PLEASE GIVE THIS YEAR.
WMU-COOLEY INNOCENCE PROJECT
4TH EXONERATION
To help us continue shaping our students into future leaders, we need your support. I ask that you give to the Law School’s 20/20 Vision Annual Campaign. A mere $50 from every graduate will help us raise $1 million toward educating, empowering, and changing the lives of deserving students who strive for success in legal and business careers. The Law School is tax-exempt and non-profit, so your gift is deductible as permitted by law and costs less than you might think. Please give to the Law School today. Send your gift by enclosing your check or credit card authorization with the bottom part of this letter. Or give online at cooley.edu/giving. Best wishes for the holidays and a successful 2018.
PRO SE REACH OUT PROJECT TAMPA BAY DEBT RELIEF
SIXTY-PLUS, INC.,
ELDERLAW CLINIC SERVING SENIORS
NATURALIZATION CEREMONY
STUDENT BAR & BLSA
FOUR CAMPUSES MICHIGAN FLORIDA
PART-TIME OR FULL-TIME STUDY DAY, EVENING OR WEEKEND CLASSES
VIDEO CONFERENCE
352 J.D. DEGREES
OVER 20,000 GRADUATES WORLDWIDE
Won’t you please give generously today? Make a real difference in the lives of our students. You can help them realize their dreams of becoming lawyers.
42 LL.M. DEGREES
OUTREACH
JOINT TEACHING PHI ALPHA DELTA
158 FACULTY RESEARCH AND GRANTS
STUDENTS EXCEL
MICHIGAN COURT OF APPEALS UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
Don LeDuc President and Dean
20/20
WON’T YOU PLEASE GIVER GENEROUSLY TO YOUR 20/20 VISION CAMPAIGN TODAY. MAKE A REAL DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF OUR STUDENTS. YOU CAN HELP THEM RELAIZE THEIR DREAMS V I S I O N CLAWYERS. A M P A I G N OF BECOMING
KENT COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT
1,285 STUDENTS
CLINICAL OFFERINGS RICH DIVERSITY COURSE EXCHANGE WMU INITIATIVES AT OUR FACILITIES
300 S. CAPITOL AVE. LANSING, MI 48933 | (517) 371-5140 | WWW.WMICH.EDU/LAW
SUPPORT THE 20/20 VISION ANNUAL CAMPAIGN
300 S. Capitol Ave. | Lansing, 300 S. Capitol Ave. | Lansing, MI 48933 | (517) 371-5140 | wmich.edu/law
E-mail: PLEASE SEND ME INFORMATION REGARDING: Establishing a Named Scholarship DIRECT MY GIFT TO: Planned Gifts, Insurance Gifts Alumni “20/20 Vision” Bequests, Fund
Student Scholarships Clinical Programs Law Review/Journal/Moot Court/Mock Trial Other:
PLEASE SEND ME INFORMATION REGARDING: Establishing a Named Scholarship Bequests, Planned Gifts, Insurance Gifts
(Matching gift forms are available from your employer)
State:
City:
Zip: Other $:
$100
$500
$1,000
$50
✁
✁
President and Dean
WMU INITIATIVES AT OUR FACILITIES
$250
PLEASE ACCEPT MY TAX-DEDUCTIBLE GIFT:
COURSE EXCHANGE
(Matching gift forms are available from your employer)
CLINICAL OFFERINGS
Don LeDuc
Best wishes for the holidays and a successful 2017.
ASSISTING THOSE IN NEED
Other $: PLEASE ACCEPT MY TAX-DEDUCTIBLE GIFT: PAYMENT METHOD: DIRECT MY GIFT TO: Alumni “20/20 Vision” Fund $1,000 Check payable to WMU-Cooley Law School Student Scholarships $500 Visa MasterCard AMEX Discover Clinical Programs $250 Card#: Law Review/Journal/Moot Court/Mock Trial $100 Other: Exp. Date: V Code: Matching Gift Form Enclosed $50 Signature:
FREE LEGAL SERVICES
Address:
SOUP KITCHENS
Name:
Signature:
Exp. Date:
Card#:
HOWARD SOIFER MEMORIAL LECTURE
PLEASE AND ADDRESS HERE: NEW ORPROVIDE UPDATEDNAME CONTACT INFO HERE:
✁
SYMPOSIA AND PUBLIC LECTURES
DIRECT MY GIFT TO: Alumni “20/20 Vision” Fund Student Scholarships Clinical Programs Law Review/Journal/Moot Court/Mock Trial Other: Matching Gift Form Enclosed
VC
A MasterCard Visa
Check payable to WMU-C
PAYMENT METHOD:
PLEASE ACCEPT MY TAX-DEDUCTIBLE GIFT: PAYMENT METHOD: NEW OR UPDATED CONTACT INFO HERE: $1,000 Check payable to WMU-Cooley Law School Name: $500 Visa MasterCard AMEX Discover Address: $250 Card#: $100 City: Exp. Date: V Code: $50 State: Zip: Signature: Other $: E-mail:
President and Dean
Don LeDuc
Don LeDuc Please give to the Law School today. Send your gift by enclosing your check or credit card authorization President and Dean with the bottom part of this letter. Or give on line at www.cooley.edu/giving.
less than you might think. I hope I can count on you for your support for our students.
The Law School is tax-exempt and non-profit, so your gift is deductible as permitted by law and costs
These activities and others during the year were informative, thought-provoking and entertaining while reminding us all of our responsibilities to give back to the community. All were made possible through gifts to the School.
success in legal and business careers.
SUPPORT THE 20/20 VISION ALUMNI CAMPAIGN
Among the most fun of these activities was our annual WMU-Cooley For Kids Day at which we treated nearly 500 school children to lunch and a Lansing Lugnuts baseball game in conjunction with Lansing’s Parks and Recreation Department.
received the ABA’s Solo and Small Firm Trainer national award. Professor David Tarrien won the Cohn The Law School is tax-exempt and non-profit, The Law School is tax-exempt and non-profit, so your gift is deductible as permitted by law and costs Prize from the Michigan Academy of Arts and Sciences. Recent graduate Elizabeth Devolder (Hughes less than you might think. I hope I can count less than you might think. I hope I can count on you for your support for our students. Class, 2016) was named a Law Student of the Year by National Jurist. Please give to the Law School today. Send you Please give to the Law School today. Send your gift by enclosing your check or credit card authorization To help us mold and shape our students as future leaders, we need your support. I ask that you give to with the bottom part of this letter. Or give on li with the bottom part of this letter. Or give on line at www.cooley.edu/giving. the Law School’s 20/20 Vision Alumni Campaign. A mere $50 from every graduate will help us raise $1 Best wishes for the holidays and a successful million toward educating, empowering, changing lives of deserving Best wishes for the and holidays and athe successful 2017. students who strive for
I am proud to offer this giving brochure showing you the many ways in which Western Michigan This year brought great honor to the Law Scho This year brought great honor to the Law School. Lawrence P. Nolan (Cooley Class, 1976), who is University Thomas M. Cooley Law School helps develop our law students into leaders of the future. chairman of our Board of Directors, became P chairman of our Board of Directors, became President of the State Bar of Michigan, the fourth president of a state bar from our School in the president of a state bar from Schoolininthe thelaw lastand eight years. Iqra Khalid (Washington Class, 2012) Our outstanding, experienced faculty educate theour students train them to practice it and Ruby Sahota (Fitzgerald Class, 2007) wer and Ruby (Fitzgerald Class, 2007) were elected to the need Canadian Parliament. Professor Marla students to develop ethically and successfully. OurSahota staff provide the kind of personal service Mitchell-Cichon received the State Bar of Mich Mitchell-Cichon received the State Bar of Michigan’s Champion of Justice Award. Professor Gary Bauer professionally from admission through graduation and beyond. Our outstanding academic programs received the ABA’s Solo and Small Firm Train Professor David Tarrien won the Cohn received ABA’s Solo and Small Firm Trainer national award. and flexible scheduling acrossthe four campuses allow students to attend and learn at times and locations Prize from the Michigan Academy of Arts and Prize from the Michigan Academy of Arts and Sciences. Recent graduate Elizabeth Devolder (Hughes convenient to their schedules. Class, 2016) was named a Law Student of the Class, 2016) was named a Law Student of the Year by National Jurist. This year brought great honor to the Law School. Lawrence P. Nolan (Cooley Class, 1976), who is To help us mold and shape our students as fu To help us moldbecame and shape our students future we need your support. I ask that you give to chairman of our Board of Directors, President of the as State Bar leaders, of Michigan, the fourth the Law School’s 20/20 Vision Alumni Campai the Law 20/20 Vision Campaign. A mere $50 from every president of a state bar fromSchool’s our School in the last Alumni eight years. Iqra Khalid (Washington Class,graduate 2012) will help us raise $1 million toward educating, empowering, and ch million toward empowering, andCanadian changingParliament. the lives of Professor deservingMarla students who strive for and Ruby Sahota (Fitzgerald Class,educating, 2007) were elected to the success in legal and business careers. success legalBar andofbusiness careers. Mitchell-Cichon received the in State Michigan’s Champion of Justice Award. Professor Gary Bauer
U N I M I C H I G A N
W E S T E R N S C H O O L L A W
Lastly, our students, faculty, and staff volunteered countless hours working in soup kitchens, providing free legal services, and assisting those in need.
W E S T E R N
We hosted the Michigan Court of Appeals, the United States District Court, and the Kent County Circuit Court for hearings. Judges and counsel spoke with students about the cases argued and court procedures and advocacy style.
Our outstanding, experienced faculty educate Our outstanding, experienced faculty educate the students in the law and train them to practice it ethically and successfully. Our staff provide th ethically and successfully. Our staff provide the kind of personal service students need to develop professionally from admission through graduat programs Mprofessionally I C H I G A from N admission U N I V E through R S I Tgraduation Y C O Oand L Ebeyond. Y L AOur W outstanding S C H O academic O L and flexible scheduling across four campuses and flexible scheduling across four campuses allow students to attend and learn at times and locations convenient to their schedules. convenient to their schedules.
We brought the courts to our campuses so our students and the public could conveniently watch lawyers apply their skills in real litigation.
I am proud to offer this giving brochure showi I am proud to offer this giving brochure showing you the many ways in which Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School help University Thomas M. Cooley Law School helps develop our law students into leaders of the future.
More than 41percent of our students identify themselves with minority groups. More than 56 percent are female. And nearly 4 percent hail from foreign nations.
Students and their organizations excelled this year. The Student Bar Association and the Black Law Students Association held a number of successful outreach and educational programs. The Phi Alpha Delta professional law national fraternity launched its newest chapter at our Tampa Bay campus. One of our second-year students, Katherine Chatman, was elected national director of community service for the National Black Law Students Association. Several of our skills competition teams performed well in local and regional championships. Luciana Viramontes of the Lansing campus, and Anna Mikolajczak and Katie Sabo of the Auburn Hills campus received the Alumni Memorial Scholarship Award, and 11 other students, spanning all four campuses, received Distinguished Student Awards from the WMU-Cooley Law School Alumni Association for their excellence in academics and Law School activities.
For All Americans? The Future of Healthcare in America featured former Congressman Bart Stupak (Dethmers Class, 1981) in conjunction with the WMU Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine. Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Jane Markey (Dethmers Class, 1981) moderated this symposium that addressed healthcare needs from the perspective of medical providers, insurance companies, and physicians. The School and various student organizations combined to present symposia on the scourge of human trafficking; the ethical implications of fake news in the traditional and social media; ethical dilemmas in the workplace, especially facing women; poverty and issues surrounding the rule of law in the developing world; and policerelated violence in our communities. In separate sessions of the donor-sponsored Howard Soifer Memorial Lecture in Sports and Entertainment Law, we presented Heisman trophy winner Charlie Ward and Sarasota Bar Association president and college football standout Keith DuBose at Tampa Bay, and MSU and NFL football star T.J. Duckett and graduate Joseph Bellanca (Sharpe Class, 2008), each of whom spoke with great authority on ethics in sports agency and representation in Lansing.
Letter 20-20 2016.qxp_Layout 1 11/4/16 2:04 PM Page 1
We are especially proud of the rich diversity of our student body that brings to the School a learning experience blended by gender, race, culture, faith, and geography.
Our faculty and students have collaborated with those from WMU on joint teaching, research projects, grants, clinical offerings, and public service activities. We signed an agreement that will allow our students to take select university courses for Law School credit and vice versa, thus expanding curricular opportunities significantly. We have begun offering Law School courses on WMU’s main campus in Kalamazoo, where our students may soon reside in on-campus housing. Meanwhile, WMU has launched its own initiatives in our facilities in Lansing, Auburn Hills, and Tampa Bay. WMU’s academic stature continues to rise, and new WMU President Edward Montgomery has expressed his support for the affiliation. WMU athletics have also had much to cheer about this past year with the Broncos Cotton Bowl football appearance, NCAA hockey Sweet 16 berth, and NCAA top-10 ranking in men’s soccer.
SUPPORT THE 20/20 SUPPORT THE 20/20 VISION ALUMNI CAMPAIGN
I offer you my brief report for the year, and I ask for your philanthropic support for the Law School through a year-end gift to support our 20/20 Vision Annual Campaign.
