By Scarlet Thalman
BCR Correspondent
St. Joseph, MI — Barry Conybeare of St. Joseph, Michigan, was named president of the Michigan Association for Justice (MAJ), marking the second president from West Michigan in the organization’s 74-year history and the first in 40 years, beginning his one-year term June 1. Conybeare attributes this victory to the pandemic and the transition to digital meeting platforms. “I owe it all to COVID. I would never be president if it weren’t for COVID and the switch to Zoom,” he said.
He also laid out significant changes being made to these educational programs under his presidency, including an initiative to make the organization less divided. “This year in October, we’re having a three-day convention to try to bring members together who practice in all different areas of civil trial work,” he said. He stated this as a priority because of the benefits for the organization as a whole: “If we can get everybody together there’s enhanced learning, camaraderie across the practice groups, and community.”
The top priority of the organization at the moment is passing bad faith legislation to prevent insurance companies from engaging in tactics of “deny, delay, defend” — meaning instead of paying valid claims or paying fair compensation for valid claims, they are stalling the claims process, rejecting payment, and dragging the case out in court. Conybeare explained, “Michigan is one of only six or seven states in the country that doesn’t have bad faith law.” If one were passed, residents would be able to not only sue to collect the baseline benefits they owe, but also get compensated for the deliberate unfair practices. He also made the distinction that this legislation is not only significant for individuals but also businesses, as they can also be a victim of unpaid claims. Bad faith legislation is pending in the Michigan Senate right now, according to Conybeare, and it has already passed a committee and is being considered by the full Senate.
Conybeare is excited that the environment in Michigan is improving for civil justice victims. “I’ve been a personal injury lawyer here in St. Joe for 32 years. I’ve had to have a lot of very difficult conversations with clients about how I can’t help them because of the state of the law. And that pendulum is starting to swing where more people are able to seek and protect their civil justice, or we can do that on their behalf.”
The MAJ is a nonprofit membership association with the objective of supporting trial lawyers in pursuit of a fair and effective legal system. The organization has approximately 1,300 members across the state of Michigan.