Great Lakes Legal Conference 2026: Speakers
Keeley D. Blanchard
State Appellate Defender Office, Lansing
More information coming soon.
Erika Lorraine Bryant
Butler Davis PLLC, Detroit
Erika Lorraine Bryant has been a Michigan lawyer for over 25 years, with a thriving solo practice in which she represents local non-profits, small businesses, and individual clients throughout metropolitan Detroit and beyond. She serves as a commercial arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association. In addition to her private practice, Erika believes in serving the community, and currently gives her time to the State Bar of Michigan’s Board of Commissioners, where she currently serves as President-Elect. She is a past President of the D. Augustus Straker Bar Association.
Erika has received recognition for her accomplishments, including the State Bar of Michigan’s and Wolverine Bar Association’s Outstanding Young Lawyer Awards, as well as Presidential Awards from the National Bar Association.
Erika earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School (1998), and her Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, from Amherst College (1995), where she majored in Black Studies and Political Science.
Aaron V. Burrell
Dickinson Wright PLLC, Detroit
Aaron V. Burrell focuses his practice in the areas of complex commercial litigation, labor and employment law, appellate law, and minority business enterprises. Mr. Burrell is a member of the Board of Commissioners of the State Bar of Michigan (SBM) and the American Bar Association's Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession. He is also a member of the boards of directors of Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School and the Oakland County Bar Association; a past president of the D. Augustus Straker Bar Association; a foundation fellow of the Oakland County, Michigan, and American Bar Foundations; and prior co-chair of the SBM's Equal Access Initiative. Mr. Burrell has been named a 40 Under 40 honoree by "Crain's Detroit Business," an Up and Coming Lawyer by "Michigan Lawyers Weekly," and a Michigan Super Lawyer. He is an active member of the Detroit Bar Association and the Wolverine Bar Association. In addition to his contributions to ICLE, Mr. Burrell is a contributor to "Employment Discrimination Law" (BNA 2015) and a coauthor of the "Michigan Class Action Compendium" (Defense Research Institute).
John G. Cameron, Jr.
Dickinson Wright PLLC, Grand Rapids
John G. Cameron, Jr., practices in the areas of real estate and construction law. Mr. Cameron is admitted to practice in Michigan, Illinois, Colorado, and North Carolina. He attended the U.S. Naval Academy, received his AB in economics and business administration from Albion College in 1971, and graduated cum laude from Wayne State University Law School in 1974. He has written numerous chapters and articles and is the author of the five-volume treatise "Michigan Real Estate Forms and Practice" (Aspen Publishers) and "A Practitioner's Guide to Construction Law" (ALI-ABA). He is also author of ICLE's "Michigan Real Property Law." Mr. Cameron is listed in "Who's Who in American Law" and "The Best Lawyers in America" and has been named a Michigan Super Lawyer annually since 2006. He is an elected member of both the American Law Institute and the American College of Real Estate Lawyers, served as the public director on the board of the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, and for six years served on the National Board of Editors of "The Practical Real Estate Lawyer." A former instructor on real estate law at Grand Valley State University's Seidman School of Business and at Grand Rapids Community College, Mr. Cameron lectures frequently on real estate law throughout the United States and teaches real estate transactions as an adjunct professor of law at the University of Michigan. He served as law clerk to the Honorable William H. Webster, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, in 1974-1975. As a specialist in real estate transactions and construction law matters, Mr. Cameron represents a wide variety of clients in a variety of real estate and construction law matters. He was awarded an LLM degree from the University of Michigan.
Alena Clark
Department of the Attorney General, Lansing
Alena M. Clark (she/her) is a Michigan attorney with 16 years of experience in various legal fields. Currently, she serves as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Michigan, and previously as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in Genesee and Saginaw Counties. As an APA Alena handled the prosecution of crimes ranging from First Degree Premeditated Murder to Domestic Violence. She also serves as a current instructor for the Michigan Coalition on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES), where she teaches courses to law enforcement to improve the trauma informed prosecution of crimes specific to domestic violence, non-fatal strangulation and suffocation, and stalking.
