Profile in Brief Judge Martha Anderson Living the American Dream

By John Minnis Legal News As president of the Italian American Bar Association of Michigan, Oakland County Circuit Judge Martha Anderson brings a unique perspective: She was actually born in Italy. "I'm a first-generation Italian American," she says. "I was the first to graduate in my family and the first to go to law school." She was 4 years old when her parents emigrated to America in 1956. Her father worked as a cement mason and her mother sewed car seats for General Motors in Livonia. They raised four children and emphasized education. Anderson graduated from St. Alphonsus High School in Dearborn in 1969. She went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree with distinction at Wayne State University. She graduated from the University of Detroit School of Law in 1977. Her first job out of law school was as a research assistant for Wayne County Circuit Court. While doing research in the county law library, she met the man who would become her husband: David Carl Anderson, who was clerking for Judges Ben Burdick and John O'Hair at the time. She then became a referee with the Oakland County Friend of the Court, a position she held for 23 years. Anderson figures she has handled more than 6,000 hearings on such matters as child and spousal support and custody and parenting time. She was elected to the Oakland County Circuit Court in 2002. Out of the court, Anderson has been involved in the Italian American Bar Association for about eight years. Her term as president runs until June. With some 200 members, the Italian American Bar Association of Michigan is among the largest specialty bars in Michigan. It is also among the oldest, founded in 1931. The Italian American bar's main event of the year is its dinner dance held in November. The bar holds about eight dinner meetings throughout the year featuring knowledgeable speakers, community leaders, continuing legal education and presentations from presidents of the State the Bar of Michigan. The Italian American Bar Association of Michigan is also known for its bocci tournaments against the Incorporated Irish Lawyers of Michigan -- Anderson recalls that the Irish won the last tournament -- and its softball games against the Polish Advocates. Anderson said the annual Detroit Tigers game is another popular outing for the Italian American Bar Association. During her tenure as president, Anderson's goal has been to get more students involved in the bar association. She said the student chapter of the Italian American Bar Association at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law is doing well, and Thomas M. Cooley Law School's campus in Lansing also has a chapter. She is planning to meet with Cooley's Auburn Hills leaders to see about setting up a student chapter there. "We are just trying to bring in new young people to help them, mentor them, before they get jobs," she says. Italian American bar members also encourage students to shadow them for a day on the job. Anderson believes specialty bars such as the Italian American Bar Association of Michigan fill an important role in the legal profession. "I think they are important for having a common background, a cohesiveness," she says. "I think that's true of all the specialty bars." She realizes she has come a long way from her parents who could not speak English when they came to America. "I was able to realize all my dreams," she says. "It is like living the American dream." Published: Wed, Mar 3, 2010

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