10/7/05

The new president of the State Bar of Michigan, Thomas W. Cranmer, will head north October 10 - 12 to visit the Upper Peninsula, and in particular, the legal community in the area. The tour will provide local Upper Peninsula bar associations, the media, and the public an opportunity to meet the person leading the more than 37,500-member State Bar of Michigan during the next year.

Mr. Cranmer will travel to the U.P. with a four-member State Bar team that will make stops in Sault St. Marie, Escanaba, Iron Mountain, Marquette, Ironwood, and Houghton. During the tour, he will focus on the Bar's efforts to protect the public, support its members, and promote the administration of justice.

Mr. Cranmer is a principal in the Detroit-based law firm of Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone and practices both criminal and civil litigation. He has a passion for teaching litigation skills and trial advocacy. His experience includes teaching for one of the preeminent trial advocacy programs in the United States, The National Institute for Trial Advocacy. He has served on the State Bar Board of Commissioners since 1996.

Mr. Cranmer will be accompanied by the State Bar Representative Assembly Chairperson Lori A. Buiteweg, State Bar Vice President Ronald D. Keefe, Executive Director John T. Berry, and Director of Programs and Services Kathleen Fox.