State Bar of Michigan
Encyclopedia
The State Bar of Michigan is an organization of lawyers in the State of Michigan
. Membership is mandatory for attorneys who practice law in the state of Michigan. The Michigan Legislature
established the State Bar of Michigan in 1935 and the organization operates under the supervision of the Michigan Supreme Court
and is governed by the Michigan Supreme Court Rules concerning the State Bar of Michigan. The mission of the State Bar is to aid in promoting improvements in the administration of justice and advancements in jurisprudence, improving relations between the legal profession and the public, and promoting the interests of the legal profession in Michigan.
A Board of Commissioners governs the State Bar. The minimum number of Commissioners on the Board is 31, and the maximum number is 33. The Board of Commissioners has several standing committees which provide oversight to the operations of the Bar in strategic planning, finance, public policy, member services and other matters. The Bar's elected officers include a President, President-Elect, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. A 10-member Executive Committee composed of the officers, a Representative Assembly Chair and Vice-Chair, and three other commissioners chosen by the President manage the affairs of the Bar between board meetings. A 150-member Representative Assembly is the final policy making body of the State Bar. Currently, the Bar has more than 40,000 members.
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. Membership is mandatory for attorneys who practice law in the state of Michigan. The Michigan Legislature
Michigan Legislature
The Michigan Legislature is the legislative assembly of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is organized as a bicameral body consisting of the Senate, the upper house, and the House of Representatives, the lower house. Article IV of the state's Constitution, adopted in 1963, defines the role of the...
established the State Bar of Michigan in 1935 and the organization operates under the supervision of the Michigan Supreme Court
Michigan Supreme Court
The Michigan Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is known as Michigan's "court of last resort" and consists of seven justices who are elected to eight-year terms. Candidates are nominated by political parties and are elected on a nonpartisan ballot...
and is governed by the Michigan Supreme Court Rules concerning the State Bar of Michigan. The mission of the State Bar is to aid in promoting improvements in the administration of justice and advancements in jurisprudence, improving relations between the legal profession and the public, and promoting the interests of the legal profession in Michigan.
A Board of Commissioners governs the State Bar. The minimum number of Commissioners on the Board is 31, and the maximum number is 33. The Board of Commissioners has several standing committees which provide oversight to the operations of the Bar in strategic planning, finance, public policy, member services and other matters. The Bar's elected officers include a President, President-Elect, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. A 10-member Executive Committee composed of the officers, a Representative Assembly Chair and Vice-Chair, and three other commissioners chosen by the President manage the affairs of the Bar between board meetings. A 150-member Representative Assembly is the final policy making body of the State Bar. Currently, the Bar has more than 40,000 members.
State Bar Programs and Membership Services
The State Bar provides a wide variety of programs and member services benefiting both the public interest and the members of the Bar. Among them:- Conducting the Bar's Character and Fitness investigations to ensure members admitted to the Bar meet appropriate professional standards.
- Investigating and prosecuting parties involved in the unauthorized practice of law (UPL), which helps ensure legal services to the public are provided only by those members of the Bar who are in good standing.
- Providing ethics counseling and advising lawyers and judges about the propriety of their conduct with respect to the Code of Professional Conduct and Code of Judicial Conduct.
- Providing the Practice Management Resource Center, a broad-based information clearinghouse and referral source for Michigan lawyers for all services and goods necessary to successfully manage a legal practice. Resources include a website, telephone hotline, lending library, technology training and demonstration room, and on-site assessments and evaluations.
- Reviewing and evaluating new laws and court rules for their impact on the administration of justice and on the profession through State Bar Committees, Sections, Board of Commissioners, and Representative Assembly.
- Advocating public policy positions and seeking legislative support for those positions, as permitted by AO 2004-01 (Keller).
- Publishing the Bar Journal 11 times a year and an Annual Directory issue.
- Publishing the e-Journal, which updates the legal profession daily on changes to laws and summarizes cases to help attorneys stay up to date with the law as it emerges from the courts.
- Publishing the SBM Newsletter, a daily e-mail summary of law-related news articles, editorials, and columns carried in major local, state, and national media.
- Operating a Public Policy Resource Center to increase awareness of public policy issues of particular interest to lawyers.
- Maintaining an Internet site that serves as both a research tool and a source of information regarding the organization.
- Administering the Client Protection Fund that provides for reimbursements to members of the general public who have been victimized by the few lawyers who have misappropriated funds entrusted to them.
- Operating a lawyer referral service that provides referrals to the general public.
- Administering the Bar's justice initiatives programs, which include promoting the effective delivery of high quality legal services to all Michigan residents, especially those with lower incomes; raising both public and professional awareness of the fair delivery of justice in our state and promoting equal application of law for all citizens; and administering the Bar's Access to Justice development fundraising campaign, which supports private giving to non-profit civil legal aid programs in Michigan. Pledge Form
- Operating the Lawyers and Judges Assistance Program that provides confidential personal counseling services to the Bar's members.
- Providing member affinity programs that offer discounted services to members including credit cards, insurance, rental cars, and other business and personal services.
