Classical Flutist to Make US Supreme Court Advocacy Debut

Ann Sherman’s music career took her from Michigan to Mexico, but she’ll perform on Tuesday before the justices in her first Supreme Court argument.

Sherman, 65, spent nearly 20 years playing and teaching classical flute before turning to a legal career. In her current role as Michigan’s solicitor general, she’ll argue in a prisoner suit on behalf of the state.

“People think that the jump from being a classical flutist and teacher to law is abnormal,” Sherman said. But she said her background compliments her legal career.

“In the end, whether you are getting up and playing a concerto or you’re getting up in front of state supreme court or the US Supreme Court, you’re bringing yourself to that endeavor,” Sherman said.

Career Transition

Sherman, who said she comes from a family of musicians, performed with the Symphonic Orchestra of Guadalajara (Mexico), the Belles Arts Opera Orchestra (Mexico City), the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, and the Lansing Symphony Orchestra.

Sherman decided to attend law school at Michigan State University as a 40-year-old single mother of three after going through a divorce, she recounted in a 2016 interview with the MSU student newspaper, The State News.

“It was challenging and rejuvenating to be around so many young people, but I was different because while they had free time, I had to come home and run a household and take care of my kids,” Sherman said. “In hindsight, I don’t know how I did it.”

Performing—whether as a musician or lawyers—hasn’t always come easy to her, Sherman said

“I’m not somebody that’s just cool as a cucumber,” Sherman said. As a musician, she’d manage that with discipline and preparation.

Anyone who plays an instrument knows “80% of it is just the discipline,” she said. “You practice, you have to be committed to it.”

“And I think that same element of discipline is present in the law, too,” Sherman said. “The confidence in both settings comes from preparing.”

Public Servant

It’s a strategy Sherman has used in her more than two decades at the Michigan Attorney General’s Office—her first legal job after clerking on the Sixth Circuit for Judge Richard Suhrheinrich.

Initially, while working for a federal district judge, Sherman said she looked for law firm jobs. Her boss agreed to write her a recommendation, but said he was certain she’d be back in a few years seeking one for public service jobs.

“He knew before I even knew, that I was essentially a public servant,” Sherman said.

During her Sixth Circuit clerkship, opportunities for lucrative firm positions arose. “That’s when I really had to just decide who I was, when you are facing an opportunity where you can make more money.”

At that point, I really knew, she said. “I went right into the AGs office and didn’t look back.”