In good company at his investiture, Judge Matthew Ackerman (left) was administered the oath of office by Supreme Court Justice Brian Zahra. The chief judge of the Michigan Court of Appeals, Michael Gadola, presided at the April 29 ceremony, while the honoree’s brother, attorney Daniel Ackerman, served as the master of ceremonies.
By Tom Kirvan
Legal News
Some six months after winning a six-year term on the Michigan Court of Appeals, Judge Matthew Ackerman put an official stamp on his new judicial role at a recent investiture ceremony that was reminiscent of another milestone day in his life.
“As I was preparing for today, I kept having the strange feeling that I had been through something like this before,” Ackerman said at the event held last month in the Oakland County Board of Commissioners Auditorium in Pontiac.
The similarities, he recounted, were striking:
“A ceremony focused on me. Friends, family, and familiar faces filling the room. Standing at a podium, nervously delivering a speech.
“A reception with an open bar afterward – though, just like last time, I probably won’t be drinking tonight,” he said with a grin. “Even my rabbi and cantor are here to complete the picture. It finally clicked: this feels a lot like my bar mitzvah.”
And while that event was symbolic of becoming a “man” under Jewish law, Judge Ackerman recognized that “while that felt pretty important at the time, I have a feeling that becoming a ‘judge’ will have a bigger practical impact on my day-to-day life.”
Such a realization was confirmed at the investiture event, which attracted scores of legal dignitaries from the state bench and bar, including the likes of Supreme Court Justices Brian Zahra, Richard Bernstein, and David Viviano, who retired from the high court last year. The three were each singled out for special praise.
“I am also grateful to Justice Zahra, one of my first calls when I was considering running and someone whose advice I have always trusted,” Ackerman said at the ceremony. “Justice Bernstein, one of the kindest people I have ever met, who took the time to join me at a law firm visit during the campaign and who put me at ease whenever we crossed paths. And Justice Viviano, who provided wise counsel and encouragement throughout.”
Justice Zahra, additionally, had the responsibility of administering the oath of office to the new Court of Appeals judge, who at age 33 is the youngest member of the state appellate bench and the youngest ever on the Court of Appeals.
Ackerman, who spent the past three years in commercial litigation and eminent domain work with the Bloomfield Hills firm of Ackerman & Ackerman, said his first run for elective office last fall was an internal test of wills.
“I hate public speaking and self-promotion, so the campaign pushed me far out of my comfort zone,” Ackerman admitted. “But sometimes, when you really want something, you have to push yourself—and this was definitely worth it.”
Pitted against Wayne County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Latoya Willis in the race for District 2 Court of Appeals seat, Ackerman won with 55 percent of the vote, a nearly 10 percent margin of victory.
While he enjoyed the backing of the three conservative members of the Michigan Supreme Court (Zahra, Viviano, and then Chief Justice Elizabeth Clement), Ackerman also garnered support from such Democrats as former Michigan Gov. James Blanchard, former Macomb County Prosecutor Carl Marlinga, and Justice Bernstein. His candidacy also was endorsed by former Supreme Court Justices Kurtis Wilder and Conrad Mallett Jr., both of whom attended the investiture.
“There were many challenging moments during the campaign – from gathering 10,000 signatures in under two months to navigating the fallout when a vendor’s vendor texted half-a-million people with absentee ballots in the middle of the night,” Ackerman said of the run-up to the election.
A product of Cranbrook High School, Ackerman brings an Ivy League pedigree to the court after earning his bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard and his law degree from Columbia University. In law school, Ackerman served as an editor of the Columbia Law Review and was named a James Kent Scholar – the highest single-year academic honor – all three years, earning him the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Prize. He also is an alumnus of the London School of Economics, obtaining a master’s degree in economics with merit.
Following law school, Ackerman enjoyed two prestigious clerkship opportunities, first for Judge Jerry E. Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans and then for Judge Michael H. Park of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York. Both jurists were among those who delivered glowing remarks at the investiture, along with family friend Jeffrey Sakwa and the judge’s father, Alan Ackerman, the renowned eminent domain attorney.
