State Bar of Michigan announces 2026 Award Winners
The State Bar of Michigan will honor 11 attorneys and one bar association in recognition of their public service and outstanding contributions to the legal profession.
Nine of the award recipients were selected by the State Bar of Michigan Board of Commissioners. They will be honored at the Presidential Inauguration and Awards Luncheon on Friday, September 18, 2026, at the Detroit Marriott Troy on West Big Beaver Road in Troy. Tickets for the event will go on sale at michbar.org/awards in July.
- Judge David Murkowski, who currently serves as the Kent County Chief Judge Pro Tempore, and Christopher P. Yates, who served as a judge on the Michigan Court of Appeals from 2022 to May 2026 and previously as Kent County Circuit Court judge, are being honored with the Frank J. Kelley Distinguished Public Service Award, which recognizes extraordinary governmental service by a member of the State Bar of Michigan.
- Attorney Dorothy Dean, president of the Black Women Lawyers Association of Michigan, and David M. Honigman, former state senator turned partner at Mantese Honigman, P.C. in Troy, are the winners of the 2026 Champion of Justice Award. This award is given to practicing lawyers and judges based on their extraordinary professional accomplishment benefiting the nation, state, or local community.
- Southfield immigration attorney Russel Abrutyn has been named the 2026 winner of the John W. Cummiskey Pro Bono Award, which is awarded to a Michigan attorney who has made significant pro bono contributions.
- This year’s John W. Reed Michigan Lawyer Legacy Award, which is awarded periodically to a Michigan law school educator whose influence on lawyers has elevated the quality of legal practice in our state, is being awarded to University of Michigan Law School professor Leonard Niehoff.
- Dennis Clark, an attorney at Clark Law Firm, PLLC in Detroit; Jeruan A. Howard, the founder and board chair of the Umoja Debate League, a Detroit-based nonprofit that uses debate to help teach Detroit kids transferable life skills with the goal of building a pipeline of lawyers and community changemakers; and the Black Women Lawyers Association of Michigan are recipients of this year’s Kimberly M. Cahill Bar Leadership Award. This award recognizes a local or affinity bar association, program, or leader for excellence in promoting the ideal of professionalism or equal justice for all, or in responding to a compelling legal need within the community.
The Representative Assembly is honoring three attorneys for their service to the profession and will present them with awards at their meeting following the Presidential Inauguration and Awards Luncheon at the Detroit Marriott Troy. Those award winners are:
- James L. Liggins Jr., senior counsel at Warner Norcoross + Judd, who is the winner of the Michael Franck Award, given annually to an attorney who has made outstanding contribution to the improvement of the profession.
- Samuel H. Pietsch, a senior trial attorney at Ven Johnson Law in Detroit, and Rita White, attorney and owner of the Law Offices of Rita O. White in Canton, take home Unsung Hero Awards, which are given annually to an attorney who has exhibited the highest standards of practice and commitment for the benefit of others.
Posted: May 12, 2026