PuLSE Institute's Economic Justice Push Reflects in President Tina Patterson's Work in Georgetown Poverty Law Journal

DETROIT, MI, UNITED STATES, April 15, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Since its founding several years ago, the mission of The PuLSE Institute, a national and independent anti-poverty think tank headquartered in Detroit, has been to address issues of poverty and economic injustice while challenging those in power to tackle issues of inequality. The Institute has done that through research and by convening important forums that sit at the intersection of justice and inequality. In doing so, it has assembled both public officials and captains of industry to speak directly the issues it champions.

That is why the seminal case, Sharp v Hillery, et al. unpublished per curiam opinion of the Court of Appeals, issued [February 25, 2020] (Docket No. 347893), which was successfully argued by veteran Detroit Attorney Tina M. Patterson, who is also the President and Director of Research of The PuLSE Institute, underscores the larger goal of the institute in demanding equitable solutions to the issues of inequality.

Patterson's case, which was cited in The Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law and Policy, the nation's premier law journal on poverty issues, provides not only an instructive perspective on the work of the Detroit Land Bank Authority, but it also highlights the urgency to reform public institutions that are heavily financed with tax payer dollars, yet find themselves not meeting their stated goals.

For example, this particular case, which provides a foundational understanding of the Detroit Land Bank Authority and its operation, and became a focus of the Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law and Policy, involved a dispute over land that Attorney Patterson’s clients, the Hillerys, purchased from the DLBA under full compliance of the rules in effect during the purchase. The Hillerys’ ownership was threatened years later after a rules change, when a neighbor sued the Hillerys and the DLBA for ownership of the land.

As President of The PuLSE Institute, Patterson has hosted leading 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. As Director of Research, Patterson filed an amicus brief on behalf of The PuLSE Institute with the U.S. Sixth Court of Appeals in support of Detroit schoolchildren's right to literacy. The brief, prepared by The Douglass Project, the Institute’s premiere research vessel addressing issues of race, equity, democracy and poverty, made the case that the right to literacy is a fundamental right protected by the United States Constitution, and was instrumental in reaching a settlement in favor of the children.

With a decade of legal expertise and prolific public commentary, Attorney Patterson, a former Attorney for the United States Federal Government, has built and led widespread, influential businesses and nonprofit organizations. Her work has established her as a notable woman in executive leadership, including being one of the handful of Black women leading major national think tanks and among the rare 2% of Black women lawyers in the United States.

The work and mission of The PuLSE Institute have served to reinforce Patterson's own commitment to taking on issues that are at the core of justice and the rule of law in ensuring that there is fairness and equality in the legal system. That is why the case which was highlighted in the Georgetown review underscores the importance of ensuring that laws are applied equally and that the court doesn't look away in carrying out the fundamental principles of fairness as well as the ongoing questions of inequality.

"I’m glad to see the Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law and Policy made it a point to cite this case in its article about the Detroit Land Bank Authority operations and its ramifications on the citizenry. This is a case at its core that deals with the fundamental questions of inequality in Detroit, which reflects on a larger scale the state of inequality in our nation," Patterson said. "As the president of an anti-poverty think tank whose mission is to push for equitable solutions in the unrelenting quest for economic justice, it is heartening to see that the work that we do finds meaning in the national debate about the role of government in addressing inequality, which is what the Georgetown Law Journal article sought to portray."

She added, "This citation underscores the multi-dimensional impact of the case we took before the Michigan Court of Appeals and made a strong constitutional argument in support of citizens who have been detrimentally impacted by the works of their own government."

Bankole Thompson, the nationally acclaimed Detroit journalist and standard-bearer for economic justice issues, whose influential work on race, democracy and poverty, inspired the founding of The PuLSE Institute, says Patterson's work is important to the overall drive for economic parity in the nation.

"Attorney Patterson's decision to take on the Detroit Land Bank Authority and won against them before the Michigan Court of Appeals, represents a rare demonstration of judicial courage. Her passion and drive which she brings to not only her practice but also in her capacity as president of The PuLSE Institute, underscores the need for more voices like hers on the national scene," said Thompson, the founder and dean of The PuLSE Institute. "We are living during a period of great challenge and difficulty and it is not lost on me that there is a ray of hope in the work that Attorney Patterson brings both to the practice of law as well as in providing leadership for one of the nation's independent anti-poverty think tanks. The Georgetown University Law Journal's citation of the Detroit Land Bank Authority case is simply an acknowledgement of the need to continue raising questions about public bodies whose functioning faces scrutiny from the public gallery."

Patterson was recently honored with The PuLSE Institute's Economic Justice Award during the institute's 2025 Women's History Month Power Breakfast Leadership Forum Series, alongside Tricia Keith, the President and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Joi Harris, the President and COO of DTE Energy, a Fortune 500 Company, and Cynthia J. Pasky, the Founder and President of Strategic Staffing Solutions.

She established the law firm Patterson Justice Counsel, PLLC, where her work focuses on estate planning and asset protection, leading clients on the transformational journey of becoming the legacy pioneers by properly and appropriately protecting and preserving their wealth and wisdom for the benefit of succeeding generations. In addition, Attorney Patterson counsels clients in navigating the difficulties presented by legal challenges and effectively advocates for them when confronting conflicts in the complex court process.

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