Justice John Paul Stevens Morris Dees Jennifer Granholm

U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, Civil Rights Lawyer Morris Dees and Michigan's Attorney General Jennifer Granholm and will be the keynote speakers at the State Bar of Michigan's 64th Annual Meeting September 15-17 in Grand Rapids.

For the first time in State Bar Annual Meeting history, a U.S. Supreme Court Justice will address the Bar when Justice Stevens speaks at the Friday, September 15 luncheon, which is co-hosted by the Michigan Lawyers Auxiliary.

The State Bar will also be presenting former President Gerald R. Ford with the Distinguished Public Servant Award at this first luncheon of the Bar's three-day Annual Meeting.

Ford is being recognized for his service in public office that strengthened the American system of justice under the law and his lasting contribution to our nation.

The former president appointed Justice Stevens to the Supreme Court on December 1, 1977 and was confirmed by the Senate two weeks later. In 1970 President Richard M. Nixon appointed Stevens to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

Morris Dees, renowned civil rights lawyer and founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center, will address the Annual Meeting at the Thursday, September 16 luncheon.

Dees is the author of Gathering Storm: America's Militia Threat, "A Season for Justice" and Hate on Trial: The Case Against American's Most Dangerous Neo-Nazi. A made-for-television movie about his life, Line of Fire, aired on NBC in 1991. Dees was also portrayed in the movie Ghosts of Mississippi, a 1996 feature film on the life of slain civil rights worker Medgar Evers.

The luncheon is a joint luncheon with the Young Lawyers Section and serves as a kick-off for the Bar's Thursday "Access to Justice" theme.

Michigan's Attorney General Jennifer Granholm will speak at the Annual Meeting's Friday luncheon on September 17.

Granholm, made history when she was selected Michigan's first female attorney general in November 1998. She is the state's first new attorney general in 37 years, following the retirement of Frank J. Kelley.

In 1994 Granholm, a Harvard Law School graduate, became the first woman and youngest person appointed as the Wayne County Corporation Counsel. She also serves as a State Bar Commissioner.

At the Friday luncheon, current President-elect Alfred M. Butzbaugh will be sworn in by Michigan Supreme Court Justice James H. Brickley as the Bar's 64th president and the Bar will be presenting it's highest honor, the Roberts P. Hudson Award to John W. Martin Jr.

All three luncheons will take place at noon on their respective days and will be held in Grand Hall B of the Grand Center in Grand Rapids.