Detroit attorney takes over as ABA president

American Bar Association President Lee Refo (left) passed the ceremonial gavel to Detroit lawyer Reginald M. Turner (right) who became the 145th president of the American Bar Association. After Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Denise Langford Morris administered the oath of office to him, Turner addressed the ABA House of Delegates, outlining a bright future for the ABA. He pledged to promote diversity, equity and inclusion as well as prioritizing public policy issues central to the administration of justice. Turner took the helm at the conclusion of the ABA’s annual meeting, which provided attendees with both at-home and in-person sessions and activities.
(Photo courtesy of ABA)


Reginald M. Turner of Detroit, a member of the law firm Clark Hill PLC, assumed the role of president of the American Bar Association on Tuesday at the conclusion of the 2021 ABA Hybrid Annual Meeting.

He will serve as ABA president through August 2022.

Turner joined Clark Hill in 2000 and is a member of the firm’s Executive Committee, Government Policy Group, and Labor and Employment Practice Group, working as a litigator, government affairs advocate and strategic adviser.

“Serving as ABA president and representing the legal profession is an honor,” Turner said. “The ABA is committed to advancing the rule of law and increasing access to justice. As president, I will work tirelessly towards achieving those goals.”

Turner is following in the footsteps of longtime mentor Dennis Archer Sr., who was ABA president in 2003-04. He clerked for Archer at the Michigan Supreme Court in the late 1980s.
Turner has also held numerous leadership roles in the ABA.

He served as the state delegate for Michigan in the ABA House of Delegates, and as chair of the ABA House of Delegates Rules & Calendar Committee, the Committee on Issues of Concern to the Profession, and the Committee on Credentials and Admissions.

Turner is a past chair of the ABA Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession and the Commission on the Lawyer's Role in Assuring Every Child a Quality Education.

He is also a past chair of the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation.

Beyond the ABA, Turner is a past president of both the National Bar Association and the State Bar of Michigan.

He serves on the board of directors of Comerica Inc. and Masco Corporation and is active in a host of public service and civic and charitable organizations, including United Way for Southeastern Michigan, the Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit Public Safety Foundation and the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

He also serves as the Special Personal Representative for the Estate of Aretha Franklin.

A recipient of numerous awards and recognitions, Turner is named in the peer review guides Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers®, as well as the Michigan Chronicle Power 50, DBusiness Top Lawyers, Crain’s Detroit Business Power Lawyers and Crain’s Most Connected.

He also has been identified by Michigan Lawyers Weekly and Best Lawyers as a Lawyer of the Year.

Turner received his B.A. from Wayne State University and his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School.

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