Alena also serves as a volunteer and a Director on the Board of Humane Society of Genesee County. She is active in the State Bar of Michigan, where she serves as a Commissioner on the Board of the Commissioners, the Chair-Elect for the Representative Assembly, and as Council Member for the LGBTQ+ Law Section. She is an active member with the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan, one of the first women bar associations in the nation, having served as WLAM President from 2019-2020. She has continued perusing her passion for studying history by serving on the Boad of Directors for the Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society and is also a member of its Advocates Guild.
Kim A. Coggins
Coggins Law, Marinette, Wisconsin
Kim A. Coggins practices in the areas of municipal law, civil litigation, commercial law, real estate law, and domestic relations. He practices in both Michigan and Wisconsin. He is a 1977 graduate of Michigan State University and a 1981 graduate of Thomas M. Cooley Law School. Mr. Coggins is a member of the Michigan and Wisconsin State Bar Associations and the Menominee and Marinette County Bar Associations and has served as a member on several committees for the State Bar of Michigan.
Gregory P. Conyers
State Bar of Michigan Director of Diversity, Lansing
Before joining the State Bar of Michigan, Gregory P. Conyers was the director of community development for Think Detroit. At the State Bar, he began as a program administrator for the pro bono work of what was then the Access to Justice program, the predecessor of Justice Initiatives. Mr. Conyers went on to become acting director and then director of Justice Initiatives where he oversaw the activities of the Justice Initiatives Division and worked in conjunction with the volunteers on the Committee on Justice Initiatives and the five initiatives (pro bono, criminal issues, justice policy, equal access, and resource development/access to justice fund) to accomplish the goals established by each body. He also coordinated and implemented justice projects and supported communications and marketing strategies for a range of State Bar-led justice issues. Currently, Mr. Conyers is the director of the Diversity Development Program and is the first to fill the role established at the State Bar to focus on efforts to improve the diversity and inclusion of the legal profession in Michigan. Mr. Conyers also lends support to the standing Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee and the American Indian Law Committee as staff liaison. Mr. Conyers serves on numerous boards, including the Michigan Diversity Counsel, the National Consortium for Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts, and currently serves as president of the National Association of Bar Executives.
Patrick J. Crowley
Marquette County, Marquette
As the Marquette County Chief Public Defender Patrick J. Crowley is responsible for felony-level criminal trial litigation, including the Public Defender office’s highest-profile criminal cases.
Before moving back to Marquette as an NMU Alumni to create the Office of the Marquette County Public Defender office, Mr. Crowley helped to form Crowley, Cornish, Rockafellow, & Sartz, PLLC in Lansing, Michigan, where he represented clients as both retained and court-appointed counsel. Mr. Crowley also briefly served as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney handling both family and district courts in Muskegon, and later as trial counsel in Kent, Ionia, and Montcalm counties handling criminal defense, family law, and other general litigation.
Peter Cunningham
State Bar of Michigan Executive Director, Lansing
Peter Cunningham is the executive director of the State Bar of Michigan. He also serves on the executive committees for the Justice for All Commission, the Commission on Fairness and Public Trust, the Well-Being in the Law Commission, and the Institute of Continuing Legal Education. He also is a board member for the Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society, fellow with the Michigan State Bar Foundation, and member of the National Association of Bar Executives and the American Bar Association. Cunningham was named the sixth executive director of the State Bar of Michigan in 2022. He first joined the bar as director of governmental relations in 2012 and became assistant executive director in 2015. He previously served as executive director of the Michigan Campaign for Justice, a nonprofit created to promote improvement in Michigan's indigent defense system, and worked for the Michigan Legislature in various roles including chief of staff for the speaker of the House of Representatives.