Whether in private practice, government service, business, or academia, our full-time faculty of 53 professors, aided by 18 full-time employees who teach, along with 87 adjunct professors, bring immense practice and teaching expertise to our 1,285 students. No other law school can boast of so many experienced lawyers at the front of the classroom. We remain well known for teaching students not only the law, but how to practice it.
Our affiliation with Western Michigan University, formed in 2014, has blossomed beautifully.
Here are some highlights for the year. The WMU-Cooley Innocence Project gained its fourth exoneration and release from prison of a wrongfully convicted individual. Our new Pro Se Reach-Out Project at Tampa Bay is assisting citizens with debt and bankruptcy relief. The Sixty Plus, Inc., Elderlaw Clinic started a new program to help senior citizens avoid financial exploitation. Working with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, we hosted a naturalization ceremony for 60 women from 28 countries.
We presented a large number of symposia and public lectures for students and the community alike.
C O O L E Y
We are also pleased by how well our students are trained in the knowledge, skills, and ethics they need to be successful lawyers.
This is something for which we have become well known. Our flexible scheduling across four campuses allows students – about 85 percent of whom study part time – to attend days, evenings, and weekends, at convenient times and locations. For weekend students, especially those who travel long distances, our novel, new hybrid program offers classes remotely by video conference during four weeks of the term, thus reducing the cost of their education.
Gifts to the Law School support a vast assortment of programs, activities, and scholarships that provide tremendous learning opportunities and benefits to our students.
U N I V E R S I T Y
Our faculty awarded J.D. degrees to 352 students and LL.M. degrees to 42 more. During January’s commencement, we surpassed the milestone of 20,000 graduates, located literally in every state and all over the world. When we began to downsize several years ago, we advised prospective students that it was a great time to enter law school because the near future would combine smaller graduating classes with an improving economy. That advice proved sound as employment figures and starting salaries for our graduates have increased markedly.
Our staff provide these students with the highest level of personal service in all of legal education.
M I C H I G A N
We are rapidly approaching the end of another great year.
W E S T E R N
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT AND DEAN OF WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY THOMAS M. COOLEY LAW SCHOOL
Letter 20-20 2016.qxp_Layout 1 11/4/16 2:04 PM Page 1
ACHIEVEMENTS SUPPORTED BY GIFTS TO THE LAW SCHOOL
Letter 20-20 2016.qxp_Layout 1 11/4/16 2:04 PM Page 1
FAST FACTS
PLEASE GIVE THIS YEAR.
WMU-COOLEY INNOCENCE PROJECT
4TH EXONERATION
To help us continue shaping our students into future leaders, we need your support. I ask that you give to the Law School’s 20/20 Vision Annual Campaign. A mere $50 from every graduate will help us raise $1 million toward educating, empowering, and changing the lives of deserving students who strive for success in legal and business careers. The Law School is tax-exempt and non-profit, so your gift is deductible as permitted by law and costs less than you might think. Please give to the Law School today. Send your gift by enclosing your check or credit card authorization with the bottom part of this letter. Or give online at cooley.edu/giving. Best wishes for the holidays and a successful 2018.
PRO SE REACH OUT PROJECT TAMPA BAY DEBT RELIEF
SIXTY-PLUS, INC.,
ELDERLAW CLINIC SERVING SENIORS
NATURALIZATION CEREMONY
STUDENT BAR & BLSA
FOUR CAMPUSES MICHIGAN FLORIDA
PART-TIME OR FULL-TIME STUDY DAY, EVENING OR WEEKEND CLASSES
VIDEO CONFERENCE
352 J.D. DEGREES
OVER 20,000 GRADUATES WORLDWIDE
Won’t you please give generously today? Make a real difference in the lives of our students. You can help them realize their dreams of becoming lawyers.
42 LL.M. DEGREES
OUTREACH
JOINT TEACHING PHI ALPHA DELTA
158 FACULTY RESEARCH AND GRANTS
STUDENTS EXCEL
MICHIGAN COURT OF APPEALS UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
Don LeDuc President and Dean
20/20
WON’T YOU PLEASE GIVER GENEROUSLY TO YOUR 20/20 VISION CAMPAIGN TODAY. MAKE A REAL DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF OUR STUDENTS. YOU CAN HELP THEM RELAIZE THEIR DREAMS V I S I O N CLAWYERS. A M P A I G N OF BECOMING
KENT COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT
1,285 STUDENTS
CLINICAL OFFERINGS RICH DIVERSITY COURSE EXCHANGE WMU INITIATIVES AT OUR FACILITIES
300 S. CAPITOL AVE. LANSING, MI 48933 | (517) 371-5140 | WWW.WMICH.EDU/LAW
SUPPORT THE 20/20 VISION ANNUAL CAMPAIGN
300 S. Capitol Ave. | Lansing, 300 S. Capitol Ave. | Lansing, MI 48933 | (517) 371-5140 | wmich.edu/law
E-mail: PLEASE SEND ME INFORMATION REGARDING: Establishing a Named Scholarship DIRECT MY GIFT TO: Planned Gifts, Insurance Gifts Alumni “20/20 Vision” Bequests, Fund
Student Scholarships Clinical Programs Law Review/Journal/Moot Court/Mock Trial Other:
PLEASE SEND ME INFORMATION REGARDING: Establishing a Named Scholarship Bequests, Planned Gifts, Insurance Gifts
(Matching gift forms are available from your employer)
State:
City:
Zip: Other $:
$100
$500
$1,000
$50
✁
✁
President and Dean
WMU INITIATIVES AT OUR FACILITIES
$250
PLEASE ACCEPT MY TAX-DEDUCTIBLE GIFT:
COURSE EXCHANGE
(Matching gift forms are available from your employer)
CLINICAL OFFERINGS
Don LeDuc
Best wishes for the holidays and a successful 2017.
ASSISTING THOSE IN NEED
Other $: PLEASE ACCEPT MY TAX-DEDUCTIBLE GIFT: PAYMENT METHOD: DIRECT MY GIFT TO: Alumni “20/20 Vision” Fund $1,000 Check payable to WMU-Cooley Law School Student Scholarships $500 Visa MasterCard AMEX Discover Clinical Programs $250 Card#: Law Review/Journal/Moot Court/Mock Trial $100 Other: Exp. Date: V Code: Matching Gift Form Enclosed $50 Signature:
FREE LEGAL SERVICES
Address:
SOUP KITCHENS
Name:
Signature:
Exp. Date:
Card#:
HOWARD SOIFER MEMORIAL LECTURE
PLEASE AND ADDRESS HERE: NEW ORPROVIDE UPDATEDNAME CONTACT INFO HERE:
✁
SYMPOSIA AND PUBLIC LECTURES
DIRECT MY GIFT TO: Alumni “20/20 Vision” Fund Student Scholarships Clinical Programs Law Review/Journal/Moot Court/Mock Trial Other: Matching Gift Form Enclosed
VC
A MasterCard Visa
Check payable to WMU-C
PAYMENT METHOD:
PLEASE ACCEPT MY TAX-DEDUCTIBLE GIFT: PAYMENT METHOD: NEW OR UPDATED CONTACT INFO HERE: $1,000 Check payable to WMU-Cooley Law School Name: $500 Visa MasterCard AMEX Discover Address: $250 Card#: $100 City: Exp. Date: V Code: $50 State: Zip: Signature: Other $: E-mail:
President and Dean
Don LeDuc
Don LeDuc Please give to the Law School today. Send your gift by enclosing your check or credit card authorization President and Dean with the bottom part of this letter. Or give on line at www.cooley.edu/giving.
less than you might think. I hope I can count on you for your support for our students.
The Law School is tax-exempt and non-profit, so your gift is deductible as permitted by law and costs
These activities and others during the year were informative, thought-provoking and entertaining while reminding us all of our responsibilities to give back to the community. All were made possible through gifts to the School.
success in legal and business careers.
SUPPORT THE 20/20 VISION ALUMNI CAMPAIGN
Among the most fun of these activities was our annual WMU-Cooley For Kids Day at which we treated nearly 500 school children to lunch and a Lansing Lugnuts baseball game in conjunction with Lansing’s Parks and Recreation Department.
received the ABA’s Solo and Small Firm Trainer national award. Professor David Tarrien won the Cohn The Law School is tax-exempt and non-profit, The Law School is tax-exempt and non-profit, so your gift is deductible as permitted by law and costs Prize from the Michigan Academy of Arts and Sciences. Recent graduate Elizabeth Devolder (Hughes less than you might think. I hope I can count less than you might think. I hope I can count on you for your support for our students. Class, 2016) was named a Law Student of the Year by National Jurist. Please give to the Law School today. Send you Please give to the Law School today. Send your gift by enclosing your check or credit card authorization To help us mold and shape our students as future leaders, we need your support. I ask that you give to with the bottom part of this letter. Or give on li with the bottom part of this letter. Or give on line at www.cooley.edu/giving. the Law School’s 20/20 Vision Alumni Campaign. A mere $50 from every graduate will help us raise $1 Best wishes for the holidays and a successful million toward educating, empowering, changing lives of deserving Best wishes for the and holidays and athe successful 2017. students who strive for
I am proud to offer this giving brochure showing you the many ways in which Western Michigan This year brought great honor to the Law Scho This year brought great honor to the Law School. Lawrence P. Nolan (Cooley Class, 1976), who is University Thomas M. Cooley Law School helps develop our law students into leaders of the future. chairman of our Board of Directors, became P chairman of our Board of Directors, became President of the State Bar of Michigan, the fourth president of a state bar from our School in the president of a state bar from Schoolininthe thelaw lastand eight years. Iqra Khalid (Washington Class, 2012) Our outstanding, experienced faculty educate theour students train them to practice it and Ruby Sahota (Fitzgerald Class, 2007) wer and Ruby (Fitzgerald Class, 2007) were elected to the need Canadian Parliament. Professor Marla students to develop ethically and successfully. OurSahota staff provide the kind of personal service Mitchell-Cichon received the State Bar of Mich Mitchell-Cichon received the State Bar of Michigan’s Champion of Justice Award. Professor Gary Bauer professionally from admission through graduation and beyond. Our outstanding academic programs received the ABA’s Solo and Small Firm Train Professor David Tarrien won the Cohn received ABA’s Solo and Small Firm Trainer national award. and flexible scheduling acrossthe four campuses allow students to attend and learn at times and locations Prize from the Michigan Academy of Arts and Prize from the Michigan Academy of Arts and Sciences. Recent graduate Elizabeth Devolder (Hughes convenient to their schedules. Class, 2016) was named a Law Student of the Class, 2016) was named a Law Student of the Year by National Jurist. This year brought great honor to the Law School. Lawrence P. Nolan (Cooley Class, 1976), who is To help us mold and shape our students as fu To help us moldbecame and shape our students future we need your support. I ask that you give to chairman of our Board of Directors, President of the as State Bar leaders, of Michigan, the fourth the Law School’s 20/20 Vision Alumni Campai the Law 20/20 Vision Campaign. A mere $50 from every president of a state bar fromSchool’s our School in the last Alumni eight years. Iqra Khalid (Washington Class,graduate 2012) will help us raise $1 million toward educating, empowering, and ch million toward empowering, andCanadian changingParliament. the lives of Professor deservingMarla students who strive for and Ruby Sahota (Fitzgerald Class,educating, 2007) were elected to the success in legal and business careers. success legalBar andofbusiness careers. Mitchell-Cichon received the in State Michigan’s Champion of Justice Award. Professor Gary Bauer
U N I M I C H I G A N
W E S T E R N S C H O O L L A W
Lastly, our students, faculty, and staff volunteered countless hours working in soup kitchens, providing free legal services, and assisting those in need.
W E S T E R N
We hosted the Michigan Court of Appeals, the United States District Court, and the Kent County Circuit Court for hearings. Judges and counsel spoke with students about the cases argued and court procedures and advocacy style.
Our outstanding, experienced faculty educate Our outstanding, experienced faculty educate the students in the law and train them to practice it ethically and successfully. Our staff provide th ethically and successfully. Our staff provide the kind of personal service students need to develop professionally from admission through graduat programs Mprofessionally I C H I G A from N admission U N I V E through R S I Tgraduation Y C O Oand L Ebeyond. Y L AOur W outstanding S C H O academic O L and flexible scheduling across four campuses and flexible scheduling across four campuses allow students to attend and learn at times and locations convenient to their schedules. convenient to their schedules.
We brought the courts to our campuses so our students and the public could conveniently watch lawyers apply their skills in real litigation.
I am proud to offer this giving brochure showi I am proud to offer this giving brochure showing you the many ways in which Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School help University Thomas M. Cooley Law School helps develop our law students into leaders of the future.
More than 41percent of our students identify themselves with minority groups. More than 56 percent are female. And nearly 4 percent hail from foreign nations.
Students and their organizations excelled this year. The Student Bar Association and the Black Law Students Association held a number of successful outreach and educational programs. The Phi Alpha Delta professional law national fraternity launched its newest chapter at our Tampa Bay campus. One of our second-year students, Katherine Chatman, was elected national director of community service for the National Black Law Students Association. Several of our skills competition teams performed well in local and regional championships. Luciana Viramontes of the Lansing campus, and Anna Mikolajczak and Katie Sabo of the Auburn Hills campus received the Alumni Memorial Scholarship Award, and 11 other students, spanning all four campuses, received Distinguished Student Awards from the WMU-Cooley Law School Alumni Association for their excellence in academics and Law School activities.
