Before her election in 2012, Chief Justice McCormack was a professor and associate dean at Michigan Law, the University of Michigan law school, where she taught criminal law, legal ethics and various clinical courses. In her role as associate dean she launched many clinical programs, in which students represent Michiganders who can’t afford lawyers including a:
Pediatric Health Advocacy Clinic;
Domestic Violence Clinic;
Juvenile Justice Clinic; and the
Michigan Innocence Clinic, the first non-DNA Innocence Clinic in the country. To date, the Michigan Innocence Clinic has exonerated 22 men and women.
Chief Justice McCormack continues to teach at Michigan Law each year and is on the board of the Washtenaw County Families Against Narcotics, where she collaborates with medical professionals and other community leaders to find innovative ways to address the opioid crisis.