Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending a luncheon in Cadillac with members of the Wexford-Missaukee Bar Association.  According to State Bar records, these two counties have a combined State Bar membership of 52 people.  Yet, an astounding 20 members, including some of the local judges, came to the luncheon.  This is almost half of all lawyers in the two counties! 

Its current President, Melissa J. Ransom, has a general practice in Cadillac.  Though a 3-year member of the bar, she became President of the association in the “youngest first” manner of selecting leaders.  Another active member who attended the luncheon, Eilisia G. Schwarz of McBain, Michigan, is a young lawyer who has already made substantial contributions to the State Bar by serving on the Representative Assembly and the State Bar’s Domestic Violence Committee.  

The Wexford-Missaukee Bar Association is a small but accomplished bar association.  Recently, its members worked very hard to maintain the 84^th District Court judgeship in Cadillac.  They persuaded the Missaukee and Wexford County Boards of Commissioners to pass resolutions in favor of keeping it, and they worked hard in Lansing to make sure that legislators exempted this court from legislation eliminating judgeships.  Their efforts succeeded. 

For a bar association of its size, it organizes impressive community service projects.  One is “Feed America” through which members donate funds toward the purchase of food.  The amount collected, I’m told, has enabled the association to fill a semi truck with food for the needy in the community.   
 

Thank you, members of the Wexford-Missaukee Bar Association, for yesterday’s well-attended, informative and engaging lunch.  Please make sure to post your next “Feed America” project on the State Bar’s “A Lawyer Helps” page. 

Pictured (L-R): Eilisia Schwarz, me, Melissa Ransom

Today’s guest blogger is Kate Birnbryer White, Executive Director of Elder Law of Michigan, Inc.

I want to thank Julie for participating in Elder Law of Michigan’s Call to Justice Awards.  The event honors individuals who are making important contributions to the fields of law and aging. Today a growing number of older adults face very difficult challenges including poverty, hunger, access to health care, injustice, financial exploitation and elder abuse. These winners are on the front lines making a difference every day through their professional and volunteer service.  The Call to Justice honorees included:

·        Attorney General Bill Schuette for his work fighting hunger and consumer protection
·        Attorney Tom Trainer for his leadership in developing the field and practice of elder law in Michigan
·        The Honorable Edward Sosnick of the Oakland County Circuit Court for leadership in elder abuse prevention
·        State Senator Tonya Schuitmaker for her leadership in championing a bi-partisan legislation for the protection of vulnerable adults
·        Paul Bridgewater, President and CEO of the Detroit Area Agency on Aging for his vision and service to older adults.   

Joining Julie in celebrating their lives and work were Attorney General Emeritus Frank Kelley and Michigan Supreme Court Justice Stephen Markman.  For more details on the event and how Elder Law of Michigan helps older adults throughout Michigan, visit our website.

Pictured L-R: Julie Fershtman, John Lazet for Bill Schuette, Milton Scales, Frank Kelley, Stephen Markman, Edward Sosnick, Tonya Schuitmaker, Tom Trainer

On Monday I joined the Ottawa County Bar Association at its Annual Meeting in Holland, Michigan, where I shared some remarks regarding Law Day.  For an "outsider" from Southeast Michigan, having the chance to drive through the annual Holland Tulip Time Festival and its local festivities en route to the meeting was a definite plus.

The OCBA, led by its President Kurt S. Bauer, has unquestionably been busy.  Its events bring together —as I saw last Monday —a sizeable and congenial turnout of lawyers and judges in the community.  A few months ago, the OCBA wrote an amicus brief in the contentious matter involving Ottawa County District Judge Kenneth Post who jailed a lawyer for contempt after he invoked his client's Fifth Amendment rights; many will recall this matter as it received considerable press, and the contempt order was later reversed by Ottawa County Circuit Court's Chief Judge.  On Monday, the OCBA amended and restated its Bylaws for the first time since 1975 to, among other things, grant non-voting memberships to law students (which will expand its membership and encourage networking  opportunities) and to allow members to deliver proxies by electronic means.  It also awarded a deserving and accomplished local high school student its annual Elise Joy Frantz Scholarship.  The OCBA announced the launch of its impressive new website, miottawabar.org.   

