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My Presidential Travels
 
Here is a list of  some of my meetings, visits, and presentations as State Bar president:
 
September 2011
9/15 - State Bar of Michigan Annual Meeting in Dearborn, MI
9/16 - Michigan Legal Milestone Unveiling for Milliken v. Bradley in Dearborn, MI
9/21 - American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee "Judges Night" in Dearborn, MI
9/25 - Michigan Lawyers Weekly "Women in the Law" Event (Jabet Welch selected "Woman of the Year") in Troy, MI
9/25 - Oakland County Bar Assoc. Sustaining Members Reception in Birmingham, MI 
 
October
10/2 through 10/6 -  State Bar of Michigan Upper Peninsula Tour (Sault St. Marie, Escanaba, Menominee, Iron Mountain, Ironwood, Hancock, Marquette)
10/6 - Oakland and Macomb County Pro Bono Fair in Auburn Hills, MI
10/7 - University of Detroit Mercy Law "Project Salute" Pro Bono Trailing in Lansing, MI
10/17 - Justice Initiatives Kickoff Meeting in Lansing, MI
10/17 - Lansing Pro Bono Fair at Cooley Law School in Lansing, MI
10/19 - Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights Grand Opening Ceremony in Detroit, MI
10/24 - ABA Comm. on Women in the Prof. "Road to Independence" Author Webinar 
 
November 
11/3 - Michigan Lawyers Auxiliary Meeting in Lansing, MI 
11/10 - Rochester Bar Association Luncheon in Richester, MI
11/14 - CNN "Newsmaker" Interview in Lansing, MI
11/15 - Michigan Judges Association Executive Committee Meeting in Lansing, MI
11/15 - Centennial Inns of Court Meeting in Flint, MI
11/18 - Lansing Black Lawyers (now, Davis-Dunnings Bar Association) "Casino Night" in Lansing, MI

December 
12/7   - Oakland County Bar Association Holiday Gala in Birmingham,, MI
12/8  - Oakland County Women's Bar Association Holiday Party in Birmingham, MI
12/14 - Federal Bar Association - Eastern Dist. of Mich. Holiday Party in Detroit, MI
12/15 - Wolverine Bar Assoc./D. Augustus Straker Bar Assoc. Holiday Gathering in Lansing, MI
 
January 2012
1/4 - Downriver Bar Association Meeting in Taylor, MI
1/5 - Cooley Law School Professionalism in Action Program in Lansing, MI

February
2/2-8 - ABA Mid-Year Meeting and National Conference of Bar Presidents, New Orleans, LA
2/15 - D. Augustus Straker Bar Association, Southfield, MI
2/16 - Oakland County Bar Association "ABC's of Practice," Bloomfield Hills, MI
2/20 - Baker College Paralegal Program, Clinton Township, MI
2/28 - Genesee County Centennial Inns of Court, Flint, MI
 
March
3/9 -   Macomb County Bar Association Bench-Bar Conference, Clinton Twp., MI
3/15 - Grand Rapids Bar Association, Grand Rapids, MI
3/15 - "Celebrating Diversity" Event, Detroit, MI
3/16 - Criminal Defense Attorneys of Mich. Dinner and Awards Night, Novi, MI
3/17 - Wolverine Bar Association "Barrister's Ball," Detroit, MI
3/19 - Berrien and Cass County Bar Association Dinner in St. Joseph, MI
3/22 - Ingham County Bar Association Barrister's Night, Lansing, MI
3/28 - MSU College of Law, East Lansing, MI
3/28 - Women Lawyers Assoc. of Michigan Foundation, Detroit, MI
3/29 - Calhoun County Bar Association in Marshall, MI
 
April
4/4 - Oakland County Bar Association, Bloomfield Hills, MI
4/13 - MSU College of Law Symposium - "Gender and the Legal Profession Pipeline to Power," Detroit, MI
4/14 - Association of Black Judges of Michigan Meeting in Pontiac, MI 
4/16 - Genesee County Bar Association, Flint, MI
4/18-19 - "ABA Days" on Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, including an event at the U.S. Supreme Court accepting the State Bar of Michigan's ABA "Grassroots Award" from Justice Sotomayor
4/20 - Oakland County Bar Foundation "Signature Event," Bloomfield Hills, MI
4/21 - State Bar of Michigan Representative Assembly, Lansing, MI
4/22 - Wade H. McCree Awards for the Adv. of Justice, East Lansing, MI
4/25 - Portrait Unveiling of Justice Conrad L. Mallett, Jr., Hall of Justice, Lansing, MI
4/27 - Women Lawyers Assoc. of Mich. Annual Meeting, Grand Rapids, MI
4/27 - Davis-Dunnings Bar Assoc. Otis Smith Scholarship Banquet, E. Lansing, MI
4/28 - NALS of Michigan Annual Meeting, Detroit, MI
4/30 - Michigan Trial Courts Performance Standards Focus Group in Lansing, MI 
 
May
5/3 - Elder of Law of Michigan "Call to Justice" Dinner, Lansing, MI
5/4 - Cooley Law School "Professionalism in Action" Program, Lansing, MI 
5/7 - Ottawa County Bar Association Meeting in Holland, MI
5/10 - Oakland County Women's Bar Assoc. Annual Meeting, Birmingham, MI
5/11 - Michigan Defense Trial Counsel Annual Mtg. & Conference in Detroit, MI
5/11 - Washtenaw County Bar Association Bench-Bar Conference in Ann Arbor, MI
5/15 - Grand Traverse Bar Association Spring Dinner in Traverse City, MI
5/16 - Wexford Missaukee Bar Association Luncheon in Cadillac, MI
5/17 - ICLE Annual Probate & Estate Planning Institute, Acme, MI
5/18 - Macomb County Bar Foundation Kimberly M. Cahill Reading Program Awards, Warren, MI
5/20 - Cooley Law School Graduation Commencement Speaker, East Lansing, MI
5/23 - Pro Bono Workshop, State Bar of Michigan, Lansing, MI
5/30 - Chaldean American Bar Association Awards Dinner, West Bloomfield, MI
5/31 - Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association Annual Meeting, Detroit, MI
 
