If you’ve spent any time around Jackson, you’ve surely seen Michael J. “Mick” Baughman on his bicycle. This love of fitness may be one of the reasons he’s been able to maintain a law practice for 56 years.
And he has no intention of retiring any time soon.
After two years at Jackson Junior College and two more at Albion College, Baughman earned his LLB at the University of Michigan. In 1957 he returned to Jackson and partnered with Luther Pahl in a general practice that handled bankruptcy, collection and criminal cases, among others.
“Practice has changed so much over the years,” said Baughman, who was president of the Jackson County Bar Association in 1976. “The bar association was much smaller then. There were fewer lawyers and you would see them more often. There was one municipal judge, one probate judge, and two circuit court judges, one prosecuting attorney with one full time assistant who also served as the Friend of the Court. Criminal cases were most often handled by the Justices of the Peace in the different townships.”
Among his five children, only Mick Jr., who lives and practices in Okemos, has followed him into the law profession. Baughman also has eight grandchildren.
Community service has been a large part of Baughman’s life for decades. He has been active in the Rotary Club for 53 years. In 1968, he was elected trustee of Jackson Community College and served on that board for 30 years, working on development and financial planning. During his tenure there, Baughman helped oversee construction of the Potter Center, and in fact, one of the theaters in the center is named for him.
He has also has served on the board of Jackson Storyfest.
“It’s a great program for community children,” Baughman said of the annual festival featuring storytellers at various sites around the city.
Away from the office, Baughman likes to keep fit by cycling and walking. For 45 years he walked to work, home for lunch and back to work every day. He keeps a membership at the Jackson Y-Center to have somewhere to walk during the winter.
An avid reader, Baughman enjoys fiction and biographies. He is a fan of films and theatrical productions, and once even appeared on stage in a community theater production of Lillian Hellman’s “The Little Foxes.” His wife Julia, who passed away six years ago, had been interested in community theater, and it was when he accompanied her to an audition that he won the role of Mr. Marshall.
“If I make it through the next two months, I’ll be 84 in October, but I’m still not the senior member of the Bar Association,” said Baughman. “There are two attorneys in town who have been practicing longer than I have.”
Those attorneys are Bill Marcoux and Larry Bullen, he said.
While he now practices part time in his office at 330 West Franklin St., he sees no reason to give it up entirely.
“My old friend Bill Maher once told me, ‘You should always have an office, even if you only go there to read the paper.’”
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