For All Americans? The Future of Healthcare in America featured former Congressman Bart Stupak (Dethmers Class, 1981) in conjunction with the WMU Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine. Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Jane Markey (Dethmers Class, 1981) moderated this symposium that addressed healthcare needs from the perspective of medical providers, insurance companies, and physicians. The School and various student organizations combined to present symposia on the scourge of human trafficking; the ethical implications of fake news in the traditional and social media; ethical dilemmas in the workplace, especially facing women; poverty and issues surrounding the rule of law in the developing world; and policerelated violence in our communities. In separate sessions of the donor-sponsored Howard Soifer Memorial Lecture in Sports and Entertainment Law, we presented Heisman trophy winner Charlie Ward and Sarasota Bar Association president and college football standout Keith DuBose at Tampa Bay, and MSU and NFL football star T.J. Duckett and graduate Joseph Bellanca (Sharpe Class, 2008), each of whom spoke with great authority on ethics in sports agency and representation in Lansing.
Letter 20-20 2016.qxp_Layout 1 11/4/16 2:04 PM Page 1
We are especially proud of the rich diversity of our student body that brings to the School a learning experience blended by gender, race, culture, faith, and geography.
Our faculty and students have collaborated with those from WMU on joint teaching, research projects, grants, clinical offerings, and public service activities. We signed an agreement that will allow our students to take select university courses for Law School credit and vice versa, thus expanding curricular opportunities significantly. We have begun offering Law School courses on WMU’s main campus in Kalamazoo, where our students may soon reside in on-campus housing. Meanwhile, WMU has launched its own initiatives in our facilities in Lansing, Auburn Hills, and Tampa Bay. WMU’s academic stature continues to rise, and new WMU President Edward Montgomery has expressed his support for the affiliation. WMU athletics have also had much to cheer about this past year with the Broncos Cotton Bowl football appearance, NCAA hockey Sweet 16 berth, and NCAA top-10 ranking in men’s soccer.
SUPPORT THE 20/20 SUPPORT THE 20/20 VISION ALUMNI CAMPAIGN
I offer you my brief report for the year, and I ask for your philanthropic support for the Law School through a year-end gift to support our 20/20 Vision Annual Campaign.
Whether in private practice, government service, business, or academia, our full-time faculty of 53 professors, aided by 18 full-time employees who teach, along with 87 adjunct professors, bring immense practice and teaching expertise to our 1,285 students. No other law school can boast of so many experienced lawyers at the front of the classroom. We remain well known for teaching students not only the law, but how to practice it.
Our affiliation with Western Michigan University, formed in 2014, has blossomed beautifully.
Here are some highlights for the year. The WMU-Cooley Innocence Project gained its fourth exoneration and release from prison of a wrongfully convicted individual. Our new Pro Se Reach-Out Project at Tampa Bay is assisting citizens with debt and bankruptcy relief. The Sixty Plus, Inc., Elderlaw Clinic started a new program to help senior citizens avoid financial exploitation. Working with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, we hosted a naturalization ceremony for 60 women from 28 countries.
We presented a large number of symposia and public lectures for students and the community alike.
C O O L E Y
We are also pleased by how well our students are trained in the knowledge, skills, and ethics they need to be successful lawyers.
This is something for which we have become well known. Our flexible scheduling across four campuses allows students – about 85 percent of whom study part time – to attend days, evenings, and weekends, at convenient times and locations. For weekend students, especially those who travel long distances, our novel, new hybrid program offers classes remotely by video conference during four weeks of the term, thus reducing the cost of their education.
Gifts to the Law School support a vast assortment of programs, activities, and scholarships that provide tremendous learning opportunities and benefits to our students.
U N I V E R S I T Y
Our faculty awarded J.D. degrees to 352 students and LL.M. degrees to 42 more. During January’s commencement, we surpassed the milestone of 20,000 graduates, located literally in every state and all over the world. When we began to downsize several years ago, we advised prospective students that it was a great time to enter law school because the near future would combine smaller graduating classes with an improving economy. That advice proved sound as employment figures and starting salaries for our graduates have increased markedly.
Our staff provide these students with the highest level of personal service in all of legal education.
M I C H I G A N
We are rapidly approaching the end of another great year.
W E S T E R N
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT AND DEAN OF WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY THOMAS M. COOLEY LAW SCHOOL
Letter 20-20 2016.qxp_Layout 1 11/4/16 2:04 PM Page 1
ACHIEVEMENTS SUPPORTED BY GIFTS TO THE LAW SCHOOL
Letter 20-20 2016.qxp_Layout 1 11/4/16 2:04 PM Page 1
FAST FACTS
PLEASE GIVE THIS YEAR.
WMU-COOLEY INNOCENCE PROJECT
4TH EXONERATION
To help us continue shaping our students into future leaders, we need your support. I ask that you give to the Law School’s 20/20 Vision Annual Campaign. A mere $50 from every graduate will help us raise $1 million toward educating, empowering, and changing the lives of deserving students who strive for success in legal and business careers. The Law School is tax-exempt and non-profit, so your gift is deductible as permitted by law and costs less than you might think. Please give to the Law School today. Send your gift by enclosing your check or credit card authorization with the bottom part of this letter. Or give online at cooley.edu/giving. Best wishes for the holidays and a successful 2018.
PRO SE REACH OUT PROJECT TAMPA BAY DEBT RELIEF
SIXTY-PLUS, INC.,
ELDERLAW CLINIC SERVING SENIORS
NATURALIZATION CEREMONY
STUDENT BAR & BLSA
FOUR CAMPUSES MICHIGAN FLORIDA
PART-TIME OR FULL-TIME STUDY DAY, EVENING OR WEEKEND CLASSES
VIDEO CONFERENCE
352 J.D. DEGREES
OVER 20,000 GRADUATES WORLDWIDE
Won’t you please give generously today? Make a real difference in the lives of our students. You can help them realize their dreams of becoming lawyers.
42 LL.M. DEGREES
OUTREACH
JOINT TEACHING PHI ALPHA DELTA
158 FACULTY RESEARCH AND GRANTS
STUDENTS EXCEL
MICHIGAN COURT OF APPEALS UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
Don LeDuc President and Dean
20/20
WON’T YOU PLEASE GIVER GENEROUSLY TO YOUR 20/20 VISION CAMPAIGN TODAY. MAKE A REAL DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF OUR STUDENTS. YOU CAN HELP THEM RELAIZE THEIR DREAMS V I S I O N CLAWYERS. A M P A I G N OF BECOMING
KENT COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT
1,285 STUDENTS
CLINICAL OFFERINGS RICH DIVERSITY COURSE EXCHANGE WMU INITIATIVES AT OUR FACILITIES
300 S. CAPITOL AVE. LANSING, MI 48933 | (517) 371-5140 | WWW.WMICH.EDU/LAW
SUPPORT THE 20/20 VISION ANNUAL CAMPAIGN
300 S. Capitol Ave. | Lansing, 300 S. Capitol Ave. | Lansing, MI 48933 | (517) 371-5140 | wmich.edu/law
E-mail: PLEASE SEND ME INFORMATION REGARDING: Establishing a Named Scholarship DIRECT MY GIFT TO: Planned Gifts, Insurance Gifts Alumni “20/20 Vision” Bequests, Fund
Student Scholarships Clinical Programs Law Review/Journal/Moot Court/Mock Trial Other:
PLEASE SEND ME INFORMATION REGARDING: Establishing a Named Scholarship Bequests, Planned Gifts, Insurance Gifts
(Matching gift forms are available from your employer)
State:
City:
Zip: Other $:
$100
$500
$1,000
$50
✁
✁
President and Dean
WMU INITIATIVES AT OUR FACILITIES
$250
PLEASE ACCEPT MY TAX-DEDUCTIBLE GIFT:
COURSE EXCHANGE
(Matching gift forms are available from your employer)
CLINICAL OFFERINGS
Don LeDuc
Best wishes for the holidays and a successful 2017.
ASSISTING THOSE IN NEED
Other $: PLEASE ACCEPT MY TAX-DEDUCTIBLE GIFT: PAYMENT METHOD: DIRECT MY GIFT TO: Alumni “20/20 Vision” Fund $1,000 Check payable to WMU-Cooley Law School Student Scholarships $500 Visa MasterCard AMEX Discover Clinical Programs $250 Card#: Law Review/Journal/Moot Court/Mock Trial $100 Other: Exp. Date: V Code: Matching Gift Form Enclosed $50 Signature:
FREE LEGAL SERVICES
Address:
SOUP KITCHENS
Name:
Signature:
Exp. Date:
Card#:
HOWARD SOIFER MEMORIAL LECTURE
PLEASE AND ADDRESS HERE: NEW ORPROVIDE UPDATEDNAME CONTACT INFO HERE:
✁
SYMPOSIA AND PUBLIC LECTURES
DIRECT MY GIFT TO: Alumni “20/20 Vision” Fund Student Scholarships Clinical Programs Law Review/Journal/Moot Court/Mock Trial Other: Matching Gift Form Enclosed
VC
A MasterCard Visa
Check payable to WMU-C
PAYMENT METHOD:
PLEASE ACCEPT MY TAX-DEDUCTIBLE GIFT: PAYMENT METHOD: NEW OR UPDATED CONTACT INFO HERE: $1,000 Check payable to WMU-Cooley Law School Name: $500 Visa MasterCard AMEX Discover Address: $250 Card#: $100 City: Exp. Date: V Code: $50 State: Zip: Signature: Other $: E-mail:
President and Dean
Don LeDuc
Don LeDuc Please give to the Law School today. Send your gift by enclosing your check or credit card authorization President and Dean with the bottom part of this letter. Or give on line at www.cooley.edu/giving.
less than you might think. I hope I can count on you for your support for our students.
The Law School is tax-exempt and non-profit, so your gift is deductible as permitted by law and costs
These activities and others during the year were informative, thought-provoking and entertaining while reminding us all of our responsibilities to give back to the community. All were made possible through gifts to the School.
success in legal and business careers.
SUPPORT THE 20/20 VISION ALUMNI CAMPAIGN
Among the most fun of these activities was our annual WMU-Cooley For Kids Day at which we treated nearly 500 school children to lunch and a Lansing Lugnuts baseball game in conjunction with Lansing’s Parks and Recreation Department.
received the ABA’s Solo and Small Firm Trainer national award. Professor David Tarrien won the Cohn The Law School is tax-exempt and non-profit, The Law School is tax-exempt and non-profit, so your gift is deductible as permitted by law and costs Prize from the Michigan Academy of Arts and Sciences. Recent graduate Elizabeth Devolder (Hughes less than you might think. I hope I can count less than you might think. I hope I can count on you for your support for our students. Class, 2016) was named a Law Student of the Year by National Jurist. Please give to the Law School today. Send you Please give to the Law School today. Send your gift by enclosing your check or credit card authorization To help us mold and shape our students as future leaders, we need your support. I ask that you give to with the bottom part of this letter. Or give on li with the bottom part of this letter. Or give on line at www.cooley.edu/giving. the Law School’s 20/20 Vision Alumni Campaign. A mere $50 from every graduate will help us raise $1 Best wishes for the holidays and a successful million toward educating, empowering, changing lives of deserving Best wishes for the and holidays and athe successful 2017. students who strive for
I am proud to offer this giving brochure showing you the many ways in which Western Michigan This year brought great honor to the Law Scho This year brought great honor to the Law School. Lawrence P. Nolan (Cooley Class, 1976), who is University Thomas M. Cooley Law School helps develop our law students into leaders of the future. chairman of our Board of Directors, became P chairman of our Board of Directors, became President of the State Bar of Michigan, the fourth president of a state bar from our School in the president of a state bar from Schoolininthe thelaw lastand eight years. Iqra Khalid (Washington Class, 2012) Our outstanding, experienced faculty educate theour students train them to practice it and Ruby Sahota (Fitzgerald Class, 2007) wer and Ruby (Fitzgerald Class, 2007) were elected to the need Canadian Parliament. Professor Marla students to develop ethically and successfully. OurSahota staff provide the kind of personal service Mitchell-Cichon received the State Bar of Mich Mitchell-Cichon received the State Bar of Michigan’s Champion of Justice Award. Professor Gary Bauer professionally from admission through graduation and beyond. Our outstanding academic programs received the ABA’s Solo and Small Firm Train Professor David Tarrien won the Cohn received ABA’s Solo and Small Firm Trainer national award. and flexible scheduling acrossthe four campuses allow students to attend and learn at times and locations Prize from the Michigan Academy of Arts and Prize from the Michigan Academy of Arts and Sciences. Recent graduate Elizabeth Devolder (Hughes convenient to their schedules. Class, 2016) was named a Law Student of the Class, 2016) was named a Law Student of the Year by National Jurist. This year brought great honor to the Law School. Lawrence P. Nolan (Cooley Class, 1976), who is To help us mold and shape our students as fu To help us moldbecame and shape our students future we need your support. I ask that you give to chairman of our Board of Directors, President of the as State Bar leaders, of Michigan, the fourth the Law School’s 20/20 Vision Alumni Campai the Law 20/20 Vision Campaign. A mere $50 from every president of a state bar fromSchool’s our School in the last Alumni eight years. Iqra Khalid (Washington Class,graduate 2012) will help us raise $1 million toward educating, empowering, and ch million toward empowering, andCanadian changingParliament. the lives of Professor deservingMarla students who strive for and Ruby Sahota (Fitzgerald Class,educating, 2007) were elected to the success in legal and business careers. success legalBar andofbusiness careers. Mitchell-Cichon received the in State Michigan’s Champion of Justice Award. Professor Gary Bauer
U N I M I C H I G A N
W E S T E R N S C H O O L L A W
Lastly, our students, faculty, and staff volunteered countless hours working in soup kitchens, providing free legal services, and assisting those in need.
