Michelle Jackson

Pathway & Recruitment Innovations Director

Michelle brings over 25 years of experience in the legal profession to her role as Pipeline & Innovation Manager, having spent time as a practicing attorney and as a law school administrator. Before joining Diversity Lab, Michelle was the Director of Alumni Advising at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law in Chicago, Illinois. In this innovative role as a member of the Career Strategy Center team, Michelle provided career counseling to alumni and students at all stages of their careers through the design and execution of lifelong career-related programs and services. Michelle previously served as the Director of Diversity Education & Outreach at Northwestern Law. Before joining Northwestern, she spent nine years as the Director of Career Services and a member of the Chancellor’s executive staff at the HBCU law school Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Michelle is very active in industry organizations, having served two terms on the board of directors of the National Association for Law Placement (NALP), most recently as the Vice President of Member Services and Education (2018-2020). She is also a member of the Professional Development Consortium (PDC) and Corporate Counsel Women of Color.

Prior to her career in higher education, Michelle practiced law at the boutique real estate tax firm of Worsek & Vihon LLP, the Cook County Assessor’s Office, and the Chicago office Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP. She received her B.A., with distinction, from the University of Illinois at Chicago and her J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School.

Selected Speaking Engagements

• Presenter, Corporate Counsel Women of Color Millennial Bootcamp, “The Power of Harnessing Your Network: Finding and Maintaining Your Squad,” 2020
• Presenter, NALP Webinar: The Next Diversity Frontier: First Generation Law Students and Lawyers, 2018
• Presenter, Law School Admissions, Diverse Attorney Pipeline Program, 2017
• Presenter, Law School Admissions, National HBCU Pre-Law Summit, 2017
• Presenter, NALP Annual Education Conference, San Francisco, CA, 2017 – “Counseling the Silent Majority: Guiding Students with Accommodations Successfully Through Law School & Beyond”
• Presenter, Corporate Counsel Women of Color My Life as a Lawyer Pipeline Program, 2012-2017
• Presenter, Louisiana State Bar Association Suit Up for the Future Pipeline Program, 2011- 2016
• Presenter, NALP Annual Education Conference, Tampa, FL, 2013 – “Keeping Our Eyes on the Prize: Identifying and Addressing Diversity Fatigue Among Diverse Students and Attorneys”
• Presenter, NALP Annual Education Conference, Palm Desert, CA, 2011 – “Creating Your Brand — Image Management for Career Success in the New Millennium”
• Presenter, NALP Annual Education Conference, San Juan, PR, 2010 – “Diverse Lawyer Recruiting Challenges and Strategies”