The State Bar of Michigan Board of Commissioners has voted unanimously to oppose proposed legislation that calls for voluntary membership in the association.
Senate Bill 743 was introduced last month by state Senate Majority Floor Leader Arlan Meekhof.
The SBM board vote took place during a teleconference meeting last Thursday.
SBM President Brian Einhorn and Executive Director Janet Welch informed Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert P. Young Jr. and other justices of the vote in a letter sent after the meeting.
The letter said the bill raises questions about the operation of the State Bar as a mandatory organization that are most appropriately addressed within the judicial branch of government, pursuant to the high court’s exclusive constitutional authority to establish practice and procedure for the state’s legal system under Michigan Constitution Article VI, Section 5.
The State Bar has asked the Michigan Supreme Court to initiate a review of how the State Bar of Michigan operates within the framework of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Keller v State Bar of California.
The rules of the Michigan Supreme Court direct the SBM to aid in promoting improvements in the administration of justice and advancements in jurisprudence, in improving relations between the legal profession and the public and in promoting the interests of the legal profession in Michigan.
“We value the reputation the State Bar has established as a national leader in pursuing these purposes for nearly eight decades,” said Einhorn and Welch in the letter. “We know that our continued effectiveness depends on the confidence of this court and our membership in our adherence to our core mission and to the constitutional boundaries defined by the Keller decision and the Michigan Supreme Court.”
“Our decision-making in carrying out our duties to our members and the public,” the letter continued, “is grounded in such adherence, and we believe that a structured conversation on this subject undertaken under the auspices of the Supreme Court will fully address the questions raised by SB 743.”
In the letter, Einhorn and Welch said they hoped the review would “strengthen and clarify the capacity of the State Bar to fulfill its mission in the decades to come.”
Plans to introduce the legislation were announced last fall following the Michigan Republican Leadership Conference.
State law requires attorneys actively practicing law to pay the State Bar $305 a year.
The State Bar of Michigan is composed of more than 43,000 practicing attorneys and judges.
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