Great Lakes Legal Conference 2023 - Banner

Great Lakes Legal Conference 2023: Full Schedule


Resort casual or business clothing is appropriate for the conference. The Grand Hotel considers every evening a special occasion and requires all guests and visitors to wear dress clothing after 6:30 p.m. in all areas of the hotel, except the Cupola Bar. Learn more about the Grand Hotel Policies here.


DAY 1

Friday, June 9, 2023


10:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

Registration Open

Art Gallery

12:15 p.m.–12:45 p.m.

Refreshments

Theatre Room

12:45 p.m.–1:00 p.m.

Welcome and Introductions

James W. Heath
President, State Bar of Michigan
Wayne County Corporation Counsel, Detroit

Hon. Elizabeth T. Clement
Chief Justice, Michigan Supreme Court, Lansing

Theatre Room

1:00 p.m.–1:45 p.m.

Shaping an Inclusive & Client-Centered Profession

  • Who gets to be a lawyer?
  • Reckoning with legacies of exclusion
  • Ensuring that law school graduates are (at least) minimally competent
  • Understanding how and why bar exams are (finally) changing
  • Protecting the public while addressing ethnic & racial test disparities.

Joan W. Howarth
Dean Emerita, MSU Law; Distinguished Visiting Professor, UNLV Law

Theatre Room

 

Leadership Track

Moderator:
Darin A. Day
State Bar of Michigan Director of Outreach, Lansing

Legal Updates Track

Moderator:
Kim A. Coggins
Coggins Law, Marinette, WI

Litigation Track

Moderator:
Colemon L. Potts
Detroit Legal Group PLLC, Detroit

1:55 p.m.–2:40 p.m.

Leadership Track

The Big Picture and What’s Happening in Lansing

  • Civility
  • Bar and court developments and initiatives
  • Legislation
  • Court rules update

Peter Cunningham
State Bar of Michigan Executive Director, Lansing

Nathan Triplett
State Bar of Michigan Public Policy Director, Lansing

Theatre Room

Legal Updates Track

Real Property Law: New Developments and Practice Tips

  • Legislative developments
  • Caselaw update
  • Hot issues

John G. Cameron, Jr.
Dickinson Wright PLLC, Grand Rapids

Brighton Room

Litigation Track

Summary Disposition Motions

  • Set yourself up for summary success during discovery
  • The art of the persuasive introduction
  • Telling the story
  • Using headers to highlight the high points
  • Using case law strategically
  • Navigating the logistics of exhibits
  • Keys to making an impact at oral argument
  • Proposed orders to help you prevail

Aaron V. Burrell
Dickinson Wright PLLC, Troy

Terrace Room

2:40 p.m.–2:50 p.m.

Refreshment Break

   

2:50 p.m.–3:35 p.m.

Leadership Track

Ways for Current Leaders to Develop the Next Generation

  • Keys to inspire younger leaders
  • Concrete steps to identify and engage younger members
  • Creating programs that will attract the younger generation

Kristina A. Bilowus  
Michigan State University College of Law, East Lansing 

Silvia Mansoor 
Foley, Baron, Metzger & Juip, PLLC, Livonia 

Tanya Cripps-Serra 
Olympia Development of Michigan, Detroit

Theatre Room

Legal Updates Track

Criminal Law Update - You Can’t Win if You Don’t Know the Law

  • U.S. Supreme Court update
  • Michigan appellate courts update
  • Legislative and court rule update

Mary Chartier
Chartier & Nyamfukudza PLC, Okemos

Marisa Ariel Vinsky
Chartier & Nyamfukudza PLC, Okemos

Brighton Room

Litigation Track

Navigating Michigan’s Still Evolving No-Fault Law

  • The “PIP choice” options
  • Changes to No-Fault PIP entitlement and priorities
  • New tort liability rules
  • Notable issues in first-party no-fault litigation

Stephen H. Sinas
Sinas Dramis Law Firm, Lansing

Terrace Room

3:40 p.m.–4:25 p.m.

Leadership Track

Marketing Your Event & Attracting New Members

  • Get a template that will help you create marketing plans for your events
  • Learn more about the tools you can use to promote your events and attract new members
  • Develop your core messaging and understand why it matters

Marjory Raymer
State Bar of Michigan Director of Communications, Lansing

Theatre Room

Legal Updates Track

Michigan Business and Tax Update

  • Important changes in Michigan's business entity statutes
  • Updates on recent Michigan caselaw involving business entities
  • Other developments critical to Michigan lawyers with business practices
  • What you need to know about the Corporate Transparency Act

William C. Lentine
Warner Norcross + Judd LLP
Bloomfield Hills

Brighton Room

Litigation Track

Handling Drunk Driving Cases and Collateral Consequences

  • OWI statutes/elements/penalties
  • Areas of litigation in OWI defense; pre-trial and trial
  • Collateral consequences of OWI convictions

Daniel T. Geherin
Geherin Law Group PLLC, Ann Arbor

Terrace Room

4:30 p.m.–5:15 p.m.

