CBA Record July-August 2026

the University of Michigan Law School and Western Michigan University’s philosophy master’s program. After deferring her admission to Michigan for a year, she spent the next year study ing and teaching philosophy while working toward her gradu ate degree. Ultimately, she found a way to pursue both interests concurrently, beginning Michigan Law’s summer start program in May 2003 (finishing her master’s degree in December 2004 while a student at Michigan Law). A few short weeks after she started law school, in June 2003, the Supreme Court decided Gratz v. Bollinger , ruling the Uni versity of Michigan’s admission policies improperly considered racial preferences a violation of the Equal Protection Clause. The media descended, and since only a small group of students were on campus, Rich and her classmates were frequently interviewed about their opinions on the ruling, despite having just started their law studies. This was the auspicious start to Rich’s three years at Michigan Law, which she describes as “a highlight of her life.” Rich continues to give back to the University of Michigan, serving as the co-chair of the alumni reunion committee since her graduation 20 years ago. Rich’s pride in her legal alma mater is evident to everyone, especially to friend Ray Koenig, a Member at the Clark Hill Law Firm, who notes that they are friends despite his graduating from Michigan State. In fact, one of Koenig’s prized possessions is a Michigan State clock made by the Detroit company Shi nola, a gift from Rich when he assumed the CBA Presidency in 2023. Similarly, her friend and former YLS colleague Jonathan Amarilio, a Partner at Taft Law Firm, teases that, “[Rich] is always quick to remind everyone—and I mean everyone—that she attended Michigan.” As with her time in college, Rich worked in law school. In addition to the hard work typical of law school, Rich was Trisha Rich with fellow CBA leaders at the WBAI 2025 Annual Meeting. Bottom row from left: Past CBA President Ray J. Koenig III, Past CBA President John Sciaccotta, and Immediate Past Presi dent Judge Nichole C. Patton. Top: Trisha Rich and Past YLS Chair Kenneth Matuszewski.

Trisha Rich with her husband, Chris Nolan.

T risha Rich’s friends and colleagues will be the first to tell you that her passion for the law, her community, and her sense of humor make working with her a joy. “Her enthusi asm is infectious,” says Robert Grammig, Chair and CEO of her law firm, Holland & Knight. The law was not always her plan. She grew up in Peck, Michi gan, a small farming community of approximately 400 people. None of her family went to college, and she wasn’t sure she would go either. As a potentially first-generation college student, the idea of applying and, even worse, paying for college was daunting. However, a chance meeting while she was working at McDonald’s in high school set the stage for the career she now enjoys. A recruiter from Western Michigan University ordered food and asked her what her plans were after high school. When she admitted she didn’t know how she would pay, he encouraged her to apply to Western and offered to have her work in his office to help pay for her education. And she did. She applied to that one school only, got accepted, and with the help of her beloved grandparents, drove 300 miles to her new dorm. All because one recruiter took the time to encourage her. Philosophy Meets the Law At Western Michigan, she did, indeed, work in that recruiter’s office. She majored in business and economics because she knew she could find a job in those fields. However, she also started taking philosophy classes and quickly connected with the mate rial. She ended up minoring in philosophy and started thinking about going to law school. When Rich graduated from college, she had not yet decided whether her future lay in the law or in academia. Drawn equally to legal practice and philosophy, she applied to law schools and graduate philosophy programs. She was eventually accepted to

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