The State Bar of Michigan Representative Assembly has announced the winners of the two awards they bestow annually to outstanding attorneys.
Janet K. Welch is the 2025 winner of the Michael Franck Award. The award honors attorneys who have made an outstanding contribution to the improvement of the profession.
After graduating from University of Michigan Law in 1989, Welch clerked for Michigan Supreme Court Justice Robert P. Griffin, later serving as an executive analyst and the general counsel at the Court.
In 1998, the Council of State Governments named her a Toll Fellow for outstanding achievement and service to state government.
Welch is a graduate of the Kennedy School of Government's Senior Executive Program at Harvard University and was a Fulbright Scholar in comparative literature in the former Yugoslavia.
In 2000, she began her service at the State Bar of Michigan, first as general counsel and then executive director—the first woman to hold the role. She retired in 2022.
Kamau Sandiford is the winner of this year’s Unsung Hero Award. The award honors attorneys who have exhibited the highest standards of practice and commitment for the benefit of others.
Sandiford is the Clean Slate program manager for Safe & Just Michigan, where he oversees expungement outreach initiatives throughout Michigan, helping people removing old criminal records that hinder access to better housing and employment opportunities.
Before taking that role in 2021, he was the staff attorney at the Cooley Law School’s Access to Justice Clinic for six years.
Sandiford holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Grand Valley State University and a JD from Cooley Law School. The West Michigan resident has also volunteered with the Black and Brown Cannabis Guild at their expungement fairs.
The awards will be presented at the Representative Assembly meeting September 19 at the Troy Marriott following the annual State Bar of Michigan Presidential Inauguration and Awards Luncheon.
Janet K. Welch is the 2025 winner of the Michael Franck Award. The award honors attorneys who have made an outstanding contribution to the improvement of the profession.
After graduating from University of Michigan Law in 1989, Welch clerked for Michigan Supreme Court Justice Robert P. Griffin, later serving as an executive analyst and the general counsel at the Court.
In 1998, the Council of State Governments named her a Toll Fellow for outstanding achievement and service to state government.
Welch is a graduate of the Kennedy School of Government's Senior Executive Program at Harvard University and was a Fulbright Scholar in comparative literature in the former Yugoslavia.
In 2000, she began her service at the State Bar of Michigan, first as general counsel and then executive director—the first woman to hold the role. She retired in 2022.
Kamau Sandiford is the winner of this year’s Unsung Hero Award. The award honors attorneys who have exhibited the highest standards of practice and commitment for the benefit of others.
Sandiford is the Clean Slate program manager for Safe & Just Michigan, where he oversees expungement outreach initiatives throughout Michigan, helping people removing old criminal records that hinder access to better housing and employment opportunities.
Before taking that role in 2021, he was the staff attorney at the Cooley Law School’s Access to Justice Clinic for six years.
Sandiford holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Grand Valley State University and a JD from Cooley Law School. The West Michigan resident has also volunteered with the Black and Brown Cannabis Guild at their expungement fairs.
The awards will be presented at the Representative Assembly meeting September 19 at the Troy Marriott following the annual State Bar of Michigan Presidential Inauguration and Awards Luncheon.
