Attorney Patterson expands her influence and impact in economic justice and legal advocacy for the next generation of lawyers and policy makers to follow.
DETROIT, MI, UNITED STATES, February 9, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — The North Carolina Banking Institute (NCBI), a legal journal at the renowned University of North Carolina School of Law in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, has cited the work of Attorney Tina M. Patterson, a nationally recognized legal authority and Principal Attorney of Patterson Justice Counsel, PLLC headquartered in Detroit, Michigan.
In its latest publication from March 2025, the NCBI published a law review article titled, “Color in Line: Discrimination Against People of Color at the Deposit Window.” The article highlighted evidence of racial discrimination in several types of interactions at banking institutions, and cited as a prime example Patterson’s case, Hillery v. Genisys Credit Union, No. 2:23-cv-11452 (E.D. Mich. June 20, 2023), in which Patterson represents an African American client pursuing a federal racial discrimination claim against the credit union.
Formed in 1996, the North Carolina Banking Institute describes its aim to be a leading resource and place for discourse on practical, cutting-edge issues facing attorneys, judges, policymakers, and scholars within the banking industry.
The author of the article, Mark B. Greenlee, former regulatory attorney for the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, referenced Patterson’s case to show the broader example of similar cases with African American plaintiffs pursuing racial discrimination claims against financial institutions in routine banking matters. Patterson’s case, originally filed in the Eastern District of Michigan in June 2023, remains in active litigation.
Known for winning high-profile legal battles against larger entities including public bodies such as the Detroit Land Bank Authority (DLBA), Attorney Patterson’s work has focused on holding agencies accountable for contractual obligations and property rights, with her cases being cited in law journals as poignant examples on the intersection of race, class, and public policy.
One of the most defining examples of Attorney Patterson’s advocacy is her successful litigation against the Detroit Land Bank Authority. The case, Sharp v Hillery, et al., Michigan Court of Appeals Case No. 354432, won on appeal by Patterson twice in the Michigan Court of Appeals, transitioned from a standard property dispute into a significant piece of public interest litigation. The case was so influential that it was cited in the premier Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law and Policy, published by the Georgetown Law Center, one of the nation’s most preeminent institutions of legal education.
Beyond her private practice, Attorney Patterson is a prominent civic leader and public policy advocate, and currently serves as the President and Director of Research at The PuLSE Institute, nationally renowned anti-poverty think tank headquartered in Detroit. As President of The PuLSE Institute, Patterson has hosted leading national and international voices on racial and economic justice, including Keith Ellison, Attorney General of the State of Minnesota and Top Prosecutor in the George Floyd Murder Trial, and Dr. Gloria Kanem, United Nations Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
Notably, Patterson, a former federal government attorney, also authored an amicus brief on behalf of The PuLSE Institute in the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals case Gary B. v. Whitmer, No. 18-1855 (6th Cir. 2020), where she advocated for the constitutional right to literacy for Detroit public school students, arguing that the state had a legal obligation to provide an adequate education. The historic case ultimately resulted in a favorable settlement on behalf of the Detroit Public Schools Community District.
The influence of Attorney Patterson’s cases has increased in its reach and impact, underscoring how economic justice issues that are playing out in Detroit are being closely monitored from around the country.
Attorney Patterson’s cases have become a key reference point on how the issues of race and class continue to inform the need for equitable policies in society as well as demonstrating the importance of principled and effective advocacy for future law students, scholars, researchers, and policy makers, and the growing need to reexamine the function of law and its power in shaping a more just and equal society.
Tina M. Patterson, Esq.
Patterson Justice Counsel, PLLC
press@pattersonjustice.com
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