Attorney, licensed in Michigan and Illinois
Sasha Boersma was born and raised in Southwest Michigan. She attended River Valley High School in Three Oaks, Michigan, and then Western Michigan University. She first voiced her ambitions to be a lawyer in a 5th grade “I want to be a lawyer when I grow up” essay. These ambitions were greatly influenced by her late father Craig, who was incredibly proud to see her reach that goal when she graduated from the Honors Program at Valparaiso University School of Law in 2013. She was admitted to the Michigan Bar in 2013 and the Illinois bar in 2016.
Her mother Kelly’s family has a long history in law enforcement that also drove Sasha’s interest in the law. Her great-grandfather Victor Beck retired from the Michigan State Police as a detective and wrote Fallen Troopers of the Michigan State Police and Michigan State Troops to Michigan State Police. Her grandfather Donald Beck and great-uncle Barry Beck also served as Michigan State Troopers. She grew up reading these histories and listening to stories of the “good old days” of law enforcement.
During her time in law school, she was involved in the Veterans Law Society. At the time, her uncle Andrew Beck and cousin Joe Prelock were both serving the United States Army as Explosive Ordinance Technicians with multiple deployments to Afghanistan. She became accredited to represent veterans before the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2012. She takes great pride in fighting the VA to ensure veterans receive the disability benefits they deserve after their service ends.
In 2011, Sasha started working as a law clerk for Davis Disability Group and became familiar with Social Security Disability. Seeing the difficulties people with disabilities faced to access these benefits motivated her to continue this work at Conybeare Law Office. She also serves on the Board of Directors for Disability Network Southwest Michigan, which runs two centers for independent living in 8 counties in Southwest Michigan.
When she joined Conybeare Law Office, Sasha was introduced to Michigan Workers Compensation and quickly discovered that injured workers often needed an attorney to stand up for them against the insurance companies trying to deny their benefits. Her work in this area has been recognized by the top publications in the field. She was selected to the Inaugural edition of The Best Lawyers in America©: Ones to Watch 2021 for Claimants Workers’ Compensation Law and again in 2022. She was also selected to the 2021 Michigan Rising Stars list by Super Lawyers.
Sasha was active in Mock Trial at both Western and Valpo, and she believes that these programs add great value to any student’s education, regardless of their interest in practicing law. She has continued to volunteer for Mock Trial programs at all levels throughout the state. She received the Volunteer of the Year Award for 2020-2021 from the Michigan Center for Civic Education, who facilitates Michigan’s High School Mock Trial programs. She is the Mock Trial Attorney Coach for New Buffalo High School.
She is also an active member in her local and state bar associations. Sasha served as the chair of the Young Lawyers Section of the Berrien County Bar Association from 2020-2021 and has organized several of the Berrien County Bar Association’s Charity Golf Outings. She serves as the chair of the Van Buren County Bar Association Community Outreach Committee. She is a member of the Michigan Association for Justice and active in its Social Security and Workers Compensation Section and Women’s Caucus. She is also a member of the State Bar of Michigan and active in the Social Security and Worker Compensation Sections. Finally, she is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association.
Sasha’s commitment to advocating for people with mental health disabilities was renewed when she lost her partner Jack to suicide in 2020. She feels lucky to live near her large extended family spread throughout Southwest Michigan and enjoys spending time with her nephews Braiden, Finley, Creek, and Arlo.