By Teresa Killeen
Washtenaw County Bar Association
Cynthia (Cindy) Bostwick is a lifelong Michigander, born in South Haven and raised in rural southwest Michigan and Kalamazoo.
She is a graduate of Smith College and Wayne State University Law School.
Before law school, Bostwick was a Public Benefits paralegal, defending people’s entitlement to their benefits in administrative hearings.
On admission to the bar in 1987, Bostwick worked as a legal aid lawyer and for a small firm in St. Clair County. She served as a District Court Magistrate in St. Clair County (1997 to 2000); the Sanilac County’s Juvenile Court Director for two years (2000-02); and the St. Clair County Probate Register for five years (2001-06).
She taught Political Science at St. Clair County Community College for 15 years as an adjunct instructor.
Bostwick moved to Washtenaw County as the Legal Manager for the Washtenaw County Friend of Court from 2006-08. In 2008, she was appointed Probate Register and served there until 2011, when she returned to the Friend of Court until she retired in 2021.
After retirement, she worked with the United Community Housing Coalition of Detroit, until 2022. Bostwick now practices as a solo practitioner in the area of tenant defense, family, and probate law.
Bostwick lives in Ann Arbor with her wife, Linda Ham, and their son, Benjamin “Allen” Bostwick, age 20. They share their home with canine Roxy, and felines Asohka, Leavey, and Rosa.
Did you always know you wanted to be an attorney?
I thought I would teach, as my father did. After graduating from college, I took a job as a public benefits paralegal with Legal Aid of Southwest Michigan in Paw Paw. It was the Reagan administration, and poor and disabled people were being trimmed from the public benefits they relied on to live. I represented those people in administrative hearings. During one Social Security hearing, my schizophrenic client actively hallucinated, yet the judge denied her benefits. I think it was that case that spurred me to become a lawyer. My boss, the managing attorney in the office, encouraged me to go to law school, and represented my client in the Federal appeal of the denial of benefits. I got to write the brief with her, and we won her benefits at the District Court level.
What jobs did you have before you became an attorney?
I have worked as a laborer for a small construction firm, bookkeeper, I cleaned yachts in Saugatuck, and for a brief time I was a credit union manager. None of those jobs really suited me. During law school I worked as a clerk at Michigan Legal Services.
What area of the law do you like the best and why?
I have practiced mainly in the area of family law and Probate. What I like about practicing law is not necessarily a particular area of the law, but I like finding solutions for the family dynamics that may bring people to Probate Court or to family law.
How do you best describe a perfect day off?
Washtenaw County Bar Association
Cynthia (Cindy) Bostwick is a lifelong Michigander, born in South Haven and raised in rural southwest Michigan and Kalamazoo.
She is a graduate of Smith College and Wayne State University Law School.
Before law school, Bostwick was a Public Benefits paralegal, defending people’s entitlement to their benefits in administrative hearings.
On admission to the bar in 1987, Bostwick worked as a legal aid lawyer and for a small firm in St. Clair County. She served as a District Court Magistrate in St. Clair County (1997 to 2000); the Sanilac County’s Juvenile Court Director for two years (2000-02); and the St. Clair County Probate Register for five years (2001-06).
She taught Political Science at St. Clair County Community College for 15 years as an adjunct instructor.
Bostwick moved to Washtenaw County as the Legal Manager for the Washtenaw County Friend of Court from 2006-08. In 2008, she was appointed Probate Register and served there until 2011, when she returned to the Friend of Court until she retired in 2021.
After retirement, she worked with the United Community Housing Coalition of Detroit, until 2022. Bostwick now practices as a solo practitioner in the area of tenant defense, family, and probate law.
Bostwick lives in Ann Arbor with her wife, Linda Ham, and their son, Benjamin “Allen” Bostwick, age 20. They share their home with canine Roxy, and felines Asohka, Leavey, and Rosa.
Did you always know you wanted to be an attorney?
I thought I would teach, as my father did. After graduating from college, I took a job as a public benefits paralegal with Legal Aid of Southwest Michigan in Paw Paw. It was the Reagan administration, and poor and disabled people were being trimmed from the public benefits they relied on to live. I represented those people in administrative hearings. During one Social Security hearing, my schizophrenic client actively hallucinated, yet the judge denied her benefits. I think it was that case that spurred me to become a lawyer. My boss, the managing attorney in the office, encouraged me to go to law school, and represented my client in the Federal appeal of the denial of benefits. I got to write the brief with her, and we won her benefits at the District Court level.
What jobs did you have before you became an attorney?
I have worked as a laborer for a small construction firm, bookkeeper, I cleaned yachts in Saugatuck, and for a brief time I was a credit union manager. None of those jobs really suited me. During law school I worked as a clerk at Michigan Legal Services.
What area of the law do you like the best and why?
I have practiced mainly in the area of family law and Probate. What I like about practicing law is not necessarily a particular area of the law, but I like finding solutions for the family dynamics that may bring people to Probate Court or to family law.
How do you best describe a perfect day off?
A perfect day off for me is spent at the barn, as unpaid staff for a magnificent Holstiener/Hanoverian cross horse named Victorian’s Fortune (known as Fort). This enormous horse comes in from the pasture when I call him and allows me the privilege of riding him. Connection with him is therapy for me.
What are some of your favorite places that you have visited?
I had the good fortune of travelling with my grandmother as a teenager: Paris was my favorite place in our travels. My mother and I travelled to see gray whales in southern Baja, Mexico. I actually had the experience of touching a whale that swam up to our skiff. That was a stunning experience of communicating with another species. Our place on South Huron Bay, Drummond Island, is my favorite place to relax and renew, because it has no cell signal, no electricity, and we have to carry our own water. The stars are brilliant, and the loons soothe with their haunting calls.
