by Cynthia Price
Legal News
“I love my practice of law,” says Jennie Boldish Bryan, winner of the 2013 Michael S. Barnes Award from Legal Aid of Western Michigan for her pro bono work, talking about her specialty of family law.
“I’ve had so many cases where we’re doing more than just giving legal advice, we’re helping settle people’s nerves, trying to reassure them that this is going to work out for them,” she explains.
“It’s great. And while it’s definitely true across the board, the pro bono cases are even better because these folks aren’t accustomed to having someone help them, and they’re so appreciative of my work.”
Bryan knows whereof she speaks. According to Lacy Cook, Fund Development Director at Legal Aid of Western Michigan, Bryan has taken 50 cases since she started with Legal Aid’s pro bono program in 1988.
That has meant well over 600 hours given to legal assistance for those who are not able to afford it, numbers which place her in the top ranks of the elite group of attorneys who give of their time that way.
The award is named after Michael S. Barnes, a partner at Smith Haughey Rice and Roegge who died prematurely, whose kindness to others — not just those in poverty, but to his colleagues as well — is legendary.
Barnes was on the Legal Aid of Western Michigan board from 1973 to 1984 and was the first chair of its Pro Bono Committee. He was also the first person chosen to receive the State Bar of Michigan John W. Cummiskey Pro Bono award, in turn named after a prodigiously generous Grand Rapids attorney.
Bryan had an opportunity to work with Mike Barnes as a clerk at Smith Haughey upon her graduation from law school.
All of the cases Bryan has taken on for the pro bono program are in the area of domestic law. She is a partner in RizzoBryan, P.C., which handles family law, insurance defense, and general litigation. RizzoBryan, though specifically started in 1997, has a long history, under different names. “We go back way back with our senior partner Newt Dilley – as far back as a firm Newt’s father started in 1914. Newt is 90 years old, but he’s even in the office today!” Bryan said at the end of December. “My involvement dates from when Tom Rizzo came in.” Rizzo specializes in insurance defense and has extensive trial court experience.
But it is solely in family law, including divorce, child custody, complex business valuation, alimony, child support and a variety of other cases, that Bryan herself practices.
Bryan has been a certified mediator since 2004, and she often is able to resolve, or help other attorneys resolve, disputes without going to court, but she has skills honed over 27 years of practice if trial is necessary.
She attended University of Florida Law School, but came to Michigan with her husband who is from here, and finished up at Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing.
She has been an active leader in her profession, including as chair of the Grand Rapids Bar Association Family Law Section, a member of the Judicial Candidate Review panel, and co-chair of the Bench Bar Committee.
She speaks widely from her expertise, presenting at the State Bar Annual Meeting, the Institute for Continuing Legal Education, the Family Law Institute, the Michigan Judicial Institute, and for the Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants, among others.
Bryan has also recently become a member of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. “It’s hard to get in; you have to be tested and it’s a really long exam,” she says. “I studied for months.”
Asked what pro bono cases stand out for her, Bryan talks about a woman from a country in Africa she was able to help recently. “She did not have a healthy relationship with her husband, he really controlled her. Of course, that was part of their culture, but then he basically told her he was taking over their child... I felt like she was trying to break out from that control; she’s a remarkable woman. I know the reality of her life and how I helped to empower her.
“I think that’s what lawyers so often miss, a sense that they’re making a difference in people’s lives,” she says. “And I’ve had many pro bono cases that made me feel that way.”
Bryan feels very strongly about the need for lawyers to do pro bono work, and she believes that just writing a check is a poor substitute.
At the awards ceremony last Oct. 24, co-sponsored by Smith Haughey Rice and Roegge, she talked about that obligation. “I think the standards should be higher for how much we give back, and I said so.”
She adds, “A while later, I ran into a young lawyer, and he told me, ‘I was at that event and I wanted to let you know that I signed up for pro bono after that.’ So that made me feel like it’s worth it to share how I feel with other lawyers.”
As far as Legal Aid of Western Michigan, Bryan is all praise. “Oh, what a marvelous organization. They’re very, very polite if they call and ask you to take another case, and they’re completely understanding if you say no. They’re highly organized, and they follow up on cases. Tremendous people to work with!”
On the home front, Bryan lives in Ada and has two daughters. “There’s Mary, a senior at Depauw in Indiana; I’m really pleased right now because I found out she has a job lined up after graduation. And my oldest is Allison, who has a great job in politics in Washington, D.C. She just attended the White House Christmas Party!” Bryan says with obvious pride.
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