Kara Sears
A viral Facebook post claims that Michelle Obama surrendered her law license in 1993 after a federal judge gave her the choice between surrendering her license or standing trial for insurance fraud. However, this claim is false. While it is true that Michelle Obama is not currently authorized to practice law in Illinois, this is because she elected to assume inactive status, which means she is not required to complete an annual registration process or pay the accompanying fees. There have never been any disciplinary actions against her, and she could return to active status and practice law if she desired.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Surrender law license | No |
| Reason for surrender | Disciplinary action/misconduct |
| Fact | Michelle Obama is a lawyer |
| Reason for inactive status | To avoid a requirement to take continuing education classes and pay annual fees |
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What You'll Learn
Michelle Obama is a lawyer and writer
Michelle Obama is a lawyer, writer, and philanthropist who was the first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She is the wife of America's 44th president, Barack Obama, and the first African-American First Lady.
Michelle Obama graduated from Harvard Law School in 1988 and joined the Chicago law firm Sidley & Austin (also known as Sidley Austin LLP), where she later met Barack Obama. Obama was a summer intern, and Michelle was assigned to him as an adviser. They were among the few Black people working at the firm at the time. Michelle Obama was admitted to the Illinois bar on May 12, 1989, and was last registered in 1993. She is currently on “voluntarily inactive status and is not authorized to practise law in Illinois. However, she could return to active status and practise law if she desired.
Michelle Obama has written four books, including her New York Times best-selling memoir "Becoming" (2018), which won a Grammy Award, and "The Light We Carry" (2022), which won a Grammy Award for Best Audiobook, Narration, and Storytelling Recording. In her role as First Lady, Obama worked as an advocate for poverty awareness, education, nutrition, physical activity, and healthy eating. She has continued her efforts to support and inspire young people, launching initiatives such as Let's Move! and Joining Forces.
Michelle Obama is a dedicated mother to her two daughters, Malia and Sasha, and has stated that her personal priority is her children. She has also used her platform to fight for diversity and to raise awareness about important social issues.
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She graduated from Harvard Law School in 1988
There were claims on Facebook that Michelle Obama surrendered her law license in 1993 after a federal judge gave her the choice of surrendering her license or standing trial for insurance fraud. However, these claims are false. The Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (IARDC) website notes that the Obamas are not currently authorized to practice law in Illinois, but that is because Michelle Obama elected to assume inactive status. She could return to active status and practice law if she wanted.
Michelle Obama graduated from Harvard Law School in 1988 with a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree. She then joined the Chicago law firm Sidley & Austin, where she met her future husband, Barack Obama. She worked on marketing and intellectual property law and specialised in entertainment law. She was ultimately assigned as an advisor to summer associate Barack Obama.
Michelle Obama (née Robinson) was born on 17 January 1964 and grew up in Chicago's South Shore neighbourhood. She studied sociology and African-American studies at Princeton University, graduating cum laude in 1985. She is the first African-American First Lady of the United States and has been a strong advocate for healthy families, service members and their families, higher education, and international adolescent girls' education.
Michelle Obama has written a book and campaigned for her husband during his 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns. She has also launched several initiatives as First Lady, including Let's Move!, which addresses the challenge of childhood obesity, and Joining Forces, which supports US service members, veterans, and their families.
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She joined the Chicago law firm Sidley & Austin
There is no truth to the claim that Michelle Obama surrendered her law license due to disciplinary action. In fact, Obama continues to hold her law license, but it has been on a "voluntarily inactive" status since 1993 because she no longer needs it for her work.
After graduating from Harvard Law School in 1988, Michelle Obama joined the Chicago law firm Sidley & Austin. At the firm, she worked on marketing and intellectual property law. She met her future husband, Barack Obama, while working at the firm. Obama has written about her time at Sidley & Austin in her autobiography, "Becoming," where she offers a less-than-positive depiction of her experience as an associate attorney. She describes feeling unfulfilled by the work, despite being good at it, and found the lack of diversity among the lawyers particularly disheartening.
Obama was ambitious and eager for challenging assignments, but she often found her work unexciting. She was a member of the marketing and intellectual property group, which was considered more creative than other groups due to its involvement with advertising. She also worked on high-profile cases, such as representing AT&T Corp in its hostile takeover bid for NCR Corp and Union Carbide Corp in its legal fight to sell a chemical business unit despite opposition from the Federal Trade Commission.
Despite her dissatisfaction with the legal profession, Obama used her position at Sidley & Austin to advocate for increased diversity in the industry. She pushed the firm to recruit law students from a wider range of schools and backgrounds, not just the traditional Ivy League institutions. Obama's efforts to increase diversity extended beyond the firm, as she cited a National Law Journal report highlighting the lack of representation of African Americans in leadership positions at big law firms in 1990.
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She is not currently authorized to practice law in Illinois
There have been claims on Facebook that Michelle Obama surrendered her license to practice law in order to escape charges of insurance fraud. However, this claim is false.
Michelle Obama graduated from Harvard Law School in 1988 and joined the Chicago law firm Sidley & Austin, where she met her husband, Barack Obama. She was admitted to the Illinois bar on May 12, 1989, and was last registered in 1993. She is currently listed as "voluntarily inactive" and is not authorized to practice law in Illinois.
According to Illinois Supreme Court Rule 756, an attorney may choose to be placed on retired status, which removes the obligation to complete an annual registration process and pay the accompanying fees. This status can be changed back to active if the attorney desires. Therefore, Michelle Obama could return to active status and practice law if she wished to do so.
It is important to note that neither Michelle Obama nor her husband, Barack Obama, has ever been the subject of attorney disciplinary proceedings in Illinois. The claim that they surrendered their law licenses due to disciplinary reasons or to avoid ethics charges is false and has been fact-checked by multiple sources.
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She is on voluntarily inactive status
There has been misinformation circulating on social media that claims Michelle Obama surrendered her law license in 1993 after a federal judge gave her the choice between surrendering her license and standing trial for insurance fraud. This claim is false.
Michelle Obama is on "voluntarily inactive status" and is not authorized to practice law in Illinois. According to Illinois Supreme Court Rule 756, an attorney may file a written request to be placed on retired status, which removes the obligation to complete an annual registration process and pay the accompanying fees. However, a retired attorney can later return to active status if they desire.
Michelle Obama graduated from Harvard Law School in 1988 and joined the Chicago law firm Sidley & Austin, where she later met her husband, Barack Obama. After a few years, she decided to shift her focus to community service and working with people to serve their communities. She has since dedicated her time to various initiatives and programs that support education, service members, and healthy families.
It is important to fact-check information before sharing it online to prevent the spread of misinformation.
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Frequently asked questions
No, Michelle Obama did not surrender her law license. She is on "voluntarily inactive" status and is not authorized to practice law in Illinois. However, she could return to active status and practice law if she desired.
Michelle Obama decided that her true calling was working with people to serve their communities and their neighbors. She has since dedicated her life to public service and has become a role model for women and an advocate for healthy families, service members, and education.
Yes, Michelle Obama graduated from Harvard Law School in 1988 and joined the Chicago law firm Sidley & Austin, where she later met her husband, Barack Obama. She is admitted to the Illinois bar and was last registered in 1993.
