By Marley Van Fossen, Screening Integration Coordinator at Elder Law of Michigan
On August 7, 2019, Elder Law of Michigan will honor Gary Bauer with the 2019 Joe D. Sutton Call to Justice Award for his elder abuse prevention work.
The Joe D. Sutton Call to Justice Awards honor those that share the mission of Elder Law of Michigan, Inc. to advocate for, educate, and assist those in need, with a continued focus on older adults and persons with disabilities.
Keith Morris, President of Elder Law of Michigan, said “There are many older adults in the Tri-County area that are better off legally because of Professor Gary Bauer and his students at WMU Cooley Law School. He has dedicated many years to making sure seniors in the area receive the legal help they need.”
Gary Bauer is a tenured Professor of Law and Auxiliary Dean at Western Michigan University, Cooley Law School in Lansing, Michigan where he has been employed full time since 1997. He is the Director of the Sixty Plus Elderlaw Estate Planning Clinic which he established in 1999. He is also the current Chair of the ABA GP Solo, Small Firm Division Legal Educator’s Committee.
Professor Bauer has written numerous law journal articles and published multiple monographs in other professional publications. He has been a featured speaker at Michigan’s Solo Institute and regularly is called upon to help practitioners, and the public alike, to better understand the principles of estate planning and practice management for lawyers. As past Chair of the Law Practice Management Section of the State Bar of Michigan, he was instrumental in the early formation and establishment of the Michigan Institute of Continuing Legal Education Solo Institute. He currently serves on that organization’s Executive Planning Committee. In 2016 he was awarded the General Practice Solo Division of the American Bar Association’s Trainer Award for 2016 and also recognized by the State Bar of Michigan with the Outstanding Achievement Award presented by that Bar’s Solo and Small Firm Section in that year.
Professor Bauer has been very actively engaged in helping students and recent graduates prepare for the business of law either in solo or small firm practice. He conducts classes to train and assist law students to embark on careers which make sense for each of them. He has sponsored and maintained a Google Group as a listserv for over 350 grads and students in their efforts to communicate with one another and establish themselves in practice. He also published over 130 blogs in the last year and a half at sololawyerbydesign.com which is full of tips on how to succeed in practice.
Elder Law of Michigan is proud to honor Gary with the 2019 Joe D. Sutton Call to Justice Award. Join us in honoring Gary and his years of service in making a difference in the lives of older adults Wednesday, August 7th, from 6 pm to 8 pm at UrbanBeat in Lansing. RSVP for the Mid-Michigan event.
Marley Van Fossen is a Screening Integration Coordinator for MiCAFE at Elder Law of Michigan. She has been a member of the Elder Law of Michigan team since October 2018. As a Screening Integration Coordinator, Marley assists seniors with benefit applications and develops relationships with community partners in Michigan.