The Michael and Peggy Pitt Charitable Trust has made a $50,000 gift to the Access to Justice Fund, and members of the Royal Oak firm of Pitt, Dowty, McGehee and Mirer have contributed $8,500 to the Fund. Together with the contribution of the Pitt Charitable Trust, firm members Stuart Dowty, Jeanne Mirer, Cary McGehee, Megan Bonnani and Shannon Dunn have made a total contribution of $58,500 that will go toward providing civil legal services for low income people.

Pitt, Dowty, McGehee and Mirer was established in 1992 and specializes in employment discrimination and personal injury. Michael Pitt who heads the firm, has also pledged to help the Michigan Trial Lawyers Association raise half a million dollars for the ATJ Fund within the next year.

Pitt, a seasoned trial attorney, said his law school training in a legal aid clinic gave him many valuable insights into the lives of poor people and led him to a successful career as a civil rights lawyer. "My philosophy is to relate to clients in a profound and meaningful way. This unique understanding of the individual's needs and the knowledge that the justice system must be open for all underlies my firm's commitment to the Access to Justice campaign," Pitt said.

Reginald M. Turner Jr., president-elect of the State Bar of Michigan said he was truly grateful to Michael and Peggy Pitt for their generous contribution from their charitable trust and for the support from other members of the Pitt Dowty law firm. "I am especially pleased that Michael Pitt has taken a leadership role with the MTLA appeal," Turner said. "With a generous gift like this, Michael and Peggy Pitt, and the members of the Pitt law firm are leading the way for a very successful MTLA campaign. This will surely make a difference for the civil justice system," Turner added.

For more information about the Access to Justice Campaign, please contact Candace Crowley at 1-800-968-1442 or check the State Bar of Michigan's web site at www.michbar.org.

Attorney Michael Pitt (left), of the Royal Oak firm of Pitt, Dowty, McGehee and Mirer
and Reginald M. Turner Jr., president-elect of the State Bar of Michigan.
Photo by Johnny Northern.