- Providing annual Bar membership identification cards to members and when requested, Certificates of Good Standing.
- Providing a member orientation for the newest members of the Bar.
- Providing members the opportunity to actively participate, network, and share information in Bar member interest groups (Sections) and Bar Committees, including providing administrative support to these groups.
- Providing Bar organizations with a "print on demand" service for newsletter preparation.
- Holding an annual meeting and conference and an annual membership training for members, which provides for networking and educational updates (partially offset with fees).
- Conducting the Upper Michigan Legal Institute, which provides educational opportunities for Northern Michigan lawyers.
- Providing Casemaker, an online tool for attorneys to search for case law and related references.
- Providing members and Bar organizations with meeting rooms and related meeting services at the State Bar headquarters.
Michigan Legal Milestones
The organization has commemorated many "Michigan Legal Milestones". Those include:- Ossian SweetOssian SweetOssian Sweet was an American physician. He is most notable for his self defense in 1925 of his newly-purchased home in a predominantly white neighborhood against a mob attempting to force him out of the neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan, and the subsequent acquittal by an all-white jury of murder...
Trial, which was presided over by Frank MurphyFrank MurphyWilliam Francis Murphy was a politician and jurist from Michigan. He served as First Assistant U.S. District Attorney, Eastern Michigan District , Recorder's Court Judge, Detroit . Mayor of Detroit , the last Governor-General of the Philippines , U.S...
and defended by Clarence DarrowClarence DarrowClarence Seward Darrow was an American lawyer and leading member of the American Civil Liberties Union, best known for defending teenage thrill killers Leopold and Loeb in their trial for murdering 14-year-old Robert "Bobby" Franks and defending John T...
. - Baseball's Reserve Clause
- Thomas M. CooleyThomas M. CooleyThomas McIntyre Cooley, LL.D., was the 25th Justice and a Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, between 1864 and 1885. Born in Attica, New York, he was father to Charles Cooley, a distinguished American sociologist...
Law Office - Theodore RooseveltTheodore RooseveltTheodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
-Newett Libel Trial at the Marquette County, MichiganMarquette County, Michigan-National protected areas:* Hiawatha National Forest * Huron National Wildlife Refuge* Ottawa National Forest -University:Northern Michigan University is a four-year university, established in 1899, located in Marquette, Michigan, on Michigan's Upper Peninsula...
Courthouse. Roosevelt won the verdict, but was awarded a dime. - Justice William A. FletcherWilliam A. FletcherWilliam A. Fletcher is a United States federal appeals court judge who has sat on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals since 1998.-Education and legal training:...
- the first chief justice of the Michigan Supreme CourtMichigan Supreme CourtThe Michigan Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is known as Michigan's "court of last resort" and consists of seven justices who are elected to eight-year terms. Candidates are nominated by political parties and are elected on a nonpartisan ballot...
. - Sojourner TruthSojourner TruthSojourner Truth was the self-given name, from 1843 onward, of Isabella Baumfree, an African-American abolitionist and women's rights activist. Truth was born into slavery in Swartekill, New York, but escaped with her infant daughter to freedom in 1826. After going to court to recover her son, she...
, African-American abolitionist and women's rights activist - Augustus Woodward - first chief justice of the Michigan territorial court.
- Public AccessPublic AccessPublic Access is a 1993 American drama film directed by Bryan Singer in his feature film debut. Singer also wrote the screenplay with Christopher McQuarrie and Michael Feit Dougan. The film was shot in 18 days for US$250,000. It was screened at the 1993 Sundance Film Festival, where it was...
to Public Water - Ten Hours or No Sawdust - Michigan's largest labor strikeStrike actionStrike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
of the 19th century. - 1961-62 Michigan Constitutional Convention
- Eva Belles' Vote - an early victory for women's suffrage won in Flint, MichiganFlint, MichiganFlint is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit. The U.S. Census Bureau reports the 2010 population to be placed at 102,434, making Flint the seventh largest city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Genesee County which lies in the...
. - One Person, One Vote
- Improving Justice - the idea for the American Judicature SocietyAmerican Judicature SocietyThe American Judicature Society is an independent, nonpartisan, national organization of judges, lawyers, and interested members of the public whose mission is to improve the American justice system - to "secure and promote an independent and qualified judiciary and fair system of justice." ...
created in Manistee, MichiganManistee, MichiganManistee is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 6,586. It is the county seat of Manistee County. The name "Manistee" is from an Ojibwe word first applied to the principal river of the county. The derivation is not certain, but it may be from...
. - The King's Grant - a celebrated cases of the 19th century involving a dispute over land granted by French King Louis XV in 1750.
- The Uninvited Ear - Judge Damon KeithDamon KeithDamon Jerome Keith is a Senior Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.-Biography:Keith grew up in Detroit, where he graduated from Northwestern High School in 1939; Keith then moved on to West Virginia State College , Howard University School of Law , and Wayne State...
