Jon R. Muth, 60th President of the State Bar of Michigan and Hon. Victoria A. Roberts, 62nd President, offered their insights on Access to Justice when they served as co-speakers at the Thursday, September 21 luncheon of the Bar's 65th Annual Meeting in Detroit. The two shared both personal and historical legal accounts of how certain events have shaped their devotion to access to justice for all.

Muth is a partner in the Grand Rapids law firm of Miller, Johnson, Snell & Cummiskey, P.L.C. where he practices primarily in the area of civil litigation. He has made a commitment to assisting causes that further support the advancement of justice and access to justice for all. In 1996, Muth completed a 23-day, 2,881-mile cross-country bike trip from San Diego, California to Charleston, South Carolina gathering pledges per mile from Michigan attorneys to support the work of attorneys affected by cuts to the Legal Services Corporation budget.

Muth is qualified as an arbitrator by the National Futures Association, American Arbitration Association, and by the Michigan Mediation & Arbitration as a Commercial Arbitrator. He has lectured extensively at continuing education programs and trial practice workshops, and has served as guest lecturer at Thomas M. Cooley Law School.

Muth is a 1967 graduate of Kalamazoo College and earned his J.D., cum laude, from Wayne State University in 1971. Roberts was commissioned by President Clinton in June 1998 to serve as a United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Michigan. Before that, she was in private practice and also served as a court appointed special master and arbitrator in pending litigation matters.

Roberts served as managing partner of the Detroit law firm of Goodman, Eden, Millender & Bedrosian until its dissolution in February 1998. She has also served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. An author, teacher and lecturer, Roberts has served as a faculty member for the Institute for Continuing Legal Education and the Trial Advocacy Workshop of the United States District Court ? Eastern District of Michigan. She has served as a mediator for Wayne County Circuit Court and as a member of the Attorney Discipline Board's Wayne County Hearing Panel. She has also provided legal services on a pro bono basis to the Big Brothers/Big Sisters organization, and has served on its Board of Directors. She is a past chair of the Board of Directors of the Fair Housing Center of Metropolitan Detroit.

Roberts received her Juris Doctor degree in 1976 from Northeastern University School of Law in Boston. Her undergraduate degree, in journalism and sociology, is from the University of Michigan.