Elizabeth T. Clement is president and chief executive officer of the National Center for State Courts.
Previously, she served as chief justice of the Michigan Supreme Court. She joined the Michigan Supreme Court in November 2017, becoming the 13th justice and the 11th woman to serve on the bench. In November 2018, she was elected by the voters of Michigan to an eight-year term. Four years later, she was chosen unanimously by her colleagues to serve as chief justice, making her the seventh woman to step into that role.
Prior to her election to the court, Clement served as chief legal counsel to the governor of Michigan, advising on a wide variety of legal, legislative, and policy matters. Clement began her legal career in private practice, representing individuals and in the areas of family law, adoption, probate, estate planning, and criminal law. She was licensed to the State Bar of Michigan in 2002. She graduated from the Michigan State University College of Law that same year, where she served as an executive member of the moot court board. She attended Michigan State University on an academic scholarship and graduated in 1999 with a bachelor's degree in political science.