Legacy: Newly minted attorney sworn in at his grandfather's former courtroom

By Sheila Pursglove Legal News James "Jay" J. Fleming was sworn in as an attorney on November 6, by Judges Richard LaFlamme, John McBain, and Susan Jordan in the former Jackson County courtroom of his grandfather, James G. Fleming, judge of the 4th Circuit Court from 1975-93 and who served the 19th District of the Michigan State Senate from 1967-74. A third-generation attorney and an associate in the Education and Municipal Law Group at Clark Hill in Lansing, Fleming was sponsored by both of his parents, Anne D. Fleming and James B. Fleming, attorneys with Fleming & Fleming PC in Jackson Jay Fleming earned his law degree from Michigan State University College of Law, admitted under the Legal Education Admission Program (LEAP), an accelerated program allowing students to earn both an undergraduate and Juris Doctorate degree in six years. While in law school, he was a member of the Geoffrey Fieger Trial Practice Institute, a two-year litigation-focused certificate program, and earned the Jurisprudence Award for his civil trial class. As part of the First Amendment clinic at MSU Law, Fleming taught high school students the foundational principles of free speech. He also served as a law clerk to Jackson County Circuit Court Judge John G. McBain and as a judicial intern to Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Michael J. Riordan. Prior to attending law school, Fleming graduated with honors and earned his bachelor's degree in political science from Grand Valley State University, where he was the long snapper on the football team. He also served as a public policy intern for the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), a Washington, D.C. based advocacy group for post-9/11 veterans. Published: Tue, Nov 24, 2020