Western Michigan University Cooley Law School

Western Michigan University Cooley Law School is a private law school affiliated with Western Michigan University, located in Lansing, Michigan, with additional campuses in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Auburn Hills, Michigan, and Tampa, Florida. The law school was founded in 1972 by Thomas E. Brennan, a Michigan Supreme Court justice, with the goal of providing a legal education to working professionals and individuals from diverse backgrounds, such as Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Thurgood Marshall. The law school has a strong focus on practical skills training, with programs like the Innocence Project and the National Trial Competition. The law school's faculty includes notable scholars like Erwin Chemerinsky and Laurence Tribe.

● History

The law school was established in 1972 as the Thomas M. Cooley Law School, named after Thomas M. Cooley, a University of Michigan law professor and Michigan Supreme Court justice. The law school was founded with the goal of providing a legal education to working professionals and individuals from diverse backgrounds, such as Sonia Sotomayor and Stephen Breyer. In 2014, the law school affiliated with Western Michigan University, becoming the Western Michigan University Cooley Law School. The law school has a strong connection to the American Bar Association and the National Conference of Bar Examiners, and has hosted events featuring notable speakers like John Roberts and Antonin Scalia. The law school's history is also tied to the Michigan State Bar and the State Bar of Florida.

● Academics

The law school offers a range of academic programs, including the Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree, the Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree, and the Master of Arts in Law degree. The law school's curriculum includes courses in constitutional law, contract law, and tort law, as well as specialized courses in areas like intellectual property law and environmental law, taught by faculty like Cass Sunstein and Richard Epstein. The law school also offers a range of clinical programs, including the Cooley Innocence Project and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals clinic, which provide students with hands-on experience in areas like appellate law and trial advocacy, similar to programs at Harvard Law School and Yale Law School. The law school's academic programs are designed to prepare students for the bar exam and for careers in law, including careers in private practice, public interest law, and government law, with notable alumni like Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

● Campus

The law school has campuses in Lansing, Michigan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Auburn Hills, Michigan, and Tampa, Florida, with state-of-the-art facilities and resources, similar to those at Stanford Law School and University of Chicago Law School. The law school's campuses are located near major federal courts, including the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, and provide students with access to a range of legal resources, including law libraries and courtrooms, like those at Supreme Court of the United States and United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The law school's campuses are also home to a range of student organizations, including the Cooley Law Review and the American Bar Association Law Student Division, which provide students with opportunities to get involved in the legal community and to develop their skills and knowledge, similar to organizations at New York University School of Law and University of California, Berkeley, School of Law.

● Accreditation

The law school is accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) and the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) and the National Association of Law Placement (NALP), like Columbia Law School and University of Pennsylvania Law School. The law school's accreditation is recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), and is subject to regular review and evaluation by the ABA and HLC, similar to the accreditation process for University of Michigan Law School and Duke University School of Law. The law school's accreditation ensures that its academic programs meet the highest standards of quality and excellence, and provides students with a range of benefits, including eligibility to take the bar exam and to practice law in United States.

● Notable Alumni

The law school has a range of notable alumni, including federal judges like Judge Janet Neff and Judge Paul Maloney, as well as state judges like Judge William Murphy and Judge Deborah Thomas. The law school's alumni also include law professors like Professor Lawrence Dubin and Professor Victoria Vuletich, as well as practicing attorneys like Attorney General Bill Schuette and Attorney General Dana Nessel, who have worked at firms like Kirkland & Ellis and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. The law school's alumni have gone on to achieve great success in a range of fields, including private practice, public interest law, and government law, with many alumni working at organizations like American Civil Liberties Union and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and have made significant contributions to the legal community, similar to alumni from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law and University of Virginia Law School.