Michigan Law Alum Michelle Silverthorn On Emigrating From Jamaica, Working In Biglaw, And Bringing Civility To The Profession

“I am the one thing in life I can control / I am inimitable, I am an original.” — Lin-Manuel Miranda, “Wait for it, Hamilton”

Last week, the American Bar Association (ABA) hosted a webinar titled Combatting Bias and Increasing Inclusion in the Legal Profession.

Michelle Silverthorn, the Diversity and Education Director of the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism, began the presentation by retelling the story of The Oprah Winfrey Show’s 1992 experiment about racial prejudice. Many of us still remember the episode to this day. Throughout her storytelling, Silverthorn’s passion, personality, and energy were on full display.

For those who weren’t able to attend last week’s webinar, here is a (lightly edited and condensed) write-up of my conversation with fellow ABA panelist Michelle Silverthorn:

Renwei Chung (RC): In the ABA’s Unconscious Bias webinar last week, you mentioned that you immigrated to the United States from Jamaica. Can you tell us about your journey? 

Michelle Silverthorn (MS): My mother is from Trinidad and Tobago and my father is from Jamaica. We moved between Jamaica and Trinidad until they finally settled in Jamaica when I was about six.

A lot of Jamaicans immigrate to the United States and Canada, and, particularly at my all-girls school, several attend school in the States (including my older sister, who went to Vassar). So when my turn came around for college, I picked the top eight or ten small colleges in the United States and applied to them, as well as to Princeton University. I visited all of the schools and picked Princeton. I moved here in 2000 and except for the year after college graduation when I lived at home, I’ve been in the States ever since.

RC: What motivated you to attend law school, and how did you choose University of Michigan Law School?

MS: Every summer at Princeton, I traveled to a different country. I spent my first summer in Kazakhstan and Botswana, my second in Switzerland, and my third in Peru. So I wanted to attend a school that had a strong international law program. I’d narrowed it down to Michigan and one other law school.

Then I visited Ann Arbor on the most perfect spring day in March, and I thought then, and still do now, that there’s no university setting more beautiful than the Michigan Law quad in spring. I knew I had to go there. And it was a good decision, for many reasons, including because I met my husband the first day of law school.

RC: Can you tell us about the University of Michigan event you attended two weeks ago?

MS: Sure, it was Michigan Law’s 2017 African-American Alumni Reunion. We had over 100 black alumni from all over the country travel back to the law school. We had federal judges, White House staff, non-profit leaders, private and public sector executives. And we took a picture with our hundred-plus black Michigan Law alumni, which was amazing to see.

Probably my favorite part was the listening session with the students, where the black Michigan Law students shared with us their struggles as a community and how we as alumni can help. And of course I picked up some Michigan gear, since we, as a country, need more people walking around in Michigan gear.

RC: Before your current position, you were a Biglaw attorney in New York and Chicago. What was that like? 

MS: I feel like this interview is coming full-circle, since Above the Law played a crucial role in my first years as a lawyer. I started at Latham & Watkins in New York City in September 2008 and was there during the “Lathamed” period. It was surreal reading about what was happening with our law firm online while living it out in person. I left Latham at the end of 2010 and moved to Chicago to another large law firm after my husband got a job out here.

I think there are people who succeed in Biglaw, who work extraordinarily hard and devote the hours to the work and the client development. For me, there were some great moments and some less great moments, and I’m happy it got me to where I am right now.

RC: Last week, you helped with the Black Women Lawyers’ Association National Summit in Chicago. What were some of the most memorable moments?

For the last few months, I have been on the planning committee for the Black Women Lawyers’ Association National Summit. I was in charge of planning the CLE for the conference, and crafting the descriptions and the subject matter.

We had around 400 lawyers attend our sessions, including our lunch with Kimberley Harris, GC of NBC-Universal and fellow Trinidadian, and Valerie Jarrett, President Obama’s Senior Advisor and fellow Michigan Law grad.

All of these black women came together to talk about how they succeed in their careers, how they advocate for political and social change, and, most importantly, how they overcome the challenges we all share as black women lawyers in this profession. It was a great conference, and I can’t wait for our next one.

RC: What advice do you have for law students and young attorneys? 

MS: I would tell them to navigate their law firm culture, join a bar association, find a mentor, manage their finances, and listen to feedback. But because I work in civility and professionalism, I will also say this:

“You are going to have millions of conversations with partners, with clients, with colleagues, with people whom you like and whom you dislike, people who look and think and act like you, and people who do not. For every conversation you have, start out with respect. Many people think that you respect people because of who they are. No. You respect people because of who you are, because of that deep, ingrained moral code inside of you that tells you that every person deserves your respect. Start out with respect and keep moving upward from there.”

RC: It was great chatting with you. Is there anything else you would like to share with our audience?

MS: There’s a great book that Professor Deborah Rhode at Stanford wrote called Lawyers as Leaders. And she points out that even though lawyers are less than half a percent of this country’s population, we are very well-represented in every level of leadership in this country. We are government leaders, community leaders, philanthropic leaders, leaders of business and leaders in business. Twenty-five lawyers signed the Declaration of Independence. Twenty-six of this country’s 45 presidents have been lawyers.

Two-thirds of our vice presidents have been lawyers. Fifty-five of our current Senators are lawyers. I think lawyers have done a remarkable job throughout history of shaping this country. I would love to see our current and future crop of lawyers continue that legacy of leadership and change. 

On behalf of everyone here at Above the Law, I would like to thank Michelle Silverthorn for sharing her story with our audience. We wish her continued success in her career.

If you happen to be in Chicago on May 18, be sure to check out the The Future Is Now: Legal Services 2017 conference, where lawyers, entrepreneurs, and professors will talk about alternative legal landscapes, helping to achieve justice through technology, preventative lawyering, blueprints for change, and more.

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Renwei Chung is the Diversity Columnist at Above the Law. You can contact Renwei by email at [email protected], follow him on Twitter (@renweichung), or connect with him on LinkedIn.