W E S T E R N
We hosted the Michigan Court of Appeals, the United States District Court, and the Kent County Circuit Court for hearings. Judges and counsel spoke with students about the cases argued and court procedures and advocacy style.
Our outstanding, experienced faculty educate Our outstanding, experienced faculty educate the students in the law and train them to practice it ethically and successfully. Our staff provide th ethically and successfully. Our staff provide the kind of personal service students need to develop professionally from admission through graduat programs Mprofessionally I C H I G A from N admission U N I V E through R S I Tgraduation Y C O Oand L Ebeyond. Y L AOur W outstanding S C H O academic O L and flexible scheduling across four campuses and flexible scheduling across four campuses allow students to attend and learn at times and locations convenient to their schedules. convenient to their schedules.
We brought the courts to our campuses so our students and the public could conveniently watch lawyers apply their skills in real litigation.
I am proud to offer this giving brochure showi I am proud to offer this giving brochure showing you the many ways in which Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School help University Thomas M. Cooley Law School helps develop our law students into leaders of the future.
More than 41percent of our students identify themselves with minority groups. More than 56 percent are female. And nearly 4 percent hail from foreign nations.
Students and their organizations excelled this year. The Student Bar Association and the Black Law Students Association held a number of successful outreach and educational programs. The Phi Alpha Delta professional law national fraternity launched its newest chapter at our Tampa Bay campus. One of our second-year students, Katherine Chatman, was elected national director of community service for the National Black Law Students Association. Several of our skills competition teams performed well in local and regional championships. Luciana Viramontes of the Lansing campus, and Anna Mikolajczak and Katie Sabo of the Auburn Hills campus received the Alumni Memorial Scholarship Award, and 11 other students, spanning all four campuses, received Distinguished Student Awards from the WMU-Cooley Law School Alumni Association for their excellence in academics and Law School activities.
For All Americans? The Future of Healthcare in America featured former Congressman Bart Stupak (Dethmers Class, 1981) in conjunction with the WMU Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine. Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Jane Markey (Dethmers Class, 1981) moderated this symposium that addressed healthcare needs from the perspective of medical providers, insurance companies, and physicians. The School and various student organizations combined to present symposia on the scourge of human trafficking; the ethical implications of fake news in the traditional and social media; ethical dilemmas in the workplace, especially facing women; poverty and issues surrounding the rule of law in the developing world; and policerelated violence in our communities. In separate sessions of the donor-sponsored Howard Soifer Memorial Lecture in Sports and Entertainment Law, we presented Heisman trophy winner Charlie Ward and Sarasota Bar Association president and college football standout Keith DuBose at Tampa Bay, and MSU and NFL football star T.J. Duckett and graduate Joseph Bellanca (Sharpe Class, 2008), each of whom spoke with great authority on ethics in sports agency and representation in Lansing.
Letter 20-20 2016.qxp_Layout 1 11/4/16 2:04 PM Page 1
We are especially proud of the rich diversity of our student body that brings to the School a learning experience blended by gender, race, culture, faith, and geography.
Our faculty and students have collaborated with those from WMU on joint teaching, research projects, grants, clinical offerings, and public service activities. We signed an agreement that will allow our students to take select university courses for Law School credit and vice versa, thus expanding curricular opportunities significantly. We have begun offering Law School courses on WMU’s main campus in Kalamazoo, where our students may soon reside in on-campus housing. Meanwhile, WMU has launched its own initiatives in our facilities in Lansing, Auburn Hills, and Tampa Bay. WMU’s academic stature continues to rise, and new WMU President Edward Montgomery has expressed his support for the affiliation. WMU athletics have also had much to cheer about this past year with the Broncos Cotton Bowl football appearance, NCAA hockey Sweet 16 berth, and NCAA top-10 ranking in men’s soccer.
SUPPORT THE 20/20 SUPPORT THE 20/20 VISION ALUMNI CAMPAIGN
I offer you my brief report for the year, and I ask for your philanthropic support for the Law School through a year-end gift to support our 20/20 Vision Annual Campaign.
Whether in private practice, government service, business, or academia, our full-time faculty of 53 professors, aided by 18 full-time employees who teach, along with 87 adjunct professors, bring immense practice and teaching expertise to our 1,285 students. No other law school can boast of so many experienced lawyers at the front of the classroom. We remain well known for teaching students not only the law, but how to practice it.
Our affiliation with Western Michigan University, formed in 2014, has blossomed beautifully.
Here are some highlights for the year. The WMU-Cooley Innocence Project gained its fourth exoneration and release from prison of a wrongfully convicted individual. Our new Pro Se Reach-Out Project at Tampa Bay is assisting citizens with debt and bankruptcy relief. The Sixty Plus, Inc., Elderlaw Clinic started a new program to help senior citizens avoid financial exploitation. Working with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, we hosted a naturalization ceremony for 60 women from 28 countries.
We presented a large number of symposia and public lectures for students and the community alike.
C O O L E Y
We are also pleased by how well our students are trained in the knowledge, skills, and ethics they need to be successful lawyers.
This is something for which we have become well known. Our flexible scheduling across four campuses allows students – about 85 percent of whom study part time – to attend days, evenings, and weekends, at convenient times and locations. For weekend students, especially those who travel long distances, our novel, new hybrid program offers classes remotely by video conference during four weeks of the term, thus reducing the cost of their education.
Gifts to the Law School support a vast assortment of programs, activities, and scholarships that provide tremendous learning opportunities and benefits to our students.
U N I V E R S I T Y
Our faculty awarded J.D. degrees to 352 students and LL.M. degrees to 42 more. During January’s commencement, we surpassed the milestone of 20,000 graduates, located literally in every state and all over the world. When we began to downsize several years ago, we advised prospective students that it was a great time to enter law school because the near future would combine smaller graduating classes with an improving economy. That advice proved sound as employment figures and starting salaries for our graduates have increased markedly.
Our staff provide these students with the highest level of personal service in all of legal education.
M I C H I G A N
We are rapidly approaching the end of another great year.
W E S T E R N
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT AND DEAN OF WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY THOMAS M. COOLEY LAW SCHOOL
Letter 20-20 2016.qxp_Layout 1 11/4/16 2:04 PM Page 1
ACHIEVEMENTS SUPPORTED BY GIFTS TO THE LAW SCHOOL
Letter 20-20 2016.qxp_Layout 1 11/4/16 2:04 PM Page 1
FAST FACTS
PLEASE GIVE THIS YEAR.
WMU-COOLEY INNOCENCE PROJECT
4TH EXONERATION
To help us continue shaping our students into future leaders, we need your support. I ask that you give to the Law School’s 20/20 Vision Annual Campaign. A mere $50 from every graduate will help us raise $1 million toward educating, empowering, and changing the lives of deserving students who strive for success in legal and business careers. The Law School is tax-exempt and non-profit, so your gift is deductible as permitted by law and costs less than you might think. Please give to the Law School today. Send your gift by enclosing your check or credit card authorization with the bottom part of this letter. Or give online at cooley.edu/giving. Best wishes for the holidays and a successful 2018.
PRO SE REACH OUT PROJECT TAMPA BAY DEBT RELIEF
SIXTY-PLUS, INC.,
ELDERLAW CLINIC SERVING SENIORS
NATURALIZATION CEREMONY
STUDENT BAR & BLSA
FOUR CAMPUSES MICHIGAN FLORIDA
PART-TIME OR FULL-TIME STUDY DAY, EVENING OR WEEKEND CLASSES
VIDEO CONFERENCE
352 J.D. DEGREES
OVER 20,000 GRADUATES WORLDWIDE
Won’t you please give generously today? Make a real difference in the lives of our students. You can help them realize their dreams of becoming lawyers.
42 LL.M. DEGREES
OUTREACH
JOINT TEACHING PHI ALPHA DELTA
158 FACULTY RESEARCH AND GRANTS
STUDENTS EXCEL
MICHIGAN COURT OF APPEALS UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
Don LeDuc President and Dean
20/20
WON’T YOU PLEASE GIVER GENEROUSLY TO YOUR 20/20 VISION CAMPAIGN TODAY. MAKE A REAL DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF OUR STUDENTS. YOU CAN HELP THEM RELAIZE THEIR DREAMS V I S I O N CLAWYERS. A M P A I G N OF BECOMING
KENT COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT
1,285 STUDENTS
CLINICAL OFFERINGS RICH DIVERSITY COURSE EXCHANGE WMU INITIATIVES AT OUR FACILITIES
300 S. CAPITOL AVE. LANSING, MI 48933 | (517) 371-5140 | WWW.WMICH.EDU/LAW
SUPPORT THE 20/20 VISION ANNUAL CAMPAIGN
300 S. Capitol Ave. | Lansing, 300 S. Capitol Ave. | Lansing, MI 48933 | (517) 371-5140 | wmich.edu/law
E-mail: PLEASE SEND ME INFORMATION REGARDING: Establishing a Named Scholarship DIRECT MY GIFT TO: Planned Gifts, Insurance Gifts Alumni “20/20 Vision” Bequests, Fund
Student Scholarships Clinical Programs Law Review/Journal/Moot Court/Mock Trial Other:
PLEASE SEND ME INFORMATION REGARDING: Establishing a Named Scholarship Bequests, Planned Gifts, Insurance Gifts
(Matching gift forms are available from your employer)
State:
City:
Zip: Other $:
$100
$500
$1,000
$50
✁
✁
President and Dean
WMU INITIATIVES AT OUR FACILITIES
$250
PLEASE ACCEPT MY TAX-DEDUCTIBLE GIFT:
COURSE EXCHANGE
(Matching gift forms are available from your employer)
CLINICAL OFFERINGS
Don LeDuc
Best wishes for the holidays and a successful 2017.
ASSISTING THOSE IN NEED
Other $: PLEASE ACCEPT MY TAX-DEDUCTIBLE GIFT: PAYMENT METHOD: DIRECT MY GIFT TO: Alumni “20/20 Vision” Fund $1,000 Check payable to WMU-Cooley Law School Student Scholarships $500 Visa MasterCard AMEX Discover Clinical Programs $250 Card#: Law Review/Journal/Moot Court/Mock Trial $100 Other: Exp. Date: V Code: Matching Gift Form Enclosed $50 Signature:
FREE LEGAL SERVICES
Address:
SOUP KITCHENS
Name:
Signature:
Exp. Date:
Card#:
HOWARD SOIFER MEMORIAL LECTURE
PLEASE AND ADDRESS HERE: NEW ORPROVIDE UPDATEDNAME CONTACT INFO HERE:
✁
SYMPOSIA AND PUBLIC LECTURES
DIRECT MY GIFT TO: Alumni “20/20 Vision” Fund Student Scholarships Clinical Programs Law Review/Journal/Moot Court/Mock Trial Other: Matching Gift Form Enclosed
VC
A MasterCard Visa
Check payable to WMU-C
PAYMENT METHOD:
PLEASE ACCEPT MY TAX-DEDUCTIBLE GIFT: PAYMENT METHOD: NEW OR UPDATED CONTACT INFO HERE: $1,000 Check payable to WMU-Cooley Law School Name: $500 Visa MasterCard AMEX Discover Address: $250 Card#: $100 City: Exp. Date: V Code: $50 State: Zip: Signature: Other $: E-mail:
President and Dean
Don LeDuc
Don LeDuc Please give to the Law School today. Send your gift by enclosing your check or credit card authorization President and Dean with the bottom part of this letter. Or give on line at www.cooley.edu/giving.
less than you might think. I hope I can count on you for your support for our students.
The Law School is tax-exempt and non-profit, so your gift is deductible as permitted by law and costs
These activities and others during the year were informative, thought-provoking and entertaining while reminding us all of our responsibilities to give back to the community. All were made possible through gifts to the School.
success in legal and business careers.