Darin Day
State Bar of Michigan Director of Outreach, Lansing
Darin Day supports law-related education programs throughout Michigan and helps ensure that the state’s 100 voluntary bar associations and 43 state bar sections continue to have an effective voice within the profession. He is also the State Bar of Michigan liaison to the Michigan Center for Civic Education (MCCE) and Michigan Association of Bar Executives (MABE). Before joining the SBM staff in 2016, Mr. Day served 10 years as general counsel of a logistics company located just outside Philadelphia. Before that, he was a large-firm litigator in Boston, executive director of a community-based nonprofit in Flint, and a field instructor at the University of Michigan School of Social Work in Ann Arbor. He holds a BA in social work from MSU and a JD from the University of Chicago.
Robert A. Easterly
Easterly Law PLLC, East Lansing
Robert A. Easterly is the managing attorney at the firm. He specializes in the areas of criminal law, municipal law, and business law. Mr. Easterly previously worked as a summer associate and associate attorney for Foster Swift Collins & Smith and as a city attorney for the City of East Lansing. He is a member of the Cannabis Law, Criminal Law, Probate and Estate Planning, and Solo and Small Firm Sections of the State Bar of Michigan (SBM) and represents District E on the SBM's Board of Commissioners.
Daniel T. Geherin
Geherin Law Group PLLC, Ann Arbor
Daniel T. Geherin is an attorney certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy and a former prosecutor with over 25 years' experience practicing law. Mr. Geherin's trial-based practice exclusively focuses on representing individuals in cases ranging from criminal defense/drunk driving and driver's license appeals to civil litigation and juvenile delinquency. He has completed over 250 trials, argued before the Michigan Court of Appeals, and conducted thousands of Secretary of State driver's license appeals hearings throughout Michigan. Before becoming a private attorney, Mr. Geherin was a prosecutor in Los Angeles, California, where he prosecuted gang offenses, sexual assaults, narcotics violations, juvenile delinquency, and complex white-collar criminal offenses. He is a member of the Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan, the Federal Bar Association, the State Bar of California, and the Washtenaw County Bar Association where he is a past chair of the Criminal Law Section. Mr. Geherin is rated AV-Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell, is named in "The Best Lawyers in America," has been listed by both Super Lawyers and Leading Lawyers in the field of criminal defense, was named a Top Lawyer by "DBusiness" in Michigan criminal law, and received a 10 out of 10 rating by Avvo.com. He is a frequent contributor to ICLE seminars and publications and is currently on the ICLE Advisory Board for the Criminal Law Section. Mr. Geherin has authored several books, including "Defending College Students Charged with a Sex Crime in Michigan," "Collateral Effects of a Juvenile Conviction," and "Michigan Driver's License and Drunk Driving Handbook."
Lisa J. Hamameh
President of State Bar of Michigan
Rosati Schultz Joppich & Amtsbuechler PC, Farmington Hills
Lisa J. Hamameh is the 91st president of the State Bar of Michigan. A shareholder at Rosati, Schultz, Joppich & Amtsbuechler P.C., Hamameh practices general municipal law, zoning, and land use. She is the first Palestinian American and ninth woman to serve as SBM president. Hamameh previously served on the State Bar of Michigan Board of Commissioners for seven years and as a council member for the SBM Young Lawyers Section.
In addition, Hamameh currently serves on the Michigan Supreme Court’s Commission on Well-Being in the Law, Michigan State Bar Foundation Board of Directors, and Oakland County Bar Foundation Board of Trustees. She is an active member of the Oakland County Bar Association, the American Bar Association, and the Michigan Association of Municipal Attorneys. In 2011, the Oakland County Bar Association awarded her the Frances R. Avadenka Memorial Award in honor of her extensive history of volunteer work.
Hamameh earned both her Bachelor of Science in criminal justice and Juris Doctor from Wayne State University. She is a frequent speaker and is the author of several chapters and articles related to municipal and criminal law for the Institute of Continuing Legal Education, Michigan Townships Association, and Michigan Municipal League.
