State Bar Representative Assembly Will Honor Two Award Winners

Michael Franck Award

The late Vernon D. Kortering built a solid reputation as a maverick who never shied away from tough, highly political and publicized cases. He founded a Muskegon law firm focused on workers’ compensation, labor law, and disability law. Although he was a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, he represented those who felt the Vietnam War violated their philosophical and religious beliefs. He was known for doing a tremendous amount of pro bono work for indigent people and volunteered in his community for the NAACP, Planned Parenthood, and Every Woman’s Place. When he died, the NAACP Muskegon branch crafted a resolution commending Kortering for “his zest for the rights of those underprivileged and downtrodden and commitment to the cause of law and civil rights.”

Vernon D. Kortering

Unsung Hero Award

The Hon. Allie Greenleaf Maldonado is chief judge of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians and has worked tirelessly to improve her community. She saw huge gender disparities among graduates of the Waabshki Miigwan Drug Court, so she commissioned a study and changed the program to make it more flexible for parents to graduate, and has reached out to schools to increase the success of juvenile drug court participants. She fostered dialogue between tribal court and state leaders, enabling her tribal drug court to become the first in Michigan to return drivers’ licenses to participants. She crafted the initial draft of the bill that became the Michigan Indian Family Preservation Act and now leads statewide trainings for judges on compliance with MIFPA and the Indian Child Welfare Act.

Hon. Allie Greenleaf Maldonado