SUPPORT THE 20/20 VISION ALUMNI CAMPAIGN
Among the most fun of these activities was our annual WMU-Cooley For Kids Day at which we treated nearly 500 school children to lunch and a Lansing Lugnuts baseball game in conjunction with Lansing’s Parks and Recreation Department.
received the ABA’s Solo and Small Firm Trainer national award. Professor David Tarrien won the Cohn The Law School is tax-exempt and non-profit, The Law School is tax-exempt and non-profit, so your gift is deductible as permitted by law and costs Prize from the Michigan Academy of Arts and Sciences. Recent graduate Elizabeth Devolder (Hughes less than you might think. I hope I can count less than you might think. I hope I can count on you for your support for our students. Class, 2016) was named a Law Student of the Year by National Jurist. Please give to the Law School today. Send you Please give to the Law School today. Send your gift by enclosing your check or credit card authorization To help us mold and shape our students as future leaders, we need your support. I ask that you give to with the bottom part of this letter. Or give on li with the bottom part of this letter. Or give on line at www.cooley.edu/giving. the Law School’s 20/20 Vision Alumni Campaign. A mere $50 from every graduate will help us raise $1 Best wishes for the holidays and a successful million toward educating, empowering, changing lives of deserving Best wishes for the and holidays and athe successful 2017. students who strive for
I am proud to offer this giving brochure showing you the many ways in which Western Michigan This year brought great honor to the Law Scho This year brought great honor to the Law School. Lawrence P. Nolan (Cooley Class, 1976), who is University Thomas M. Cooley Law School helps develop our law students into leaders of the future. chairman of our Board of Directors, became P chairman of our Board of Directors, became President of the State Bar of Michigan, the fourth president of a state bar from our School in the president of a state bar from Schoolininthe thelaw lastand eight years. Iqra Khalid (Washington Class, 2012) Our outstanding, experienced faculty educate theour students train them to practice it and Ruby Sahota (Fitzgerald Class, 2007) wer and Ruby (Fitzgerald Class, 2007) were elected to the need Canadian Parliament. Professor Marla students to develop ethically and successfully. OurSahota staff provide the kind of personal service Mitchell-Cichon received the State Bar of Mich Mitchell-Cichon received the State Bar of Michigan’s Champion of Justice Award. Professor Gary Bauer professionally from admission through graduation and beyond. Our outstanding academic programs received the ABA’s Solo and Small Firm Train Professor David Tarrien won the Cohn received ABA’s Solo and Small Firm Trainer national award. and flexible scheduling acrossthe four campuses allow students to attend and learn at times and locations Prize from the Michigan Academy of Arts and Prize from the Michigan Academy of Arts and Sciences. Recent graduate Elizabeth Devolder (Hughes convenient to their schedules. Class, 2016) was named a Law Student of the Class, 2016) was named a Law Student of the Year by National Jurist. This year brought great honor to the Law School. Lawrence P. Nolan (Cooley Class, 1976), who is To help us mold and shape our students as fu To help us moldbecame and shape our students future we need your support. I ask that you give to chairman of our Board of Directors, President of the as State Bar leaders, of Michigan, the fourth the Law School’s 20/20 Vision Alumni Campai the Law 20/20 Vision Campaign. A mere $50 from every president of a state bar fromSchool’s our School in the last Alumni eight years. Iqra Khalid (Washington Class,graduate 2012) will help us raise $1 million toward educating, empowering, and ch million toward empowering, andCanadian changingParliament. the lives of Professor deservingMarla students who strive for and Ruby Sahota (Fitzgerald Class,educating, 2007) were elected to the success in legal and business careers. success legalBar andofbusiness careers. Mitchell-Cichon received the in State Michigan’s Champion of Justice Award. Professor Gary Bauer
U N I M I C H I G A N
W E S T E R N S C H O O L L A W
Lastly, our students, faculty, and staff volunteered countless hours working in soup kitchens, providing free legal services, and assisting those in need.
W E S T E R N
We hosted the Michigan Court of Appeals, the United States District Court, and the Kent County Circuit Court for hearings. Judges and counsel spoke with students about the cases argued and court procedures and advocacy style.
Our outstanding, experienced faculty educate Our outstanding, experienced faculty educate the students in the law and train them to practice it ethically and successfully. Our staff provide th ethically and successfully. Our staff provide the kind of personal service students need to develop professionally from admission through graduat programs Mprofessionally I C H I G A from N admission U N I V E through R S I Tgraduation Y C O Oand L Ebeyond. Y L AOur W outstanding S C H O academic O L and flexible scheduling across four campuses and flexible scheduling across four campuses allow students to attend and learn at times and locations convenient to their schedules. convenient to their schedules.
We brought the courts to our campuses so our students and the public could conveniently watch lawyers apply their skills in real litigation.
I am proud to offer this giving brochure showi I am proud to offer this giving brochure showing you the many ways in which Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School help University Thomas M. Cooley Law School helps develop our law students into leaders of the future.
More than 41percent of our students identify themselves with minority groups. More than 56 percent are female. And nearly 4 percent hail from foreign nations.
Students and their organizations excelled this year. The Student Bar Association and the Black Law Students Association held a number of successful outreach and educational programs. The Phi Alpha Delta professional law national fraternity launched its newest chapter at our Tampa Bay campus. One of our second-year students, Katherine Chatman, was elected national director of community service for the National Black Law Students Association. Several of our skills competition teams performed well in local and regional championships. Luciana Viramontes of the Lansing campus, and Anna Mikolajczak and Katie Sabo of the Auburn Hills campus received the Alumni Memorial Scholarship Award, and 11 other students, spanning all four campuses, received Distinguished Student Awards from the WMU-Cooley Law School Alumni Association for their excellence in academics and Law School activities.
For All Americans? The Future of Healthcare in America featured former Congressman Bart Stupak (Dethmers Class, 1981) in conjunction with the WMU Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine. Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Jane Markey (Dethmers Class, 1981) moderated this symposium that addressed healthcare needs from the perspective of medical providers, insurance companies, and physicians. The School and various student organizations combined to present symposia on the scourge of human trafficking; the ethical implications of fake news in the traditional and social media; ethical dilemmas in the workplace, especially facing women; poverty and issues surrounding the rule of law in the developing world; and policerelated violence in our communities. In separate sessions of the donor-sponsored Howard Soifer Memorial Lecture in Sports and Entertainment Law, we presented Heisman trophy winner Charlie Ward and Sarasota Bar Association president and college football standout Keith DuBose at Tampa Bay, and MSU and NFL football star T.J. Duckett and graduate Joseph Bellanca (Sharpe Class, 2008), each of whom spoke with great authority on ethics in sports agency and representation in Lansing.
Letter 20-20 2016.qxp_Layout 1 11/4/16 2:04 PM Page 1
We are especially proud of the rich diversity of our student body that brings to the School a learning experience blended by gender, race, culture, faith, and geography.
Our faculty and students have collaborated with those from WMU on joint teaching, research projects, grants, clinical offerings, and public service activities. We signed an agreement that will allow our students to take select university courses for Law School credit and vice versa, thus expanding curricular opportunities significantly. We have begun offering Law School courses on WMU’s main campus in Kalamazoo, where our students may soon reside in on-campus housing. Meanwhile, WMU has launched its own initiatives in our facilities in Lansing, Auburn Hills, and Tampa Bay. WMU’s academic stature continues to rise, and new WMU President Edward Montgomery has expressed his support for the affiliation. WMU athletics have also had much to cheer about this past year with the Broncos Cotton Bowl football appearance, NCAA hockey Sweet 16 berth, and NCAA top-10 ranking in men’s soccer.
SUPPORT THE 20/20 SUPPORT THE 20/20 VISION ALUMNI CAMPAIGN
I offer you my brief report for the year, and I ask for your philanthropic support for the Law School through a year-end gift to support our 20/20 Vision Annual Campaign.
Whether in private practice, government service, business, or academia, our full-time faculty of 53 professors, aided by 18 full-time employees who teach, along with 87 adjunct professors, bring immense practice and teaching expertise to our 1,285 students. No other law school can boast of so many experienced lawyers at the front of the classroom. We remain well known for teaching students not only the law, but how to practice it.
Our affiliation with Western Michigan University, formed in 2014, has blossomed beautifully.
Here are some highlights for the year. The WMU-Cooley Innocence Project gained its fourth exoneration and release from prison of a wrongfully convicted individual. Our new Pro Se Reach-Out Project at Tampa Bay is assisting citizens with debt and bankruptcy relief. The Sixty Plus, Inc., Elderlaw Clinic started a new program to help senior citizens avoid financial exploitation. Working with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, we hosted a naturalization ceremony for 60 women from 28 countries.
We presented a large number of symposia and public lectures for students and the community alike.
C O O L E Y
We are also pleased by how well our students are trained in the knowledge, skills, and ethics they need to be successful lawyers.
This is something for which we have become well known. Our flexible scheduling across four campuses allows students – about 85 percent of whom study part time – to attend days, evenings, and weekends, at convenient times and locations. For weekend students, especially those who travel long distances, our novel, new hybrid program offers classes remotely by video conference during four weeks of the term, thus reducing the cost of their education.
Gifts to the Law School support a vast assortment of programs, activities, and scholarships that provide tremendous learning opportunities and benefits to our students.
U N I V E R S I T Y
Our faculty awarded J.D. degrees to 352 students and LL.M. degrees to 42 more. During January’s commencement, we surpassed the milestone of 20,000 graduates, located literally in every state and all over the world. When we began to downsize several years ago, we advised prospective students that it was a great time to enter law school because the near future would combine smaller graduating classes with an improving economy. That advice proved sound as employment figures and starting salaries for our graduates have increased markedly.
Our staff provide these students with the highest level of personal service in all of legal education.
M I C H I G A N
We are rapidly approaching the end of another great year.
W E S T E R N
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT AND DEAN OF WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY THOMAS M. COOLEY LAW SCHOOL
Letter 20-20 2016.qxp_Layout 1 11/4/16 2:04 PM Page 1
ACHIEVEMENTS SUPPORTED BY GIFTS TO THE LAW SCHOOL
Letter 20-20 2016.qxp_Layout 1 11/4/16 2:04 PM Page 1
FAST FACTS
PLEASE GIVE THIS YEAR.
WMU-COOLEY INNOCENCE PROJECT
4TH EXONERATION
To help us continue shaping our students into future leaders, we need your support. I ask that you give to the Law School’s 20/20 Vision Annual Campaign. A mere $50 from every graduate will help us raise $1 million toward educating, empowering, and changing the lives of deserving students who strive for success in legal and business careers. The Law School is tax-exempt and non-profit, so your gift is deductible as permitted by law and costs less than you might think. Please give to the Law School today. Send your gift by enclosing your check or credit card authorization with the bottom part of this letter. Or give online at cooley.edu/giving. Best wishes for the holidays and a successful 2018.
PRO SE REACH OUT PROJECT TAMPA BAY DEBT RELIEF
SIXTY-PLUS, INC.,
ELDERLAW CLINIC SERVING SENIORS
NATURALIZATION CEREMONY
STUDENT BAR & BLSA
FOUR CAMPUSES MICHIGAN FLORIDA
PART-TIME OR FULL-TIME STUDY DAY, EVENING OR WEEKEND CLASSES
VIDEO CONFERENCE
352 J.D. DEGREES
OVER 20,000 GRADUATES WORLDWIDE
Won’t you please give generously today? Make a real difference in the lives of our students. You can help them realize their dreams of becoming lawyers.
42 LL.M. DEGREES
OUTREACH
JOINT TEACHING PHI ALPHA DELTA
158 FACULTY RESEARCH AND GRANTS
STUDENTS EXCEL
MICHIGAN COURT OF APPEALS UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
Don LeDuc President and Dean
20/20
WON’T YOU PLEASE GIVER GENEROUSLY TO YOUR 20/20 VISION CAMPAIGN TODAY. MAKE A REAL DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF OUR STUDENTS. YOU CAN HELP THEM RELAIZE THEIR DREAMS V I S I O N CLAWYERS. A M P A I G N OF BECOMING
KENT COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT
1,285 STUDENTS
CLINICAL OFFERINGS RICH DIVERSITY COURSE EXCHANGE WMU INITIATIVES AT OUR FACILITIES
300 S. CAPITOL AVE. LANSING, MI 48933 | (517) 371-5140 | WWW.WMICH.EDU/LAW
SUPPORT THE 20/20 VISION ANNUAL CAMPAIGN
300 S. Capitol Ave. | Lansing, 300 S. Capitol Ave. | Lansing, MI 48933 | (517) 371-5140 | wmich.edu/law
E-mail: PLEASE SEND ME INFORMATION REGARDING: Establishing a Named Scholarship DIRECT MY GIFT TO: Planned Gifts, Insurance Gifts Alumni “20/20 Vision” Bequests, Fund
Student Scholarships Clinical Programs Law Review/Journal/Moot Court/Mock Trial Other:
PLEASE SEND ME INFORMATION REGARDING: Establishing a Named Scholarship Bequests, Planned Gifts, Insurance Gifts
(Matching gift forms are available from your employer)
State:
City:
Zip: Other $:
$100
$500
$1,000
$50
✁
✁
President and Dean
WMU INITIATIVES AT OUR FACILITIES
$250
PLEASE ACCEPT MY TAX-DEDUCTIBLE GIFT:
COURSE EXCHANGE
(Matching gift forms are available from your employer)
CLINICAL OFFERINGS
Don LeDuc
Best wishes for the holidays and a successful 2017.
