By Sheila Pursglove
Legal News
Katila Howard, a recent graduate of Michigan State University College of Law, recently had her article "Marriage Penalty: Matrimony, Tax & Inequality" published in the prestigious National Law Review. "I was surprised," she says. "Being published is such an honor and I'm very thankful."
Currently working as a law clerk for the Lansing office of Foster, Swift, Collins, & Smith P.C., and awaiting the results of the bar exam, Howard said her career goal is to focus on taxation, employee benefits, exempt organizations, and executive compensation. She is back on familiar turf, having previously worked for the firm as a summer associate during her 2L summer. "I enjoy working here because the firm supports and nurtures me as a young professional and continuously challenges me intellectually," she says.
Howard earned her undergrad degree, with honors, in political science and women's studies, from the University of Michigan, and remained a Wolverine to earn her Master of Education degree. "I enjoyed the vibrant intellectual community of U-M and Ann Arbor it definitely fostered my growth as a young professional," she says.
She then worked as a Teach for America elementary school teacher in her native Detroit. "I truly enjoyed working with students and being involved in the community," she says. "University Preparatory Academy-Ellen Thompson is an awesome school with great staff and administration."
Howard had always dreamed of becoming an attorney, and was accepted to law school prior to joining Teach for America-Detroit. "MSU Law was great because of the relationships I was able to establish with classmates, professors, and mentors," she says.
During her first summer, she clerked for The Miller Firm, a business litigation firm in Rochester; and was a judicial extern for the United States District Court of the Eastern District of Michigan.
Simultaneously, she worked as a research assistant on MSU Law's project 60/50 commemorating the 60th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education and the 50th anniversary of the passage and signing into law of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. "It was great opportunity I was able to improve my research, project management, and analytic skills," she says.
She also interned for the Michigan House of Representatives in Lansing. "I enjoyed the welcoming staff as well as their professionalism," she says. "It was a great experience overall that helped to sharpen my skills as I prepared to practice law."
Her externships included the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit last year, and the five months in early 2016 at the Michigan Tax Tribunal, where her work there included such tasks as drafting court orders, motions and calculating property values based on the State of Michigan Tax Code, analyzing valuation appeals and gathering information for Administrative Law Judges and Hearing Referees.
As Executive Editor for the Journal of Business and Securities Law, she enjoyed working alongside other similarly motivated individuals.
"It was challenging and I'm grateful to have worked with a team of individuals that supported and inspired one another," she says.
Howard even got a taste of political life, spending five months in 2014 working for Rashida Tlaib, a Democratic member of the Michigan House of Representatives, representing the 6th District in southwest Detroit, and who was the first Muslim-America woman to serve in the Michigan Legislature.
In this role, Howard assisted to educate voters, increase awareness of election issues, voter mobilization, and other constituent interactions; coordinated efforts with volunteers; and ran operations in the Lansing office including constituent responses, congressional matters, organization outreach, and daily administrative routines.
"Working with Rashida Tlaib was fantastic she's truly an amazing woman who gives everything she does her all," Howard says.
"I enjoyed the experience as I was able to assist on legislative as well as community matters."
The oldest of nine children, Howard's family is very important to her.
"Their support has been critical in my success," she says.
In her spare time, the Novi resident mentors students and works with animals, recently giving her time as a volunteer grant writer for the nonprofit Last Day Dog Rescue, a no-kill rescue based in Livonia with foster homes across Michigan. "And now that I'm finished with school I hope to gain a position on a board of an organization so I can stay involved with my community," she says.
Published: Mon, Oct 10, 2016
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