By Sheila Pursglove
Legal News
Alexis Amy headed to the University of San Diego intent on majoring in International Business.
After taking an Intro to Human Communication course her first semester, however, she was enthralled by the examination of communication principals, including verbal and nonverbal communication, perception, persuasion and listening. Amy was intrigued at witnessing these principals play out in day-to day life.
With a father who is a retired prop master in the film industry, Amy was always interested in TV and film, and the positive and negative effects different media have on cultural narratives and biases — and switched her majors to Communication, Media Studies, and French.
“Being an effective lawyer demands being an effective communicator and invested listener,” she said. “Communication is everywhere in life and the legal field, whether it be orally or in writing, talking to a judge, counseling a client, collaborating internally at a firm, or negotiating with opposing counsel.“
In spring of 2020, Amy talked to lawyers and social workers to gather advice about their field of work. However, Amy experienced several situations that reassured her law school was the next step.
“The common factor in those experiences was that I didn’t have the knowledge of the law or the tools to fully help someone, and I felt frustrated and restricted by that reality,” she said. “Finding justice or solutions can be a barrier to those who don’t understand the court system or legal documents. I want to be able to navigate the law and be a guide to others so that they can find the positive impacts that the law has to offer.”
By summer, she decided on law school and started studying for the LSAT. By fall, she landed a legal assistant position with Hammerschmidt Stickradt & Associates in Royal Oak — eventually becoming Chapter 7 bankruptcy case manager. Her communication studies were invaluable in this job.
“Creating a sensitive and non-judgmental atmosphere and a rapport of mutual respect and trust was crucial to positive client relationships,” she said. “Timely and effective written and oral communication, including active listening, was foundational to fostering relationships of trust with clients and managing their expectations.”
In choosing University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, where she is a 3L student, Amy has always felt a connection to Michigan and Detroit, spending summers in her youth with her grandparents in Royal Oak and having extended family here.
“What specifically drew me to UDM Law was its rich history in Detroit, diverse student body, large percentage of first-generation law students, and the emphasis on educating the complete lawyer,” she said.
Amy interned last summer in U.S. District Court Judge Judith Levy’s courtroom, and enjoyed watching the administration of justice and participating in or observing case discussions in chambers. She watched civil and criminal cases in court, researched legal issues to assist with preparing recommendations for the judge, reviewed filings, edited opinions, and worked on a longer memorandum project under one of the clerks.
Amy enjoys serving as executive articles editor on the Law Review Executive Board.
“I appreciate the opportunity for growth that working on law review allows its members,” she said. “You get as much out of it as you put in it.”
January through August of this year, Amy worked as a part-time law clerk with Sommers Schwartz in Southfield, in the personal injury/medical malpractice group.
“I found the medical malpractice work intellectually stimulating and challenging because the work required knowledge of the law but also included complex medical topics,” she said.
Amy’s current interests are environmental, civil rights, international, employment and criminal law.
“One of the biggest pieces of advice that I have received from practicing attorneys is to stay flexible and open to different opportunities,” she said. “I am taking that advice to heart.”
However, during law school, her focus has primarily been on environmental law.
“My parents taught me while growing up how to reuse, recycle, not waste or litter, and be respectful of the environment,” she said. “Earth, the environment, and animals do not have voices, so someone has to stand up for their preservation and improvement.”
She wrote her Law Review note on forever chemicals and proposing that Michigan adopt a Green Amendment to its Constitution. The previous UDM Law Review Executive Board chose her note for publication, and it will appear in the Law Review’s next issue.
“My career goals are more abstract. I’m looking for a feeling rather than specific ‘things,’” she says. “I’d like to find an area of law that challenges me to constantly learn and grow both professionally and personally. I want to work in an area of law I’m passionate about and in which I can wake up in the morning and look forward to going to work. Equally important is finding a mentor in my field and a community of co-workers who are similarly hard working, compassionate, and supportive. In sum, my goals are to create life-long friendships in the field, find fulfilling purpose in the work I do, and experience a lifetime of learning.”
Amy takes part in legal mini-clinics when the opportunities arise through UDM Law or other organizations.
She has participated in the Sugar Law Center Unemployment mini-clinics, Crime Stoppers mini-clinic, and an expungement clinic through the Detroit Justice Center.
She serves on the Future Leaders of Hope Board at the Detroit nonprofit, Focus Hope. She was introduced to Focus Hope as a member of the Incorporated Society of Irish American Lawyers, which volunteers there twice a year to pack food for the senior food program.
Passionate about travel, she has fond memories of her undergraduate study abroad program in Aix-en-Provence, France, when she visited Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Leipzig,
Germany.
After graduation, she taught English at a high school in Beaune, France, through the Teaching Assistance Program in France. When her uncle visited from Michigan, the two traveled to Paris and Zurich.
Her father also visited and the duo went to several small villages where he had spent time in childhood.
The Los Angeles native now makes her home in Ferndale.
