Brubaker named Chief Commissioner of the Michigan Supreme Court

Attorney Daniel C. Brubaker has been named Chief Commissioner of the Michigan Supreme Court, the Court announced on April 30th. The appointment means that Brubaker will oversee the work of the Supreme Court Commissioners, the Court's permanent legal staff. Commissioners review applications for leave to appeal to the Court, and provide research and recommendations to the Court on a wide variety of matters. Chief Justice Robert P. Young, Jr., said that Brubaker "meets the exacting standards one must have for this position of highest trust: impeccable legal scholarship and great integrity. In his nine years with the Commissioners' Office, he has proven not only that he has great legal ability but also that he is an effective administrator - exactly the combination we need." Brubaker began his legal career in 1992 with the Grand Rapids law firm of Mika, Meyers, Beckett & Jones, P.L.C., where he was an associate in the firm's litigation department; he became a member of the firm in 1999, specializing in family, labor, and local government law. He served on the firm's management committee for two years, administering a firm of 40 attorneys, as well as staff. Brubaker joined the Supreme Court Commissioners' Office in 2003. His responsibilities included reviewing other commissioners' research reports and supervising that office's extern program. He also served on the Michigan Judicial Institute's editorial advisory committee on post- conviction proceedings and headed a project to improve handling of motions for relief from judgment in the Supreme Court. A magna cum laude 1987 graduate of Albion College, Brubaker earned a law degree with honors from the University of Michigan Law School in 1992. He resides in Lowell with his wife, Tamara Brubaker-Salcedo. A past president of the Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce, Brubaker has served on the Lowell Area School Board since 2004. He has also served on the board of the Lowell YMCA, Flat River Outreach Ministries, and the Lowell City Council and Planning Commission. He is active in the Lowell First United Methodist Church and the Iglesia Metodista Unida La Neuva Esperanza (New Hope United Methodist Church), an inner-city Spanish-speaking church in Grand Rapids, where he serves on the Nominations Committee. Published: Mon, May 7, 2012