Judges Smith and Park presented their remarks via video messages due to their busy dockets. Nevertheless, each was effusive in their praise of the new jurist.
“Matthew was a spectacular law clerk, and quickly overcame the disadvantage of having gone to Harvard,” Judge Smith said. “You see, I’m an unrepentant Yalie. Matthew was an easy pick for a clerkship once I had interviewed him and read his law school professors’ recommendation letters ... Matthew has the sound judgment, intellect, integrity, and impartiality to be a great judge.”
The judgeship, Smith added, comes with several caveats, however.
“In addition to having a terrific job on this fine court, you can look forward to being underpaid, overworked, and criticized, but at least now the lawyers have to laugh at your jokes,” Smith quipped.
Judge Park, a Princeton University grad and Yale Law School alum, was appointed to the appellate bench in 2019. His relative youth in terms of judicial experience contrasted with that of Judge Smith, who has spent nearly four decades on the federal bench.
“During the interview I asked Matthew why he wanted to clerk for me when he already had lined up a clerkship with Judge Jerry Smith, a legal giant,” Judge Park related. “Matthew’s answer was striking. He said he was excited to work with a judge with a lot of experience, but that he also wanted to work with someone new so that he could learn from both ends of the spectrum. I thought this was a surprisingly mature and wise answer, and reflected how much Matthew values understanding different perspectives.”
When Ackerman joined his father’s firm in 2021, the elder Ackerman expressed delight with the addition.
“Matthew brings common sense and stability to the firm, along with a whole lot of motivation to excel as a lawyer,” Ackerman said at the time. “He’s a phenomenal writer, he’s driven, and he gets things done. He’s just the most disciplined person around.”
Four years later, the new judge on the Court of Appeals returned the kind words to his father and mother, Sharyl.
“I never take for granted how lucky I am to have the foundation you gave me—whether it was extra math tutors to keep me challenged when I was bored in school, supporting me through Harvard, the London School of Economics, and Columbia Law School, or encouraging me to run for this position even when it felt like a long shot,” Ackerman said in his closing remarks at the investiture. “You gave me every opportunity, and I hope to make you proud with how I use it.”
Legal News
Some six months after winning a six-year term on the Michigan Court of Appeals, Judge Matthew Ackerman put an official stamp on his new judicial role at a recent investiture ceremony that was reminiscent of another milestone day in his life.
“As I was preparing for today, I kept having the strange feeling that I had been through something like this before,” Ackerman said at the event held last month in the Oakland County Board of Commissioners Auditorium in Pontiac.
The similarities, he recounted, were striking:
“A ceremony focused on me. Friends, family, and familiar faces filling the room. Standing at a podium, nervously delivering a speech.
“A reception with an open bar afterward – though, just like last time, I probably won’t be drinking tonight,” he said with a grin. “Even my rabbi and cantor are here to complete the picture. It finally clicked: this feels a lot like my bar mitzvah.”
And while that event was symbolic of becoming a “man” under Jewish law, Judge Ackerman recognized that “while that felt pretty important at the time, I have a feeling that becoming a ‘judge’ will have a bigger practical impact on my day-to-day life.”
Such a realization was confirmed at the investiture event, which attracted scores of legal dignitaries from the state bench and bar, including the likes of Supreme Court Justices Brian Zahra, Richard Bernstein, and David Viviano, who retired from the high court last year. The three were each singled out for special praise.
“I am also grateful to Justice Zahra, one of my first calls when I was considering running and someone whose advice I have always trusted,” Ackerman said at the ceremony. “Justice Bernstein, one of the kindest people I have ever met, who took the time to join me at a law firm visit during the campaign and who put me at ease whenever we crossed paths. And Justice Viviano, who provided wise counsel and encouragement throughout.”
Justice Zahra, additionally, had the responsibility of administering the oath of office to the new Court of Appeals judge, who at age 33 is the youngest member of the state appellate bench and the youngest ever on the Court of Appeals.
