed, Champion of Justice, Frank J. Kelley, Kimberly M. Cahill, and Liberty Bell awards. The SBM Pro Bono Initiative Committee reviews nominations for the John W. Cummiskey Pro Bono Award. These recommendations are then voted on by the full Board of Commissioners at its April meeting.

Last year's non-winning nominations will automatically carry over for consideration this year. Nominations should include sufficient details about the accomplishments of the nominee to allow the committees to make a judgment.

Any SBM member can nominate candidates for awards. To apply online or download application forms visit the awards page. Cummiskey Award nominations can be directed to Robert Mathis at [email protected]; all other nominations can be submitted to Anne Smith at [email protected].

Attention Wayne County Attorneys: Want To Be A Judge?

Governor Whitmer's office is seeking applicants for the seat on the 36th District Court in Wayne County being vacated by Hon. Izetta Bright. 

To be considered for this position, you must be a State Bar of Michigan member who meets the legal qualifications for this office. Please be aware that to be appointed you must reside within the judicial district. 

To apply for the position, please email one complete packet, including your judicial appointment questionnaire, resume, writing samples, and any other attachments to [email protected] by 5 p.m. on Feb. 6. The judicial appointment questionnaire and additional information about the process are available here.

If you have any questions about the judicial appointment process, please send your questions to [email protected].

Representative Assembly Accepting Award Nominations

Nominations are being accepted for two State Bar of Michigan Representative Assembly awards. The Michael Franck Award is given annually to an attorney who has made an outstanding contribution to the improvement of the legal profession. The Unsung Hero Award is presented to a lawyer who has exhibited the highest standards of practice and commitment for the benefit of others.

Nominees for both awards must be State Bar members in good standing and their contributions may have been made either during the past year or by virtue of cumulative effort or service. Materials submitted should include sufficient details about the nominee's accomplishments. The Assembly's Nominating and Awards Committee will review the applications and make awards recommendations to the Representative Assembly. The Representative Assembly, chaired by Richard L. Cunningham, is the final policy-making body of the State Bar.

The nomination deadline is Saturday, March 2, 2019. Apply online. For more information about the Representative Assembly Awards contact Carrie Sharlow at [email protected] or 517-346-6317.

Nominate the champion of justice you most admire for an award today

Do you know lawyers or judges who are champions of justice? 

Then consider nominating them for State Bar of Michigan Champion of Justice Awards. The Champion of Justice Award is given to practicing lawyers and judges each year by the State Bar of Michigan for integrity and adherence to the highest principles and traditions of the legal profession, superior professional competence and an extraordinary professional accomplishment that benefits the nation, the state, or the local community in which the lawyer or judge lives. In 2018, the State Bar of Michigan named two champions of justice: Miriam Aukerman and Robert Heimbuch. 

Miriam Aukerman’s willingness to become a voice for the least powerful people in society has led to legal precedents protecting them. Three federal court cases highlight the magnitude of her work with the American Civil Liberties Union in Grand Rapids. In 2013, the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld her challenge to Michigan’s anti-begging law, which Grand Rapids had used to arrest nearly 400 people, on First Amendment grounds. In 2016, the Sixth Circuit agreed with her argument that the state’s sex-offender registry law was unconstitutional because it punished registrants without delivering a corresponding public safety benefit. Also in 2016, the Sixth Circuit agreed with Aukerman’s challenge of the state policy of automatically denying food assistance to qualified citizens based on a match with a computerized list of outstanding felony warrants. Assistance was restored to approximately 20,000 people. Prior to her work with the ACLU, Aukerman developed and oversaw the Legal Aid of Western Michigan Reentry Law Project to help people with criminal records fight legal barriers preventing them from being productive citizens.

Since being named deputy chief of the Juvenile Division of the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office in 2001, and then chief in 2004, Robert J. Heimbuch has developed and operated several highly successful diversion programs such as Right TRAC, Correct Course, and Erase Truancy, that give deserving youthful offenders a chance to bypass the formal court system and avoid delinquency adjudication. Young people who graduate from the programs have recidivism rates under 10 percent. This ultimately translates into efficiencies that have saved the county millions of dollars, and, more importantly, safer communities, which has been reflected in yearly declines in new delinquency complaints filed by police departments in the county. Judge Virgil Smith said Heimbuch recently collaborated with the court to create a Juvenile Mental Health Court to address the special rehabilitative needs of delinquents with significant mental health issues. Judge Demetria Brue said Heimbuch’s style as a supervisor and unrelenting determination to administer justice has influenced the way she runs her courtroom.  

Nominations are due by 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 15, 2019. For more information, visit State Bar of Michigan Champion of Justice Award.