Professional Journey
After graduating from Ave Maria School of Law in 2007, I began my legal career as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in Oakland County, Michigan, where I was able to apply and refine the trial advocacy skills I had developed in law school. In 2011, I joined the Thomas More Law Center as Trial Counsel, focusing on First Amendment cases involving religious liberty and free speech. I was blessed to build a national practice there, litigating cases at every level of the federal courts. One of the highlights of my time at the Center was arguing for and obtaining one of the earliest injunctions against the Obama Administration’s HHS contraceptive mandate while I was approximately nine months pregnant. I firmly believe that God can use each of us—flawed as we are—when we remain open to His calling and surrender to His will. In June 2025, I was appointed Vice President and Chief of Supreme Court and Appellate Litigation at Advocates for Faith & Freedom, where I am honored to continue litigating high-stakes constitutional cases across the country and to serve the organization in a leadership role.
Notable Achievement
This is a tie between achieving victory in my cases and every moment the Lord draws my clients and co-workers closer to Him through our collaboration. I view my work as a calling rather than merely a vocation. It is an honor when clients trust me with their most important matters. Every case, no matter how small, is likely the most pressing conflict in that client’s life and deserves to be handled with the utmost care, compassion, wise counsel rooted in deep faith, and an unwavering commitment to excellence. Often, the difference between winning and losing comes down to the amount of work invested in the goal. In trial, this truth is amplified. I never want anyone to outwork me, because those extra hours of preparation can make all the difference.
How My JD Adds Value
My J.D. from Ave Maria School of Law is priceless. Ave Maria’s rigorous training and content-rich curriculum honed my research, writing, and advocacy skills. The professors invested in me and helped me grow in confidence. After graduation, I knew that even the toughest federal judges could not be more demanding than my law school professors. This preparation paved the way for me to effectively argue complex constitutional and religious liberty cases before multiple federal circuits, en banc panels, and our nation’s highest courts. Ave Maria’s Catholic legal education also equipped me to integrate precise legal reasoning with a commitment to truth and human dignity, enabling me to lead high-impact appellate strategy with an eye toward the bigger picture. It sparked my passion to serve in a mission-driven role that pursues a higher purpose beyond traditional legal practice. It also taught me to have courage and trust in the Lord, even when a just outcome seems unlikely or out of reach.
Advice to Current Students
Persistence is one of the most important factors in success—more important than raw talent, intelligence, or even early advantages. If you achieve fast success in your career, excellent. Persist in doing your hard work. If you do not achieve fast success in your career, excellent. Persist in doing your hard work. God has a plan for you.
The world propagates a curious lie that one day you are too young to achieve great things, and then, almost simultaneously, you are too old to. Both concepts are ridiculous to God. St. Paul warns Timothy, “Let no one have contempt for your youth, but set an example for those who believe, in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity.” 1 Timothy 4:12. But this truth about age is not just reserved for the youth. The Bible informs us that at any age there is not “anything too marvelous for the Lord to do[.]” Genesis 18:14.
History is filled with success stories at every age. St. Joan of Arc accomplished most of her military victories at 17 and 18-years-old. St. Carlo Acutis died at age 15 and achieved sainthood. St. Augustine did not surrender his life to the Lord until into his 30s. Myriad famous businessmen, politicians, film directors and actors, inventors, and followers of Christ did not achieve notability until into their 50s and 60s, and some even after their deaths. When inventing a reliable lightbulb, Thomas Edison is credited with saying, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” The lesson: be bold and never give up.
Live each moment as if your time is now, even it does not feel like it. It is no accident that God created you for this moment and bestowed you with your skills and talents for a reason. And if you feel like your time has not yet come, keep working. It will. You are part of His plan.
Why Ave Maria Law?
I chose Ave Maria School of Law because my dad had cut out an article from a Detroit newspaper showing that Ave Maria had the highest bar passage rate in the state, even above the University of Michigan. My dad had long admired Tom Monaghan’s remarkable success in business and his deep devotion to the Lord, and he knew that Tom Monaghan starting a law school meant it would be of the highest caliber. My Dad asked if I would consider applying. Ave Maria had not been on my radar—I may have even applied late. When I toured the school, I was impressed by its rigorous curriculum, the quality of the professors, the professionalism of the staff, and the law school’s real and palpable love for the Lord. Unlike other schools, Ave Maria put its faith into action. Years later, that tour guide became one of my closest friends. Second only to marrying my amazing husband Paul, who I met in law school, I credit attending Ave Maria as the best decision I have ever made. Ave Maria equipped me with an exceptional legal education and superior litigation skills, but most importantly it oriented my soul toward Our Lord.
