mobile toggle

Registration for the 2024 Bench Bar Conference, which will be held at Crystal Mountain Resort from Wednesday, September 18, through Friday, September 20, 2024, is now open.  Please use the form below to register online and submit your payment via PayPal.  If you would prefer to pay by check, click here to access a paper registration form.

You must separately book your room reservation at Crystal Mountain Resort. Standard rooms start at $159, plus resort fees and taxes. Rooms are based on availability. The rate runs from 9/16/24 to 9/21/24. An advanced deposit of one night’s room, tax, and fee is required to confirm your reservation. You can make your reservation by calling Crystal Mountain’s Reservations Department at 1-855-520-2974 and reference our group number – 46K4B5. Or, you can book online here. (Please note that this link prepopulates an arrival date of September 18 and departure date of September 20.) All guests will be asked for a credit card upon check-in. Also, any changes or cancellations greater than seven (7) days from arrival may be subject to a $10 administrative fee, and within seven (7) days of arrival will result in the penalty of the first nights charge.

If you would like to purchase a meal package for a guest joining you at the conference, please contact Melissa Rabidoux at melissa_rabidoux@fd.org.

  • The 2024 Bench Bar Conference Registration fee includes a cocktail and hors d’ oeuvres reception Wednesday night, breakfast, lunch, and dinner on Thursday and breakfast on Friday. For prior Bench Bar Conferences, the reception and meals were included with the lodging rate, rather than the Conference fee. The combined rates for 2024 for lodging, meals, and registration, however, are comparable to prior years’ overall costs per person.

  • Round trip transportation to Iron Fish Distillery with distillery tour and/or transportation to St. Ambrose Cellars on Friday, 9/20. A 40-passenger shuttle bus will depart the resort at approximately noon and 1:00 pm and make returns at approximately 3:00 pm and 4:00 pm. The tour of Iron Fish Distillery starts at 1:15 p.m., which follows the grains from field to glass, starting in the distillery and ending with tasting three award-winning spirits in a rickhouse.
  • Please include an extra $35 per person attending with your registration payment.
  • $0.00

The Western District of Michigan Chapter of the FBA is pleased to partner with the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL) to present a trial skills program on June 20, 2024, from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm at the Grand Rapids federal courthouse. The event will feature tips, insights, and demonstrations of four trial components; opening, direct exam, cross exam and closing, by ACTL and FBA attorneys and Western District of Michigan judges. There is no preparation required for registrants who are invited to come for the day to learn from the judges and the trial pros.

The registration fee is $50 and can be paid using the form below. A box lunch and light refreshments throughout the day are included in the registration fee. If you are in need of a scholarship to cover the registration fee, please email Melissa Rabidoux at melissa_rabidoux@fd.org.

Note that immediately following the event, the Young Lawyers Division of the FBA will be hosting its summer mixer. Details to follow.

Please mark your calendars for the 2024 Bench-Bar Conference. We are excited to report the 2024 Bench-Bar Conference will be held at Crystal Mountain Resort from Wednesday, September 18th – Friday, September 20th, 2024! A formal invitation will be sent out soon with registration details.

This year’s Bankruptcy Summer Seminar will occur at Boyne Highlands July 26, 2024 through July 28, 2024. Registration and hotel information will be available in April 2024. If you have any questions, please contact Liz Von Eitzen at evoneitzen@wnj.com or 269.276.8118.

We are pleased to distribute the Fall 2023 issue of Bar & Bench, our chapter’s quarterly newsletter. You can access the Fall 2023 issue HERE.

We hope you enjoy it. If you have any questions or feedback, or are interested in submitting an article, please contact our newsletter editor, Charlie Quigg (cquigg@wnj.com).

2023 JUDICIAL CONFERENCE OF THE SIXTH CIRCUIT
September 6 – 8, 2023
Cleveland, Ohio
Hilton Cleveland Downtown Hotel
Hotel reservation and other conference-related information is available on the registration site.

You may register for the Conference here: https://6thcircuit.swoogo.com/2023

Please register for the Conference as soon as possible, but not later than August 18.
Also note the cutoff date to secure overnight accommodations at the Hilton is July 28.

Question may be directed to the Office of the Circuit Executive
via telephone 513-564-7270 or via email at CA06-Conf@ca6.uscourts.gov

In June 2023, the District Court for the Western District of Michigan proposed amendments to the Local Civil Rules and the Local Criminal Rules that affect attempts to obtain motion concurrence.  The proposed amendments to Local Criminal Rule 12.4 and Local Civil Rule 7.1(d) add requirements to the efforts to obtain concurrence and add requirements to the certificate to be filed if concurrence is not obtained. For those who practice regularly in the Court, please consider taking a look and providing any input by July 31, 2023. The proposed amendments are here and the process for comment can be found here.

 

We are pleased to distribute the Summer 2023 issue of Bar & Bench, our chapter’s quarterly newsletter. You can access the Summer 2023 issue HERE.

We hope you enjoy it. If you have any questions or feedback, or are interested in submitting an article, please contact our newsletter editor, Charlie Quigg (cquigg@wnj.com).

The Western District of Michigan Chapter of the FBA is pleased to partner with the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL) to present a trial skills program, which will take place in the Grand Rapids Federal Courthouse on June 21, 2023, from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm. The event will feature Chief Judge Hala Jarbou, Judge Paul Maloney, Magistrate Judge Phil Green, and Magistrate Judge Sally Berens, along with ACTL and FBA trial lawyers who will provide tips, insights and demonstrations of four trial components; opening, direct exam, cross exam and closing. There is no preparation required for registrants who are invited to come for the day to learn from the judges and the trial pros.

6/19/23 UPDATE – This program is now full and registration is closed.  Thanks for your interest!

We are pleased to distribute the Spring 2023 issue of Bar & Bench, our chapter’s quarterly newsletter. You can access the Spring 2023 issue HERE.

We hope you enjoy it. If you have any questions or feedback, or are interested in submitting an article, please contact our newsletter editor, Charlie Quigg (cquigg@wnj.com).

©2024 West Michigan Chapter of the Federal Bar Association