Lori A. Buiteweg Sworn in as State Bar President
10/8/15
Lori A. Buiteweg, of Ann Arbor, has been sworn in as the 81st president of the State Bar of Michigan. Michigan Supreme Court Justice Bridget Mary McCormack presided at the Oct. 8 ceremony, which took place in conjunction with the SBM Annual Meeting at Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi.
Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert P. Young Jr. swore in other officers for the 2015-2016 bar year, including President-Elect Lawrence P. Nolan, of Eaton Rapids; Vice President Donald G. Rockwell, of Flint; Secretary Jennifer M. Grieco, of Birmingham and Treasurer Dennis M. Barnes, of Detroit.
Ms. Buiteweg will lead an organization of over 44,000 members that works to improve the administration of justice, promotes the legal profession, and builds public understanding of the legal system. She has been involved in State Bar work for more than a decade and has served on many of its committees and groups. She has served on the SBM Board of Commissioners since 2003, and has served as treasurer, secretary, vice president, and president-elect. She served as chair of the State Bar of Michigan Representative Assembly from 2005-2006.
Buiteweg served as president of the Washtenaw County Bar Association from 2000-2001. She currently serves on the WCBA Public Service Committee, as chair of its highly successful Constitution Day Project. She received the 2013 Patriot Award from the Washtenaw County Bar Association for her community service, pro bono representation, and education of the public about the U.S. Constitution. She received the 2012 Citizen of the Year Award from the Michigan Council for Social Studies. And she was named Grand Blanc High School Alumna of the Year in 2006. Buiteweg is a fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, one of fewer than 50 in Michigan and 1,600 nationwide. And she is a founding member of the Washtenaw County Eastern Michigan University Legal Resource Center, which helps self-represented litigants find and fill out appropriate forms and navigate courthouse processes.
She graduated from the Honors College at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor with a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and economics and she earned her juris doctor from Wayne State University Law School in Detroit.