Honorable Victoria A. Roberts is a retired judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Her distinguished legal career spans over 40 years with 25 years in judicial service. A trailblazer in her field, Judge Roberts is dedicated to ensuring the equal administration of justice under the law. Judge Roberts became a Fellow in 1997, has served on the Michigan State Bar Foundation Board of Directors since 2003, and became the Chairperson of the Fellows Program in 2022.
Why did you choose the legal profession as a career?
I had not planned on law as a career. I was discriminated against when I tried to obtain a job as a journalist in my senior year of college. I turned to the law to address and combat the type of discrimination I faced and to help others who found themselves in similar situations.
Please share any community service you have participated in and are most proud of?
I handled numerous housing discrimination cases and eventually became a member of the board and Chair of the board of the Fair Housing Center of Metropolitan Detroit. I held that position for a number of years and was deeply involved in the selection of cases to bring suit in. I am an active volunteer in the St. Leo’s Soup Kitchen in Detroit where we prepare hot meals from scratch for 130-150 people four days per week. I was active in Big Brothers Big Sisters. I currently serve as a volunteer mediator in the Prison Mediation Program which I established when I was a judge. During COVID, as a member of its launch team, I actively helped to establish LifeChurch Riverside of Detroit as a virtual church. I also began a program shortly after I went on the bench to increase diversity in the ranks of law clerks. My program trained hundreds of law students over the course of the years and I was a trainer. The program continues even though I retired.
Why is the Fellows Program special to you?
It is a wonderful, satisfying feeling to give away money for the benefit of poor people in Michigan who need legal services. The class divide in this country is enormous. The Fellows are integral ambassadors on behalf of the Foundation to close that divide and contribute labor and money to advance the lawyer obligation to give back. It is a privilege to practice law and comes with obligations. The Fellows is only a small way that I can give back to people in need in Michigan.
A fun fact that you would care to share with your colleagues.
I was a “one and done” marathoner at the tender age of 54. I issued a challenge to my sister; I didn’t think she would accept! We had run shorter races before and since. The discipline of training for runs demonstrated so much to me, the value of discipline, goal setting, hard work and resilience. I draw on the experience of training to run 26 miles – and actually running it – whenever I think about giving up.