Women and the Legal Profession


Thursday, October 13, 2022
12:00 p.m. - 1:15 p.m.
Robert C. Pew Grand Rapids Campus
Alumni, Community, Faculty, Staff, Students


Speakers of Women and the Legal Profession

Four Grand Valley alumnae, all distinguishing themselves in the practice of law, return to GVSU to speak to their experiences and interests as lawyers, to their formative educational experiences, and to what it has meant to be a woman practicing law.

There will be a reception from 11:15am-11:55am in the West Gallery in the Eberhard Center just prior to this event, to which all are invited. Refreshments will be served.

The four speakers will also be available after the presentation to talk with individual students or groups of students for another 30 minutes or so.

Our Speakers:

Jessica Lefort is a clinical assistant professor at the University of Michigan Law School teaching legal research and writing and heading up an asylum lab. She was previously a deputy defender at the Federal Defender Office in Detroit, a Honors trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice in D.C., and a clerk to three federal judges.  She graduated summa cum laude from DePaul University School of Law in 2006 with a focus on public interest law. 

Meredith O'Harris is an attorney in Denver, Colorado specializing in criminal appeals.  She graduated from Grand Valley State University in 2010 with dual degrees in Philosophy and Liberal Studies.  She then graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 2016.  After clerking for the Honorable Alan Loeb, Chief Judge of the Colorado Court of Appeals, she spent five years at the appellate division of the Colorado State Public Defender.  Presently, she is an associate attorney at Haddon, Morgan, & Foreman, P.C., a small, national criminal defense firm.  Meredith also volunteers as a contributing editor to the National Lawyers Guild Review.  

Abigail DeHart graduated from Grand Valley State University in 2015 with a double major in Philosophy and Classics.  After graduating from University of Michigan Law School in 2019, she clerked for the Honorable Judith E. Levy in the Eastern District of Michigan and for the Honorable Milan D. Smith, Jr. on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Between these clerkships, she did a yearlong stint working as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Illinois. In November, she’ll move to Washington, DC to begin working as an attorney at a boutique litigation firm, Kellogg Hansen.  

Ieisha Humphrey (she/her) joined Detroit Mercy Law in February 2022 as Director of Student and Faculty Services. In July 2022, she became the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs. She brings eight years of law school experience focused on pro bono programming, enrollment programs, and students services. Deeply committed to law student success, Ieisha has been an adjunct professor of immigration law and bar exam skills. She also is a grader and tutor for bar exam preparation programs. Ieisha serves as a pro bono attorney for the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center since 2013.


Location Information


The L.V. Eberhard Center
301 Fulton West
Grand Rapids, MI 49504

Room: 201-203 Teleconference Auditorium


Contact Information


Michael DeWilde [email protected]


Tags

alumni kbei seidman speaker


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This event was added to the calendar by Ashley Jefferson (jeffeash@gvsu.edu) on Monday, August 29, 2022 and was last updated on Friday, September 2, 2022 at 2:56 p.m.