Leadership Track

Interactive Session: Meet Your Peers

  • Collaborative ideas to implement in your organization
  • Joint-programming with the State Bar, SBM sections, and bar associations
  • Engaging your members in civic education and pipeline programs, mentoring, and working with law schools and K-12 programs
  • Strengthening inclusion and belonging in your organization

Darin A. Day (facilitator) 
State Bar of Michigan Director of Outreach, Lansing

Gregory P. Conyers (facilitator) 
State Bar of Michigan Diversity Development Program Director, Lansing

Kristina A. Bilowus (facilitator) 
Michigan State University College of Law, East Lansing

Theatre Room

Legal Updates Track

Family Law Update

  • 2022–2023 caselaw, court rules and statutes update
  • Marital, separate property, spousal support and attorney fee issues
  • Practice tips and takeaways

James J. Harrington III
Law Offices of James J. Harrington III PLC, Novi

Brighton Room

Litigation Track

Practical Advice from the Bench in a Post-Pandemic World

  • Tips for effective and ethical advocacy
  • Specialty courts
  • Zoom hearings
  • Pet peeves to avoid

Hon. B. Chris Christenson
7th Circuit Court, Flint

Hon. David A. Perkins
Wayne County Probate Court, Detroit

Hon. Erane C. Washington
14B District Court, Ypsilanti

Terrace Room

6:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m.

Grand Reception

Grand Hotel Porch

 

DAY 2

Saturday, June 10, 2023


8:00 a.m.–9:00 a.m.

Hotel Checkout

8:30 a.m.–9:00 a.m.

Refreshments

Theater Room

9:00 a.m.–9:45 a.m.

Change is Inevitable. Except in the Legal Profession?

With the cost of legal services out of reach for more and more people, a rising tide of self-represented litigants, new incursions into the unauthorized practice of law, and advances in artificial intelligence, there's hardly a tradition, standard, practice, paradigm, or rule in our profession that isn't being challenged in the practice of law today. But only a few states have made changes. What's happening in Michigan? These Michigan insiders will share the inside story.

Justice Brian K. Zahra
Chair of the Justice for All (FJA) Commission, Justice, Michigan Supreme Court, Lansing

Janet K. Welch
Co-chair of the JFA Regulatory and Practice Reform Committee, State Bar of Michigan Former Executive Director, Lansing

Theatre Room

 

Leadership Track

Moderator:
Darin A. Day
State Bar of Michigan Director of Outreach, Lansing

Legal Updates Track

Moderator:
Kim A. Coggins
Coggins Law, Marinette, WI

Law Practice Management Track

Moderator:
Molly Ranns
State Bar of Michigan Director of the Lawyers and Judges Assistance Program, Lansing

9:50 a.m.–10:35 a.m.

Leadership Track

Your Toolbox for Running Effective Meetings

  • Setting action items and a strategic, purposeful agenda for each meeting
  • Engaging attendees, inspiring them to participate both in the discussion and in follow-up activities
  • Managing challenging, overbearing, or reluctant attendees
  • Making Roberts Rules of Order, and alternatives, work for you

Jennifer Roosenberg
Oakland County Bar Association Executive Director, Bloomfield Hills

Aaron V. Burrell
Dickinson Wright PLLC, Troy

Nathan Triplett
State Bar of Michigan Public Policy Director, Lansing

Theatre Room

Legal Updates Track

Developments in Condominium Law

  • How to tell: condominium or cooperative?
  • Duties and responsibilities of the association and board
  • Contraction of condominium projects
  • What constitutes the common elements?
  • Amending the documents

John G. Cameron, Jr.
Dickinson Wright PLLC, Grand Rapids

Brighton Room

Law Practice Management Track

Essential Google Tools for Your Practice, 2023 Edition

  • The newest and most useful Google tools and services
  • Using Google on mobile devices

Jeffrey E. Kirkey
Institute of Continuing Legal Education, Ann Arbor

Terrace Room

10:35 a.m.–10:45 a.m.

Refreshments

10:45 a.m.–11:30 a.m.

Leadership Track

Hands-On Social Media 101

  • Know how to get started with social media
  • Determine which platform(s) will best help you reach your goals
  • Get tricks of the trade that will improve your social media reach
  • Better understand social media specialty features, such as advertising, live broadcasts, and events – and how they can work for you

Marjory Raymer
State Bar of Michigan Director of Communications, Lansing

Theatre Room

Legal Updates Track

Estate Planning and Elder Law Update

  • Key changes for planning with retirement assets under the SECURE 2.0 Act
  • New legislative developments in Michigan
  • Top caselaw of 2022-2023 that impacts estate planning, probate and trust administration

Nathan R. Piwowarski
McCurdy Wotila & Porteous PC, Cadillac

Brighton Room

Law Practice Management Track

Lawyer Well-Being: Creating Awareness, Balance, and Connection

  • Prevalence of mental health and substance use concerns among lawyers
  • Practical implementation strategies for effectively combating and managing stress in healthy ways

Molly Ranns
State Bar of Michigan Director of the Lawyers and Judges Assistance Program, Lansing

Terrace Room

11:35 a.m.–12:20 p.m.

Rule 21: Law Practice Succession Planning

  • New mandatory interim administrator planning
  • ADM 2020-15
  • Court rule effective September 1, 2023
  • State Bar Interim Administrator Program and resources

Alecia M. Chandler
State Bar of Michigan Professional Responsibility Program Director, Lansing

James J. Harrington III
Law Offices of James J. Harrington III PLC, Novi

Theatre Room

12:20 p.m.–12:30 p.m.

Concluding Remarks and Door Prize Drawing (Must be present to win)