Working Towards Nine

Remarkable Leaders: Women Presidents of the SBM

WLAM's Carolyn Sullivan talks with SBM Past Presidents Nancy Diehl and Julie Fershtman about their experiences leading one of the nation's most important bar associations. This is episode is a rebroadcast of WLAM's 2025 program.

Affinity Bar Series: South Asian American Bar Association of Michigan

Isheeta Patel Laxmanan, South Asian American BarAssociation of Michigan, joins us to discuss South Asian American Bar Association of Michigan (SABA), its founding and where it is headed. Isheeta Patel Laxmanan is a patent attorney and shareholderat Brooks Kushman, where she focuses her practice on patent prosecution, portfolio management, and business-driven intellectual property solutions for her clients, ranging from Fortune 10 companies to startups. Beyond her legal practice, Isheeta is an advocate fordiversity and inclusivity within and outside her firm. She has served on the board of SABA Michigan since 2015 and is currently its President, having previously held the role in 2018. She also serves on the Board of Directors for SABA North America and is both a past Fellow and Pathfinder of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD). At Brooks Kushman, she serves on the DEI Committee, leading recruiting and pipeline initiatives, and emphatically supports associate development through mentorship.Passionate about her community, Isheeta devotes time toprograms like Engineer Girl & Girl Scouts, introducing girls to science and IP, and FATE Detroit, helping Detroit high schoolers with college-readiness and building career skills. She was named an “Up & Coming Lawyer” by MichiganLawyers Weekly in 2023 and has been listed in Best Lawyers’ Ones to Watch since 2021. Isheeta has also maintained strong ties with her alma mater, the University of Michigan, by guest-lecturing on IP law and legal careers.Tanya A. Grillo is the President of the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan and a Director- National Conference of Women's Bar Associations. She was recently appointed to the Macomb County Circuit Court.Before taking the bench, Judge Grillo was the Managed Assigned Counsel Coordinator for the city of Southfield.  From 2017-2018, she was the Regional Manager for the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission (MIDC). In that capacity, she worked with all the courts in Lapeer, Macomb, Oakland and St. Clair Counties in the State of Michigan’s goal to reform the indigent defense system. She received a Juris Doctorate from Thomas M. Cooley Law School and a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Central Florida.Learn more about WLAM on our ⁠⁠website⁠⁠ and on our social media platforms ⁠Facebook⁠, ⁠Instagram⁠, ⁠LinkedIn⁠, ⁠YouTube⁠, and ⁠Twitter⁠.  WLAM supporters can sponsor the Working Towards NinePodcast. Sponsorship includes a 30-second promo, either audio created by the sponsor or ad copy read by the producer and the sponsor’s name cited in the show notes. Check out our website ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ to learn more and purchase a sponsorship.    

