Michael was a Teaching Fellow at the Georgetown University Law Center Domestic Violence Clinic, working with students to help local victims of domestic violence obtain protection from their batterers. Prior to joining the clinic, Michael was a litigation associate at Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld in New York, where he was involved in substantial pro bono work with human rights groups. Michael graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 1994, where he worked on the Family Law Project, the Women and Law Clinic, and the Network for Women’s Services. After working as a staff attorney with the New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, Michael recently became the Executive Director of the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF).  TLDEF is a nonprofit civil rights organization committed to ending discrimination based upon gender identity and expression and to achieving equality for transgender people through public education, test-case litigation, direct legal services, community organizing and public policy efforts.