State Bar of Michigan President Lori Buiteweg
Lori A. Buiteweg (pronounced like “suit”-uh-wehg with a “b”) is a shareholder at Nichols, Sacks, Slank, Sendelbach & Buiteweg, P.C., in Ann Arbor, where she focuses her practice on matrimonial law. She is president of the State Bar of Michigan and has represented Washtenaw County on the SBM Board of Commissioners for 12 years.
Prior to serving as SBM president, Buiteweg served as SBM president-elect in 2014-2015, and chair of Public Policy, Image and Identity Committee, where she oversaw the institution of Keller-permissibility safeguards pertaining to the practice of law and administration of justice. From 2011-2014, Buiteweg served as vice president, secretary and treasurer of the State Bar, and chair of the Member Services Committee, Finance Committee and Professional Standards Committee. She served as chairperson 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 chairperson 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.
Buiteweg previously practiced law as an associate and litigation attorney at Conlin, McKenney & Philbrick PC in Ann Arbor. 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.
When she isn’t practicing law or volunteering for the State Bar, you will find Buiteweg de-stressing at her favorite yoga studio or in her workout room at home.