University of Michigan Law School - Notable Alumni

Notable Alumni

• Ralph W. Aigler (J.D. 1907), Nationally known expert on property, member of U-M faculty, 1910–1954; also inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor
• Ronald J. Allen (J.D. 1973), Northwestern University John Henry Wigmore Professor of Law, one of only four Americans to be designated as a Yangtze River Scholar (China's highest academic award, which was formerly only for Nobel Laureates) in 2007. Allen is the first law professor to receive the award, which usually goes to scientists or economists.
• Edgardo Angara (LLM 1964), former President of the University of the Philippines and Senate President of the Philippines.
• George Ariyoshi(J.D. 1952), third Governor of Hawaii (1974–1986)
• Susanne Baer, (LLM 1993) was elected to the German Federal Constitutional Court in February 2011.
• Melody Barnes, (J.D. 1989) Director of the President's Domestic Policy Council
• Mary Frances Berry (J.D. 1970), former chairwoman of the United States Commission on Civil Rights; current professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania.
• Lester Bird (LLB 1959), Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda
• Henry Bodenstab (LL.B. 1898), Wisconsin State Senator
• Willard Lee Boyd (LAW: LL.M. 1952;S.J.D. in 1962) President Emeritus of The University of Iowa having served as its 15th President. He served as Chairman of the Association of American Universities (AAU) from 1979 to 1980.
• Steven G. Bradbury (J.D. 1988), former Acting Assistant Attorney General (Office of Legal Counsel)
• Nicole (Niki) Burnham (J.D. 1994), Author, RITA award winner
• David Francis Cargo (LLB 1957) Governor of New Mexico, 1967-71. New Mexico State House of Representatives Albuquerque (1963–67).
• Harold G. Christensen (LAW: JD 1951) Deputy US Attorney General, 1988–89
• William W. Cook (LAW: JD 1882), heavily published and cited author of textbooks on corporate law; donor of the quadrangle to Michigan
• Mike Cox (J.D. 1989), Michigan Attorney General, 2003 - 2010
• Ann Coulter (J.D. 1988), Political personality, author
• George Crockett Jr. (LAW: 1934) Civil Rights activist; helped found the National Lawyers Guild. First African American lawyer hired by the Department of Labor. Recorder's Court Judge, Detroit, Michigan, 1966–74; U.S. House of Representatives (D-Mich.), 1980 - 1991.
• Byron Mac Cutcheon (LL.B. 1866) was an American Civil War officer, Medal of Honor recipient and politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.
• Clarence Darrow (attended), famous trial lawyer; defense counsel in in the Scopes Monkey Trial and Leopold and Loeb
• Harry M. Daugherty (LL.B. 1880), United States Attorney General, 1921–24,Republican Party boss, member of the "Ohio Gang".
• William R. Day (LL.B. 1870), United States Secretary of State, 1898; United States Supreme Court Associate Justice, 1903–1922
• Donald McDonald Dickinson (LL.B. 1867) in 1887 Grover Cleveland, appointed Dickinson United States Postmaster General, in which capacity Dickinson served from January 6, 1888 until the end of Cleveland's first term in 1889.
• Gershwin A. Drain (J.D.) (born 1949) is a judge on Michigan's Third Circuit Court who has been confirmed to serve as District Judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
• David M. Ebel, (J.D. 1965), Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
• Harry T. Edwards (J.D. 1965), former chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
• Larry Elder (J.D. 1977), syndicated radio and television talk show host
• John Feikens (J.D.) was a politician and judge from the U.S. state of Michigan. He was the Senior Judge, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (1986–present). Feikens had the unusual honor of being nominated to the same district court by three presidents.
• Jeffrey L. Fisher (J.D. 1997), Stanford Law School professor and prevailing counsel in Crawford v. Washington and Blakely v. Washington and other important Supreme Court cases.
