When circumstances dictate, an applicant will be called into an in-person meeting with State Bar incarnated in the form of a District Committee. The District Committee is made up of lawyers appointed by the State Bar of Michigan’s Board of Commissioners based upon their locality. The districts correspond to the State Bar of Michigan’s geographic regions. The members of the committee are appointed for three years. All members of the committee are volunteers. It is considered an honor to be a member of the District Committee and the individual members take their work seriously.
It is considered an ‘informal’ meeting according to the Rules on Admission to the State Bar. The roles and duties of Committee members are dictated by the State Bar rules regarding character & fitness. The conduct of the district committee meetings are dictated by the same rules. All the meetings are taped though the contents of the meeting are not transcribed nor are the tapes available to the applicant. The District Committee will meet, review the applicant’s application, meet with and interview the candidate and make a decision about the candidate’s fitness. They will then issue an opinion which is reviewed by the Standing Committee on Character & Fitness who can either accept the District’s recommendation and pass the approved application to the Board of Law Examiners for their approval, accept the recommendation but still want to meet with the candidate or reject the applicant giving the applicant the opportunity to appear before a standing committee to make the case for an applicant’s requisite character & fitness. The candidate may bring a lawyer to the meeting as well as other supporting materials that might affect the committee’s decision.