Born in Saginaw, Michigan, Picard received a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Michigan Law School in 1912. He was an assistant prosecuting attorney of Saginaw County, Michigan in 1913. He was in private practice of law in Saginaw from 1913 to 1917. He was in the United States Army as a Captain from 1917 to 1919. He returned to private practice in Saginaw from 1919 to 1939. He was city attorney of Saginaw from 1924 to 1928. He was a candidate for the United States Senate from Michigan in 1934.[1]