Mary Chartier
Attorney Mary Chartier has a broad range of experience in the legal field. Before founding Alane & Chartier with business partner Natalie Alane, Mary worked at the Michigan Supreme Court for Justice Michael F. Cavanagh, as well as at the Court of Appeals, Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office, and the East Lansing City Attorney’s Office. While she has worked on numerous cases in many areas of the law, Mary’s practice is primarily devoted to criminal defense litigation and appellate advocacy. She specializes in handling cases dealing with criminal defense and constitutional law.
Mary practices in federal and state courts throughout Michigan. She has had numerous trial and appellate successes, including winning three cases at the Michigan Supreme Court in one year. One of these successes resulted in the release of a man wrongfully convicted of homicide. She has also handled a number of medical marijuana cases throughout the state and has given presentations about the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act to citizens and practitioners.
In addition to presentations about medical marijuana, Mary has given presentations on criminal defense and constitutional law, including presenting at the Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan Advanced Criminal Defense Practice Conference and Michigan State University's Women's Leadership Conference.
Mary is also an adjunct professor at Thomas M. Cooley Law School. Since 2002, Mary has taught Advanced Legal Research and Writing, a third-year law school class that focuses on appellate advocacy, statutory drafting and interpretation, and contract drafting and interpretation. Mary has received the Favorite Female Adjunct Professor Award at the law school.
In addition to her legal background, Mary has over seven years of management experience running a multi-million dollar non-profit organization and supervising a staff of over 250 members in two states. She has given numerous national presentations and has published extensively.
Mary graduated summa cum laude from Thomas M. Cooley Law School. She served as Editor-in-Chief of the Law Review and was a National Moot Court champion. She received the Distinguished Student Award, the Leadership Achievement Award, the Rakow Award for Excellence in Business Law from the Federal District Bar Association of Eastern Michigan, the James E. Burns Memorial Award, the Raymond Burr Award, and the Shane Joseph Johnson Memorial Scholarship. Mary earned eleven certificates of merit while in law school and was an honors scholar. She attended graduate school and received her undergraduate degrees from Michigan State University.
Mary is a member of the Board of Directors of the Ingham County Bar Association and serves as Chairperson of the State Bar of Michigan's Animal Law Litigiation Committee and Chairperson of the State Bar of Michigan's Membership Services Committee. Mary is also a member of the American Bar Association, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan.
Mary is admitted to practice in the State of Michigan, the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan, and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Criminal defense work is a true passion for Mary, and she works as an assertive advocate for all her clients.
