State Bar of Michigan

10/20/2026

This panel of legal desert attorneys gave students at Michigan at MSU College of Law reasons to consider forgoing the big city to consider setting up their future practices in one of the state's under-served communities.

Here's the Top 9 reasons to work in a legal desert:

9. No shortage of clients who need you
8. Less, if any, competition from other attorneys
7. Mentors who are eager to help you succeed
6. Shorter commutes to and from work
5. Lower cost of living in beautiful areas of the state
4. No need to wear a suit (or heels) every day
3. A chance to do the work you want to do
2. Better work-life balance
1. The ability to make a real community impact

10/19/2026

The nation's first study centered on the mental well-being of women attorneys found that there are "persistent barriers" that impact the mental well-being of female attorneys compared to their male colleagues.

Read more here: loom.ly/dJArRHQ

10/16/2026

The American Bar Association's Commission on Lawyer Assistance Program and Krill Strategies have released a nationwide study on lawyer mental health and burnout that "reveals substantial distress, burnout and risky alcohol use within the legal sector."

Read more here: loom.ly/TSFvwLU

10/15/2026

There's still time to register for the Lawyer Trust Accounts webinar on October 27! Open to lawyers and their staff, this webinar is an excellent opportunity to receive practical information regarding MRPC 1.15 and 1.15A.

The webinar will run 9 a.m. to noon and costs $25. Learn more and register here: loom.ly/6kKSWnw

10/11/2026

Whether we like it or not, as it currently stands, artificial intelligence (AI) is shaping the future of the legal profession, and it is changing how clients act. Lawyers need to be aware of the risks that this new behavior creates for our clients and advise them accordingly.

Whether we like it or not, as it currently stands, artificial intelligence (AI) is shaping the future of the legal profession. More than changing how lawyers review documents and draft pleadings, artificial intelligence is also changing how clients act. For example, before reaching out to an attorne...

10/10/2026

Federally recognized Native American tribes retain inherent powers of self-government that attorneys should be aware of. Get an explainer on Native American law here.

Native American tribes are the original sovereign peoples of the lands that now comprise the United States, with histories, governments, and cultures that predate the founding of the nation by thousands of years. Long before European colonization, hundreds of distinct tribal nations exercised indepe...

10/09/2026

You’ve seen the headlines. Attorneys facing court sanctions and bar reprimands over court filings plagued by AI-generated fiction. While AI can be of use to attorneys, it's important to keep in mind that the attorney who creates the court document is responsible for every single word, and that means that there are benefits to some of the old school methods for drafting court documents.

Read more here: https://loom.ly/8ykGRpE

You’ve seen the headlines: attorneys facing court sanctions and bar reprimands—resigning and losing coveted positions—over court filings plagued by AI-generated fiction. Technology is wreaking havoc, and all the newfangled AI hocus-pocus is the culprit.

10/08/2026

The legal profession is built on high stakes, high pressure, and high expectations. One often-overlooked and underutilized form of support for the stress attorneys face is the enduring and effective 12-step model.

Originally developed for and long associated with recovery from alcohol use disorders, such programs have evolved into broader communities of support and can offer a powerful framework for attorneys seeking to reclaim balance and well-being.

Learn more here: https://loom.ly/0LsGcWs

The legal profession is built on high stakes, high pressure, and high expectations. Lawyers are expected to anticipate worst-case scenarios and maintain complete control in environments where the margin for error is extremely thin. While the skills lawyers possess are essential for effective advocac...

10/07/2026

Learn more about marital torts including what they are, if their use has increased, legal and practical considerations regarding their use, and more.

A marital tort is nothing more than a traditional tort claim by one spouse against another. It may be contemporaneous with a crime, such as assault and battery, stalking, or rape.1 It may also encompass negligent or intentional infliction of emotional distress, fraud, harassment, false imprisonment,...

10/06/2026

When a prospective client comes to an attorney with a potential personal injury or workers’ compensation claim that occurred on tribal land, special expertise is required. An uninformed attorney can make a fatal mistake in these cases, simply because tribal laws can be so different from Michigan’s laws.

Learn more about traversing personal injury law on tribal land in this recent Michigan Bar Journal article: https://loom.ly/g1RGMxE

Tribal tort law is an incredibly unique niche, especially in relation to personal injury and workers’ compensation claims. The laws of the State of Michigan do not apply in Indian Country. Instead, tribes have sovereign immunity unless explicitly waived, and the tribe’s own laws might vary great...