Adam Abdel-Mageed, ’21
Jenner & Block, Chicago

Adam Abdel-Mageed was sitting with his wife in the Law Quad when he decided to go to law school—as he says, the Quad can have that effect. He was drawn to law school by the idea of synthesizing facts and crafting arguments as a profession. Although Abdel-Mageed went to Michigan for undergrad, he didn’t necessarily feel compelled to stay in Ann Arbor. “Ultimately, however, the appeal of going to a fantastic law school without accruing a large amount of debt was too good to pass up, and the scholarship I was offered made me feel welcome, valued, and wanted,” he says. “As a scholarship recipient, I remain grateful for those who make Michigan Law capable of accommodating students in need of financial aid.”

The appeal of going to a fantastic law school without accruing a large amount of debt was too good to pass up, and the scholarship I was offered made me feel welcome, valued, and wanted."

Abdel-Mageed’s classes and summer opportunities clarified his interest in litigation rather than transactional work, and the practice-oriented curriculum has helped prepare him for the real thing. In the Juvenile Justice Clinic, he was able to advocate in a proceeding for a real client, and he worked on the challenging issue of climate adaptation with students and professors from other schools at Michigan as part of the Law School’s Problem Solving Initiative. “There’s a mythology around being a lawyer, and I still have some nerves about joining the profession, but Michigan Law has done as good a job as any school can in making me feel ready to take the next step,” he says.

Over time Abdel-Mageed has gravitated toward litigation as a profession, specifically appellate work. He has ambitions to become a judge, and has worked to craft a path that may give him the opportunity to join the bench one day.