Vision and Purpose in Turbulent Times

In this episode, Host Shawndrica Simmons talks with Judge Michelle Rick of the Court of Appeals for a timely and candidconversation on vision and purpose in turbulent times. Judge Rick reflects on her extensive career across every level of Michigan’s legal system and discusses the growing challenges facing the judiciary, including public distrust, political pressure, and threats to judicial independence. Theconversation explores access to justice, the importance of serving underserved communities, and the role women lawyers—particularly women in leadership—mustplay in safeguarding the rule of law. Listeners gain insight into the human side of judicial service, the responsibility of legal professionals during uncertain times, and the values necessary to lead with integrity, courage, and clarity in today’s legal landscape.Judge Michelle Rick was elected to the Michigan Court ofAppeals in November 2020. In 2026, she will run for re-election. Judge Rick previously served as a trial judge from 2007–2020. Prior to that, Judge Rick worked as a public servant in the Livingston County Prosecutor’s Office, theMichigan Department of Attorney General, and the office of Governor Jennifer M. Granholm. Judge Rick is a graduate of Michigan State University andthe University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. She is the past-president of the National Association of Women Judges. Judge Rick has also served on the executive board of the Michigan Judges Association, and is past-president ofthe MJA. Judge Rick is the recipient of several local, state, andnational awards. In 2019, the Michigan Supreme Court recognized Judge Rick as a judge who gives back and makes a difference. In 2020, the State Bar of Michigan awarded Judge Rick and select University of Detroit Mercy School of Law faculty and students the Kimberly M. Cahill Bar Leadership Award for creating and executing “Project Access,” a traveling expungement clinic. In 2015, WLAM Mid-Michiganbestowed on her the Carolyn Stell Award. In 2022, NAWJ awarded Judge Rick the Vaino Spencer Award for outstanding leadership in promoting its vision, core values,and mission. In 2021, Judge Rick received one of WLAM’s highest awards, the Mary S. Coleman Award. Most recently, Judge Rick was recognized by the Michigan Lawyer’s Weekly as the Influential Woman of Law for 2025. Judge Rick teaches courses concerning access to justice at UDM Law. She is an international, national, state, and local speaker on legal topics. Judge Rick lives in northern Michigan with her college sweetheart, Matthew. They raised their four adult children in the Lansing area Shawndrica N. Simmons is a solo practitioner and mediator atLawChic.com. Her Michigan civil litigation practice focuses on Labor & Employment, Family & Contractual Law, Probate, and Real Estate. She has been in the legal field for over twenty-four years. A former union advocate and former union president of the American Federation of State County &Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 3309/3rd Circuit Court; she now engages in litigation against employers, unions, school districts, and municipalities for civil rights violations while handling high-risk divorces involving allegations of abuse. She is everything contracts from sports, death to real estate. She is a serial entrepreneur with her latest venture being opening two supervised parenting time facilities in Oakland County and Wayne County while also offeringmediation services based on income levels. She is married to a master barber and co-owns their salon, Bundles on the Boulevard. She is the mother of three biological daughters and six non-biological children who call her Mom. She is ablack woman who understands that hair to us is as important as bathing daily. She is an advocate for those that can’t be authentic to themselves in a world built on white supremacy. She is the voice of the voiceless.

Building Your 2026

Guest Zenell B. Brown talks with Host Nicole Smithson about steps that listeners can take to create an actionable vision for 2026. Attorney, mediator, and administrator, Zenell B. Brown has worn many hats throughout her legal career. Known for her strategic planning acumen and inclusive leadership, she has made a lasting impact on the legal profession, earning both local and national recognition. Zenell serves as faculty for the National Center for State Courts’ Institute for Court Management, the National Association for Court Management, the Michigan Judicial Institute, and the Michigan Women Lawyers Association’s Leadership Academy.Nicole M. Smithson is the Creative Director of WT9 and WLAM's immediate past president. Nicole is the Oakland County Indigent Defense Services Office's principal attorney.

Her Seat at the Table: Mary Sheffield on Power, Purpose, and Public Service

In this episode, Jennifer Dewey talks to Mary Sheffield, Detroit City Council President, about her life, career, the importance of representation in government, and what it is like as a woman in leadership and politics.  JENNIFER DEWEY BIO:Jennifer Dewey is an in-house attorney for General Motors with a practice focused on dealer franchise law and mergers and acquisitions. She is also involved with policy and economic development projects at GM. Prior to joining GM, Jennifer was a partner at Dickinson Wright PLLC’s Detroit office in the firm’s corporate group. Outside of her work at GM, she is an adjunct professor at Wayne State University Law School and serves on several boards, including the Pope Francis Center, Mercy Education Project, Eisenhower Dance Detroit, Detroit Economic Growth Corporation, Detroit Downtown Partnership BIZ Board, and is an editor of the National Association of Women Lawyers - Women Lawyers Journal. She lives in Detroit with her husband, Fred, and two young boys. MARY SHEFFIELD BIO:Mary Sheffield is a proud Detroiter, lifelong public servant, and the current President of the Detroit City Council. Elected at just 26, she made history as the youngest City Council member and later, the youngest Council President in Detroit’s history.Rooted in a family legacy of civil rights and community service, Mary has built her career on championing people-first policies, including affordable housing, property tax reform, home repair grants, and tenant protections. She is also the founder of grassroots programs like Occupy the Corner – Detroit, the Girls of Destiny Mentorship Program, and the Detroit Reparations Taskforce.She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Public Affairs from Wayne State University (2008) and a Master of Public Administration (MPA) from Central Michigan University.Known for her accessible, boots-on-the-ground style, Mary connects directly with Detroiters—whether in neighborhood corners, youth symposiums, or weekly “Conversations with the Councilwoman.” Recognized by Crain’s 20 in their 20s, 40 Under 40, the NAACP, and the Black United Fund, she leads with heart, faith, and a vision for an inclusive Detroit where every resident has a voice and the chance to thrive.