By Sheila Pursglove
Legal News
Payton Armstrong, a 1L student and Dean’s Fellow at Detroit Mercy Law School, got her first taste of law as a legal assistant at Goodwin & Hurwitz in Detroit, her first position after undergrad.
“I valued my time as a legal assistant. I was able to see the different levels of legal careers, such as clerks and paralegals. You're able to see exactly what each position and the roles they do. You’re able to be around lawyers and see if being a lawyer is the right for you,” she says. “I highly recommend working in any type of legal job—you don’t have to be a lawyer to be a part of the community.”
Armstrong set her sights on becoming a lawyer from a young age—“But I could never imagine how much work, motivation, resources, and financial support you need to get there. I was working so hard to get into law school that I would have been happy with just to get an acceptance letter let alone a scholarship. Becoming a Dean's Fellow is beyond my wildest dreams and it is the biggest privilege that I’ll never take for granted,” she says. “I’m proof that if you stay consistent, believe in yourself and give your all, your time will come.
Armstrong earned her undergrad degree in political science and government from Wayne State University, with the desire to learn more about the structure of the government and the redistribution of resources.
“Politics is so intertwined with the way we govern and set rules that I thought it was very important to have a background on how we structure our legislative, executive and more importantly the judicial branch,” she says.
She became passionate about civil rights in childhood, as soon as she could read—and her particular legal interest lies in in civil rights law and international law.
“I could never understand how such injustices were legal,” she says. “There needs to be representation out there protecting everyone's civil rights equally and I made it a mission to be one of those people.
“I believe everyone should have equal rights and opportunities. It’s my goal to be able to be the voice for the voiceless and the help for the helpless. We need accountable people representing justice.”
She hopes to work with cases dealing with all types of discrimination.
“I plan to work with civil cases, mainly handling service or employment violations. I would not mind entering the criminal cases where hate crimes happen here or internationally,” she says.
The Grand Rapids native, the youngest of four and a first-generation law student, has called the Motor City home for about five years.
“I enjoy the culture in Detroit, there’s so much history everywhere you go in this city and to be able to further my education around the city has been such an eye opener and what really matters,” she says.
In her leisure time she enjoys reading, outside adventures, and giving back to the community.
“Being a part of the Detroit community has taught me so much about how important it is to continue on this path,” she says. “I’ve volunteered at homeless shelters, afterschool programs and at law firms where I ‘ve seen how much being able to help someone can change their lives.”
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