The Michigan Association for Justice (MAJ), formerly the Michigan Trial Lawyers Association (MTLA) is a

professional association A professional association (also called a professional body, professional organization, or professional society) usually seeks to advocacy, further a particular profession, the interests of individuals and organisations engaged in that professio ...

of over 1,400 plaintiff's attorneys and staff, with offices in

Lansing, Michigan Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, making ...

. MAJ provides members with professional networking, online listserves, a data bank of relevant court documents and legal experts, and a member directory. The organization also provides an extensive

continuing legal education Continuing legal education (CLE), also known as mandatory or minimum continuing legal education (MCLE) or, in some jurisdictions outside the United States, as continuing professional development, consists of professional education for attorneys t ...

(CLE) program in locations throughout

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. Additionally, MAJ's Lansing-based government affairs staff lobbies legislators and state agencies to advance a pro-civil justice legislative agenda, intended to preserve and enhance the rights of injured people. MAJ states that it "promotes justice and fairness for injured persons, safeguards victims' rights--particularly the right to trial by jury--and strengthens the civil justice system through education and disclosure of information critical to public health and safety." It provides information and professional assistance to its members. It is headquartered in

Lansing Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, makin ...

, Michigan. The MAJ is an affiliated member of the

American Association for Justice The American Association for Justice (AAJ), formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA) is a nonprofit advocacy and lobbying organization for plaintiff's lawyers in the United States. Focused on opposing tort reform, the organiza ...

History

Past presidents

* 1945 - 49 Samuel Charfoos (d) * 1949 - 53 Hon. Theodore R. Bohn * 1953 - 55 Benjamin Marcus (d) * 1955 - 56 Carl Gussen (d) * 1956 - 57 James A. Markle (d) * 1957 - 58 Saul M. Leach * 1958 - 59 Duane S. Van Benschoten (d) * 1959 - 60 I. Goodman Cohen (d) * 1960 - 61 D. Charles Marsten * 1961 - 62 Dean Robb * 1962 - 63 Max Dean * 1963 - 64 George L. Downing * 1964 - 65 Lee C. Dramis (d) * 1965 - 66 Howard Silver * 1966 - 67 James E. Burns (d) * 1967 - 68 Cassius E. Street * 1968 - 69 James W. Baker (d) * 1969 - 70 Eugene D. Mossner * 1970 - 71 Irving Kroll * 1971 - 72 Morton E. Schneider * 1972 - 74 Harry M. Philo * 1974 - 75 George Bedrosian * 1975 - 76 Sheldon L. Miller * 1976 - 77 James F. Logan * 1977 - 78 Clifford H. Hart * 1978 - 79 George M. Maurer, Jr. * 1979 - 80 Jack H. Bindes * 1980 - 81 Jeffrey N. Shillman * 1981 - 82 Paul A. Rosen (d) * 1982 - 83 George T. Sinas * 1983 - 84 Beverly Clark * 1984 - 85 Sherwin Schreier * 1985 - 86 Nicholas J. Rine * 1986 - 87 Hon. William B. Murphy * 1987 - 88 Carl R. Edwards * 1988 - 89 Charles J. Barr * 1989 - 90 Sheldon D. Erlich * 1990 - 91 Barry Waldman * 1991 - 92 Thomas Hay * 1992 - 93 Marjory Cohen * 1993 - 94 Michael Pianin * 1994 - 95 Dave Getto * 1995 - 96 Mark Weiss (d) * 1996 - 97 Richard Skutt * 1997 - 98 Kathy Bogas * 1998 - 99 Carol McNeilage * 1999 - 2000 Barry Goodman * 2000 - 01 Jules Olsman * 2001 - 02 Norman Tucker * 2002 - 03 Alan Helmkamp * 2003 - 04 Brian Waldman * 2004 - 05 Michael Pitt * 2005 - 06 Linda Miller Atkinson * 2006 - 0
Jesse Reiter
* 2007 - 08 Robert Raitt * 2008 - 09 Judy Susskind * 2009 - 10 Richard Warsh * 2010 - 11 Barry J. Gates * 2011 - 12 Michael J. Behm * 2012 - 13 Marc E. Lipton * 2013 - 14 Gerald H. Acker * 2014 - 15 Scott A. Goodwin * 2015 - 16 Ven R. Johnson *2016 - 17 Thomas W. Waun *2017 - 18 Brian J. McKeen *2018 - 19 Debra A. Freid *2019 - 20 Robert J. MacDonald *2020 - 21 Donna M. MacKenzie *2021 - 22 Ronald K. Weiner *2022 - 23 Stuart A. Sklar

Membership and governance

The MAJ is currently presided over by President Stuart A. Sklar. He works with the other officers and MAJ Executive Director Steve Pontoni, who oversees the day-to-day operation of the organization. The executive board, which meets throughout the year, is made up of 120 members including all past presidents.

References

{{Reflist Trade associations based in the United States Michigan law