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President's Page
President's Page--Executive Director Selection Process
The State Bar has a wonderful opportunity to select its executive director to lead the State Bar and our profession into the new millennium. I will use this month’s article to report on the selection process. The process began with a survey of section and committee chairs, past State Bar presidents, members of the Board of Commissioners and Representative Assembly, presidents of local bar associations and local bar executives, seeking input on the critical qualities for our next executive director and the names of prospective candidates. The critical qualities most often described were: •Honesty/Integrity/Ethics •Vision •Commitment to our profession and the Bar The Executive Director position has been advertised through: •American Bar Association—Division for Bar Services •American Society of Association Executives •Association of Black Meeting Planners •Detroit Legal News •Michigan Bar Journal •Michigan Lawyers Weekly •National Bar Association •State Bar of Michigan website Evaluation Criteria The Board of Commissioners has established the specific criteria for evaluation of the candidates, on which the Advisory Council and the Search Committee will make their recommendations. They are: •Vision •Leadership •Personal integrity •Successful interaction with the Supreme Court, legislators, and executive office •Management skills •Skill in building strong relationships and developing consensus •Understanding the challenges that confront the justice system, lawyers and judges, and bar associations •Commitment to -diversity and an open profession -access to justice for all -the improvement of the profession and the justice system -the unified bar -public service •Understanding the challenges that are unique to Michigan •Mastery over core bar association issues •Professional success •Standing in profession •Ability to work with diverse groups •Media savvy Selection Process The Board of Commissioners has established a three tier selection process, designed to provide input from a broad spectrum of our members. Advisory Council The first level of candidate review is the Advisory Council, the members of which are: Lynn P. Chard, Director, Institute of Continuing,Legal Education Peter H. Ellsworth, Member, Dickinson Wright, PLLC Nancy Galloway, Retired employee of the State Bar of Michigan David Haynes, Member, Public Affairs Associates James R. Neuhard, Director, State Appellate Defender Office Linda Rexer, Executive Director, Michigan State Bar Foundation Honorable Victoria A. Roberts, Judge, Federal District Court, Eastern Division; President, State Bar of Michigan (1996-97) John F. Van Bolt, Executive Director, Attorney Discipline Board Robert B. Webster, Member, Clark Hill, PLC; President, State Bar of Michigan (1989-90); Judge, 6th Judicial Circuit (Oakland County) (1973-82) Selection Committee The second level of candidate review is the Search Committee, consisting of 16 members. Alfred M. Butzbaugh, Chair, President, State Bar, Butzbaugh & Dewane, St. Joseph Thomas J. Ryan, Vice-Chair, President-Elect, State Bar, Thomas J. Ryan, PC, Sylvan Lake Bruce W. Neckers, Vice President, State Bar, Rhoades, McKee, Boer, Goodrich & Titta, Grand Rapids Reginald M. Turner, Jr., Secretary, State Bar, Clark Hill, PLC, Detroit Scott S. Brinkmeyer, Treasurer, State Bar, Mika, Meyers, Beckett & Jones, PLC, Grand Rapids Kimberly M. Cahill, Chair, Representative Assembly, Schoenherr & Cahill, PC, Center Line Bruce A. Courtade, Vice-Chair, Representative Assembly, Law, Rhoades, McKee, Boer, Goodrich & Titta, Grand Rapids Julie I. Fershtman, Clerk, Representative Assembly, Law Offices of Julie Fershtman, Bingham Farms Nancy J. Diehl, Member, Executive Committee, Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, Detroit Honorable Cynthia Diane Stephens, Member, Executive Committee, Chief Judge Pro Tempore, 3rd Judicial Circuit, Detroit Lee B. Reimann, President, Michigan Association of Bar Executives, Executive Director, Women Lawyers Association of Michigan, Lansing Honorable William J. Caprathe, Chair, Judicial Conference, Chief Judge, 18th Judicial Circuit, Bay City Richard C. Lowe, Chair, Probate and Estate Planning, Section Council, Fraser Trebilcock Davis & Foster, PC, Lansing Richard L. Manetta, Deputy General Counsel, Ford Motor Company, Dearborn Roshunda L. Price-Harper, Chair, Young Lawyers Section Council, ANR Pipeline Company, Detroit Richard E. Rassel, Chair, Multidisciplinary Practice Committee, Butzel Long, Detroit Board of Commissioners The Search Committee will recommend one or more candidate(s) to the 31 member Board of Commissioners, which will appoint our next Executive Director. As I write this article, the Advisory Council is preparing its recommendations to the Search Committee. |