• Harold Ford, Jr. (J.D. 1996) - former U.S. Representative from Tennessee; Democratic Leadership Council chair
• Ralph M. Freeman (LL.B. 1926), Judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
• John J. Gardner (attended 1866-1867) - U.S. Representative from New Jersey; mayor of Atlantic City
• Ralph F. Gates (J.D. 1917), 37th governor of Indiana
• Richard Gephardt (J.D. 1965) - U.S. Representative from Missouri (1977–2005). Served as House Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995, and as Minority Leader from 1995 to 2003.
• Chuck Greenberg - (J.D. 1985) Owner, CEO of the Texas Rangers
• Jay Gorney (LL.B. 1919), Tin Pan Alley songwriter who co-wrote Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?; blacklisted during McCarthy era.
• Wycliffe Grousbeck (J.D. 1986), Owner of the Boston Celtics.
• Kirby Hendee (LL.B. 1953), Wisconsin State Senator
• Teresita J. Herbosa (M.C.L. 1980) appointed, in 2011, as the new chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the Philippines. Prior to her appointment to the corporate regulator, Herbosa, 60, was a senior partner at the Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz Law Office (ACCRA).
• J. Lister Hill (attended), former U.S. Senator from Alabama
• James P. Hoffa (LL.B. 1966) - President, International Brotherhood of Teamsters
• Vice Admiral James W. Houck (J.D. 1985) - Judge Advocate General of the United States Navy
• Valerie Jarrett, (J.D. 1981), Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama
• Robert M. Johnson, (J.D. 1971), Former Publisher of Newsday
• Il-Won Kang (LL.M 1993) Appointed to Korea's Constitutional Court in 2012.
• Amalya Lyle Kearse (J.D. 1962) - Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
• Paul S. Kemp (J.D. 2000), is a fantasy author most known for his Forgotten Realms novels. He is also a strong defender of shared world fiction. His novel “Deceived,” recently debuted and currently (2011) is on the New York Times best-seller list
• Cornelia Groefsema Kennedy (J.D. 1947) - Senior Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
• Raymond Kethledge (J.D. 1993) - Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
• Eric Paul Lefkofsky (J.D. 1993) (born September, 1969) is a U.S.-born serial entrepreneur. An Angel investor in Groupon, he is currently president of Blue Media, LLC, a Chicago-based private equity and consulting firm. He was named, in 2011, to Forbes list of billionaires.
• Jeffrey Lehman (J.D. 1981) 11th President of Cornell
• Brian Leiter (J.D. 1987), Professor, University of Chicago
• Tom Lewand (J.D. 1996) was named president of the Detroit Lions on December 29, 2008.
• Peter Maassen (J.D.) appointed by Governor Sean Parnell to the Alaska Supreme Court. Maassen is the 22nd justice appointed to the Court.
• J. Thomas McCarthy (J.D. 1963), Author of McCarthy's Treatise on Trademark and Unfair Competition
• Charles Edward Merrill (1906–1907), Co-Founded stock brokerage firm Merrill Lynch (NYSE MER) with Edmund C. Lynch. Worked at Merrill Lynch 1914-56
• Robert E. Minahan (LL.B. 1894), Mayor of Green Bay, Wisconsin
• Jeffrey P. Minear (J.D. 1982) is Counselor to Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr..
• Frank Murphy (LL.B. 1914), United States Attorney General, 1939, and United States Supreme Court Associate Justice, 1940–1949
• Gordon Myse (LL.B. 1960), Judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals
• Helen W. Nies, (L.L.B. 1948) was Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit from 1990 to 1994
• Ronald L. Olson (J.D. 1967) is an American attorney and "name partner" in the Los Angeles office of the law firm of Munger Tolles & Olson LLP.
• Rob Pelinka (J.D. 1996), sports agent, best known for representing Kobe Bryant
• Lloyd Welch Pogue (J.D.) (October 21, 1899 – May 10, 2003) was a pioneering American aviation attorney and chairman of the now-defunct Civil Aeronautics Board.
