Michigan
Regulatory profile maintained from Official state bar, court, and regulatory websites (compiled via web research 2026-09-10).
Sources verifiedVerified
Last reviewed 2026-09-10. Always confirm the current rule on the official source before acting.
Bar & Regulation
- Bar / regulatory authority
- State Bar of Michigan
- Attorney registration lookup
- www.michbar.org/licensing
- Rules of professional conduct
- www.michbar.org/ethics
- Ethics opinions
- www.michbar.org/opinions/ethics/numbered_opinions…
- Ethics hotline
- Research pending
- Mandatory bar
- Research pending
- Client security fund
- www.michbar.org/clientprotection
Trust Accounts & Fees
- IOLTA authority
- Michigan State Bar Foundation
- Trust recordkeeping rules
- Under Michigan RPC 1.15, lawyers must hold client funds in a dedicated trust account and preserve complete records of trust account funds and other property for at least five years after termination of representation.
- Fee agreement requirements
- Under Michigan RPC 1.5, the basis or rate of the fee must be communicated to the client, preferably in writing, and contingent fee agreements must be in writing and signed by the client.
- Flat-fee / advance-fee treatment
- Research pending
- Limited-scope representation
- Research pending
CLE & Advertising
- CLE authority
- State Bar of Michigan
- Current CLE requirements
- Michigan does not impose mandatory continuing legal education (MCLE) requirements for active attorneys.
- Advertising / solicitation rules
- www.michbar.org/opinions/ethics/advertising…
- Trade-name / firm-name rules
- Under Michigan RPC 7.1 and 7.5, a lawyer may practice under a trade name provided it is not false, fraudulent, or misleading and does not imply a connection with a government agency.
Practice & Remote
- Remote / virtual practice guidance
- Research pending
- Multijurisdictional / UPL rules
- Research pending
- Succession / designated-successor
- Research pending
- Malpractice insurance rules
- Research pending
- Data security / breach guidance
- Research pending
- Permitted entity types
- Research pending
Business Formation
- Secretary of State
- www.michigan.gov/sos
- State tax department
- www.michigan.gov/taxes
- Local business registration
- Research pending
Courts & E-Filing
- State court homepage
- www.courts.michigan.gov
- Trial court directory
- Research pending
- Appellate court directory
- Research pending
- E-filing portal
- mifile.courts.michigan.gov
- Civil procedure rules
- Research pending
- Rules of evidence
- Research pending
- Case-law search
- www.courts.michigan.gov/opinions-orders/case-searc…
- Statutes / codes
- www.legislature.mi.gov
- Regulations / admin decisions
- Research pending
Federal Courts
- Federal district courts
- Research pending
- Federal bankruptcy courts
- Research pending
- Federal court admission
- Research pending
- Pro hac vice rules
- Out-of-state attorneys may be admitted pro hac vice under MCR 8.126 upon motion filed with the court and payment of the required fee to the State Bar of Michigan.
Support & Resources
- Lawyer assistance / wellness
- www.michbar.org/lap
- Law libraries
- Research pending
- Practice management assistance
- Research pending
- Incubators / mentoring / referral
- Research pending
- Malpractice insurers / guidance
- Research pending
Verification record
- Review date
- 2026-09-10
- Source authority
- Official state bar, court, and regulatory websites (compiled via web research 2026-09-10)
- Status
- Verified
2026-09-10: Regulatory links and rule summaries added from official primary sources.
Report outdated info
Spotted a broken link or changed rule? Submit a correction for human review.
Report correctionABA Model Rules are context only. Each jurisdiction's adopted rules control. Never infer a state requirement from another state.