James Harrington, III
Law Offices of James J. Harrington III PLC, Novi
James J. Harrington III, the managing member of Harrington Law PLC, concentrates his practice solely upon complex family law cases, with a significant portion of his practice involving family law mediation and divorce arbitration. He also consults with other family law lawyers in complex matters and is frequently added to family law litigation teams as co-counsel. He has been a member of the State Bar of Michigan and its Family Law Section for 49 years and in 2021 he received the Family Law Section Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2021 he also was admitted to the "Michigan Lawyers Weekly" Family Law Hall of Fame. He is a Fellow in the Michigan Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and was the first Michigan lawyer to receive family law certification from the National Board of Trial Advocacy. Mr. Harrington has also received the AAML divorce arbitration certification. He is former chair of the State Bar of Michigan Family Law Section, has held every officer position, and has testified on behalf of the section on multiple occasions before the Supreme Court of Michigan and the Michigan Legislature. He has been published in “Michigan Bar Journal,” SBM’s “Family Law Journal,” and “Michigan Dispute Resolution Journal.” In addition, Mr. Harrington is co-editor of the national LexisNexis practice guide 2016-2023 “Michigan Family Law” and author of the Alternate Dispute Resolution, Attorney Fees, Marital Property, Pretrial Discovery, Motion Practice, and Spousal Support chapters. Mr. Harrington is a frequent presenter at many family law seminars including the Family Law Institute and the Upper Michigan Legal Institute. He presented on Family Law issues in 2022 and 2019 at the National AAML-Business Valuation Resources Seminars in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is a recipient of the Blaine Johnson Award for outstanding contributions to continuing legal education. He graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 1973, after having served two years of active duty in the United States Navy, at the Law Center Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Michael S. Leib
Leib ADR LLC, Bloomfield Hills
Michael S. Leib is a mediator and arbitrator with Leib ADR LLC in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and specializes in the mediation and arbitration of complex business disputes including bankruptcy disputes, real estate disputes, professional liability disputes, employment disputes, and participated on the Alternative Dispute Resolution Council of the State Bar of Michigan, as well as on the Debtor Creditor Committee of the Business Law Section. He is the chair of the State Bar of Michigan Special Committee on Professionalism and Civility. Mr. Leib is on the Commercial Panel of the American Arbitration Association and member of PREMi, an organization of attorney dispute resolution experts who have numerous years of experience in both conflict resolution processes and subject matter knowledge in many industries and disciplines. Mr. Leib is the co-author, with the Honorable Paul R. Hage, of “Michigan Dramatically Expands Existing Receivership Law with the Enactment of the Receivership Act”, 41 MI Bus LJ 15 (Summer 2021). He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America and is AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell. He received his B.A. from Kalamazoo College, his M.M. from the University of Montana, and his J.D. from Wayne State University Law School.
Jennifer Lewin
Director, ABA Center for Bar Leadership, Chicago, IL
Jennifer has worked with bar organizations around the US and the world through the ABA’s Center for Bar Leadership (formerly the Division for Bar Services) for 28 years. The center’s primary mission is to strengthen bar organizations – through trendspotting, bar and profession-related research, promulgating best practices, educating bar leadership and assisting with bar strategy development.
Jennifer became director of the Center for Bar Leadership in 2022. In addition to overseeing the center’s activities, Jennifer leads the group’s consulting program. During her tenure, she has facilitated more than 100 strategic planning initiatives, board trainings, and operational reviews – helping bars adjust to the changing landscape and more effectively serve their members and the public. She is regular speaker on bar organization and legal profession trends and governance topics.
Jennifer is a member of BoardSource, the American Society of Association Executives, the Association Forum of Chicagoland, and NABE – The Association for Bar Professionals. She is an obsessive gardener, food-lover and traveler, and lives in Evanston, IL with her husband and daughter.
James L. Liggins, Jr.
