President-Elect Michelle Wildgrube Ready To Make Her Mark

President-Elect Michelle Wildgrube Ready To Make Her Mark

6.1.2026

By Jennifer Andrus

From an early age, Michelle Wildgrube understood that being female would present challenges that her brothers would not face. She learned this lesson by watching her mother reenter the workforce and face the struggle to balance work and family.

As college graduation loomed at Rutgers University, a conversation with a trusted adviser altered the course of Wildgrube’s life.

“If you want to do something that will help women, you should be a lawyer,” said Professor Meredith Turshen.

Within weeks, Wildgrube was applying to law school and soon left New Jersey for the University at Buffalo School of Law. She was attracted to classes with subjects that covered real-life applications such as trusts and estates, real property and contracts.

At UB, Wildgrube saw firsthand how the law can impact crime victims, especially women. She volunteered at the domestic violence clinic on campus where she helped a survivor petition for an order of protection and appeared with her in Family Court. The experience, she said, helped prepare her to work as an attorney for the child in Family Court early in her career and led to her involvement with The Legal Project.

In 1999, Wildgrube joined the Capital Region firm of Carpenter and Cioffi. After Howard Carpenter left for another opportunity, the firm took on the new name of Cioffi, Slezak and Wildgrube with a partnership fully comprised of women. Wildgrube called it an organic change that led to a culture of collaboration and kindness. She credits her firm’s success, longevity and low employee turnover to that work culture.

“We offer flexibility to our employees, and it helps our employees to be able to raise a family and also do a great job,” she said. “We like to say that our employees are adults and that they can manage their schedules. We attract highly qualified people with that model, and they do great work for us.”

That flexibility extends beyond the workplace. Wildgrube is comfortable meeting new people while also understanding what it’s like to be seen as different. Growing up in a diverse family, Wildgrube’s parents instilled in her an awareness and sensitivity to the value of inclusion.

“Those early lessens impacted how I lead my life,” she said.

Wildgrube calls herself “Wasian” and is open to sharing her experiences and welcoming others into the fold.

“It’s a great time for people who are of different backgrounds to be able to be seen,” she said. “I am Chinese, but I am also German. I am a little bit of everything with a difficult German last name (willed-grew-bee). It’s a fun time for me to be out there.”

Supporting President Taa Grays and Increasing NYSBA Membership

As co-chair of the association’s Membership Committee, Wildgrube was one of the chief architects of the new membership model. Under the all-inclusive model, members pay one flat fee that entitles them to belong to two of the association’s 28 sections, take continuing legal education courses and download e-books and legal forms.

Wildgrube admits feeling cautious about the idea at first but soon saw how valuable this model would be to members. Her biggest challenge was convincing section leaders that the new membership model would increase section membership and lead to higher revenue.

“When you hear something new – the easiest answer is no,” she acknowledged. “It can be hard convincing others that this will draw people to membership and make us a stronger association overall, which also benefits the sections. It’s been less than two years, and I’m just thrilled with that growth already, with 2,000 more members than we had at the same time last year.”

With Wildgrube’s outgoing nature, it’s no surprise that she has excelled in encouraging others to join the association. Her commitment to the bar association began in 1999 when her firm encouraged all associates to join at least two sections, which are divided by practice area or demographics. She started volunteering in the Real Property Law Section.

As president-elect, Wildgrube, in collaboration with President Taa Grays, is interested in hearing what newer attorneys are looking for from NYSBA, including what committees, benefits and interactions would help to engage and retain them.

“We are looking at what new qualified lawyers want. I have two kids in their 20s and they are not like I was in my 20s,” she said. “I didn’t have social media as a young lawyer. It expands our horizons and gives us access to information we might miss from traditional communications.”

Wildgrube wants to continue using the association’s Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook platforms to spread the word about the benefits the association has to offer. Wildgrube is eager to build on the success of the last year and attract even more members.

“I’m so impressed by our membership and the people willing to give their time to help others be better practitioners,” she said. “We have a great story to tell.”

From that hopeful teen who was encouraged to express herself and embrace her differences to the legal practitioner changing the rules when it comes to law practice management, Michelle Wildgrube is poised to make her mark.