Change can be scary — but it is worth it. For the June episode of the MiLawyer Podcast, conviction integrity attorney Valerie Newman’s offers advice on how attorneys can face the fear of changing practice areas and pivot into a career path that truly inspires them.

Newman, the director of the Conviction Integrity Unit in the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office and winner of the 2025 Roberts P. Hudson Award also examines some of the injustices that occur in our legal system and how she handles the emotional weight of her job.

The State Bar of Michigan produces MiLawyer Podcast as a tool to help Michigan attorneys improve their practice and protect their well-being. 

Hosted by Molly Ranns, the director of SBM’s Lawyer & Judges Assistance Program, and Savanna Polimeni, SBM’s practice management counsel, anyone can listen and subscribe to MiLawyer Podcast on all podcast platforms. Current and past episodes are available at michbar.org/Podcast.

headlines Oakland County

• Attorneys sharpen courtroom skills at inaugural program
• Michigan tax preparers indicted for conspiring to defraud the United States and preparing false tax returns
• Woman pleads no contest on multiple cases, including embezzlement of $90K from her father
• As the country turns 250, retired judges hit the road to defend judicial independence
• Private mobile home water services provider, president sentenced for falsifying water safety, discharge tests

headlines National

• ABA connects death row inmate to pro bono attorneys who help free him
• ACLU and BigLaw firm use ‘Orange is the New Black’ in hashtag effort to promote NY jail reform
• 2 judges suspended in separate cases after being indicted on criminal charges
• Convicted ex-judge gets $5K fine but no prison time in immigration case
• Ohio governor signs bill prohibiting foreign litigation funding
• Many small firms collect payments faster than BigLaw counterparts, new data shows