Monday Profile- Michelle Radloff

By Jo Mathis Legal News Michelle Radloff grew up in Ypsilanti and Livonia and always wanted to be a lawyer. She has worked and volunteered since she was 14, started her first business when she was 18, and helped create LEAP--Lawyers for Equal Access Project, Inc. to help people with moderate means who could not afford standard attorney rates. Since then, she has served on several legal committees and associations, usually focusing on poverty and animal issues. Over the past decade, Radloff's private practice has focused on animal welfare and dog law in particular. Radloff has two college-age daughters, Samantha and Lindsey, with her first husband, Ivan, who died of pancreatic cancer, and a daughter, Courtney, 11, with her husband, Chris. Residence: Whitmore Lake Currently reading ... "Second Honeymoon" by James Patterson. What is your most treasured material possession? My Aussie dogs. What advice do you have for someone considering law school? Do what you love. If you weren't a lawyer, what would you be? Something with animals--a dog geneticist, a veterinarian, a dog trainer ... Favorite local hangouts: Whitmore Lake Tavern, The Blue Nile, Café Zola. Your proudest moment(s) as a lawyer? Working with Colleen Murphy to get Genesee County to change their practice of euthanizing pitbulls solely because they were pitbulls, without any evaluation. And the Creation of LEAP, which helped provide legal services for moderate means people. What would surprise people about your job? All the boring background work. What one thing do you wish people knew about your work? Animal welfare issues affect our rights as individuals. If you could have dinner with three people, living or dead, who would they be? My family. Who is your favorite character of fiction? Scarlett O'Hara. Favorite movie: It changes, but right now it's "Silver Linings Playbook." Favorite law-related movie: "Reign Over Me" with Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle Favorite place to spend money: The dog show or Home Depot. What is your motto? Carpe Diem. Where would you like to be when you're 90? I would like to be with my family and dogs, semi-retired. I don't think I will ever retire completely. I hope to still be competing with my dogs and working in law. Published: Thu, Jul 18, 2013