Judge Michèle Patrão Forsythe is a first-generation American, fluent in Spanish and Portuguese, and also studied French. She graduated from the University of Maryland Baltimore County with a B.A. in Political Science, minoring in International Affairs.  She attended the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Judge Forsythe worked at The White House and The United States Senate. She worked for the Department of Defense, assigned to Fort Meade. She graduated from University of South Carolina School of Law. 

Judge Forsythe was associate attorney at Query Sautter Gliserman & Price, LLC. She tried numerous cases in the Family Court, the Court of Common Pleas, the Court of General Sessions, the United States District Court, and argued before the Fourth Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals.  After 10 years, Judge Forsythe left the law firm of Query Sautter Forsythe, LLC, upon her election to the South Carolina Family Court. 

Among other associations, Judge Forsythe is a member of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges; the South Carolina Family Court Bench Bar Committee; the South Carolina Interstate Commission for Juveniles; and the James L. Petigru Inn of Court. Judge Forsythe is a South Carolina Liberty Fellow.