Warner Norcross + Judd LLP, Kalamazoo
Noted litigator and community ambassador James Liggins Jr. runs a multifaceted practice encompassing contractual disputes, real property litigation and construction concerns, as well as business contractual disputes, criminal defense, health care issues and emergency manager matters. With an in-depth understanding of the toll that litigation can take on clients, James makes every effort to proactively position them to avoid courtroom disputes.
Passionate about helping his community in meaningful ways, James tirelessly lends his time and knowledge to several Kalamazoo charitable organizations. He serves on the board of the Harold and Grace Upjohn Foundation and of the Bronson Healthcare Group. Additionally, he provided leadership as past chair of the board of directors for the United Way of Southcentral Michigan. He also served as chair for the Douglas Community Association in 2013 and is the past chair of Kalamazoo’s indigent defense organization Kalamazoo Defender which he helped to found.
Gerard V. Mantese
Mantese Honigman PC, Troy
Gerard V. Mantese is a nationally recognized attorney for shareholder and limited liability company (LLC) member disputes, partnership disputes, and complex business litigation. He is the CEO at Mantese Honigman, PC, with offices in Michigan, New York, and Missouri. He is consistently ranked as one of the top 100 attorneys in Michigan by the Super Lawyers publication. Mr. Mantese argued the only two business-oppression cases ever decided by the Michigan Supreme Court. He is chair of the State Bar of Michigan (SBM) Business Law Section’s In-House Counsel Committee and co-chair of the LLC and Partnerships Committee, and he is on the Board of Commissioners of the SBM. He is also chair of the New York County Lawyers Association Committee on Corporations, LLCs and Partnerships. The SBM conferred its highest award, the Roberts P. Hudson Award, on Mr. Mantese for outstanding service to the profession and the public. He has also received the Champion of Justice Award from the SBM for his work on behalf of vulnerable citizens, including survivors of domestic violence. Mr. Mantese has recovered over $1 billion for his clients in courts around the country, trying jury trials, bench trials, and arbitrations to verdicts, judgments, and awards, with singular focus and dedication to his clients.
Takura Nyamfukudza
Chartier & Nyamfukudza PLC
Takura Nyamfukudza focuses his practice on criminal defense. He and his business partner, Mary Chartier, recently secured the release of five wrongfully imprisoned individuals who had collectively spent 82 years in prison for crimes that he and Ms. Chartier were able to prove they did not commit. The team is not just committed to exonerating people; the firm has also exonerated four dogs who were unjustly placed on "doggie death row." Mr. Nyamfukudza practices in state and federal courts throughout Michigan, including handling appellate cases in the Michigan Supreme Court and the Michigan Court of Appeals. He is a past president of the Davis-Dunnings Bar Association. Mr. Nyamfukudza is a member of the State Bar of Michigan (SBM), has been appointed to the SBM's Board of Commissioners, and is the current chair of the SBM's Criminal Law Section. He is also a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan (CDAM), and the Michigan Association of OWI Attorneys. Mr. Nyamfukudza served on the Michigan Joint Taskforce on Jail and Pretrial Incarceration, as faculty for the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission’s trial skills program, and as the defense attorney who tried the case for the Supreme Court Administrative Office's remote jury trial pilot project. He has presented on issues related to the criminal justice system and criminal defense, including at a statewide conference offered by the Michigan Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights and the People's Law School where he educated those in attendance on issues related to the Fourth Amendment. The State Appellate Defender Office has tapped him to lecture on the topic of remote jury trials. Mr. Nyamfukudza is a recurring speaker at the CDAM’s annual conferences. He received the SBM's Regeana Myrick Outstanding Young Lawyer Award for 2015. Notably, the firm won Reisman's International 2022 Legal Impact Award for embodying Clio's mission of transforming the practice of law for good.
