Law student takes aim on career in courtroom
By Sheila Pursglove
Legal News
Nicole Joseph has been passionate about pursuing law as a career since childhood.
“My siblings and I have always been encouraged by our parents to not only pursue a career that will provide us with a living, but to also pursue a career that we genuinely love and that would put us in a position to help others,” she says. “I’ve always been a strong writer, I’ve never shied away from public speaking, and I’ve always worked jobs in bars and restaurants that involved always interacting with people. Attorneys are in one of the best positions to help people when they are in the most need. Law was just the perfect fit for me.”
After earning her undergrad degree in communication and media studies from the University of Michigan, Joseph headed to Detroit Mercy Law School, where she is in her final year.
“I love the small community feel because I’ve been able to build worthwhile relationships with my peers that will carry over into the professional field,” she says. “I also appreciate the fact it’s so easy to access a faculty member if I ever need clarification on a point from lecture or help organizing an event for Moot Court.”
A member of Moot Court, Joseph relishes the opportunity to experience the practical and adversarial aspect of the law.
“It’s so important for attorneys to know how to be an excellent legal researcher and writer. But it’s equally important to know how to concisely and persuasively advocate for their clients,” she says. “Moot Court has given us so many opportunities to learn from experienced appellate and trial attorneys, and we even have the opportunity to articulate our own arguments in front of Michigan Court of Appeals judges.”
Joseph has been selected this year to compete on a national team, with the opportunity to take her skill set and see how it fares in comparison to other advocates from across the nation.
“Moot Court is truly one of the most worthwhile organizations I’ve ever been a part of during my time at Detroit Mercy Law and it helped me realize my desire to become a litigation attorney,” she says.
Joseph also is one of three executive directors on the Moot Court Board of Advocates, with responsibilities focusing primarily around organizing the school’s national team competitors and sending them to compete in Moot Court competitions around the nation.
“We have send-off competitions where our Junior Members observe our national team competitors’ arguments before they compete,” she says. “When our Junior Members see all of the national team’s work and realize they have the passion to be in that position during their 3L year, that truly makes the whole process worth it.”
Joseph, who intends to specialize in litigation, is taking many classes that focus on the litigation process and that provide practical experience.
“My employer, Secrest Wardle, specializes in so many areas of the law that I feel the need to take classes in every area of the law to absorb as much information as I can,” she says.
In her 1L year, Joseph was a member of the Criminal Law Society.
“It was a good way for me to get involved in the school and meet some of my classmates,” she says.
She also worked briefly as a research assistant, doing background research into cases to help a professor write an article; and spent a year on Law Review.
“I really enjoyed the fact I had the opportunity to conduct my own legal research and write an article that could potentially have an impact on the law,” she says.
In the summer following her 1L year, Joseph interned as a judicial clerk for Magistrate Judge Mona K. Majzoub in Detroit.
“I’m forever grateful to her for taking me on because that was one of the most interesting and valuable internship positions I’ve ever held,” Joseph says. “I had the opportunity to develop my legal writing and learned how to write from the voice of the court instead of as an advocate. One of the best experiences was getting the opportunity to sit in on high profile criminal trials conducted during that time period.”
Joseph has been clerking since January for Secrest Wardle in Troy, in areas such as motor vehicle litigation, municipal law, and premises liability.
“Secrest Wardle is helping me grow into the litigation attorney I aspire to be,” she says. “The attorneys have been so welcoming and encourage us to shadow them to motion hearings. This has really helped us obtain a well-rounded understanding of how the litigation process works. I genuinely look forward to practicing there as an associate after passing the bar because this is the place I want to be.”
A native of Lathrup Village, Joseph currently makes her home in Ferndale. She is involved with Shrine Catholic Church in Royal Oak, having attended Shrine’s school system from K-12.
“I made some of my lifelong friends there and still participate in community events,” she says.
Away from her studies, Joseph enjoys intramural volleyball and yoga, and with her fiancé, Brett Windecker—an attorney at Anselmi, Mierzejewski, Ruth and Sowle in Bloomfield Hills—is training to participate in a half-marathon.
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