Laurie J. Michelson

Laurie J. Michelson (born 1967) is a United States District Judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and former United States Magistrate Judge of the same court.

Michelson received an Artium Baccalaureus degree in 1989 from the University of Michigan. She received a Juris Doctor in 1992 from Northwestern University School of Law. From 1992 to 1993, she served as a law clerk to Judge Cornelia G. Kennedy of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. She joined the law firm of Butzel Long as an associate in 1993, becoming a shareholder in 2000. Her private practice specialized in media law, intellectual property and white collar criminal defense. In 2011, she was appointed as a United States Magistrate Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, a capacity in which she served until her elevation as a district court judge on March 14, 2014.

On July 25, 2013, President Obama nominated Michelson to serve as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, to the seat vacated by Judge George Caram Steeh III, who took senior status on January 29, 2013. . On January 16, 2014 her nomination was reported out of committee.

A cloture vote was held on Tuesday, March 11, 2014 on the Michelson nomination; cloture was invoked by a vote of 56-43. On Wednesday, March 12, 2014 the U.S. Senate voted 98-0 for final confirmation. She received her judicial commission on March 14, 2014.