Sarah Ostahowski
Sarah’s Law Firm PLC, Clare
Sarah L. Ostahowski is the founder of Sarah’s Law Firm, which she launched in 2011 immediately after graduating from Cooley Law School and grew into a multi-location practice serving clients across Michigan. Her firm focuses on estate planning, Medicaid planning, and elder law, and she brings real-world insight from building systems, teams, and scalable workflows. Sarah is an adjunct professor teaching law office management and a frequent CLE speaker. In 2020, she founded The Law Practice Training Academy, where she helps small firm attorneys across all practice areas build profitable, flexible firms and define their own success.
Nathan R. Piwowarski
McCurdy Wotila & Porteous PC, Cadillac
Nathan R. Piwowarski practices in the areas of elder law, estate planning, and estate administration. He is a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and was named a Michigan Super Lawyer. A member of the Probate and Estate Planning Section of the State Bar of Michigan, Mr. Piwowarski has served as an officer, council member, and chair of its Legislative Development and Drafting Committee and Committee on Special Projects. He also has served on the Elder Abuse Task Force. Mr. Piwowarski is the public administrator for Wexford County and Lake County, serving as personal representative of decedent estates with no known heirs. He regularly serves as an independent fiduciary. He is also a special assistant attorney general for the Department of Health and Human Services, representing the department in select probate proceedings throughout northwest Lower Michigan. Mr. Piwowarski is a licensed title agent and the coowner of Lakeside Title, LLC, a title company serving northwest Lower Michigan.
Daniel D. Quick
Dickinson Wright PLLC, Troy
Daniel D. Quick is a commercial litigation trial lawyer with the firm. He was chair of the committee for the State Bar of Michigan that proposed revisions to the court rules. Mr. Quick's practice includes "business divorce" and shareholder oppression litigation, trade secrets, intellectual property litigation, and Uniform Commercial Code contractual disputes. Among other publications, he is coauthor of "Michigan Court Rules Practice" (Thompson Reuters, 2022).
Jennifer Quick
Oakland County Bar Association, Bloomfield Hills
Jennifer Quick is the executive director of the Oakland County Bar Association and the Oakland County Bar Foundation. Ms. Quick has spent over 15 years in non-profit leadership including as executive director of the Northville Educational Foundation and of the Ferndale Area Chamber of Commerce. While working for the Ferndale Area Chamber, she was recognized for her work by the Michigan Association of Chamber Professionals. Prior to working in the non-profit arena, Ms. Quick specialized in sales and marketing mainly in the real estate industry.
Molly Ranns
State Bar of Michigan Director of the Lawyers and Judges Assistance Program, Lansing
Molly Ranns is the director for the State Bar of Michigan’s Lawyers and Judges Assistance Program, where she has been working for the past decade. She is also a licensed professional counselor, a nationally board-certified counselor, and an internationally certified advanced alcohol and drug counselor. Ms. Ranns is passionate about helping legal professionals with issues pertaining to general wellness, mental health, and substance use concerns. She has experience working with impaired professionals, substance use disorders, as well as mental health diagnoses, and presents regularly on topics pertaining to law student and lawyer well-being. Ms. Ranns graduated with a MA in counseling from Michigan State University in 2009.
Angela Emmerling Shapiro
Butzel Long PC, Detroit
Angela Emmerling Shapiro is a litigation Shareholder at Butzel Long whose work increasingly centers on the use of artificial intelligence by lawyers and clients across multiple industries. She advises on adopting AI tools in ways that are practical, ethical, and defensible. Her approach is grounded in how AI functions in real workflows, not theory or marketing claims.
Angela is a frequent speaker on AI usage and her presentations are known for clarity and candor, translating complex technology into guidance audiences can use immediately and trust in high-stakes environments. She also leads Butzel’s E-Discovery Specialty Team, leveraging her 20+ years of experience in electronic discovery, data management, and legal technology. That background informs her AI work by tying emerging tools to litigation realities, discovery obligations, and regulatory scrutiny.
Angela is widely recognized for her leadership in legal technology and is valued for her ability to explain what AI means today, what it does not, and how organizations can use it responsibly without creating unnecessary exposure.