's decision in a 1971 case upheld the right of Americans to be free from unreasonable government intrusion. - Laughing Whitefish - an 1889 decision by the Michigan Supreme CourtMichigan Supreme CourtThe Michigan Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is known as Michigan's "court of last resort" and consists of seven justices who are elected to eight-year terms. Candidates are nominated by political parties and are elected on a nonpartisan ballot...
recognizing the legal validity of Native AmericanNative Americans in the United StatesNative Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
tribal laws and customs. - Protecting the Impaired - a Michigan Supreme Court decision overturing as unconstitutional an act of the Michigan legislature providing for forced sterilization of the mentally impaired. Compare Buck vs. Bell.
- Rose of Aberlone - the classic contracts case involving Hiram Walker & Sons, Rose the cow, and the principle of rescission based on mutual mistake.
- Emelia Schaub - Michigan's first woman elected prosecutor, the first woman in the United States to successfully defend a murder trial, and a protector of "the rights and tribal existence of native AmericansNative Americans in the United StatesNative Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
in northwest Michigan." - 1948 decision in Anderson v. Mt. Clemens Pottery Co.Anderson v. Mt. Clemens Pottery Co.Anderson v. Mt. Clemens Pottery Co., 328 U.S. 680 , is a decision by the United States Supreme Court which held that preliminary work activities, where controlled by the employer and performed entirely for the employer's benefit, are properly included as working time under Fair Labor Standards Act...
- Supreme Court Associate JusticeAssociate JusticeAssociate Justice or Associate Judge is the title for a member of a judicial panel who is not the Chief Justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the United States Supreme Court and some state supreme courts, and for some other courts in Commonwealth...
Frank MurphyFrank MurphyWilliam Francis Murphy was a politician and jurist from Michigan. He served as First Assistant U.S. District Attorney, Eastern Michigan District , Recorder's Court Judge, Detroit . Mayor of Detroit , the last Governor-General of the Philippines , U.S...
important decision interpreting the Fair Labor Standards Act. - Pond's Defense - Michigan Supreme Court Justice James CampbellJames V. CampbellJames V. Campbell was a member of the Michigan Supreme Court from 1858-1890.Campbell was born in Buffalo, New York but was brought to Detroit at a very young age. Campbell served as a law professor at the University of Michigan for much of the time he was on the Michigan Supreme Court.-Sources:*...
authored an important decision about self-defense and defense of others in 1860 in Pond v. People. - Ending Jim Crow - Keith's Theatre in Grand Rapids discriminated against patrons based on their race, but that practice was found to violate Michigan's Constitution by the Michigan Supreme Court.
- Conveying Michigan
- Frank MurphyFrank MurphyWilliam Francis Murphy was a politician and jurist from Michigan. He served as First Assistant U.S. District Attorney, Eastern Michigan District , Recorder's Court Judge, Detroit . Mayor of Detroit , the last Governor-General of the Philippines , U.S...
's Dissent in Korematsu vs. United States. - Striking Racial Covenants - the United States Supreme Court rejected racial restrictive covenants in deeds that would have prevented Orsel and Minnie McGhee and their family from living where they chose in Detroit.
- Milo Radulovich and the Fall of McCarthyismMcCarthyismMcCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence. The term has its origins in the period in the United States known as the Second Red Scare, lasting roughly from the late 1940s to the late 1950s and characterized by...
- in 1953, two Michigan attorneys, the Hon. Kenneth N. Sanborn and Charles C. Lockwood assisted Milo Radulovich, a resident of Dexter, MichiganDexter, MichiganDexter is a village in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The majority of the village is in the northwest corner of Scio Township with a small portion in Webster Township. The population was 4,067 at the 2010 census...
, in his fight against the United States Air Force. - Committee of One - Judge Henry Hart of Midland, led a "one-man campaign" for the uniform placement of yellow "No Passing Zone" signs on the left side of Michigan Roads.
- Pioneer, Advocate, Woman — Mary Coleman, first female Michigan Supreme Court Justice and Chief Justice, who made a lasting impact on Michigan’s judicial system.
- President Gerald R. Ford - 38th President of the United States was a Michigan lawyer practicing in Grand Rapids.
- Freedom Road - In Dowagiac, MichiganDowagiac, MichiganDowagiac is a city in Cass County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 6,147 at the 2000 census. It is part of the South Bend–Mishawaka, IN-MI, Metropolitan Statistical Area....
residents of Cass County rallied to protect runaway slaves in the Kentucky Raid of 1847. - Otis Milton Smith (1922-1994) was an outstanding leader, lawyer, and dedicated public servant who overcame poverty and prejudice. He served as chair of the Michigan Public Service Commission, justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, regent of the University of MichiganUniversity of MichiganThe University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, and a vice president and general counsel of the General Motors Corporation. - Prentiss Marsh Brown, a St. Ignace lawyer, is best remembered as the "father of the Mackinac Bridge." He was appointed chair of the Mackinac BridgeMackinac BridgeThe Mackinac Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Straits of Mackinac to connect the non-contiguous Upper and Lower peninsulas of the U.S. state of Michigan. Opened in 1957, the bridge is the third longest in total suspension in the world and the longest suspension bridge between anchorages...
Authority.