June
6/1 - Tuscola County Bar Association, Caro, MI 
6/1 - Incorporated Society of Irish American Lawyers - Michigan Chapter, Detroit, MI
6/5 - WLAM Bench-Bar Culinary Challenge, Grosse Pointe Park, MI
6/6 - Oakland County Bar Association Annual Meeting, West Bloomfield, MI
6/8-9 - Bar Leadership Forum/Upper Mich. Legal Institute, Mackinac Island, MI
6/13 - Michigan Academy of Court Reporting Graduation Ceremony, Troy, MI
6/16 - State Bar of Michigan Young Lawyers Section Summit, Detroit, MI
6/18 - State Bar of Michigan "Trial By iPad" Seminar (Remarks), Lansing, MI
6/21 - Bloomfield Hills Optimist Club, Bloomfield Hills, MI
6/21 - Federal Bar Association, Eastern Dist. of Michigan Annual Dinner, Detroit, MI
6/27 - National Association of Women Judges "MentorJet," Cooley Law School, Grand Rapids, MI
6/28 - Investiture of Michigan Court of Appeals Judge (and SBM Commissioner) Michael Riordan, Detroit, MI
6/30 - Detroit Metropolitan Bar Foundation "In Seventh Heaven" Event, Detroit, MI
 
July
7/19 - Referee Association of Michigan Meeting, Lansing, MI
7/26 - Legal Services Corp. Panel Discussions & Pro Bono Awards, Ann Arbor, MI
 
August
8/2-8/7 - ABA Ann. Meeting/Nat'l. Conf. of Bar Pres./House of Delegates, Chicago, IL
8/13 - Univ. of Detroit Law School "Professionalism in Action" Program, Detroit, MI
8/15 - Michigan Muslim Bar Association Scholarship Dinner, Dearborn, MI
8/20 - State Bar of Michigan "iPad" Seminar (Remarks), Lansing, MI
8/25 - Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan Annual Conference, Mackinac Island, MI
8/28 - State Bar Legal Milestone Dedication Ceremony, Lansing, MI
8/30 - Cooley Law School Professionalism in Action Program, Lansing, MI 
 
September
9/12 - National Assoc. of Women Judges "MentorJet," Univ. of Detroit Law School, Detroit, MI
9/19-21 - State Bar of Michigan Annual Meeting, Grand Rapids, MI
 
This is a partial list. 


About Me (Updated in 2025)

Thank you for visiting my presidential blog. Although my one-year presidential term ended on September 20, 2012, during the State Bar of Michigan Annual Meeting, I have kept this blog alive to allow visitors like you to develop a better understanding of the role of a State Bar President.  I also hope to encourage others, especially women, to follow me and become leaders within bar associations.

 

My name is Julie Fershtman, and from September 2011 to September 2012, I was the 77th president of the 42,000 member  State Bar of Michigan. 2025 marks my 38th year as a member of the State Bar, and I practice with the law firm Foster Swift Collins & Smith, PC, in its Southfield office, where I'm an Equity Shareholder.  My areas of law practice include commercial litigation, insurance defense and coverage, sporting and recreational liability, agribusiness law and liability, fraud litigation, real estate litigation, and equine law.  I have tried cases before juries in 4 states (Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, and Connecticut). In addition, I have been admitted in 21 jurisdictions nationwide to handle cases.  During my State Bar presidency, business continued with assistance of lawyers in my firm and with the cooperation of fellow counsel and judges.  

 

After my presidency ended, I was honored to continue my volunteer work for the State Bar and the ABA. I was appointed (with fellow past president Bruce Courtade) to serve as Co-Chair of the State Bar's 21st Century Practice Task Force.  The State Bar also appointed me to serve for two terms on the ABA House of Delegates. I also developed a program to help women lawyers, which I presented around the state soon after my presidency ended.

 

 

Aside from my law practice, I enjoy speaking and lecturing on liability, insurance, and risk management at seminars, conventions, CLE programs, and conferences across the country.  I have also spoken at ABA events. In 2011, I spoke on a panel at the ABA Annual Meeting in Toronto regarding a new book, of which I was a contributor, involving women in the profession. I was also a speaker in ABA webinars in 2011 and 2012.  Writing articles and books is another interest. I have written 4 books.  In addition, I've also contributed to or co-authored 4 ABA books as well as 5 law journal articles for the ABA Tort, Trial & Insurance Practice Section. My writings include over 425 published articles on a variety of legal subjects.

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.

Law Books

This blog followed some of my travels across Michigan and nationally, as 2011-2012 President of the State Bar of Michigan. What a year! I was inspired by meeting people who helped make a positive difference in our profession. It was a fast pace throughout - and not even a personal challenge of breast cancer (diagnosed two weeks into my presidency & discussed in this blog at the mid-March 2012 point) and associated surgeries and chemo slowed things down. Business continued. Comments and suggestions were, and remain, welcome.

 
 
Julie I. Fershtman, Esq.• Foster Swift Collins & Smith, PC • 28411 Northwestern Hwy. • Ste. 500 • Southfield, MI 48034
Direct Line: (248) 785-4731 - Main: (248) 539-9900 - E-mail: jfershtman@fosterswift.com

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