By Sheila Pursglove
Legal News
When Michael Schulte got his undergrad degree in economics from the University of Detroit Mercy, he was interested in how people react to economic conditions and how economists structure policy around that behavior. He was drawn to law for many of the same reasons.
“Although you could make an argument that some law is arbitrary, a lot of times law is tied into human behavior or how society thinks people should act,” he explains. “It’s been interesting to make arguments based on that.”
Schulte spent a few months after graduation working as an intake specialist for Disability Attorneys of Michigan in Warren.
“This really prepared me for law school because I always had to think about how information from a potential client would affect their case in the future,” he says. “As a result, I think I became more of an active listener and mindful of what people are saying.”
Now a rising 3L at Wayne State University Law School, Schulte appreciates the smaller size of the law school.
“It’s so much easier to generate good relationships with professors,” he says. “I also love the emphasis on not only knowledge, but skills—you’re constantly learning and it’s always valuable.”
Elected as Mock Trial judge coordinator for the coming year, Schulte relishes the leadership role and appreciates the skills he has learned in the Trial Advocacy Program.
“It’s made me such a more confident person,” he says. “In law, confidence is sometimes hard to attain. However being in the program has allowed me to become a better
public speaker, think a lot better on my feet, and express complex ideas to people that have no prior knowledge of them.
“As a judge coordinator I’m looking forward to not only having attorneys come as judges to see the hard work people put into this program, but also having our program continually progress from their feedback.”
A member of the Texas Young Lawyers Association national team, Schulte enjoys working with attorneys and judges around Metro Detroit.
“It’s such collaborative experience—the coaches don’t just tell us a direction to go down, they ask us what we think,” he says. “That’s had such a great transfer to the real world because you’re confident enough to give an employer an honest opinion of how we should handle a particular case.”
Last summer, Schulte interned with Judge Daniel J. Kelly in St. Clair County.
“I’m from there, so it was great being involved in the community I grew up in,” Schulte says. “Judge Kelly was a great teacher on how to calmly deal with people arguing contentious issues. He made sure I saw everything and learned every single day. He was great about asking my opinion on issues. If he disagreed, he always had a valid reason why and would explain it to me. I think I really learned how to examine issues from all angles working with him and it’s one of the most valuable skills I’ve learned.”
This year, Schulte is clerking at Kaufman, Payton, & Chapa in Farmington Hills.
“It’s a smaller firm so I’m able to get great feedback from the attorneys and they’re doing a great job of helping me learn,” he says. “They’re not keeping me doing work I’ve learned in law school—rather, I’m doing a great deal of work that comes with being an advocate including drafting motions, case evaluation summaries and correspondences with clients. The attorneys are great about answering any and all questions I have and explaining to me why I’m doing this work.”
Schulte’s career goal is to be a litigator.
“I’ve played sports my whole life and it’s made me pretty competitive,” he says. “Working at Kaufman, Payton, & Chapa in insurance defense has made me partial to that area of law. I’ve handled a few commercial litigation cases with Judge Kelly and a little at KPC. Given my economics background, commercial litigation is something I really enjoy as well.”
The youngest of three boys, the Marysville native now makes his home in Royal Oak, where in his spare time he enjoys playing hockey, bike riding, and spending time with friends and family.
Schulte also appreciates the ongoing resurgence of the Motor City.
“I’m a big fan of progress—and it’s fun to have a front row seat to that progress every day,” he says. “Also, since new stuff is constantly going up, you’re able to explore the city and experience new things all the time.”
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