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Megan B. McCormick, lawyer and troll

Megan Beth McCormick is an American attorney who chose to get involved in the controversy over the anti-transgender book The Man Who Would Be Queen by J. Michael Bailey.

Background

McCormick was born on March 23, 1982. According to information McCormick published online, she grew up in Wales, Wisconsin, and has the following education:

  • Kettle Moraine High School (2000)
  • University of Wisconsin-Madison (B.A. 2004)
  • Chicago-Kent School of Law (J.D. 2007)
  • Illinois Bar (2007)
  • Wisconsin Bar (2008)
  • Northern District of Illinois (2008)
  • Milwaukee Bar Association (2017)

Work experience includes:

  • Waukesha County Chief Judge Kathryn W. Foster
  • Michael D. Robbins & Associates
  • Schoen, Mangan & Smith
  • Patton & Ryan LLC
  • O’Connell, Tivin, Miller & Burns, LLC
  • Weiss Law Office, S.C. in Mequon, Wisconsin
  • Wilson Elser
  • Griffin Purnell

Involvement

On J. Michael Bailey’s 51st birthday in 2008, Megan McCormick sent me the following unsolicited letter:

Ms. James,

I have a strange request:  My friend idolizes you.  Although I am not terribly familiar with your work, I know that he has frequently mentioned that your activism helped him while he was transitioning.

I am wondering if you ever distribute autographed photographs to fans.  I know it seems kind of campy, but I think he would be really thrilled by the gesture (I would give it to him as a birthday gift).

Thanks for any response you are able to provide, and thank you for your activism.

Megan McCormick

Up until that point, I had always sent along an autographed headshot or other item to any fan who asked, at no charge. A number of things in the letter made me 99% sure McCormick was engaging in fraud, but on the 1% chance it was a legitimate request, I waited a few days, then offered to send something that did not have my photo but would still be appreciated by a fan:

Thanks for the sweet note! I don’t have any autograph-worthy pictures right now, but if you wish, I could send an autographed DVD of Casting Pearls. Just tell me the name and address to send it to.

Take care, Andrea

Rather than feeling guilty about her deception and reconsidering, McCormick got back to me within 20 minutes:

Andrea, Thank you so much for your consideration.  I think he will love this.  If you could please send the DVD to me (as I will be wrapping it as part of his birthday gift).

I gave her one last chance to reconsider her behavior:

Great! To whom should I autograph it?

But being not too sharp, she pressed forward with her fraudulent request:

He goes by Mike.

At that point, I was almost certain that Megan McCormick was planning to give this to Mike Bailey. I signed it something like “To Mike, best of luck with your transition! Andrea.” In the past, Bailey has threatened to appear in drag in public, but he has yet to make any announcements about his very personal relationship to transgender women. In fact, he’s announced, “Everything that I’m willing to say about my personal life I’ve already said…”

I sent this note to McCormick:

Mailed today. Please tell him I am really pleased that my work has been a source of hope and help! Take care, Andrea

Ms. McCormick disingenuously replied:

Thank you again–for everything.

While I wondered if McCormick might be in a sexual relationship with Bailey’s son or even Bailey himself (who has a taste for mannish younger women like McCormick who looked like he did in high school), I didn’t look into the matter.

About a year later, an undeniable connection between McCormick and Bailey emerged, at which point I spoke with her boss by phone. After I explained that she had represented herself fraudulently to me, her boss suggested I send a note requesting no further contact. I did just that on May 27, 2009, writing, “I do plan to post our correspondence below so there’s a record of your behavior.”

McCormick became a mother in 2016 and got married in 2019, so let’s hope she no longer engages in this sort of troubling behavior.

References

McCormick, Megan B (July 2, 2008). Autograph request [unsolicited email to Andrea James].

Staff report (2017). Welcome New MBA Members! Milwaukee Bar Association Messenger, Winter, page 4 (lists Megan B. McCormick, Weiss Law Office) https://milwbar.org/images/downloads/mba_msgr_dec2017_9_hr.pdf

Staff report (November 2008). State Bar welcomes 122 new lawyers. Wisconsin Lawyer, Vol. 81, No. 11. https://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/WisconsinLawyer/Pages/Article.aspx?Volume=81&Issue=11&ArticleID=1608

Chicago Volunteer Legal Services (2015). https://issuu.com/cvlsf/docs/cvls_ar_2015

Megan Beth McCormick via Lawyers.com. https://www.lawyers.com/mequon/wisconsin/megan-beth-mccormick-157132304-a/

Megan Beth McCormick via Martindale. https://www.martindale.com/milwaukee/wisconsin/megan-beth-mccormick-300185516-a/

http://archive.is/wZ0uT

https://archive.ph/DY1kK