Michael J. Steinberg
University of Michigan Law School, Ann Arbor
Michael J. Steinberg is a professor from practice at University of Michigan Law School, where he teaches civil rights litigation, directs a civil rights clinic, and helps mentor the next generation of public interest lawyers. Before joining the Michigan Law faculty, he served for 22 years as the legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, where he oversaw all ACLU litigation in the state.
Steinberg has litigated dozens of high-impact, high-profile cases on a wide range of civil rights issues, including racial justice, police misconduct, freedom of speech, immigrant rights, environmental justice, voting rights, LGBT rights, fair housing, women’s rights, post-9/11 issues, reproductive freedom, criminal justice reform, religious freedom, right to counsel, prisoner rights, economic justice, and disability rights. He has worked on six cases that were decided by the United States Supreme Court.
Steinberg is also a storyteller for The Moth, a renowned non-profit dedicated to the art of true, personal storytelling. The Moth frequently asks Steinberg to tell stories about some of his more unusual ACLU cases at Moth Mainstage shows across the country. One of his stories was recently aired on The Moth Radio Hour.
Nathan Triplett
State Bar of Michigan Director of Governmental Affairs, Lansing
Nathan Triplett serves as director of governmental affairs for the State Bar of Michigan. For over 15 years, Mr. Triplett has worked in and around state and local government as a lawyer, organizer, policy advocate, and elected official. Before joining the SBM staff, he served as minority legal counsel for the Michigan House of Representatives and as the director of public policy and political action at Equality Michigan. He has represented the State Bar of Michigan on the Child Protective Legal Representation Task Force and the Michigan Judicial Council’s Alternative Funding for Trial Courts Workgroup. Mr. Triplett served on the East Lansing City Council for eight years. He was elected to serve as the city's youngest mayor in 2013 and as president of the Michigan Municipal League. Today, Mr. Triplett serves as chair of the Capital Area Transportation Authority Board of Directors and the Ingham County Parks and Recreation Commission, and as a commissioner of the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission.
Hon. Jon A. Van Allsburg
20th Circuit Court, Grand Haven
Hon. Jon A. Van Allsburg is chief judge of the 20th Circuit Court, where he is assigned to the Family Division and Business Court. Previously, Judge Van Allsburg served on the Family Violence Department of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and as president of the Michigan Judges Association. He spent more than 20 years in the practice of law before joining the bench, and has taught business law at both Grand Valley State University and Hope College. In 2021, the Family Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan awarded Judge Van Allsburg the Marilyn J. Kelly Award for Outstanding Judicial Service in Family Law, and in 2025 the Michigan Judges Association awarded him the Hilda Gage Judicial Excellence Award. He is an honors graduate of the Michigan State University College of Law.
Marisa Vinsky
Chartier & Nyamfukudza PLC, Okemos
Marisa Ariel Vinsky is a litigator at the firm. Before serving in her current role, Ms. Vinsky worked at the State Appellate Defender Office, specifically in the Juvenile Lifer Unit, where she fought for the rights of juveniles to obtain constitutional sentences. She also worked in the Michigan State University College of Law's Civil Rights Clinic. Ms. Vinsky is president of the Ingham County Bar Association's (ICBA) Young Lawyers Section and cochair of its Criminal Defense Law Section. She is a member of the ICBA, the Davis-Dunnings Bar Association, Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan, the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan (WLAM), and the Jewish Bar Association of Michigan. Most recently, Ms. Vinsky was awarded Central Michigan University's 10 within 10 Alumni Award in 2023. She was also a recipient of the ICBA's Top 5 Under 35 Award in 2021, the Mid-Michigan chapter of WLAM's Women Lawyer Stars Award in 2021 and 2022, the Davis-Dunning Bar Association's Rising Star Award in 2022, and was recognized as an Up and Coming Lawyer by "Michigan Lawyers Weekly" in 2022.