ASSISTING THOSE IN NEED
Other $: PLEASE ACCEPT MY TAX-DEDUCTIBLE GIFT: PAYMENT METHOD: DIRECT MY GIFT TO: Alumni “20/20 Vision” Fund $1,000 Check payable to WMU-Cooley Law School Student Scholarships $500 Visa MasterCard AMEX Discover Clinical Programs $250 Card#: Law Review/Journal/Moot Court/Mock Trial $100 Other: Exp. Date: V Code: Matching Gift Form Enclosed $50 Signature:
FREE LEGAL SERVICES
Address:
SOUP KITCHENS
Name:
Signature:
Exp. Date:
Card#:
HOWARD SOIFER MEMORIAL LECTURE
PLEASE AND ADDRESS HERE: NEW ORPROVIDE UPDATEDNAME CONTACT INFO HERE:
✁
SYMPOSIA AND PUBLIC LECTURES
DIRECT MY GIFT TO: Alumni “20/20 Vision” Fund Student Scholarships Clinical Programs Law Review/Journal/Moot Court/Mock Trial Other: Matching Gift Form Enclosed
VC
A MasterCard Visa
Check payable to WMU-C
PAYMENT METHOD:
PLEASE ACCEPT MY TAX-DEDUCTIBLE GIFT: PAYMENT METHOD: NEW OR UPDATED CONTACT INFO HERE: $1,000 Check payable to WMU-Cooley Law School Name: $500 Visa MasterCard AMEX Discover Address: $250 Card#: $100 City: Exp. Date: V Code: $50 State: Zip: Signature: Other $: E-mail:
President and Dean
Don LeDuc
Don LeDuc Please give to the Law School today. Send your gift by enclosing your check or credit card authorization President and Dean with the bottom part of this letter. Or give on line at www.cooley.edu/giving.
less than you might think. I hope I can count on you for your support for our students.
The Law School is tax-exempt and non-profit, so your gift is deductible as permitted by law and costs
These activities and others during the year were informative, thought-provoking and entertaining while reminding us all of our responsibilities to give back to the community. All were made possible through gifts to the School.
success in legal and business careers.
SUPPORT THE 20/20 VISION ALUMNI CAMPAIGN
Among the most fun of these activities was our annual WMU-Cooley For Kids Day at which we treated nearly 500 school children to lunch and a Lansing Lugnuts baseball game in conjunction with Lansing’s Parks and Recreation Department.
received the ABA’s Solo and Small Firm Trainer national award. Professor David Tarrien won the Cohn The Law School is tax-exempt and non-profit, The Law School is tax-exempt and non-profit, so your gift is deductible as permitted by law and costs Prize from the Michigan Academy of Arts and Sciences. Recent graduate Elizabeth Devolder (Hughes less than you might think. I hope I can count less than you might think. I hope I can count on you for your support for our students. Class, 2016) was named a Law Student of the Year by National Jurist. Please give to the Law School today. Send you Please give to the Law School today. Send your gift by enclosing your check or credit card authorization To help us mold and shape our students as future leaders, we need your support. I ask that you give to with the bottom part of this letter. Or give on li with the bottom part of this letter. Or give on line at www.cooley.edu/giving. the Law School’s 20/20 Vision Alumni Campaign. A mere $50 from every graduate will help us raise $1 Best wishes for the holidays and a successful million toward educating, empowering, changing lives of deserving Best wishes for the and holidays and athe successful 2017. students who strive for
I am proud to offer this giving brochure showing you the many ways in which Western Michigan This year brought great honor to the Law Scho This year brought great honor to the Law School. Lawrence P. Nolan (Cooley Class, 1976), who is University Thomas M. Cooley Law School helps develop our law students into leaders of the future. chairman of our Board of Directors, became P chairman of our Board of Directors, became President of the State Bar of Michigan, the fourth president of a state bar from our School in the president of a state bar from Schoolininthe thelaw lastand eight years. Iqra Khalid (Washington Class, 2012) Our outstanding, experienced faculty educate theour students train them to practice it and Ruby Sahota (Fitzgerald Class, 2007) wer and Ruby (Fitzgerald Class, 2007) were elected to the need Canadian Parliament. Professor Marla students to develop ethically and successfully. OurSahota staff provide the kind of personal service Mitchell-Cichon received the State Bar of Mich Mitchell-Cichon received the State Bar of Michigan’s Champion of Justice Award. Professor Gary Bauer professionally from admission through graduation and beyond. Our outstanding academic programs received the ABA’s Solo and Small Firm Train Professor David Tarrien won the Cohn received ABA’s Solo and Small Firm Trainer national award. and flexible scheduling acrossthe four campuses allow students to attend and learn at times and locations Prize from the Michigan Academy of Arts and Prize from the Michigan Academy of Arts and Sciences. Recent graduate Elizabeth Devolder (Hughes convenient to their schedules. Class, 2016) was named a Law Student of the Class, 2016) was named a Law Student of the Year by National Jurist. This year brought great honor to the Law School. Lawrence P. Nolan (Cooley Class, 1976), who is To help us mold and shape our students as fu To help us moldbecame and shape our students future we need your support. I ask that you give to chairman of our Board of Directors, President of the as State Bar leaders, of Michigan, the fourth the Law School’s 20/20 Vision Alumni Campai the Law 20/20 Vision Campaign. A mere $50 from every president of a state bar fromSchool’s our School in the last Alumni eight years. Iqra Khalid (Washington Class,graduate 2012) will help us raise $1 million toward educating, empowering, and ch million toward empowering, andCanadian changingParliament. the lives of Professor deservingMarla students who strive for and Ruby Sahota (Fitzgerald Class,educating, 2007) were elected to the success in legal and business careers. success legalBar andofbusiness careers. Mitchell-Cichon received the in State Michigan’s Champion of Justice Award. Professor Gary Bauer
U N I M I C H I G A N
W E S T E R N S C H O O L L A W
Lastly, our students, faculty, and staff volunteered countless hours working in soup kitchens, providing free legal services, and assisting those in need.
W E S T E R N
We hosted the Michigan Court of Appeals, the United States District Court, and the Kent County Circuit Court for hearings. Judges and counsel spoke with students about the cases argued and court procedures and advocacy style.
Our outstanding, experienced faculty educate Our outstanding, experienced faculty educate the students in the law and train them to practice it ethically and successfully. Our staff provide th ethically and successfully. Our staff provide the kind of personal service students need to develop professionally from admission through graduat programs Mprofessionally I C H I G A from N admission U N I V E through R S I Tgraduation Y C O Oand L Ebeyond. Y L AOur W outstanding S C H O academic O L and flexible scheduling across four campuses and flexible scheduling across four campuses allow students to attend and learn at times and locations convenient to their schedules. convenient to their schedules.
We brought the courts to our campuses so our students and the public could conveniently watch lawyers apply their skills in real litigation.
I am proud to offer this giving brochure showi I am proud to offer this giving brochure showing you the many ways in which Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School help University Thomas M. Cooley Law School helps develop our law students into leaders of the future.
More than 41percent of our students identify themselves with minority groups. More than 56 percent are female. And nearly 4 percent hail from foreign nations.
Students and their organizations excelled this year. The Student Bar Association and the Black Law Students Association held a number of successful outreach and educational programs. The Phi Alpha Delta professional law national fraternity launched its newest chapter at our Tampa Bay campus. One of our second-year students, Katherine Chatman, was elected national director of community service for the National Black Law Students Association. Several of our skills competition teams performed well in local and regional championships. Luciana Viramontes of the Lansing campus, and Anna Mikolajczak and Katie Sabo of the Auburn Hills campus received the Alumni Memorial Scholarship Award, and 11 other students, spanning all four campuses, received Distinguished Student Awards from the WMU-Cooley Law School Alumni Association for their excellence in academics and Law School activities.
For All Americans? The Future of Healthcare in America featured former Congressman Bart Stupak (Dethmers Class, 1981) in conjunction with the WMU Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine. Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Jane Markey (Dethmers Class, 1981) moderated this symposium that addressed healthcare needs from the perspective of medical providers, insurance companies, and physicians. The School and various student organizations combined to present symposia on the scourge of human trafficking; the ethical implications of fake news in the traditional and social media; ethical dilemmas in the workplace, especially facing women; poverty and issues surrounding the rule of law in the developing world; and policerelated violence in our communities. In separate sessions of the donor-sponsored Howard Soifer Memorial Lecture in Sports and Entertainment Law, we presented Heisman trophy winner Charlie Ward and Sarasota Bar Association president and college football standout Keith DuBose at Tampa Bay, and MSU and NFL football star T.J. Duckett and graduate Joseph Bellanca (Sharpe Class, 2008), each of whom spoke with great authority on ethics in sports agency and representation in Lansing.
Letter 20-20 2016.qxp_Layout 1 11/4/16 2:04 PM Page 1
We are especially proud of the rich diversity of our student body that brings to the School a learning experience blended by gender, race, culture, faith, and geography.
Our faculty and students have collaborated with those from WMU on joint teaching, research projects, grants, clinical offerings, and public service activities. We signed an agreement that will allow our students to take select university courses for Law School credit and vice versa, thus expanding curricular opportunities significantly. We have begun offering Law School courses on WMU’s main campus in Kalamazoo, where our students may soon reside in on-campus housing. Meanwhile, WMU has launched its own initiatives in our facilities in Lansing, Auburn Hills, and Tampa Bay. WMU’s academic stature continues to rise, and new WMU President Edward Montgomery has expressed his support for the affiliation. WMU athletics have also had much to cheer about this past year with the Broncos Cotton Bowl football appearance, NCAA hockey Sweet 16 berth, and NCAA top-10 ranking in men’s soccer.
SUPPORT THE 20/20 SUPPORT THE 20/20 VISION ALUMNI CAMPAIGN
I offer you my brief report for the year, and I ask for your philanthropic support for the Law School through a year-end gift to support our 20/20 Vision Annual Campaign.
Whether in private practice, government service, business, or academia, our full-time faculty of 53 professors, aided by 18 full-time employees who teach, along with 87 adjunct professors, bring immense practice and teaching expertise to our 1,285 students. No other law school can boast of so many experienced lawyers at the front of the classroom. We remain well known for teaching students not only the law, but how to practice it.
Our affiliation with Western Michigan University, formed in 2014, has blossomed beautifully.
Here are some highlights for the year. The WMU-Cooley Innocence Project gained its fourth exoneration and release from prison of a wrongfully convicted individual. Our new Pro Se Reach-Out Project at Tampa Bay is assisting citizens with debt and bankruptcy relief. The Sixty Plus, Inc., Elderlaw Clinic started a new program to help senior citizens avoid financial exploitation. Working with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, we hosted a naturalization ceremony for 60 women from 28 countries.
We presented a large number of symposia and public lectures for students and the community alike.
C O O L E Y
We are also pleased by how well our students are trained in the knowledge, skills, and ethics they need to be successful lawyers.
This is something for which we have become well known. Our flexible scheduling across four campuses allows students – about 85 percent of whom study part time – to attend days, evenings, and weekends, at convenient times and locations. For weekend students, especially those who travel long distances, our novel, new hybrid program offers classes remotely by video conference during four weeks of the term, thus reducing the cost of their education.
Gifts to the Law School support a vast assortment of programs, activities, and scholarships that provide tremendous learning opportunities and benefits to our students.
U N I V E R S I T Y
Our faculty awarded J.D. degrees to 352 students and LL.M. degrees to 42 more. During January’s commencement, we surpassed the milestone of 20,000 graduates, located literally in every state and all over the world. When we began to downsize several years ago, we advised prospective students that it was a great time to enter law school because the near future would combine smaller graduating classes with an improving economy. That advice proved sound as employment figures and starting salaries for our graduates have increased markedly.
Our staff provide these students with the highest level of personal service in all of legal education.
M I C H I G A N
We are rapidly approaching the end of another great year.
W E S T E R N
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT AND DEAN OF WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY THOMAS M. COOLEY LAW SCHOOL
Letter 20-20 2016.qxp_Layout 1 11/4/16 2:04 PM Page 1
ACHIEVEMENTS SUPPORTED BY GIFTS TO THE LAW SCHOOL
Letter 20-20 2016.qxp_Layout 1 11/4/16 2:04 PM Page 1
FAST FACTS
300 S. Capitol Ave. | Lansing, 300 S. Capitol Ave. | Lansing, MI 48933 | (517) 371-5140 | wmich.edu/law
E-mail: PLEASE SEND ME INFORMATION REGARDING: Establishing a Named Scholarship DIRECT MY GIFT TO: Planned Gifts, Insurance Gifts Alumni “20/20 Vision” Bequests, Fund
Student Scholarships Clinical Programs Law Review/Journal/Moot Court/Mock Trial Other:
PLEASE SEND ME INFORMATION REGARDING: Establishing a Named Scholarship Bequests, Planned Gifts, Insurance Gifts
(Matching gift forms are available from your employer)
State:
City:
Zip: Other $:
$100
$500
$1,000
$50
✁
✁
President and Dean
WMU INITIATIVES AT OUR FACILITIES
$250
PLEASE ACCEPT MY TAX-DEDUCTIBLE GIFT:
COURSE EXCHANGE
(Matching gift forms are available from your employer)
CLINICAL OFFERINGS
Don LeDuc
Best wishes for the holidays and a successful 2017.
