When Darnell Barton describes himself as a young lawyer, he makes a point to put air quotes around the word “young.” At 42 and a 2018 graduate of the University of North Texas at Dallas, he started his legal career a bit later than the average member of the State Bar of Michigan Young Lawyer Section.
But that doesn’t mean that the Young Lawyer Section, commonly referred to as YLS, hasn’t played a role in helping him reach his goals. Far from it. In fact, YLS has been instrumental in helping Barton engage in and expand the service-oriented work he’s always been dedicated to, not to mention his own career.
What has YLS provided him and others?
“In short: resources, resources, resources,” he said.
Barton, who serves as YLS treasurer, is the founder of Barton Law, a Detroit firm that specializes in criminal and civil law, particularly for the underserved.
He is also intimately involved with The Brotherhood, a Detroit-based mentoring program for young men started by the police department’s Ceasefire Detroit and the Ford Fund’s Men of Courage. It
was that work, in fact, that motivated him to become actively involved with YLS.
During an event where Barton and other mentors were playing basketball with their mentees, he was approached by former YLS President Coleman Potts, who told him that YLS would be interested in helping The Brotherhood.
At that point, Barton had just started his career in the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office and, like a lot of new lawyers, barely knew what YLS was.
When YLS joined forces with The Brotherhood, he suddenly had a line of attorneys willing to get involved in helping people. YLS even hosted a year-end event in 2023 to provide free legal help and information to 200 families in various areas including business law, criminal law, and immigration law.
In addition to the service YLS has helped provide, it’s also helped Barton expand his own network and take advantage of other opportunities. For example, a recent YLS event allowed members to meet with Michigan Supreme Court Justice Kyra Harris Bolden.
“I mean, we’re in a private room with a Supreme Court justice. And the youngest one at that,” Barton said.
Barton said Bolden was open about some aspects of her personal life that allowed him and other YLS members to form a bond with the justice.
“And I would have never talked to this woman, never talked to this woman, had it not been for YLS,” he said.
Through YLS, Barton said, he’s been able to make further connections that have led to other opportunities. He is currently YLS representative to the American Bar Association, which in turn led to his involvement with the ABA’s Men of Color Project, which he now chairs.
Young (or “young”) attorneys who are, as he once was, unaware of what YLS can offer are missing out on all kinds of opportunities, he said.
“Do you want to know the inner workings of the courts? Do you want to know how to be better at your craft? Do you want to know how to impress your current bosses? Do you want to know how to become your own boss? What do you want to know? I implore you to come to YLS, because if we don’t have the answer, we will get you the answer,” Barton said.
And sometimes what YLS offers just helps new attorneys figure out, well, how to live the life of an attorney. That might be as simple as reaching out to another member asking for advice about how to balance getting to daycare and meeting court appointments.
“We want them to know that there’s a community of lawyers out here who you can talk to, that you can reach out to,” he said.