Long before the Michigan Supreme Court adopted the 12 Principles of Professionalism for Lawyers and Judges, Joan Vestrand was hard at work advancing the importance of civility and professionalism to a functioning and effective legal system. A lawyer with more than 40 years of experience in legal and judicial ethics, her commitment to the subject continues today as a member of the State Bar of Michigan Special Committee on Professionalism and Civility.
The committee works to promote the highest standards of professional conduct among lawyers and judges, consistent with the principles adopted in 2020 by the Michigan Supreme Court in Administrative Order 2020-23. Through educational initiatives and collaborative efforts with legal and judicial stakeholders, the committee is working to advance the principles and the importance of professionalism, including the rule of law, in strengthening public faith and trust in our system of justice.
In 2018, Vestrand participated in the Promoting Professionalism in the 21st Century Summit chaired by former State Bar President Edward Pappas. The summit gathered more than 80 judges and attorneys at the Michigan Supreme Court Hall of Justice to address the need for greater professionalism in the legal community. The summit spawned the creation of a Professionalism and Civility Work Group in 2019, with Vestrand serving as a member. Over the next year, Vestrand worked with others to develop the 12 Principles of Professionalism.
Asked about being part of this monumental task, she said she was honored to have the privilege to be involved in something so important.
“I was fortunate enough to be a part of that working group,” she said. “I did the initial research and worked very closely in drafting those principles, which then of course went through the Representative Assembly and then to the (Michigan Supreme) Court. Lots of people had their hands on them, and it was really rewarding to play a role.”
In December 2020, the Supreme Court issued Administrative Order 2020-23 adopting the principles to guide, inspire, and govern all Michigan lawyers and judges in this vital area. After the order was issued, the work group became a permanent State Bar committee charged with continuing to advance professionalism principles.
Vestrand’s volunteer work with the committee is a natural extension of her professional commitment to ethics. As a law student, Vestrand’s father, the late Ronald R. Pentecost, also an attorney, encouraged her to investigate different areas of the law to find her interests. In her third year of law school, she served as a law clerk for the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission and found her passion.
“It just appealed to me, and I really didn’t think about why that might be,” she said. “Then it kind of dawned on me that growing up, I was a person who always gravitated towards stories with morals — “Aesop’s Fables”, “Grimms’ Fairy Tales”, and Dr. Seuss. I’ve always really been fascinated by what makes people tick, like, ‘Why do we do the things that we do?’ Which is why ethics is such a great fit for me.”
Now a professor at Western Michigan University Cooley Law School, her experience also includes several years as a staff attorney at the Attorney Grievance Commission, co-founding a law firm specializing in defending lawyers and judges facing ethical allegations, being an Attorney Discipline Board hearing panel member, acting as a special master for the Michigan Supreme Court, and serving on the SBM Standing Committee on Character and Fitness. Vestrand, a recipient of the State Bar Champion of Justice Award for her work in the field of legal ethics, was instrumental in helping to form the Professionalism in Action orientation program in which students at the state’s five law schools discuss with attorneys and judges ethics issues that can arise in the profession. Looking at similar programs in other states and adding her own stamp, Vestrand worked with Pappas to develop the offering. The first session was held in 2009 and continues to be part of presentations to new law students today.
Vestrand said that current goal of the Committee on Professionalism and Civility is to further spread the word on the professionalism principles and their importance to the effective administration of justice as well as building the public’s trust, faith, and confidence in our legal system. The committee has a speaker’s bureau to better acquaint lawyers and judges with the professionalism principles. Vestrand, who chairs the subcommittee that creates the material used in committee presentations, noted that speakers are available to all law firms, law schools, and professional organizations upon request and at no cost. To learn more, visit michbar.org/professionalism.
Another committee goal is working with the courts to incorporate the principles into all phases of litigation with the expectation that all persons involved in the legal process conduct themselves with professionalism and civility. Vestrand said the principles have played a significant role in how she teaches her Cooley students about the legal profession — “They really are a roadmap for practice success. That’s exactly what they are,” she said — and also noted the importance of getting involved in the law beyond their practice.
“I tell students all the time, the practice of law is very rewarding, but it pales in comparison to the returns from actively participating in the profession,” Vestrand said. “Those rewards are amazing.”