Legal News
Alexis Amy headed to the University of San Diego intent on majoring in International Business.
After taking an Intro to Human Communication course her first semester, however, she was enthralled by the examination of communication principals, including verbal and nonverbal communication, perception, persuasion and listening. Amy was intrigued at witnessing these principals play out in day-to day life.
With a father who is a retired prop master in the film industry, Amy was always interested in TV and film, and the positive and negative effects different media have on cultural narratives and biases — and switched her majors to Communication, Media Studies, and French.
“Being an effective lawyer demands being an effective communicator and invested listener,” she said. “Communication is everywhere in life and the legal field, whether it be orally or in writing, talking to a judge, counseling a client, collaborating internally at a firm, or negotiating with opposing counsel.“
In spring of 2020, Amy talked to lawyers and social workers to gather advice about their field of work. However, Amy experienced several situations that reassured her law school was the next step.
“The common factor in those experiences was that I didn’t have the knowledge of the law or the tools to fully help someone, and I felt frustrated and restricted by that reality,” she said. “Finding justice or solutions can be a barrier to those who don’t understand the court system or legal documents. I want to be able to navigate the law and be a guide to others so that they can find the positive impacts that the law has to offer.”
By summer, she decided on law school and started studying for the LSAT. By fall, she landed a legal assistant position with Hammerschmidt Stickradt & Associates in Royal Oak — eventually becoming Chapter 7 bankruptcy case manager. Her communication studies were invaluable in this job.
“Creating a sensitive and non-judgmental atmosphere and a rapport of mutual respect and trust was crucial to positive client relationships,” she said. “Timely and effective written and oral communication, including active listening, was foundational to fostering relationships of trust with clients and managing their expectations.”
In choosing University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, where she is a 3L student, Amy has always felt a connection to Michigan and Detroit, spending summers in her youth with her grandparents in Royal Oak and having extended family here.
“What specifically drew me to UDM Law was its rich history in Detroit, diverse student body, large percentage of first-generation law students, and the emphasis on educating the complete lawyer,” she said.
Amy interned last summer in U.S. District Court Judge Judith Levy’s courtroom, and enjoyed watching the administration of justice and participating in or observing case discussions in chambers. She watched civil and criminal cases in court, researched legal issues to assist with preparing recommendations for the judge, reviewed filings, edited opinions, and worked on a longer memorandum project under one of the clerks.
Amy enjoys serving as executive articles editor on the Law Review Executive Board.
“I appreciate the opportunity for growth that working on law review allows its members,” she said. “You get as much out of it as you put in it.”
January through August of this year, Amy worked as a part-time law clerk with Sommers Schwartz in Southfield, in the personal injury/medical malpractice group.
“I found the medical malpractice work intellectually stimulating and challenging because the work required knowledge of the law but also included complex medical topics,” she said.
Amy’s current interests are environmental, civil rights, international, employment and criminal law.
“One of the biggest pieces of advice that I have received from practicing attorneys is to stay flexible and open to different opportunities,” she said. “I am taking that advice to heart.”
However, during law school, her focus has primarily been on environmental law.
“My parents taught me while growing up how to reuse, recycle, not waste or litter, and be respectful of the environment,” she said. “Earth, the environment, and animals do not have voices, so someone has to stand up for their preservation and improvement.”
She wrote her Law Review note on forever chemicals and proposing that Michigan adopt a Green Amendment to its Constitution. The previous UDM Law Review Executive Board chose her note for publication, and it will appear in the Law Review’s next issue.
“My career goals are more abstract. I’m looking for a feeling rather than specific ‘things,’” she says. “I’d like to find an area of law that challenges me to constantly learn and grow both professionally and personally. I want to work in an area of law I’m passionate about and in which I can wake up in the morning and look forward to going to work. Equally important is finding a mentor in my field and a community of co-workers who are similarly hard working, compassionate, and supportive. In sum, my goals are to create life-long friendships in the field, find fulfilling purpose in the work I do, and experience a lifetime of learning.”
Amy takes part in legal mini-clinics when the opportunities arise through UDM Law or other organizations.
She has participated in the Sugar Law Center Unemployment mini-clinics, Crime Stoppers mini-clinic, and an expungement clinic through the Detroit Justice Center.
She serves on the Future Leaders of Hope Board at the Detroit nonprofit, Focus Hope. She was introduced to Focus Hope as a member of the Incorporated Society of Irish American Lawyers, which volunteers there twice a year to pack food for the senior food program.
Passionate about travel, she has fond memories of her undergraduate study abroad program in Aix-en-Provence, France, when she visited Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Leipzig,
Germany.
After graduation, she taught English at a high school in Beaune, France, through the Teaching Assistance Program in France. When her uncle visited from Michigan, the two traveled to Paris and Zurich.
Her father also visited and the duo went to several small villages where he had spent time in childhood.
The Los Angeles native now makes her home in Ferndale.
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