OCBA UPDATE: It's time to say good-bye ... for now

By Peter Alter Incredibly, my year as president of the Oakland County Bar Association, a great and venerable bar association, is coming to an end. It has been a singular honor and privilege to serve the lawyers of Oakland County and to represent the largest and best voluntary bar association in the state of Michigan. As I said in one of my early columns, we indeed are a well-oiled machine. It was true when I started my term on July 1, 2011, and I am pleased to say it still is true as my term comes to an end. Needless to say, this is due in large part to the efforts of so many others, including our esteemed executive director, Lisa Stadig Elliot; our amazing staff; our outstanding board of directors and officers; our dedicated committee chairs and members for some 30-plus committees; and last, but certainly not least, the participation and support of the judges of the Oakland County Circuit Court, Probate Court and the district courts. I know full well that I am merely a small cog in this well-oiled machine. I couldn't have done my job as president without the support and hard work of and guidance from so many of you. Thank you very much. This is an appropriate time to summarize and reflect on some of the activities and accomplishments of the OCBA during the past year. For some of us, one of the highlights was our "Three-Peat," securing the OCBA bowling championship for the third consecutive year, as the OCBA board of directors defeated the members of the New Lawyers Committee. But, in truth, it was simply a night of fun and camaraderie among lawyers who respect each other and pursue common goals of working with other lawyers in Oakland County and reaching out to make our community a better place to live. During the past year we did accomplish a number of other things that deserve mention: * The number of our sustaining members increased to 282 (from a previous high of 226), providing us with some of the additional financial support that we need in order to improve the OCBA website, develop needed technological sophistication and provide other services for our lawyers. * As part of our outreach to other bar associations, we developed a meaningful and continuing relationship with the D. Augustus Straker Bar Association, as well as the Oakland County Youth Assistance program. During the past year, the Straker Bar has partnered with us in our legal aid mini clinics in Southfield, Farmington Hills, Pontiac and Waterford, providing valuable and important assistance. At the same time, we are continuing our effort to have more Straker Bar members join the OCBA. * In February our always active and talented Diversity Committee participated in the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drum Major for Justice Advocacy Competition for selected 11th and 12th grade students from local high schools. Student participants were to examine the Occupy movement from the perspective of Dr. King - how he would have viewed it, how it compares with the civil rights movement, and the activities of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). How would Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. have addressed either: (1) the tenants of the tent cities, or (2) the opponents of the Occupy movement? Four OCBA volunteers from the OCBA Diversity Committee participated in this interesting and innovative program. * Our award-winning Pro Bono Mentor Match program is continuing strong in year two. Currently, there are approximately 64 mentees, all of whom have been linked with a mentor. We also developed a pilot project with the 43rd District Court, through the efforts and good offices of the Honorable Charles G. Goedert, permitting the young lawyers who are part of the Pro Bono Mentor Match program to develop case-specific expertise. * Our Elementary School Mock Trial program, under the leadership of Director Dan Quick, has been extremely well received and, I am sure, will continue to expand. This year, more than 150 students from several different Oakland County schools have been treated to court programs with Circuit Court Judges Anderson, Bowman, Warren and D. O'Brien. The program has included a mock trial "performance" in Judge Bowman's courtroom and the opportunity for one of the other groups to watch an actual trial. * Our Youth Law Conference, another important public service project of the OCBA, was a resounding success with participation from nine schools and more than 200 students. * The Solo Practitioner/Small Firm Listserv has been a resounding success and now has about 78 subscribers. There are posts at least weekly, if not more often, on a wide range of subjects of interest to solo and small firm practitioners. I urge you to add your name to the listserv and see for yourself how valuable a resource it is. * The Oakland County Circuit Court, based upon a proposal from the OCBA's Circuit Court Committee, has appointed its first ombudsman. Attorney Joel Serlin has been serving as the court's ombudsman for more than six months, responding to a variety of complaints, problems and issues. To date, the ombudsman has received between 30 and 40 inquiries. Indeed, this is an important service that, under appropriate circumstances, will be utilized by many of the county's lawyers. * We initiated the OCBA @ Work program a number of months ago. We have had the opportunity to profile more than 30 OCBA members whom we have recognized for their hard work and dedication to the OCBA. * Operation Afghan-Iraq Pack, a project of the Veterans Committee, not surprisingly has once again been a rousing success. These incredibly hardworking and talented lawyers, led by Charlie Brown and Mike Schloff, have once again outdone themselves. They collected more than four tons of food, clothing and other sundries, valued at more than $53,000. This, in turn, was converted into 171 fantastic packages that were sent to our American soldiers, including eight Michigan-based units, in Afghanistan and Iraq. Truly incredible! * Our District Court Case Evaluation program saw a record number of approximately 1,100 cases during the past year, with 67 percent of those cases resolved and removed from the court's docket. * Our membership continues at the level of 3,000 strong and we are proud, once again, that we will have a healthy budget surplus. We are confident that this surplus will allow us to maintain our dues level without raising dues for the 14th consecutive year. That is quite an accomplishment. As you know, the OCBA's past presidents don't go quietly into the night. We stick around. So, I look forward to seeing you, working with you and helping the OCBA continue to be a great bar association for many years to come. Thank you for the opportunity to serve, thank you for the privilege of serving, thank you for the experience of being your 79th president. * * * * * * * * * Our "unsung hero" this month is Ronald Griffith. Ron, a recent Wayne State University Law School graduate, has donated his time in two different ways to assist low-income clients from Legal Aid and Defender Association. As a new lawyer, he started as a mentee in the Pro Bono Mentor Match program and in addition, he decided to take advantage of LAD's 43rd District Court project in order to gain some "hands-on" experience. The 43rd District Court-Hazel Park and LAD formed a collaboration at the court, where LAD attorneys were assigned to the courtroom to provide representation to eligible pro se litigants in landlord-tenant and debt collection defense cases. Rain or shine, Ron has been a weekly volunteer at the court, advising, negotiating and representing clients. He has done an excellent job; he negotiated a favorable settlement for one of his clients and, to date, he has spent more than 50 hours on three cases. We applaud Ron Griffith for his commitment to providing pro bono service. As always, please feel free to give Lisa Stadig Elliot, our executive director, a telephone call or send her an email and let her know that you would like to find a way to get involved in one of our pro bono programs. There are so many to choose from. Your participation is most welcome and the experience, unquestionably, will be a rewarding and gratifying one. ------------ Peter M. Alter, a partner in the Southfield office of Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer, & Weiss, was the 79th president of the Oakland County Bar Association. Published: Wed, Jun 20, 2012