About Catherine M.
Catherine M. Sullivan built her legal foundation in the Midwest. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Aquinas College in 1984 and took her law degree from The University of Toledo College of Law, receiving a J.D. in 1987. Those classroom years set the stage for a steady, decades-long practice in Michigan and in federal court.
Her career began immediately after law school at Sawyer & Thieme, P.C., where she joined the firm in 1987. Two years later she moved to Schenk, Boncher & Rypma, P.L.C., a firm where she would hold several roles over the years. Records show she served as a lawyer there in 1989 and later as of counsel in 2007. That same year she formed her own practice, Catherine M. Sullivan, P.L.C., signaling a transition to a more independent practice model. In 2011 she took a position at Wheeler Upham, P.C., adding another chapter to a career that includes both firm and solo practice settings.
Those moves reflect a lawyer who has worked in different organizational contexts. She has carried matters in Michigan courts and has been involved in filings before the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Her experience spans trial and appellate settings, and it includes client counseling, motion practice, and appeals work. The record lists the jurisdictions where she is admitted: Michigan and the Sixth Circuit.
Colleagues and clients have encountered her in courtrooms and in conference rooms. Over time she has handled procedural work, brief writing, and courtroom advocacy. She has alternated between roles as an associate, counsel, and principal of her own practice. Each position required a different set of tasks and responsibilities, and her résumé shows a career that moved between partnership environments and solo practice.
Now well past three decades in practice, she remains active in matters that reach beyond state lines. Her work has continued to include federal appellate filings alongside Michigan litigation. She currently practices in Michigan and before the Sixth Circuit, handling litigation and appellate work.
