Sallyanne Payton is an American lawyer. She is the

William W. Cook William Wilson Cook (1858 – 1930) was an American attorney and legal scholar. He wrote extensively on matters of corporate law, including the seminal text, ''Cook on Corporations''. Cook was also an early, major benefactor of the University o ...

Professor Emerita of Law at the

University of Michigan Law School The University of Michigan Law School (Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a Public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of C ...

. She was Stanford Law School's first African-American graduate.

Early life and education

Payton was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, to an insurance underwriter and schoolteacher. She earned her law degree from

Stanford Law School Stanford Law School (Stanford Law or SLS) is the law school of Stanford University, a private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, it is regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world. Stanford La ...

in 1968, becoming their first African-American graduate. During her time at Stanford, Payton served as an editor of the ''

Stanford Law Review The ''Stanford Law Review'' (SLR) is a legal journal produced independently by Stanford Law School students. The journal was established in 1948 with future U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher as its first president. The review produces six ...

''.

Career

Female Nixon administration staff and appointeees

With her newly obtained law degree, Payton was hired at the law firm

Covington & Burling Covington & Burling LLP is an American multinational law firm. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the firm advises clients on transactional, litigation, regulatory, and public policy matters. In 2021, Vault.com ranked Covington & Burling as th ...

in Washington, D.C. While there, she caught the attention of President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

who hired her to sit on the White House Domestic Council staff in 1971. Her alma mater Stanford also elected her as an alumni-elect on their Board of Trustees. Payton was later appointed to Chief Counsel of the Urban Mass Transportation Administration at the U.S. Department of Transportation in 1973. In 1976, Payton and Christina B. Whitman were hired full-time at the

. The following year, she was elected to Stanford's Board of Trustees for a five-year term. During the

Clinton presidency Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following a decisive election victory over ...

, she served as an adviser for the Clinton Health Care Reform Task Force, which led to her election as a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. On May 28, 2008, Payton was reappointed the William W. Cook Professor of Law until May 31, 2013. Two years later, she was elected to the National Academy of Social Insurance and a Senior Fellow of the

Administrative Conference of the United States The Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS) is an independent agency of the United States government that was established in 1964 by the Administrative Conference Act. The conference's purpose is to "promote improvements in the effi ...

. In 2013, Payton officially retired from the University of Michigan Law School.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Payton, Sallyanne Living people Lawyers from Los Angeles Lawyers from Washington, D.C. University of Michigan Law School faculty Stanford Law School alumni African-American women lawyers African-American lawyers Academic journal editors Fellows of the United States National Academy of Public Administration Year of birth missing (living people) American women academics 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women