Raising the Bar Through

Networking, Practice Development and Community Service

BarNews   December 2011 - Vol 1, Issue 2

January 26 - DMBA Foundation Archer Public Service Award Gala honoring Maura Corrigan.  Each year, the DMBA Foundation presents the Archer Award to recognize outstanding public service by a member of the legal profession focusing on the metropolitan Detroit community. It is given to individuals who have established a career dedicated to the betterment of both our profession and our community.  This year's honoree is Maura Corrigan, Director of the Michigan Department of Human Services and former Michigan Supreme Court Justice, who has demonstrated a lifetime commitment to public service and the welfare of Michigan's families and children.

Enjoy a strolling supper and full bar as you experience the hospitality and beauty of the Detroit Wayne County Port Authority, one of Detroit's newest waterfront treasures.  The Archer Gala is traditionally held at unique and new or restored jewels in Detroit such as the Guardian Building, the Fort Shelby Hotel and the YMCA, and the Port Authority is the latest.  Come enjoy, see and be seen as part of Detroit's outstanding legal community.  

Registration is $125 per person, and proceeds benefit the DMBA Foundation's Access to Justice and public service programs.  6:00 - 8:00 p.m.   Click here to register.

DMBA Barristers Section's "Happy Feet" Sock Drive - Staying warm in the winter can be a tough challenge for the homeless and needy, especially when they are unable to maintain dry feet.  The Fort Street Open Door Program, which provides food and clothing to the homeless and needy in Detroit, is in desperate need of adult socks.  The goal is to have enough socks to be able to provide guests with at least two pairs of socks - one to wear and one to dry.
 
To help them reach their goal, the DMBA's Barristers Section is asking for donations of new and/or gently used socks through the month of December.  Let's help everyone in the community maintain Happy Feet this winter!
 
If you are interested in donating socks, please contact Michelle T. Thomas at (313) 393-7508 or mthomas@bodmanlaw.com by December 30, 2011.

2012 School Partnership Program Launches in January - Each year the Barristers Section's School Partnership Program ("SPP") brings a taste of the legal field into the Detroit Public Schools.  Through an essay contest, mock trials, Law Day activities, career panels and other activities, volunteer attorneys and law students share their expertise, enthusiasm and personal experiences with participating high school students.

As plans for the 2012 SPP are finalized, we are seeking volunteers to take part in the various components of the program.  Whether you have an hour or two to spare, or would like to work with students over the entire semester, we have an opportunity that will fit your availability.  For more information, or to volunteer, contact SPP Co-Chairs Kimberly Yourchock at kimberly.yourchock@jacksonlewis.com , or Clarence Dass at cdass@grplc.com.

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Member Benefit:  SMART Detroit Conference Rooms 

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On November 10 the vintage Cliff Bell's jazz club behind the Fox Theater hosted a mix of labor, employee, management and other DMBA lawyers.  They set aside philosophical and professional differences of opinion in favor of camaraderie, a classic atmosphere and great cheeses.  Thanks very much to Labor & Employment Section co-chairs Michelle Crockett (Miller Canfield) and Charlotte Croson (Bogas Koncius & Croson) for creating this event.

As one seasoned plaintiffs lawyer confided at the mixer, it is much nicer and easier to work with opposing counsel - including giving and receiving professional courtesies - when you have socialized with them at bar association events.  Pictured above, William Giovan (Charfoos, Giovan & Birach), Sam Morgan (Gasiorek Morgan Greco & McCauley), Linda Foster-Wells (Keller Thoma), Don Gasiorek (GMGM) and new lawyer Daimeon Cotton (clerking at The Miller law Firm). Pictured on the right, Tom Esordi (Kitch), co-chairs Michelle Crockett and Charlotte Croson and former DMBA president John Runyan (Sachs Waldman).

 Click here to see more photos from the Labor & Employment Section Mixer at Cliff Bell's.  

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Recent Event:  Lawyer 2 Lawyer:  Mentoring in Motion & Mixer

Holiday Party Co-Chairs Paul Millenbach (Foster Swift Collins & Smith) and Allyson Miller (Dickinson Wright) welcomed more than 80 DMBA members, friends and colleagues to Texas de Brazil Steakhouse on November 30 for the first party of the 2011 holiday season.   

Pictured on the left:  Ronda Tate and Reginald Dozier from Lewis & Munday, Beth Kerwin (Honigman), Jim Rosenfeld (Butzel), and Honigman's Arthur O'Reilly and Hayley Nyeholt.

All thoughts of Thanksgiving turkey vanished as the attendees enjoyed the TdB's signature buffet, paired nicely with laughter, networking and good cheer.  In addition to free-flowing conversation, attendees had the opportunity to play "Jingle Mingle Bingo".  Those who successfully made their way through the room, learning unique things about their colleagues along the way, won gift cards that were generously donated by Dickinson Wright. 

