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Sunday, July 10, 2011
Become More Involved in the Bar
A key motivation for
developing this blog was to encourage members to consider becoming more involved in bar association activities. In
addition to State Bar service, opportunities exist at the local bar, special purpose bar, and/or national levels such as the ABA.
Bar association service offers numerous benefits
such as:
• Breaking the isolation commonly associated with a busy law practice, whether you work as
a solo practitioner or in a large organization. Bar association activities allow you to develop and expand your personal
network of professional contacts, referral sources, and friends.
• Continuing legal education opportunities.
State Bar sections offer their members useful, relevant, and timely information through e-blasts, newsletters,
seminars, meetings, and list-servs.
• Joining others to serve the public in meaningful ways. Bar associations
offer numerous public service programs.
• Helping improve our profession.
For busy lawyers, meetings
are often conducted by conference call, which minimizes time away from the office, client service, or personal commitments.
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About Me - Updated in 2025
Thank
you for visiting my State Bar presidential blog. My name is Julie Fershtman, and I was the 77th president of the 42,000-member State Bar of Michigan from September 2011 through
September 2012. A member of the State Bar for over 38 years (as of 2025), I practice with the
law firm Foster Swift Collins & Smith, PC, in its Southfield office, where I'm an Equity Shareholder.
My areas of practice include commercial litigation, insurance defense and coverage, sporting and recreational liability,
fraud litigation, agribusiness law and liability, real estate litigation, and equine law. I've tried cases before
juries in 4 states (Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, and Connecticut) and have been counsel on cases in 21 jurisdictions nationwide.
Back in 2011-2012, business continued during my presidency with assistance from a great Board of Commissioners, a supporive
Executive Director, lawyers in my firm, and the cooperation of fellow counsel and judges. Aside from my law practice, I
also enjoy speaking and lecturing on liability, insurance, and risk management at seminars, conventions, CLE programs,
and conferences. I've been a speaker in 29 states across the country. Around the time of my State Bar presidency, I spoke
on a panel at the 2011 ABA Annual Meeting in Toronto. I was also a panelist on ABA webinars in 2011 and 2012. I also love writing on legal subjects. I've written 4 books and have contributed to or co-authored 4 ABA books and 5 law journal articles for the ABA Tort Trial & Insurance Practice
Section. My writings also include about 425 published articles on legal subjects. In 2019, the ABA published my latest
book, called Equine Law and Horse Sense, which is available through ABA Publishing and Amazon (look for the horse
on the cover). I grew up in the Detroit area and graduated from Emory
College and Emory Law School. On a personal level, my father (the late Sidney Fershtman) was a Michigan lawyer,
and my husband is a lawyer. Although work, family, and bar activities leave little time for hobbies, my favorite hobby
is horses. My personal website explains more about my
background and law practice: www.fershtmanlaw.com
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