Propelling First-Generation Students to New Heights, One Success at a Time

Albert J. Dib (JD ‘80) is one such success story. A native Detroiter whose parents immigrated from Mexico and Syria, Dib attended Detroit Public Schools and the University of Michigan – Dearborn. While he remains a steadfast supporter of Detroit he recalls witnessing – and occasionally suffering – injustices, which served as motivation for his attending law school and embarking on a legal career. At Wayne Law, and while working his way through school as a janitor, Dib was “privileged to be mentored by Professor Richard Strichartz, who took [him] under his wing and was a guiding light.” Multiple legal fields attracted Dibs’ attention as a student, but his choice of practice area was purely serendipitous: his first job was at a personal injury firm where he honed his legal skills, ultimately becoming one of southeast Michigan’s most successful plaintiff medical malpractice attorneys with a specialization in birth trauma and obstetrical medical malpractice.

Now the principal of Jefferson Law Center, Albert Dib’s honors and awards, among many others, include being listed in Best Lawyers in America and named as one of the “Top Lawyers in Metro Detroit” for plaintiff medical malpractice.

“Wayne Law is a very special place,” Dib explains, “it’s a beacon of hope for those in the city and throughout the Midwest, and I’m deeply grateful to the School because it changed my life in ways I could never have imagined.” That gratitude has been expressed not only through financial gifts but in his personal service to Wayne Law – as an instructor for courses such as Pretrial Advocacy and Health Law, as a moot court judge, and serving as past president of Wayne Law’s Alumni Association and member of its Board of Visitors.

The work ethic this son of immigrants was raised with has served him well and continues to do so. “It’s all about preparation,” he argues. “Nothing beats preparation and that encompasses the homework and reading that never stop, no matter whether one is still in law school or in the mature stages of a successful career. And as far as first-gen students, I’ve always advocated for those from disadvantaged backgrounds and that’s where Wayne Law excels. It’s truly a jewel.”

Cleveland-born Chandra Baker-Robinson (JD’03) came to Detroit as a child and adopted the city’s ethos of hard work and grit as her own – first as a high-achieving Cass Tech student and then at the University of Michigan. But in addition to being a first-gen student, Baker-Robinson was also a non-traditional one, coming to Wayne Law at age 36 after a career in pharmaceutical sales. A loan covering tuition and housing expenses was key to her being able to enroll, but a challenge remained in supporting herself during the summer. That’s when a Wayne Law Career Services staff member suggested Baker-Robinson apply for a 1L summer associate position, which she secured at Miller Canfield, where she performed well enough to be invited back for a second summer.

Those summer associate roles led to a full-time associate position at Miller Canfield. But while working for a prestigious law firm was rewarding both professionally and financially, Baker-Robinson felt driven to make a difference in the heart of the community. That led to her leaving the firm after five years to work for the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office. There she excelled not only on the prosecutorial front – winning a 2018 “Prosecutor of the Year” award from the International Association of Arson Investigators – but as a supervisor working with her staff and defense counsel to find the best resolution for all parties.

Going back to school at age 36 was a challenge, especially in a demanding law school environment, and Baker-Robinson admits “it took a lot of work to understand legal thinking and procedure.” Yet she persisted and benefited from internships and clerkships, including one with US District Judge Victoria Roberts of the Eastern District of Michigan. That experience influenced Baker-Robinson to run for and be elected as a Judge in the Third Judicial Circuit Court of Michigan in 2020. “I’ve always wanted to make a difference in the community,” said Baker-Robinson, “and being in the judiciary has allowed me to do that, especially in criminal law and mental health. That commitment to being impactful in the community is also why I absolutely love Wayne Law so much.”

Immigrating to the US from Afghanistan with his family at age 9, Homayune Ghaussi (JD ’01) grew up in a family where food and housing were secure but anything beyond that required funding from part-time work. After graduating from Birmingham’s Seaholm High School, his undergrad degree at Wayne State took 8 years to complete due to working near full-time in retail and service establishments. While he’d always dreamed of being a lawyer, the need to work interrupted his college years. “I was unfocused until my father’s will encouraged me to attend law school,” he notes. “Once at Wayne Law, I became a good student because all I did was study.” That studying clearly paid off as Ghaussi was named to Order of the Coif and served as Assistant Editor and then Executive Articles Editor of Wayne Law Review.

“As a first-generation law student with no lawyers among my family or acquaintances, I had no idea what to do in law school, but I never felt that I was different or treated differently at Wayne Law. All the opportunities open to others were open to me, and the late professor Peter Henning’s mentoring and support were invaluable. Also invaluable were the friendships I made and the support of Career Services staff, who rescued me when I came to them with a blank resume. Their assistance enabled me to secure a summer law firm job after my 1L year and the next two summers I was very fortunate to have a clerkship with the late Judge Patrick Duggan of the Eastern District of Michigan.”