Special thanks to the evening's sponsors:  Foster Swift Collins & Smith and Vincent Mastrovito for Heritage Private Wealth. 

Pictured right:  New lawyer Julianna Rivera, Carl Gilmer-Hill (U.S. Attorney's Office), new lawyer Alexander Jerome, Foster Swift's Alicia Birach and Ray Littleton, James Britton (Sachs Waldman) and Andrew Mast (Clark Hill).

Barristers Section President Anne-Marie Vercruysse Welch (Clerk Hill) and Tiffany Buckley-Norwood (Jackson Lewis) are both management side employment lawyers.   

Click here to see more photos from the Jingle Mingle at the Texas de Brazil steakhouse. 

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1.  EXPAND YOUR PRACTICE AREAS.  Develop professional competence in as many practice areas as you can.  Specializing in one or two narrow areas of the law makes it much more difficult to secure and retain business, manage cash flow, and more generally, survive in challenging economic times.  Of course, never accept a matter for which you lack the skills or experience to handle in a competent manner.  

2.  CLOSELY MONITOR YOUR RECURRING EXPENSES.  Excessive monthly or recurring expenses have been the death knell for many businesses.  Getting a great deal on a computer or other infrequent expense does you no good if you commit to a bad lease for office space, copier, insurance or the like.  Carefully research, compare and negotiate the best deals possible for all of your recurring expenses.  It will be time well spent and friendly to your cash flow and bottom line. 

3.  DEVISE A MARKETING PLAN FOR YOUR CLIENTS.  It is far easier and less expensive to persuade your current or past clients to send you referrals than it is to persuade strangers to walk through your door.  Do a good job for your clients, treat them with respect, and devise a plan to keep in contact with them even after they no longer have active business with your office. 

4.  DEVELOP RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER PROFESSIONALS.  For legal matters which you are not competent to handle, develop relationships with other attorneys that accept such referrals.  Even if the referral is such that a referral fee is not appropriate, having the ability provide value to that client works to your benefit.  If the client realizes that even if you cannot accept the matter, you can refer the client to someone who can, that client is far more likely to return to you in the future for other matters within your areas of expertise. 

5.  NETWORK.  Given the potential isolation that can result from solo or small firm practice, it is imperative to join associations or committees to network with other professionals.  Joining the Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association (DMBA), for example, is one such opportunity.  Through events sponsored by the DMBA throughout the year, you will have the opportunity to network with professionals you otherwise might never meet, and develop mutual referral sources for your practices.  

Peter R. Tochman is the principal of The Law Offices of Peter R. Tochman, where he focuses his practice in the areas of probate, estate planning, family law, criminal and general civil litigation.  He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association and on the Association's Judicial Candidate Evaluation Committee.  Mr. Tochman is a past member of the State Bar of Michigan Member Services and Lawyer Referral Service Committees. 

As most young lawyers, I came into the practice of law with a dream.  My dream was to take that which was fading and spring life back into what I saw as seeds of possibility.  It was my initial goal to practice commercial real estate and play a role in the revitalization of the City of Detroit where I was raised.  However, being at a small firm gave me the unique ability to cultivate and strengthen my practical skills through a variety of practice areas. Now my experience ranges from commercial real estate to education law, including the vast set of challenges faced by school districts and charter schools.  I believe this mix of practice has given me a diversity of skills and perspectives which are critical to a lawyer's "brand" in today's competitive market.  While I still have dreams of creating something new, now I look at each experience to practice law as an opportunity to achieve that by maturing into a better legal professional.  Furthermore, I have learned that it is not where you end up on this journey but those experiences along the way which ultimately define your career and the legacy you leave behind for the next generation of lawyers. 

I first joined the DMBA in 1990 after graduating from UDM law school and becoming an associate at Keller Thoma.  In approximately 2007, then-DMBA president Louis Theros asked me to join the Board of Directors.  Bar associations provide an excellent opportunity to meet attorneys working in the same community, and to join forces on law-related or philanthropic events.  For new attorneys, it is invaluable to meet other young attorneys who are going through similar life/work experiences, or more senior attorneys who may offer some useful advice.  As a judge, it is always nice to speak with attorneys in an informal atmosphere, and the DMBA provides many opportunities to do so.

I am extremely fortunate to be a judge on the Court of Appeals.  All of my colleagues and the entire staff are wonderful people, and the wide variety of cases we decide each month always keeps things interesting (and the Supreme Court busy!). 

Outside of work, my hobbies are (1) trout and salmon fishing, (2) doing anything outside (hiking, jogging, yard work), (3) watching all Detroit sports teams, and the most challenging of all (4) attempting to make my three teenage kids laugh at my jokes like they did when they were all below the age of 10 (or were they just humoring me back then?).