Law student Alexis Amy is primarily interested in environmental law, but also is interesed in civil rights, international, employment, and criminal law.
Photo courtesy of Alexis Amy
By Sheila Pursglove
Legal News
Alexis Amy headed to the University of San Diego intent on majoring in International Business. However, after taking an Intro to Human Communication course her first semester, she was enthralled by the examination of communication principals, including verbal and nonverbal communication, perception, persuasion, and listening—and 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 adds. “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. I’m confident my undergraduate studies, in addition to 10 years of personal and professional experiences before law school, will help me in my law career.”
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 says. “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 — eventually becoming Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Case Manager. Her communication studies were invaluable in this job.
“Creating a sensitive and nonjudgmental atmosphere and a rapport of mutual respect and trust was crucial to positive client relationships,” she says. “Timely and effective written and oral communication, including active listening, was foundational to fostering relationships of trust with clients and managing their expectations.”
“I felt fulfilled helping people work through a solution to their problems and witnessing a client’s transition from feeling overwhelmed and defeated to leaving the office with newfound hope.”
In choosing Detroit Mercy Law, where she is a 3L student, Amy has always felt a connection to Michigan and Detroit, having extended family there.
She interned last summer in 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.
“Judge Levy embodied everything a judge should be—fair, impartial, ethical, thorough, detail-oriented, professional, and compassionate,” she says. “I enjoyed being around Judge Levy and her clerks in the courtroom and in chambers. It was evident everyone in Judge Levy’s office cared about the interns learning and growing. Everyone was incredibly smart, hardworking, and full of integrity. I loved being around the collective passion for the law and pursuit of justice.”
She enjoys serving as Executive Articles Editor on the Law Review Executive Board.
“I love being part of a tradition and positively contributing to it. I love the detail-oriented demands of the work and working as a team toward a common goal,” she says. “I appreciate the opportunity for growth that working on law review allows its members. You get as much out of it as you put in it. The dedicated focus I’ve given to editing, writing, and creating positive relationships within the organization has made me even more prepared for legal work outside of school.”
She also appreciates the aspects of mentoring that occur in Law Review.
“Senior members can pass forward lessons learned to new members while also learning from those bright students coming in who have fresh perspectives,” she says. “When I was a 2L, one specific 3L and executive board member provided me with advice and support whenever I needed a friendly face. She was a mentor with respect to law review source checking and note writing, but also when it came to navigating other academic and personal challenges. My aim as the Executive Articles Editor on the E-board is to pay the mentorship I received forward to other junior members.”
January through August of this year, she worked as a part-time law clerk with Sommers Schwartz in Southfield, in the Personal Injury/Medical Malpractice Group. The work entailed drafting complaints, demand letters, notices of intent, initial disclosures, and other pre-trial litigation documents; and she also conducted document review and research, legal analysis, and writing projects.
“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 says. “I constantly expanded my legal research and writing skills and learned from experienced, sharp attorneys who were more than willing to provide feedback.”
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 says. “I am taking that advice to heart.” However, during law school, her focus has primarily been on environmental law.
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 next issue.
She 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 non-profit, 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 undergrad 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 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. “He was born in France and lived in Mexico City and New York growing up. He speaks Spanish and French, which is what I believe helped me have a love for other languages and cultures and a desire to explore and live outside the United States,” Amy says. “I am without a doubt a Francophile because of him.”
Legal News
Alexis Amy headed to the University of San Diego intent on majoring in International Business. However, after taking an Intro to Human Communication course her first semester, she was enthralled by the examination of communication principals, including verbal and nonverbal communication, perception, persuasion, and listening—and 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 adds. “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. I’m confident my undergraduate studies, in addition to 10 years of personal and professional experiences before law school, will help me in my law career.”
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 says. “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 — eventually becoming Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Case Manager. Her communication studies were invaluable in this job.
“Creating a sensitive and nonjudgmental atmosphere and a rapport of mutual respect and trust was crucial to positive client relationships,” she says. “Timely and effective written and oral communication, including active listening, was foundational to fostering relationships of trust with clients and managing their expectations.”
“I felt fulfilled helping people work through a solution to their problems and witnessing a client’s transition from feeling overwhelmed and defeated to leaving the office with newfound hope.”
In choosing Detroit Mercy Law, where she is a 3L student, Amy has always felt a connection to Michigan and Detroit, having extended family there.
She interned last summer in 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.
“Judge Levy embodied everything a judge should be—fair, impartial, ethical, thorough, detail-oriented, professional, and compassionate,” she says. “I enjoyed being around Judge Levy and her clerks in the courtroom and in chambers. It was evident everyone in Judge Levy’s office cared about the interns learning and growing. Everyone was incredibly smart, hardworking, and full of integrity. I loved being around the collective passion for the law and pursuit of justice.”
She enjoys serving as Executive Articles Editor on the Law Review Executive Board.
“I love being part of a tradition and positively contributing to it. I love the detail-oriented demands of the work and working as a team toward a common goal,” she says. “I appreciate the opportunity for growth that working on law review allows its members. You get as much out of it as you put in it. The dedicated focus I’ve given to editing, writing, and creating positive relationships within the organization has made me even more prepared for legal work outside of school.”
She also appreciates the aspects of mentoring that occur in Law Review.
“Senior members can pass forward lessons learned to new members while also learning from those bright students coming in who have fresh perspectives,” she says. “When I was a 2L, one specific 3L and executive board member provided me with advice and support whenever I needed a friendly face. She was a mentor with respect to law review source checking and note writing, but also when it came to navigating other academic and personal challenges. My aim as the Executive Articles Editor on the E-board is to pay the mentorship I received forward to other junior members.”
January through August of this year, she worked as a part-time law clerk with Sommers Schwartz in Southfield, in the Personal Injury/Medical Malpractice Group. The work entailed drafting complaints, demand letters, notices of intent, initial disclosures, and other pre-trial litigation documents; and she also conducted document review and research, legal analysis, and writing projects.
“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 says. “I constantly expanded my legal research and writing skills and learned from experienced, sharp attorneys who were more than willing to provide feedback.”
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 says. “I am taking that advice to heart.” However, during law school, her focus has primarily been on environmental law.
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 next issue.
She 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 non-profit, 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 undergrad 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 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. “He was born in France and lived in Mexico City and New York growing up. He speaks Spanish and French, which is what I believe helped me have a love for other languages and cultures and a desire to explore and live outside the United States,” Amy says. “I am without a doubt a Francophile because of him.”
––––––––––––––––––––
Subscribe to the Legal News!
https://legalnews.com/Home/Subscription
Full access to public notices, articles, columns, archives, statistics, calendar and more
Day Pass Only $4.95!
One-County $80/year
Three-County & Full Pass also available
