By Sheila Pursglove
Legal News
Maya Younis has always been interested in the power of storytelling and of the storyteller. That passion drew her to earn an undergrad degree in communications and journalism from the University of Michigan-Dearborn and a master’s degree in creative writing from Wayne State University.
“I spent my time as an undergraduate student carefully studying the power of mass communication and media messages and learning the potential of words—how they can be sequenced to sway, build, or destroy,” she says. “I pursued creative writing so I could do justice to stories often glossed over or flattened in journalism in the interest of deadlines, busy schedules, and dwindling attention spans. I hoped thoughtfully writing towards the truth and giving space to nuance would spark the kind of dialogue that would propel meaningful and lasting social change.
“Before law school, I set out to preserve and illuminate the stories of the targeted and disenfranchised. However, I quickly recognized that there’s a limit to implementing long-term and material change without a thorough understanding of the law. I hope to use my legal training to help shape public policy to impact those stories.”
Younis is now nearing the end of her studies at Detroit Mercy Law School, where she enjoys the sense of community.
“It’s so incredibly special,” she says. “The professors and administrators put the needs and the well-being of students first and constantly reach out to check in to make sure we’re supported. I also love the hands-on practical experience through the clinics and simulations of the law firm practice program.”
As president of the Women’s Law Caucus (WLC), Younis has made it her mission to increase community outreach initiatives and build partnerships with other student organizations to create networking opportunities and programming that explores the overlapping injustices experienced by marginalized groups.
“My favorite part is that I get to work with some of the most inspiring women on the Executive Board to create an inclusive space and unique programming for students to explore and give back in the city of Detroit,” she says.
One of her greatest efforts resulted in the WLC receiving a national award. As a 1L student and general member of the WLC, she led a month-long menstrual hygiene donation drive benefiting homeless and at-risk women in metro Detroit and raised awareness about period poverty. In four weeks, she secured more than $1,000 in monetary donations and roughly 4,000 units in-kind to distribute to local organizations—The Ruth Ellis Center, Vista Maria, Alternatives for Girls, the Pope Francis Center, and YWCA’s Domestic Violence Shelter, Interim House.
Her effort earned the WLC recognition and a 2020 award from the National Conference of Women’s Bar Associations, presented at the NCWBA’s Awards Luncheon at last July’s National Women’s Bar Leadership Summit “Owning the ‘Change’ Reaction.”
Due to the success of the donation drive, and positive feedback from the community, when Younis became WLC president in her 2L year, she made the drive an annual event; and in its second year, the drive provided supplies for two organizations as well as local community members affected by the pandemic.
“As an Arab-American Muslim woman, women’s rights have been central to the work I have done and am drawn to,” she says. “I believe addressing period poverty is one non-negotiable solution to achieving gender equity because it provides a pathway to economic freedom and opportunity.”
As WLC president, Younis organized and secured a grant to host a community lawyering workshop, “How to Be a Movement Lawyer,” with the Detroit Justice Center.
“The workshop was created to diversify the University’s programming and educate students interested in using their legal skills to advocate for vulnerable populations,” she says.
Last October, she worked in conjunction with Judge Michelle Rick and with Zenell Brown, Michigan state chair of the National Association of Women Judges (NAWJ), to host a virtual MentorJet speed mentoring program at the law school. MentorJet drew more than 30 participants, including students, practicing attorneys, and judges.
In addition to providing networking opportunities, Younis is compelled to provide female law students with the necessary skills to navigate their careers; and is working with NCWBA and WLAM attorneys to implement a “Negotiating Salaries” workshop in March.
And last year, WLC collected more than 25 used cell phones and accessories to raise funds for the National Coalition Against Domestic’s (NCAD) programs to end intimate partner violence.
Younis also serves as executive vice president of the Student Bar Association and is involved in the Arab American Law Student Association and the Black Law Students Association.
“I love each organization’s commitment to public service,” she says. “It’s great being in the company of so many other students who share a similar mission—to help make the world a little better than we found it.”
Last August, in her role as executive vice president of the Student Bar Association, Younis organized a COVID-compliant clean up with “Belle Isle Is Beautiful,” a campaign that educates about the impact of harmful debris in parks and waterways. She also organized a drive-through voter registration event at the law school in October to activate homeless and immigrant voters.
Younis also has kept busy with internships; at the end of her 1L year, she interned with Judge Arthur Tarnow at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
“I loved getting a behind-the-scenes look at the inner-workings of the court and the opportunity to learn from various attorneys, law clerks, and judges,” she says. “One particularly rewarding assignment involved a Section 1983 police misconduct lawsuit. It was exciting to apply my legal research and writing skills to a topic that touches so many people I know, and gain practice in weighing in as a neutral party instead of my usual role as an advocate.”
Later that summer, she interned with The Miller Law Firm in Rochester.
“I learned so much,” she says. “I loved the variety of assignments and experiences, from drafting memos to attending depositions to organizing discovery documents, and of course, having great mentors like Angela Baldwin and Melvin ‘Butch’ Hollowell.”
Also, in 2019, she enjoyed working directly with clients at the Family Law Clinic.
“I felt empowered to listen to clients, prepare the necessary paperwork, and represent them in court each week,” she says. “The ability to help people navigate some of the most stressful and difficult times in their lives is what led me to law school. The unique experiential clinics are largely why I gravitated towards Detroit Mercy Law.”
Younis spent last summer writing policy arguments with Street Democracy, a Detroit-based organization that represents indigent clients and addresses the systems that perpetuate and punish poverty.
Although the internship was primarily remote, she attended outdoor, social-distanced meetings with the Street Democracy team every week—and the experience cemented her goal of pursuing a career in public interest.
“It was great to get to know fellow interns and brainstorm solutions to various issues we were working on,” she says. “I wrote SCAO asking courts to adopt Street Democracy’s landlord-tenant resource sheets to help prepare those threatened with homelessness upon the termination of the COVID-19 eviction moratorium. I also wrote SCAO requesting they amend court forms to address a defendant’s ability to pay court fees before jailing them for not paying those court fees.”
Studying during the pandemic has been a challenge, but remote classes have their perks and setbacks, she notes.
“I love that students and professors are figuring out the best way to navigate this experience together, but I miss my friends,” she says. “I’m hopeful we’ll all be able to safely get together soon and maybe even have an in-person graduation.
“Luckily, my loved ones and I are healthy, and I know the school administrators and professors are working to put the students’ needs first.”
In her leisure time, the Dearborn native is an aerialist, a writer, and enjoys playing golf with her father and siblings. She considers her family her greatest supporters. Her mother, an immigrant of Syria, is a doctor, while her father, an immigrant of Lebanon, is an engineer and commercial real estate entrepreneur. Younis shares, “It was always my father’s dream to become an attorney, but when he moved to the U.S. in 1972, language was a barrier.”
Younis and her brothers seemed to inherit their father’s passion for the law: her older brother is a Wayne Law graduate, and a younger brother currently attends Wayne Law; while her younger sister attends medical school.
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