Michigan on the Move
Our chapter’s innovations aren’t limited to the work we’re doing in Ann Arbor. We are also taking steps toward building connections with the Michigan Legal Community and the broader Federalist Society Network.
Courtside Video Series
This year, our March Madness wasn’t limited to a college basketball tournament. We brought the court to the court! In our new video series, we sat down with court of appeals judges to hear about their life & the law.
Watch episode 1 where we caught up with Hon. Chad Readler to discuss the law, his experience as a litigator & jurist, and what Michigan athletics mean to him.
Stay tuned for future episodes!
Second Annual
Michigan Chapters Regional Banquet
Again with the generous support of the national office, our chapter was honored to host Federalists from across the state, including students, lawyers, and judges for our second annual
The event centered around a panel
of distinguished Michigan jurists:
Hon. Stephen J. Murphy, III
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan
Hon. Mark T. Boonstra
Michigan Court of Appeals
Hon. David W. McKeague
U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
The State of the Chapters
This year, we added a segment titled “The State of the Chapters” where the chapter presidents from all Michigan chapters, including Hillsdale College and the Michigan Lawyers Chapter, presented to banquet attendees. Our chapter has led the charge in cultivating cross-chapter relationships to increase the reach of the Federalist Society in Michigan.
We were proud to host more than 150 Federalists, including three Assistant United States Attorneys, six Michigan State Court judges, four federal judges, and two prominent legal scholars. This year’s banquet solidified the event as an annual premier regional celebration that we are honored to continue.
SCOTUS VISIT
SCOTUS VISIT
For the first time in the chapter’s known history, we successfully organized a SCOTUS visit to meet Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Our delegation included 20 Michigan Law FedSoc executive board members––current and alumni.
Our travel and lodging were subsidized by law school funding that we applied for and then negotiated up. The law school usually caps funding for conference attendance in the fall, allowing only half of the funding a student organization could receive in the year. But we appealed the decision, submitted additional documents, and ultimately received the maximum annual funds the Office of Student Life awards student organizations for conference travel.
We ensured our visit would leave a good impression on the Justice and his staff, not only of our chapter but of the Federalist Society as a whole. In good Midwestern fashion, we brought boxes of Michigan fudge (enough for his clerks and assistants to share), handwritten thank you notes with our embossed logo, and an embroidered quarter-zip from our storefront with our logo for Justice Kavanaugh.
Grano Dinner
Each year, the Michigan Lawyers Chapter hosts the Grano Dinner which honors Professor Grano, a bulwark in conservative legal thought. This year featured a fireside chat with former Attorney General Ashcroft.
For the first time, our chapter organized a contingent to attend. Eight members of our chapter also volunteered at the event, enmeshing our involvement in the broader Michigan Federalist Network.
