Michael Finley

Michael Finley is a Senior Program Associate with the W. Haywood Burns Institute. He works collaboratively with stakeholders in several jurisdictions to reduce racial disparities in juvenile justice systems in local communities. Prior to joining the Institute, Michael was employed by Maryland’s Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention (GOCCP), where he worked with local and state leaders to develop state and local plans to reduce racial disparities throughout the state.  

Michael began his legal career as a Soros Justice Postgraduate Fellow with the Youth Law Center in Washington, D.C, a non-profit public interest law firm. At the Youth Law Center, Michael was involved with reform litigation and legislative and administrative advocacy in legal matters related to children, with a particular emphasis on improving the conditions of confinement for children in state custody and the overrepresentation of minority youth in the justice system.

Michael is the recipient of the American Bar Association's Young Lawyers Division Child Advocacy Award and the Frederick Abramson Memorial Foundation Fellowship for his advocacy on behalf of children. Prior to joining the Youth Law Center in 1999, Mr. Finley served as the judicial clerk for the Honorable David B. Mitchell in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City.  He is a graduate of Morehouse College and George Washington University School of Law.

Phone: (415) 321-4100 X104
Fax: 410-764-8866
Email: mfinley@burnsinstitute.org