• John Porter (J.D. 1961), United States Representative from Illinois, 1980–2001
• Rob Portman (J.D. 1984), Director of the Office of Management and Budget; United States Senator from Ohio.
• Clark T Randt, Jr. (JD 1975), United States ambassador to China (2001–2009)
• Branch Rickey (LL.B. 1911), Major League Baseball executive and Hall of Famer; created the modern minor league system and signed Jackie Robinson to a contract, breaking the sport's 20th-century color line.
• Richard Riordan (J.D. 1956), Mayor of Los Angeles, 1993–2001
• John M. Rogers (J.D. 1974), Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit.
• Marvin B. Rosenberry, (J.D. 1893) Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court
• Donald Stuart Russell, was a U.S. Senator from South Carolina. He served from 1965 to 1966. He also served as the 107th Governor of South Carolina, 1963-1965
• Ken Salazar (J.D. 1981), former U.S. Senator from Colorado and current United States Secretary of the Interior.
• Miriam Defensor Santiago (LL.M. 1975, S.J.D. 1976) - member of the Senate of the Philippines,Judge of the International Criminal Court
• Anthony Joseph Scirica (J.D. 1965), Chief Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
• Ma. Lourdes Aranal Sereno (LL.M. 1993) is a Filipino jurist, lawyer and law professor. In August 2010, she was appointed Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. In 2012, Sereno was appointed Chief Justice of the court by President Benigno S. Aquino III.
• Alvin V. Shoemaker ( LLB 1963), Chairman of First Boston 1983-1989
• Cynthia Leitich Smith (J.D. 1994), author
• Rick Snyder - (J.D. 1982) Former CEO of Gateway; current Governor of Michigan
• George Alexander Spater (J.D. 1933) was chairman of American Airlines from 1968 to 1973.
• Bert Sugar (J.D. 1961) author of more than 80 books; editor and publisher of The Ring, a magazine devoted to boxing.
• George Sutherland (attended 1891), United States Supreme Court Justice
• Kent D. Syverud, (J.D. 1981), dean of the Washington University School of Law
• Masaaki Tanaka (LL.M), President and Chief Executive Officer of UnionBanCal Corporation and its principal subsidiary, Union Bank of California (NYSEUB).
• Daniel Tarullo (J.D. 1977), member of Board of Governors of the United States Federal Reserve Board since January 28, 2009
• Arn Tellem, (J.D.), sports agent and former columnist for the New York Times
• Larry Dean Thompson (J.D.) is an American lawyer, most notable for his service as deputy Attorney General of the United States under United States President George W. Bush until August 2003.
• William Wheeler Thornton (LL.B. 1876), Judge, Author, Indiana Deputy Attorney General, Indiana State Supreme Ct. Librarian
• John D. Voelker (JD 1928) justice of the Michigan Supreme Court; author of Anatomy of a Murder.
• John M. Walker, Jr. (J.D. 1966), former Chief Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
• Moses Fleetwood Walker (attended 1881-1882) - Baseball player and author; first African-American to play major league professional baseball
• Sarah Killgore Wertman (LAW: LLB 1871), née Sarah Killgore the first woman to be admitted to the Bar of any state in the United States of America.
• David Westin (J.D. 1977) - President of ABC News
• James J. White (J.D. 1962) - Robert A. Sullivan Professor of Law at Michigan Law; expert on the Uniform Commercial Code
• Ralph Wilson - owner, Buffalo Bills
• Bob Woodruff (J.D. 1987) - journalist; ABC News anchor
• Frank Wu- dean of University of California, Hastings College of the Law
• John C.H. Wu (J.D. 1928), he was the principal author of the constitution of the Republic of China.
• Sam Zell (LSA B.A. 1963; J.D. 1966) - land developer; founder of Equity Office Properties; former National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts chairman and current Chairman and majority owner of the Tribune Company.