Source: Law School
Albert Pak
Albert Pak
The value of education and helping community organizations are two common themes in Albert Pak’s life. When he found the opportunity to combine those interests at Michigan Law and in Detroit, the decision to jump from private practice to academia was made.
Pak joined the Michigan Law faculty this fall, working in the Community Enterprise Clinic. Although he comes to the faculty from private practice, the things that appeal to him most about academia have long been a part of his career.
Laying the groundwork
Shortly after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, Pak helped launch 12 Plus, a nonprofit that provides post-secondary pathway assistance to high school students in underserved areas of Philadelphia.
“I have always had a passion for education,” Pak said. “At 12 Plus, I enjoyed giving my students the tools they needed to prepare for life beyond 12th grade. Increasing access to opportunity was and continues to be a very meaningful pursuit,” Pak said. “So after law school, I always had it in the back of my mind to return to academia in some form or another to be able to work with students.”
First, though, Pak had some other avenues to explore. While in graduate school, he spent a summer interning with the philanthropy arm of a large Detroit-based corporation, focusing on education issues in the city. “I was given a window into a lot of what was happening in the city—I witnessed a wide range of needs, how some of those needs were being met, and the challenges ahead,” he said.
Then, after graduating from law school at the University of Pennsylvania—and earning a master’s degree from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs, both in 2018—Pak won a prestigious Skadden Fellowship. Based on his previous experience in Detroit, he proposed a program for under-resourced entrepreneurs, small businesses, and nonprofits in the city to receive quality legal support.
He spent two years with the nonprofit Michigan Community Resources, building out a program to help provide pro bono legal assistance.
In 2021, Pak joined Bodman PLC in Ann Arbor, working with foundations and other nonprofits on a variety of legal issues. In 2023, he received the American Bar Association’s Outstanding Nonprofit Lawyer of the Year (Young Lawyer) Award.
“When I was invited to join the Law School, which happens to be right in my backyard, and to work in the Community Enterprise Clinic, it was an easy decision,” Pak said.
“Having worked as a public interest attorney through the Skadden Fellowship in Detroit, helping in many ways the same client population that the clinic assists, I viewed this opportunity as a serendipitous coming together of many different parts of my life.”
