June 1997, the first issue of The Legal Advocator rolled off the press. For the next five years the Advocator would provide thousands of readers with practical legal information in terms that the lay person could understand.
The Legal Advocator was the brainchild of then Farmington Hills, Michigan criminal defense attorney, Todd Levitt. Levitt says the idea came to him one day while he was in the woods riding his mountain bike. As he rode he thought to himself the laws belong to the people not the lawyers, judges or legislatures thus, the laws should be written in terms that the people can understand. More than 20,000 copies were published each month and distributed to more than 300 locations across the state of Michigan. The focus of the legal publication was not to take positions on issues or support any political view. The purpose was only to have articles written by lawyers and people in the legal community providing information and clarity. To ensure this formula Levitt recruited a dozen of his closest attorney friends such as attorney Steve Lehto to provide monthly columns. After 5 years of around the clock publishing, Levitt found himself at a crossroads. His law practice had grown to a point where it needed all of his attention. Painfully the decision was made to publish one last Advocator and then shut it down. Fast forward 2011 where the internet provides an overabundance of information. Researching the few legal sites that provide information for the public, Levitt once again saw a huge void that could only be filled by launching the online version of his popular Legal Advocator. Levitt having relocated his Criminal Defense Law Firm to Mount Pleasant, Michigan, is once again providing the people what is rightfully theirs. The Legal Advocator will be launched online next month December 2011
www.thelegaladvocator.com