The Third Invitational Michigan Bench/Bar Conference will be held on May 24 to 25 at the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort in Mt. Pleasant. This year's theme will be "2001 - A Court Odyssey: Effective Practices for the New Millennium." Topics such as the current and future trends of redesigning court systems, effective bench/bar strategies for case management and enhancing confidence in the bench and the bar will be discussed.

The two-day event will include brainstorming in breakout sessions and planning strategies to promote dialogue between the bench and the bar statewide. The ideas from this conference will help generate concrete recommendations for the State Bar of Michigan to implement.

Organized by the State Bar of Michigan Bench/Bar Conference Planning Committee, this event is an important step in the process of keeping the channels of communication open between the bench and the bar and in improving our judicial system. For more information contact Karen Sprague at (517) 346-6380 or 800-968-1442 ext. 6380.