Congratulations to the Ottawa County Bar for making positive changes within your organization and for actively serving your community.  

Today is Law Day, a day when we reaffirm our respect for the rule of law and our dedication to our country’s democratic values.  This year’s Law Day theme is “No Courts, No Justice, No Freedom,” which reaffirms the importance of our nation’s courts as well as the importance of advocating for greater funding to safeguard our system of justice.

Click here for a link to the State Bar of Michigan’s Law Day page where you will find a list of Law Day activities throughout Michigan, a link to ABA resources including a Law Day Planning Guide, and information on Law Day celebrations in Michigan. 

Several bar associations are offering Law Day programs.  They include: 

·     Saginaw County Bar Association - numerous Law Day theme contests in the local schools and high school mock trial tournament involving each high school in the county.  It is also organizing a Community Town Hall meeting discussing the Constitution.
·     Washtenaw County Bar Association’s New Lawyers Section is hosting a “Free Legal Advice” event in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti.
·     U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan is holding an open house today along with an “Ask the Lawyer” program, courthouse tours, and special presentations.
·     Grand Traverse-Leelanau-Antrim Bar Association is sponsoring a Free Legal Aid Clinic, speeches at senior centers, essay contest, awards luncheon, and more.   
·    Shiawassee County Bar Association is holding its Fourth Annual Free Legal Advice Fair.
·     Rochester Bar Association is holding its 7^th Annual Law Day Oratory Competition, judged by judges from the 52-3 District Court, which will take place at the Older Person’s Commission and includes a speech from a senior member of the community.
·     Livonia Bar Association is hosting an “Ask the Lawyer” event as well as an essay contest.  The contest winner will meet Livonia’s Mayor at the association’s May 17, 2012, dinner meeting.   

I thank all bar associations that have organized programs in celebration of Law Day.  Whether or not you are involved in a formal activity, please help others understand the significance of Law Day.  And please feel free to contact me or the State Bar if you'd like help planning a program for next year. 

Last year the Grand Rapids Bar Association (“GRBA”) invited managing partners of large and medium-size Grand Rapids law firms to meet for the purpose of discussing diversity and inclusion within their firms.  The result was the Managing Partners Diversity Collaborative. 

Last month, managing partners of 12 law firms [Barnes & Thornburg, Clark Hill, Dykema, Dickinson Wright PLLC, Foster Swift Collins & Smith, Miller Canfield, Miller Johnson, Price Heneveld, Rhoades McKee, Smith Haughey Rice & Roegge, Varnum, and Warner Norcross & Judd] and a representative of the GRBA signed the Managing Partners Diversity Collaborative Agreement.  It includes a five-year action plan to address “three initial challenges facing our organization and the bar.”  As stated in the action plan, the three initial challenges are: 

          a. Increasing the number attorneys of color in our organizations within five years;  
          b. Improving the rate of retention and advancement of female and attorneys of color in our organizations; 
          c. Expanding the pipeline of persons of color who enter law school and the profession. 

The GRBA is Michigan's first bar association to undertake this effort within its community.  A copy of the Agreement can be found here, and here is a link to a press release regarding last month’s signing ceremony.

I congratulate and thank the GRBA, its President, Mark R. Smith (pictured to the left), and its immediate past President, Susan Wilson Keener, for their leadership in actively addressing the issue of diversity.  The program promises to become a model for other local bar associations.  For information regarding diversity initiatives at the State Bar level as well as resources, here is a link to the State Bar of Michigan’s diversity and inclusion page, and the SBM Pledge to Achieve Diversity and Inclusion.