ASSISTING THOSE IN NEED
Other $: PLEASE ACCEPT MY TAX-DEDUCTIBLE GIFT: PAYMENT METHOD: DIRECT MY GIFT TO: Alumni “20/20 Vision” Fund $1,000 Check payable to WMU-Cooley Law School Student Scholarships $500 Visa MasterCard AMEX Discover Clinical Programs $250 Card#: Law Review/Journal/Moot Court/Mock Trial $100 Other: Exp. Date: V Code: Matching Gift Form Enclosed $50 Signature:
FREE LEGAL SERVICES
Address:
SOUP KITCHENS
Name:
Signature:
Exp. Date:
Card#:
HOWARD SOIFER MEMORIAL LECTURE
PLEASE AND ADDRESS HERE: NEW ORPROVIDE UPDATEDNAME CONTACT INFO HERE:
✁
SYMPOSIA AND PUBLIC LECTURES
DIRECT MY GIFT TO: Alumni “20/20 Vision” Fund Student Scholarships Clinical Programs Law Review/Journal/Moot Court/Mock Trial Other: Matching Gift Form Enclosed
VC
A MasterCard Visa
Check payable to WMU-C
PAYMENT METHOD:
PLEASE ACCEPT MY TAX-DEDUCTIBLE GIFT: PAYMENT METHOD: NEW OR UPDATED CONTACT INFO HERE: $1,000 Check payable to WMU-Cooley Law School Name: $500 Visa MasterCard AMEX Discover Address: $250 Card#: $100 City: Exp. Date: V Code: $50 State: Zip: Signature: Other $: E-mail:
President and Dean
Don LeDuc
Don LeDuc Please give to the Law School today. Send your gift by enclosing your check or credit card authorization President and Dean with the bottom part of this letter. Or give on line at www.cooley.edu/giving.
less than you might think. I hope I can count on you for your support for our students.
The Law School is tax-exempt and non-profit, so your gift is deductible as permitted by law and costs
These activities and others during the year were informative, thought-provoking and entertaining while reminding us all of our responsibilities to give back to the community. All were made possible through gifts to the School.
success in legal and business careers.
SUPPORT THE 20/20 VISION ALUMNI CAMPAIGN
Among the most fun of these activities was our annual WMU-Cooley For Kids Day at which we treated nearly 500 school children to lunch and a Lansing Lugnuts baseball game in conjunction with Lansing’s Parks and Recreation Department.
received the ABA’s Solo and Small Firm Trainer national award. Professor David Tarrien won the Cohn The Law School is tax-exempt and non-profit, The Law School is tax-exempt and non-profit, so your gift is deductible as permitted by law and costs Prize from the Michigan Academy of Arts and Sciences. Recent graduate Elizabeth Devolder (Hughes less than you might think. I hope I can count less than you might think. I hope I can count on you for your support for our students. Class, 2016) was named a Law Student of the Year by National Jurist. Please give to the Law School today. Send you Please give to the Law School today. Send your gift by enclosing your check or credit card authorization To help us mold and shape our students as future leaders, we need your support. I ask that you give to with the bottom part of this letter. Or give on li with the bottom part of this letter. Or give on line at www.cooley.edu/giving. the Law School’s 20/20 Vision Alumni Campaign. A mere $50 from every graduate will help us raise $1 Best wishes for the holidays and a successful million toward educating, empowering, changing lives of deserving Best wishes for the and holidays and athe successful 2017. students who strive for
I am proud to offer this giving brochure showing you the many ways in which Western Michigan This year brought great honor to the Law Scho This year brought great honor to the Law School. Lawrence P. Nolan (Cooley Class, 1976), who is University Thomas M. Cooley Law School helps develop our law students into leaders of the future. chairman of our Board of Directors, became P chairman of our Board of Directors, became President of the State Bar of Michigan, the fourth president of a state bar from our School in the president of a state bar from Schoolininthe thelaw lastand eight years. Iqra Khalid (Washington Class, 2012) Our outstanding, experienced faculty educate theour students train them to practice it and Ruby Sahota (Fitzgerald Class, 2007) wer and Ruby (Fitzgerald Class, 2007) were elected to the need Canadian Parliament. Professor Marla students to develop ethically and successfully. OurSahota staff provide the kind of personal service Mitchell-Cichon received the State Bar of Mich Mitchell-Cichon received the State Bar of Michigan’s Champion of Justice Award. Professor Gary Bauer professionally from admission through graduation and beyond. Our outstanding academic programs received the ABA’s Solo and Small Firm Train Professor David Tarrien won the Cohn received ABA’s Solo and Small Firm Trainer national award. and flexible scheduling acrossthe four campuses allow students to attend and learn at times and locations Prize from the Michigan Academy of Arts and Prize from the Michigan Academy of Arts and Sciences. Recent graduate Elizabeth Devolder (Hughes convenient to their schedules. Class, 2016) was named a Law Student of the Class, 2016) was named a Law Student of the Year by National Jurist. This year brought great honor to the Law School. Lawrence P. Nolan (Cooley Class, 1976), who is To help us mold and shape our students as fu To help us moldbecame and shape our students future we need your support. I ask that you give to chairman of our Board of Directors, President of the as State Bar leaders, of Michigan, the fourth the Law School’s 20/20 Vision Alumni Campai the Law 20/20 Vision Campaign. A mere $50 from every president of a state bar fromSchool’s our School in the last Alumni eight years. Iqra Khalid (Washington Class,graduate 2012) will help us raise $1 million toward educating, empowering, and ch million toward empowering, andCanadian changingParliament. the lives of Professor deservingMarla students who strive for and Ruby Sahota (Fitzgerald Class,educating, 2007) were elected to the success in legal and business careers. success legalBar andofbusiness careers. Mitchell-Cichon received the in State Michigan’s Champion of Justice Award. Professor Gary Bauer
U N I M I C H I G A N
W E S T E R N S C H O O L L A W
Lastly, our students, faculty, and staff volunteered countless hours working in soup kitchens, providing free legal services, and assisting those in need.
W E S T E R N
We hosted the Michigan Court of Appeals, the United States District Court, and the Kent County Circuit Court for hearings. Judges and counsel spoke with students about the cases argued and court procedures and advocacy style.
Our outstanding, experienced faculty educate Our outstanding, experienced faculty educate the students in the law and train them to practice it ethically and successfully. Our staff provide th ethically and successfully. Our staff provide the kind of personal service students need to develop professionally from admission through graduat programs Mprofessionally I C H I G A from N admission U N I V E through R S I Tgraduation Y C O Oand L Ebeyond. Y L AOur W outstanding S C H O academic O L and flexible scheduling across four campuses and flexible scheduling across four campuses allow students to attend and learn at times and locations convenient to their schedules. convenient to their schedules.
We brought the courts to our campuses so our students and the public could conveniently watch lawyers apply their skills in real litigation.
I am proud to offer this giving brochure showi I am proud to offer this giving brochure showing you the many ways in which Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School help University Thomas M. Cooley Law School helps develop our law students into leaders of the future.
More than 41percent of our students identify themselves with minority groups. More than 56 percent are female. And nearly 4 percent hail from foreign nations.
Students and their organizations excelled this year. The Student Bar Association and the Black Law Students Association held a number of successful outreach and educational programs. The Phi Alpha Delta professional law national fraternity launched its newest chapter at our Tampa Bay campus. One of our second-year students, Katherine Chatman, was elected national director of community service for the National Black Law Students Association. Several of our skills competition teams performed well in local and regional championships. Luciana Viramontes of the Lansing campus, and Anna Mikolajczak and Katie Sabo of the Auburn Hills campus received the Alumni Memorial Scholarship Award, and 11 other students, spanning all four campuses, received Distinguished Student Awards from the WMU-Cooley Law School Alumni Association for their excellence in academics and Law School activities.
For All Americans? The Future of Healthcare in America featured former Congressman Bart Stupak (Dethmers Class, 1981) in conjunction with the WMU Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine. Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Jane Markey (Dethmers Class, 1981) moderated this symposium that addressed healthcare needs from the perspective of medical providers, insurance companies, and physicians. The School and various student organizations combined to present symposia on the scourge of human trafficking; the ethical implications of fake news in the traditional and social media; ethical dilemmas in the workplace, especially facing women; poverty and issues surrounding the rule of law in the developing world; and policerelated violence in our communities. In separate sessions of the donor-sponsored Howard Soifer Memorial Lecture in Sports and Entertainment Law, we presented Heisman trophy winner Charlie Ward and Sarasota Bar Association president and college football standout Keith DuBose at Tampa Bay, and MSU and NFL football star T.J. Duckett and graduate Joseph Bellanca (Sharpe Class, 2008), each of whom spoke with great authority on ethics in sports agency and representation in Lansing.
Letter 20-20 2016.qxp_Layout 1 11/4/16 2:04 PM Page 1
We are especially proud of the rich diversity of our student body that brings to the School a learning experience blended by gender, race, culture, faith, and geography.
Our faculty and students have collaborated with those from WMU on joint teaching, research projects, grants, clinical offerings, and public service activities. We signed an agreement that will allow our students to take select university courses for Law School credit and vice versa, thus expanding curricular opportunities significantly. We have begun offering Law School courses on WMU’s main campus in Kalamazoo, where our students may soon reside in on-campus housing. Meanwhile, WMU has launched its own initiatives in our facilities in Lansing, Auburn Hills, and Tampa Bay. WMU’s academic stature continues to rise, and new WMU President Edward Montgomery has expressed his support for the affiliation. WMU athletics have also had much to cheer about this past year with the Broncos Cotton Bowl football appearance, NCAA hockey Sweet 16 berth, and NCAA top-10 ranking in men’s soccer.
SUPPORT THE 20/20 SUPPORT THE 20/20 VISION ALUMNI CAMPAIGN
I offer you my brief report for the year, and I ask for your philanthropic support for the Law School through a year-end gift to support our 20/20 Vision Annual Campaign.
Whether in private practice, government service, business, or academia, our full-time faculty of 53 professors, aided by 18 full-time employees who teach, along with 87 adjunct professors, bring immense practice and teaching expertise to our 1,285 students. No other law school can boast of so many experienced lawyers at the front of the classroom. We remain well known for teaching students not only the law, but how to practice it.
Our affiliation with Western Michigan University, formed in 2014, has blossomed beautifully.
Here are some highlights for the year. The WMU-Cooley Innocence Project gained its fourth exoneration and release from prison of a wrongfully convicted individual. Our new Pro Se Reach-Out Project at Tampa Bay is assisting citizens with debt and bankruptcy relief. The Sixty Plus, Inc., Elderlaw Clinic started a new program to help senior citizens avoid financial exploitation. Working with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, we hosted a naturalization ceremony for 60 women from 28 countries.
We presented a large number of symposia and public lectures for students and the community alike.
C O O L E Y
We are also pleased by how well our students are trained in the knowledge, skills, and ethics they need to be successful lawyers.
This is something for which we have become well known. Our flexible scheduling across four campuses allows students – about 85 percent of whom study part time – to attend days, evenings, and weekends, at convenient times and locations. For weekend students, especially those who travel long distances, our novel, new hybrid program offers classes remotely by video conference during four weeks of the term, thus reducing the cost of their education.
Gifts to the Law School support a vast assortment of programs, activities, and scholarships that provide tremendous learning opportunities and benefits to our students.
U N I V E R S I T Y
Our faculty awarded J.D. degrees to 352 students and LL.M. degrees to 42 more. During January’s commencement, we surpassed the milestone of 20,000 graduates, located literally in every state and all over the world. When we began to downsize several years ago, we advised prospective students that it was a great time to enter law school because the near future would combine smaller graduating classes with an improving economy. That advice proved sound as employment figures and starting salaries for our graduates have increased markedly.
Our staff provide these students with the highest level of personal service in all of legal education.
M I C H I G A N
We are rapidly approaching the end of another great year.
W E S T E R N
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT AND DEAN OF WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY THOMAS M. COOLEY LAW SCHOOL
Letter 20-20 2016.qxp_Layout 1 11/4/16 2:04 PM Page 1
ACHIEVEMENTS SUPPORTED BY GIFTS TO THE LAW SCHOOL
Letter 20-20 2016.qxp_Layout 1 11/4/16 2:04 PM Page 1
FAST FACTS
PLEASE GIVE THIS YEAR.
WMU-COOLEY INNOCENCE PROJECT
4TH EXONERATION
To help us continue shaping our students into future leaders, we need your support. I ask that you give to the Law School’s 20/20 Vision Annual Campaign. A mere $50 from every graduate will help us raise $1 million toward educating, empowering, and changing the lives of deserving students who strive for success in legal and business careers. The Law School is tax-exempt and non-profit, so your gift is deductible as permitted by law and costs less than you might think. Please give to the Law School today. Send your gift by enclosing your check or credit card authorization with the bottom part of this letter. Or give online at cooley.edu/giving. Best wishes for the holidays and a successful 2018.
PRO SE REACH OUT PROJECT TAMPA BAY DEBT RELIEF
SIXTY-PLUS, INC.,
ELDERLAW CLINIC SERVING SENIORS
NATURALIZATION CEREMONY
STUDENT BAR & BLSA
FOUR CAMPUSES MICHIGAN FLORIDA
PART-TIME OR FULL-TIME STUDY DAY, EVENING OR WEEKEND CLASSES
VIDEO CONFERENCE
352 J.D. DEGREES
OVER 20,000 GRADUATES WORLDWIDE
Won’t you please give generously today? Make a real difference in the lives of our students. You can help them realize their dreams of becoming lawyers.