Ackerman, who spent the past three years in commercial litigation and eminent domain work with the Bloomfield Hills firm of Ackerman & Ackerman, said his first run for elective office last fall was an internal test of wills.
“I hate public speaking and self-promotion, so the campaign pushed me far out of my comfort zone,” Ackerman admitted. “But sometimes, when you really want something, you have to push yourself—and this was definitely worth it.”
Pitted against Wayne County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Latoya Willis in the race for District 2 Court of Appeals seat, Ackerman won with 55 percent of the vote, a nearly 10 percent margin of victory.
While he enjoyed the backing of the three conservative members of the Michigan Supreme Court (Zahra, Viviano, and then Chief Justice Elizabeth Clement), Ackerman also garnered support from such Democrats as former Michigan Gov. James Blanchard, former Macomb County Prosecutor Carl Marlinga, and Justice Bernstein. His candidacy also was endorsed by former Supreme Court Justices Kurtis Wilder and Conrad Mallett Jr., both of whom attended the investiture.
“There were many challenging moments during the campaign – from gathering 10,000 signatures in under two months to navigating the fallout when a vendor’s vendor texted half-a-million people with absentee ballots in the middle of the night,” Ackerman said of the run-up to the election.
A product of Cranbrook High School, Ackerman brings an Ivy League pedigree to the court after earning his bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard and his law degree from Columbia University. In law school, Ackerman served as an editor of the Columbia Law Review and was named a James Kent Scholar – the highest single-year academic honor – all three years, earning him the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Prize. He also is an alumnus of the London School of Economics, obtaining a master’s degree in economics with merit.
Following law school, Ackerman enjoyed two prestigious clerkship opportunities, first for Judge Jerry E. Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans and then for Judge Michael H. Park of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York. Both jurists were among those who delivered glowing remarks at the investiture, along with family friend Jeffrey Sakwa and the judge’s father, Alan Ackerman, the renowned eminent domain attorney.
Judges Smith and Park presented their remarks via video messages due to their busy dockets. Nevertheless, each was effusive in their praise of the new jurist.
“Matthew was a spectacular law clerk, and quickly overcame the disadvantage of having gone to Harvard,” Judge Smith said. “You see, I’m an unrepentant Yalie. Matthew was an easy pick for a clerkship once I had interviewed him and read his law school professors’ recommendation letters ... Matthew has the sound judgment, intellect, integrity, and impartiality to be a great judge.”
The judgeship, Smith added, comes with several caveats, however.
“In addition to having a terrific job on this fine court, you can look forward to being underpaid, overworked, and criticized, but at least now the lawyers have to laugh at your jokes,” Smith quipped.
Judge Park, a Princeton University grad and Yale Law School alum, was appointed to the appellate bench in 2019. His relative youth in terms of judicial experience contrasted with that of Judge Smith, who has spent nearly four decades on the federal bench.
“During the interview I asked Matthew why he wanted to clerk for me when he already had lined up a clerkship with Judge Jerry Smith, a legal giant,” Judge Park related. “Matthew’s answer was striking. He said he was excited to work with a judge with a lot of experience, but that he also wanted to work with someone new so that he could learn from both ends of the spectrum. I thought this was a surprisingly mature and wise answer, and reflected how much Matthew values understanding different perspectives.”
When Ackerman joined his father’s firm in 2021, the elder Ackerman expressed delight with the addition.
“Matthew brings common sense and stability to the firm, along with a whole lot of motivation to excel as a lawyer,” Ackerman said at the time. “He’s a phenomenal writer, he’s driven, and he gets things done. He’s just the most disciplined person around.”
Four years later, the new judge on the Court of Appeals returned the kind words to his father and mother, Sharyl.
“I never take for granted how lucky I am to have the foundation you gave me—whether it was extra math tutors to keep me challenged when I was bored in school, supporting me through Harvard, the London School of Economics, and Columbia Law School, or encouraging me to run for this position even when it felt like a long shot,” Ackerman said in his closing remarks at the investiture. “You gave me every opportunity, and I hope to make you proud with how I use it.”
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