Dual Purpose Attorney concentrates civic obligations on Poland and Israel

By Sheila Pursglove Legal News Miller Canfield attorney Michael Traison is passionate about Poland and its Jewish legacy. A well-known leader in many Jewish, Zionist, Polish and charitable and civic organizations and projects, Traison has tried to combine his professional career and helping clients with his obligations to "Tikun Olam" -- an imperative to repair the world that reflects the values of Justice, Compassion, and Peace. "Like many Miller Canfield lawyers, I take my civic responsibilities very seriously," he says. "My focus tends to be on Polish-Jewish relations, with strong support of Israel and Jewish communities throughout the world." A specialist in commercial matters, he represents clients throughout the world, and divides his time between Detroit, Chicago, Israel -- where his twin daughters live -- and Poland, where Miller Canfield has three offices. "I enjoy the prestige of being associated with a firm of this age and status," he says. "I'm very much surrounded by intellectuals and luminaries in diverse fields. My colleagues make me look good." Born in Detroit a year after World War II ended, this son of Russian-Jewish immigrants grew up immersed in Jewish history and in a family with strong ties to Judaism. Traison was fascinated by Poland, where 90 percent of Polish Jews perished in the Holocaust. Of the 200,000 Polish Jews that survived out of about 3.3 million, many had fled to the Soviet Union. According to Traison, 90 percent of the U.S. Jewish population has roots in Poland, a Jewish homeland for centuries until the State of Israel was created in 1948. Although nobody can know for sure, he says, there are an estimated 10,000 identifying Jews in Poland today, and perhaps a quarter million with Jewish ancestry. In adulthood, after collecting and reading many books about the Holocaust, Traison -- whose mother-in-law was a survivor of the Vilna Ghetto -- felt compelled to visit Poland. His first trip in 1992 was life changing, he says. Overcoming the challenge of not speaking the language, he made friends and was shown around Jewish cemeteries and synagogues by Polish non-Jews. "A Jew goes to Poland as a pilgrim, not a tourist," he says. "It's overwhelmingly emotional to be in a place that for seven centuries was dynamic and vibrant and a homeland base of Jewish culture. "So much was destroyed by the Germans. It's almost impossible to forget this, while walking the streets near my home in Warsaw." That first visit turned into regular trips, especially when he was able to serve in Miller Canfield's offices in Poland. "Poland is different from the U.S. in many ways, with its European cultural differences," he says. "Primarily America stands out with its attitude of 'Can Do' and its assumption of equality. We built a land where possibility and potential are everywhere." Poland has risen from the ashes, making good progress after 50 years of oppression under German, then Russian, rule, he says. "I'm very much in awe of the Polish people, who are wedded to Catholic beliefs and traditions, and have achieved democracy while their neighbors are struggling." His involvement in projects relating to the Holocaust and Poland's Jewish population also grew. He has been engaged in more than 80 different projects and in July co-sponsored, through The Michael H. Traison Fund for Poland, the sixth edition of the International Teachers' Summer Institute "Teaching about the Holocaust," at Jagiellonian University in Krakow. Sixty participants took part in a program that included a one day study visit to the State Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau, as well the International Youth Meeting Centre in Oswiecim/Auschwitz and Auschwitz Jewish Centre. Traison also has spearheaded an annual summer ceremony in Krakow honoring non-Jewish Poles helping to preserve Jewish heritage. More than 170 people have been honored at the event, now in its 15th year and co-sponsored by the Embassy of Israel in Warsaw. Traison, who has underwritten and published a Haggadah translated into Polish, as well as a wedding book, cemetery book and Shabbat evening book, has been honored with the Polish-American Heritage Award from the Polish-American Heritage Council, and the International Humanitarian Award at the 2008 Jerusalem Peace Dinner. He serves on the Board of Governors of the International Association/Jewish Lawyers & Jurists and of its American Section, and is a founding member of its chapters in Michigan, Chicago and Poland. A board member of the American-Israel and Polish-American Chambers of Commerce, and a member of the Israel/Poland Chamber of Commerce, he has also served as vice president of the Association of Israeli Automotive Parts Producers. Last year, he was elected to a three-year term on the board of directors for the Polish American Association (PAA) in Chicago; and was elected as vice president of the board of the American-Israel Chamber of Commerce (AICC) in Chicago. In 2009, he was appointed to the board of governors of the State of Israel Bonds for the Midwest region. Author of several articles on bankruptcy and debt collection in Poland and Israel, Traison has been a guest speaker at Madonna University School of Business, Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants, New York University Law School, Canadian Bar Association, American Bar Association's International Section, University of Windsor Law School and Warsaw School of Economics, among others. Although Traison has been named among the Best Lawyers in America, Michigan Super Lawyers, and DBusiness Magazine Top Lawyers, law was not his first career step. After receiving his M.Ed. and Ph.B. from Wayne State University, he taught for 15 years in Essex County, Ontario, and in the inner city of Detroit, at Martin Luther King Jr. High School and at Friends School. Teaching and law held similar attractions, he says. "They both gave me an opportunity to make a real difference in the world, to use language as a substitute for force, and to meet people." He earned his law degree, magna cum laude, from Michigan State University College of Law, where he was a member of the Law Review. "I thought the law would offer additional opportunities and potential to have international involvement," he says. "MSU Law was the Detroit College of Law back then, with a long history of training people like me to enter a new career in law. I enjoyed being a student while I was still a teacher, and had to follow by own admonitions and advice that I gave my students. I enjoyed studying and learning. "As an attorney, I'm a foot soldier of the American Constitution, playing a role in building a strong United States in the world." Published: Wed, Sep 28, 2011

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