Homayune’s law firm exposure whetted his interest in supply chain litigation and contract negotiation and he’s since developed a practice and international reputation in those arenas. Today, as a partner with Warner Norcross + Judd, Homayune Ghaussi regularly represents clients in complex litigation and commercial disputes, including through jury trials and arbitration hearings. He also serves as supply chain and contracts counsel for automotive, manufacturing, and raw material suppliers based throughout the United States and Europe, with his litigation experience providing valuable insight into how those contracts are likely to be interpreted if a problem arises.

Ghaussi’s honors and awards include listings in Best Lawyers in America, Michigan Super Lawyers, Lawyers of Color’s 2023 Power List and Law Firm Leaders, and Michigan Super Lawyer Rising Star. While impressive in themselves, those honors also serve to underscore Ghaussi’s appreciation of Wayne Law: “The School prepared me to be a lawyer as well as any law school in the nation. I never felt I wasn’t as prepared as any attorney from any law school.”

Aleanna Siacon’s (JD ’22) family immigrated to the US from the Philippines and settled in Macomb County when she was two years old. When it was time for college, she chose to remain in Michigan and found that Wayne State offered the journalism major she sought, was home to warm and friendly students, and provided a plethora of promising journalism internships. As a student, Aleanna had stories published in USA Today, the Chicago Tribune, Detroit Free Press, and others. But to further expand her career options she also picked up political science and history majors on her way to a BA (2019). In the process, Aleanna discovered that much of what she loved about journalism – the intensive research and working closely with diverse groups of people – could also be found in law. Shortly thereafter, the triple-major Wayne State grad began a new career at Wayne Law.

In law school, Siacon thrived both academically and in the extracurricular roles she chose to pursue – interning with the Civil Division of the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan as well as for Judge Mark A. Goldsmith; serving as Assistant Editor of Wayne Law Review; competing in Moot Court competitions; becoming involved with affinity groups such as the Asian Pacific Law Students Association where she served as president; and co-founding the Diversity Coalition.

But being a female, Asian first-gen student came with a constellation of issues that majority students typically don’t experience. “It’s challenging for every law student to navigate law school and the legal field,” she says, “but first-gen students don’t necessarily have the background, context, or references to help, especially regarding unspoken, nuanced matters. Even when we’re very successful, it’s not uncommon to experience ‘imposter syndrome’ – to question whether we deserve to be here or whether we’re doing the right thing. That’s why it’s so helpful to share perspectives with affinity group colleagues, with sympathetic faculty, and in my case, with an Asian female alum who mentored and convinced me, as did many others, that I deserve to be here.” There’s no question about that: Aleanna’s academic performance earned her the John Reed Scholarship for Academic Excellence and she also garnered the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan Dawn Van Hoek Student Award.

Today, as an Associate at Dickinson Wright in Troy, MI, Aleanna’s practice focuses on civil litigation where the resilience she developed as an undergraduate, and especially at Wayne Law, helps her deal with not only the deadlines and constant pressure of her practice but the fact that more than 90 percent of the time she’s the only female Asian lawyer in the room. “That gives me context, and motivation” Siacon explains, “and reinforces that I’m representing not just my client, but my gender, my family, and my community.”

The success of students like Albert Dib, Chandra Baker-Robinson, Homayune Ghaussi, and Aleanna Siacon confirms Tierney Hoffman’s estimation of just how much social capital first-gen students bring with them to law school. That said, Hoffman reports that there is much more Wayne can and will continue to do. “Often, these students don’t know what a bar course is, they don’t have knowledge of the legal community of which they’ll soon be a part, they may not feel connected to other students, and at times, they may not even have the basic necessities. That’s why we have a food pantry for all students, why we support multiple student affinity groups based on underrepresentation, religion, culture, and legal interest such as criminal law, and why we offer no-cost JD Edge modules to entering 1L students to prepare them on topics including note taking, time management, and others.”

Richard Bierschbach, Wayne Law Dean and John W. Reed Professor of Law, comments that “Our mission as an urban law school is very much focused on providing opportunity for all qualified students to succeed, and that certainly includes first-generation students whose previous academic success – often achieved in spite of extraordinary obstacles – bodes well for their continued success not only at Wayne Law but in their chosen careers. The individuals profiled here are proof of that, and exemplars of what Wayne Law is all about.”

Wayne Law’s commitment to first-generation students is a defining part of the school’s identity. By pairing rigorous academics with tailored resources and a supportive community, the Law School not only opens doors for those who may be the first in their families to walk through them, but also ensures they thrive once inside. The journeys of alumni and students alike show how Wayne Law transforms barriers into pathways, shaping leaders who bring resilience, perspective, and excellence to the legal profession. This combination of access, support, and proven success distinguishes Wayne Law as a place where ambition meets opportunity.