State Bar of Michigan

06/12/2026

Thank you to Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Megan Cavanagh (center) and Justices Brian Zahra, Kimberly Thomas, Elizabeth Welch, and Richard Bernstein for attending this year's Great Lakes Legal Conference!

Also, a big thanks to this year's keynote speaker, Michael J. Steinberg for his illuminating talk, "Rule of Law through Storytelling."

06/09/2026

The 2026 Great Lakes Legal Conference, taking place June 12-13, is open to all State Bar of Michigan members and is a perfect opportunity to mingle with Michigan’s legal experts, build new connections with your peers, and learn from industry experts.

Don't miss out! Visit michbar.org/gllc to learn more. Registration is available on site.

06/07/2026

Congratulations to the winners of this year's State Bar of Michigan awards!

The following 11 attorneys and one bar association were recognized by SBM for their public service and outstanding contributions to the legal profession.

• Judge David Murkowski and Christopher P. Yates won the Frank J. Kelley Distinguished Public Service Award, which recognizes extraordinary governmental service by a member of the State Bar of Michigan.

• Dorothy Dean and David M. Honigman won the 2026 Champion of Justice Award, which is given to practicing lawyers and judges based on their extraordinary professional accomplishment benefiting the nation, state, or local community.

• Russell Abrutyn won the John W. Cummiskey Pro Bono Award, which is awarded to a Michigan attorney who has made significant pro bono contributions.

• Leonard Niehoff won the John W. Reed Michigan Lawyer Legacy Award, which is awarded periodically to a Michigan law school educator whose influence on lawyers has elevated the quality of legal practice in our state.

• Dennis Clark, Jerjuan A. Howard, and the Black Women Lawyers Association of Michigan won the Kimberly M. Cahill Bar Leadership Award, which recognizes a local or affinity bar association, program, or leader for excellence in promoting the ideal of professionalism or equal justice for all, or in responding to a compelling legal need within the community.

• James L. Liggins Jr. won the Michael Franck Award, which is given annually to an attorney who has made outstanding contribution to the improvement of the profession.

• Samuel H. Pietsch and Rita White won Unsung Hero Awards, which are given annually to an attorney who has exhibited the highest standards of practice and commitment for the benefit of others.

Once again, congratulations to this year's winners!

The State Bar of Michigan will honor 11 attorneys and one bar association in recognition of their public service and outstanding contributions to the legal profession.

06/06/2026

"When a firm grows quickly, staff are often expected to handle more work with the same tools. They are scrambling to solve workflow problems they did not create and were never empowered to fix," writes attorney and law firm consultant A.D. Ocean.

She offers advice on how firms can retain talented staff and ensure "profitability stops coming at the expense of the very people who make it possible in the first place" in this Michigan Bar Journal article.

Your firm is thriving. The phones are ringing. New matters keep rolling in. Revenue charts are pointing up and to the right. And yet, every few months, another excellent paralegal resigns, or an attorney joins a rival firm. A legal assistant quietly hands in their notice. The office manager who “h...

06/04/2026

How do libraries access and lend e-books? Rather than being purchased like print books, e-books are licensed, which can come with time-limited or loan-limited-ed terms, embargoes, and prices far above consumer retail.

Kincaid C. Brown, Director of the University of Michigan Law Library, explains the nuances of library e-book licensing and related state law reform.

Libraries don’t “buy” most e-books the way they buy print books; they license them. That reality is at the crossroads of budgetary constraints and patron satisfaction in modern libraries. With print, a library typically pays once, owns the copy, and lends it until it wears out. With e-books, p...

06/03/2026

Congratulations to these attorneys who recently moved into new jobs! Have a new hire or promotion to announce? Send your information to [email protected].

06/02/2026

Michigan attorneys can learn more about Limited-Scope Representation and how it can help them build a legal practice that promotes work-life balance, empowers clients, and strengthens their bottom line in a new webinar series from the State Bar of Michigan.

Each session in the three-part webinar series covers a different aspect of Limited-Scope Representation. The webinars start at noon and run approximately 60-75 minutes. Michigan attorneys can register for all three for just $20 or any individual webinar for $10.

Learn more and register at loom.ly/9BxOmDQ

Michigan attorneys can learn more about Limited-Scope Representation in a new webinar series from the State Bar of Michigan.

06/02/2026

Safeguarding client funds is among the legal profession’s most fundamental obligations. Yet wire transfers have become a prime target for fraud and cyberattacks — particularly in matters involving settlement proceeds, business transactions, and real estate closings. When a wire fraud attack occurs, who bears the loss?

In the latest Ethics Perspectives column for the Michigan Bar Journal, Alecia Chandler, SBM’s professional responsibility programs director, examines the ethical and practical challenges attorneys face as cybercrimes become more prevalent

Wire transfers are routine in the practice of law, but they have become a prime target for fraud and cyberattacks. Settlement proceeds, business deals, and real estate closings are particularly vulnerable to criminals who exploit urgency and trust. When funds are diverted, the critical question is:....

06/01/2026

Grammar enthusiasts: Should a singular possessive ending in “s” add another “s” after the apostrophe?

In the latest Michigan Bar Journal, Mark Cooney, legal writing expert and a professor at Cooley Law School, examines the debate behind possessives with sibilant endings and why there is inconsistency across the board.

This morning, a newsletter editor gently corrected my wife for creating this singular possessive: Ellis’s (as in Jane Ellis’s house). The self-assured editor instructed my wife to remove the offensive s after the apostrophe but added, in a supportive vein, that grammar is tricky.

05/31/2026

Stress is inherent in the legal profession, which requires intense focus, swift decision-making under pressure, and emotional regulation during tense times. Structured breathing, brief cold exposure, and a physiological reset are some recommended techniques legal professionals can use to improve their nervous system regulation.

If one were to search “hot topics in lawyer well-being” or “lawyer wellness trends for 2026,” right up there with cold plunging, high protein or plant-based diets, and the use of AI in mental health support would be nervous system regulation — in particular vagus nerve stimulation. This ar...