MI Bar Association president visits Upper Peninsula

MARQUETTE — The new president of the Michigan Bar Association says he wants lawyers to use technology and other means to help protect their clients and reduce their bills.

Tom Rombach of Macomb County met with Upper Peninsula attorneys this week to talk about the bundling of legal services. That could allow clients to save money by preparing some of their own case.

“To explore the possibility, together with a partnership without Michigan Supreme Court, on unbundling legal services for a la carte representation, also called limited scope representation,” Rombach said. He was sworn in on September 18th by a Michigan Supreme Court justice. “Lawyers would be powered to do certain aspects of a case without having to take on the burden of an entire client’s case. Also, the client will not have to pay the entire freight of what it would cost to go from beginning to end.”

Examples include divorces, during which some clients may not need counseling and troubleshooting from their lawyer on certain issues.

“It would still protect the public, because oftentimes, particularly in uncontested divorces, (and) for those with limited assets or those particularly without children where the (county) Friend of the Court need not to be involved in order to protect the children’s best interest,” Rombach said. “That the public would then be well served by identifying what they (clients) need the help with.”

Rombock also favors the e-filing of court documents by lawyers rather than appearing at a government clerk’s office with paperwork that needs to be scanned.