When you have a little extra money, where do you like to spend it?
Dover Saddlery, Schneiders, and Dexter Mill.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I have the great good fortune of spending time with horses. I ride several times a week, weather permitting. I grew up with horses, riding hunt seat, and am now learning dressage. It’s more physical work than you think. I often get asked by unhorsed folks if it isn’t just sitting there and the horse does all the work. The horse works hard, and so does the rider if it is done right.
What’s the greatest gift we can give ourselves?
Silencing our inner critics. Many of us are harder on ourselves than anyone else. I still work on that every day. As lawyers we are natural advocates, and why we often don’t advocate for ourselves with ourselves is beyond me.
Why do you choose to be a member of the WCBA, what is the greatest benefit you have enjoyed as a member?
The benefits of being a member are enormous. As a sole practitioner, I have access to resources, although those are much fewer now that the Bar Association has been relegated to a tiny space on the second floor. The Bar offers training which increases the competency and effectiveness of the bar, which frankly, helps the bench in deciding and resolving cases. The networking opportunities are also valuable. I frequently have to rely on the Washtenaw Bar Association resources when I am at the courthouse.
Who has been your greatest mentor?
I have had two great mentors. The first was the managing attorney of the legal aid office, Janice MacAlpine, who encouraged and inspired me to go to law school, and we are still friends. The other was Peter Deegan, a remarkable circuit judge in St. Clair County, where I was sworn in and where I began my lawyering. He was a former monk who studied with Thomas Merton, and had a spiritual (not religious) understanding that ran deep. His commitment to social justice sometimes conflicted with the law he was sworn to uphold. We didn’t always agree, and I learned a lot from him.
Favorite part of your job?
Being able to help kids caught in the conflict of divorce or custody fights. Guardian ad litem work is very rewarding, and I wish more people could afford it.
What skill would you like to improve on?
Getting things done on time—I too often let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
What are you listening to lately (music, podcast, audio book …)?
I love the podcasts Sisters in Law, Hidden Brain, and Pod Save America. I like folk music and quirky singer songwriters. Carsie Blanton is a favorite. I go to The Ark as often as possible. My son is trying to get me to like rap and hip hop, and is begging to see Kendrick Lamar in concert together.
What career advice would you give your younger self?
Practicing law allows for a multifaceted career. You think you only want to work in one area right now, but you will find other areas of the law that are fascinating and useful to the common good. I have held different jobs in different courts, represented people with difficulty in many areas. As a result, I think I have a more holistic approach to resolving cases. And of course, my life is richer for that varied experience.
(Reprinted with permission from the Washtenaw Bar Association newsletter Res Ipsa Loquitur.)
What are some of your favorite places that you have visited?
I had the good fortune of travelling with my grandmother as a teenager: Paris was my favorite place in our travels. My mother and I travelled to see gray whales in southern Baja, Mexico. I actually had the experience of touching a whale that swam up to our skiff. That was a stunning experience of communicating with another species. Our place on South Huron Bay, Drummond Island, is my favorite place to relax and renew, because it has no cell signal, no electricity, and we have to carry our own water. The stars are brilliant, and the loons soothe with their haunting calls.
When you have a little extra money, where do you like to spend it?
Dover Saddlery, Schneiders, and Dexter Mill.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I have the great good fortune of spending time with horses. I ride several times a week, weather permitting. I grew up with horses, riding hunt seat, and am now learning dressage. It’s more physical work than you think. I often get asked by unhorsed folks if it isn’t just sitting there and the horse does all the work. The horse works hard, and so does the rider if it is done right.
What’s the greatest gift we can give ourselves?
Silencing our inner critics. Many of us are harder on ourselves than anyone else. I still work on that every day. As lawyers we are natural advocates, and why we often don’t advocate for ourselves with ourselves is beyond me.
Why do you choose to be a member of the WCBA, what is the greatest benefit you have enjoyed as a member?
The benefits of being a member are enormous. As a sole practitioner, I have access to resources, although those are much fewer now that the Bar Association has been relegated to a tiny space on the second floor. The Bar offers training which increases the competency and effectiveness of the bar, which frankly, helps the bench in deciding and resolving cases. The networking opportunities are also valuable. I frequently have to rely on the Washtenaw Bar Association resources when I am at the courthouse.
Who has been your greatest mentor?
I have had two great mentors. The first was the managing attorney of the legal aid office, Janice MacAlpine, who encouraged and inspired me to go to law school, and we are still friends. The other was Peter Deegan, a remarkable circuit judge in St. Clair County, where I was sworn in and where I began my lawyering. He was a former monk who studied with Thomas Merton, and had a spiritual (not religious) understanding that ran deep. His commitment to social justice sometimes conflicted with the law he was sworn to uphold. We didn’t always agree, and I learned a lot from him.
Favorite part of your job?
Being able to help kids caught in the conflict of divorce or custody fights. Guardian ad litem work is very rewarding, and I wish more people could afford it.
What skill would you like to improve on?
Getting things done on time—I too often let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
What are you listening to lately (music, podcast, audio book …)?
I love the podcasts Sisters in Law, Hidden Brain, and Pod Save America. I like folk music and quirky singer songwriters. Carsie Blanton is a favorite. I go to The Ark as often as possible. My son is trying to get me to like rap and hip hop, and is begging to see Kendrick Lamar in concert together.
What career advice would you give your younger self?
Practicing law allows for a multifaceted career. You think you only want to work in one area right now, but you will find other areas of the law that are fascinating and useful to the common good. I have held different jobs in different courts, represented people with difficulty in many areas. As a result, I think I have a more holistic approach to resolving cases. And of course, my life is richer for that varied experience.
(Reprinted with permission from the Washtenaw Bar Association newsletter Res Ipsa Loquitur.)