42 LL.M. DEGREES
OUTREACH
JOINT TEACHING PHI ALPHA DELTA
158 FACULTY RESEARCH AND GRANTS
STUDENTS EXCEL
MICHIGAN COURT OF APPEALS UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
Don LeDuc President and Dean
20/20
WON’T YOU PLEASE GIVER GENEROUSLY TO YOUR 20/20 VISION CAMPAIGN TODAY. MAKE A REAL DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF OUR STUDENTS. YOU CAN HELP THEM RELAIZE THEIR DREAMS V I S I O N CLAWYERS. A M P A I G N OF BECOMING
KENT COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT
1,285 STUDENTS
CLINICAL OFFERINGS RICH DIVERSITY COURSE EXCHANGE WMU INITIATIVES AT OUR FACILITIES
300 S. CAPITOL AVE. LANSING, MI 48933 | (517) 371-5140 | WWW.WMICH.EDU/LAW
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300 S. Capitol Ave. | Lansing, 300 S. Capitol Ave. | Lansing, MI 48933 | (517) 371-5140 | wmich.edu/law
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Don LeDuc Please give to the Law School today. Send your gift by enclosing your check or credit card authorization President and Dean with the bottom part of this letter. Or give on line at www.cooley.edu/giving.
less than you might think. I hope I can count on you for your support for our students.
The Law School is tax-exempt and non-profit, so your gift is deductible as permitted by law and costs
These activities and others during the year were informative, thought-provoking and entertaining while reminding us all of our responsibilities to give back to the community. All were made possible through gifts to the School.
success in legal and business careers.
SUPPORT THE 20/20 VISION ALUMNI CAMPAIGN
Among the most fun of these activities was our annual WMU-Cooley For Kids Day at which we treated nearly 500 school children to lunch and a Lansing Lugnuts baseball game in conjunction with Lansing’s Parks and Recreation Department.
received the ABA’s Solo and Small Firm Trainer national award. Professor David Tarrien won the Cohn The Law School is tax-exempt and non-profit, The Law School is tax-exempt and non-profit, so your gift is deductible as permitted by law and costs Prize from the Michigan Academy of Arts and Sciences. Recent graduate Elizabeth Devolder (Hughes less than you might think. I hope I can count less than you might think. I hope I can count on you for your support for our students. Class, 2016) was named a Law Student of the Year by National Jurist. Please give to the Law School today. Send you Please give to the Law School today. Send your gift by enclosing your check or credit card authorization To help us mold and shape our students as future leaders, we need your support. I ask that you give to with the bottom part of this letter. Or give on li with the bottom part of this letter. Or give on line at www.cooley.edu/giving. the Law School’s 20/20 Vision Alumni Campaign. A mere $50 from every graduate will help us raise $1 Best wishes for the holidays and a successful million toward educating, empowering, changing lives of deserving Best wishes for the and holidays and athe successful 2017. students who strive for
I am proud to offer this giving brochure showing you the many ways in which Western Michigan This year brought great honor to the Law Scho This year brought great honor to the Law School. Lawrence P. Nolan (Cooley Class, 1976), who is University Thomas M. Cooley Law School helps develop our law students into leaders of the future. chairman of our Board of Directors, became P chairman of our Board of Directors, became President of the State Bar of Michigan, the fourth president of a state bar from our School in the president of a state bar from Schoolininthe thelaw lastand eight years. Iqra Khalid (Washington Class, 2012) Our outstanding, experienced faculty educate theour students train them to practice it and Ruby Sahota (Fitzgerald Class, 2007) wer and Ruby (Fitzgerald Class, 2007) were elected to the need Canadian Parliament. Professor Marla students to develop ethically and successfully. OurSahota staff provide the kind of personal service Mitchell-Cichon received the State Bar of Mich Mitchell-Cichon received the State Bar of Michigan’s Champion of Justice Award. Professor Gary Bauer professionally from admission through graduation and beyond. Our outstanding academic programs received the ABA’s Solo and Small Firm Train Professor David Tarrien won the Cohn received ABA’s Solo and Small Firm Trainer national award. and flexible scheduling acrossthe four campuses allow students to attend and learn at times and locations Prize from the Michigan Academy of Arts and Prize from the Michigan Academy of Arts and Sciences. Recent graduate Elizabeth Devolder (Hughes convenient to their schedules. Class, 2016) was named a Law Student of the Class, 2016) was named a Law Student of the Year by National Jurist. This year brought great honor to the Law School. Lawrence P. Nolan (Cooley Class, 1976), who is To help us mold and shape our students as fu To help us moldbecame and shape our students future we need your support. I ask that you give to chairman of our Board of Directors, President of the as State Bar leaders, of Michigan, the fourth the Law School’s 20/20 Vision Alumni Campai the Law 20/20 Vision Campaign. A mere $50 from every president of a state bar fromSchool’s our School in the last Alumni eight years. Iqra Khalid (Washington Class,graduate 2012) will help us raise $1 million toward educating, empowering, and ch million toward empowering, andCanadian changingParliament. the lives of Professor deservingMarla students who strive for and Ruby Sahota (Fitzgerald Class,educating, 2007) were elected to the success in legal and business careers. success legalBar andofbusiness careers. Mitchell-Cichon received the in State Michigan’s Champion of Justice Award. Professor Gary Bauer
U N I M I C H I G A N
W E S T E R N S C H O O L L A W
Lastly, our students, faculty, and staff volunteered countless hours working in soup kitchens, providing free legal services, and assisting those in need.
W E S T E R N
We hosted the Michigan Court of Appeals, the United States District Court, and the Kent County Circuit Court for hearings. Judges and counsel spoke with students about the cases argued and court procedures and advocacy style.
Our outstanding, experienced faculty educate Our outstanding, experienced faculty educate the students in the law and train them to practice it ethically and successfully. Our staff provide th ethically and successfully. Our staff provide the kind of personal service students need to develop professionally from admission through graduat programs Mprofessionally I C H I G A from N admission U N I V E through R S I Tgraduation Y C O Oand L Ebeyond. Y L AOur W outstanding S C H O academic O L and flexible scheduling across four campuses and flexible scheduling across four campuses allow students to attend and learn at times and locations convenient to their schedules. convenient to their schedules.
We brought the courts to our campuses so our students and the public could conveniently watch lawyers apply their skills in real litigation.
I am proud to offer this giving brochure showi I am proud to offer this giving brochure showing you the many ways in which Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School help University Thomas M. Cooley Law School helps develop our law students into leaders of the future.
More than 41percent of our students identify themselves with minority groups. More than 56 percent are female. And nearly 4 percent hail from foreign nations.
Students and their organizations excelled this year. The Student Bar Association and the Black Law Students Association held a number of successful outreach and educational programs. The Phi Alpha Delta professional law national fraternity launched its newest chapter at our Tampa Bay campus. One of our second-year students, Katherine Chatman, was elected national director of community service for the National Black Law Students Association. Several of our skills competition teams performed well in local and regional championships. Luciana Viramontes of the Lansing campus, and Anna Mikolajczak and Katie Sabo of the Auburn Hills campus received the Alumni Memorial Scholarship Award, and 11 other students, spanning all four campuses, received Distinguished Student Awards from the WMU-Cooley Law School Alumni Association for their excellence in academics and Law School activities.
For All Americans? The Future of Healthcare in America featured former Congressman Bart Stupak (Dethmers Class, 1981) in conjunction with the WMU Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine. Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Jane Markey (Dethmers Class, 1981) moderated this symposium that addressed healthcare needs from the perspective of medical providers, insurance companies, and physicians. The School and various student organizations combined to present symposia on the scourge of human trafficking; the ethical implications of fake news in the traditional and social media; ethical dilemmas in the workplace, especially facing women; poverty and issues surrounding the rule of law in the developing world; and policerelated violence in our communities. In separate sessions of the donor-sponsored Howard Soifer Memorial Lecture in Sports and Entertainment Law, we presented Heisman trophy winner Charlie Ward and Sarasota Bar Association president and college football standout Keith DuBose at Tampa Bay, and MSU and NFL football star T.J. Duckett and graduate Joseph Bellanca (Sharpe Class, 2008), each of whom spoke with great authority on ethics in sports agency and representation in Lansing.
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We are especially proud of the rich diversity of our student body that brings to the School a learning experience blended by gender, race, culture, faith, and geography.
Our faculty and students have collaborated with those from WMU on joint teaching, research projects, grants, clinical offerings, and public service activities. We signed an agreement that will allow our students to take select university courses for Law School credit and vice versa, thus expanding curricular opportunities significantly. We have begun offering Law School courses on WMU’s main campus in Kalamazoo, where our students may soon reside in on-campus housing. Meanwhile, WMU has launched its own initiatives in our facilities in Lansing, Auburn Hills, and Tampa Bay. WMU’s academic stature continues to rise, and new WMU President Edward Montgomery has expressed his support for the affiliation. WMU athletics have also had much to cheer about this past year with the Broncos Cotton Bowl football appearance, NCAA hockey Sweet 16 berth, and NCAA top-10 ranking in men’s soccer.
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I offer you my brief report for the year, and I ask for your philanthropic support for the Law School through a year-end gift to support our 20/20 Vision Annual Campaign.
Whether in private practice, government service, business, or academia, our full-time faculty of 53 professors, aided by 18 full-time employees who teach, along with 87 adjunct professors, bring immense practice and teaching expertise to our 1,285 students. No other law school can boast of so many experienced lawyers at the front of the classroom. We remain well known for teaching students not only the law, but how to practice it.
Our affiliation with Western Michigan University, formed in 2014, has blossomed beautifully.
Here are some highlights for the year. The WMU-Cooley Innocence Project gained its fourth exoneration and release from prison of a wrongfully convicted individual. Our new Pro Se Reach-Out Project at Tampa Bay is assisting citizens with debt and bankruptcy relief. The Sixty Plus, Inc., Elderlaw Clinic started a new program to help senior citizens avoid financial exploitation. Working with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, we hosted a naturalization ceremony for 60 women from 28 countries.
We presented a large number of symposia and public lectures for students and the community alike.
C O O L E Y
We are also pleased by how well our students are trained in the knowledge, skills, and ethics they need to be successful lawyers.
This is something for which we have become well known. Our flexible scheduling across four campuses allows students – about 85 percent of whom study part time – to attend days, evenings, and weekends, at convenient times and locations. For weekend students, especially those who travel long distances, our novel, new hybrid program offers classes remotely by video conference during four weeks of the term, thus reducing the cost of their education.
Gifts to the Law School support a vast assortment of programs, activities, and scholarships that provide tremendous learning opportunities and benefits to our students.
U N I V E R S I T Y
Our faculty awarded J.D. degrees to 352 students and LL.M. degrees to 42 more. During January’s commencement, we surpassed the milestone of 20,000 graduates, located literally in every state and all over the world. When we began to downsize several years ago, we advised prospective students that it was a great time to enter law school because the near future would combine smaller graduating classes with an improving economy. That advice proved sound as employment figures and starting salaries for our graduates have increased markedly.
Our staff provide these students with the highest level of personal service in all of legal education.
M I C H I G A N
We are rapidly approaching the end of another great year.
W E S T E R N
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT AND DEAN OF WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY THOMAS M. COOLEY LAW SCHOOL
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ACHIEVEMENTS SUPPORTED BY GIFTS TO THE LAW SCHOOL
Letter 20-20 2016.qxp_Layout 1 11/4/16 2:04 PM Page 1
FAST FACTS
PLEASE GIVE THIS YEAR.
WMU-COOLEY INNOCENCE PROJECT
4TH EXONERATION
To help us continue shaping our students into future leaders, we need your support. I ask that you give to the Law School’s 20/20 Vision Annual Campaign. A mere $50 from every graduate will help us raise $1 million toward educating, empowering, and changing the lives of deserving students who strive for success in legal and business careers. The Law School is tax-exempt and non-profit, so your gift is deductible as permitted by law and costs less than you might think. Please give to the Law School today. Send your gift by enclosing your check or credit card authorization with the bottom part of this letter. Or give online at cooley.edu/giving. Best wishes for the holidays and a successful 2018.
PRO SE REACH OUT PROJECT TAMPA BAY DEBT RELIEF
SIXTY-PLUS, INC.,
ELDERLAW CLINIC SERVING SENIORS
NATURALIZATION CEREMONY
STUDENT BAR & BLSA
FOUR CAMPUSES MICHIGAN FLORIDA
PART-TIME OR FULL-TIME STUDY DAY, EVENING OR WEEKEND CLASSES
VIDEO CONFERENCE
352 J.D. DEGREES
OVER 20,000 GRADUATES WORLDWIDE
Won’t you please give generously today? Make a real difference in the lives of our students. You can help them realize their dreams of becoming lawyers.
42 LL.M. DEGREES
OUTREACH
JOINT TEACHING PHI ALPHA DELTA
158 FACULTY RESEARCH AND GRANTS
STUDENTS EXCEL
MICHIGAN COURT OF APPEALS UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
Don LeDuc President and Dean
20/20
WON’T YOU PLEASE GIVER GENEROUSLY TO YOUR 20/20 VISION CAMPAIGN TODAY. MAKE A REAL DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF OUR STUDENTS. YOU CAN HELP THEM RELAIZE THEIR DREAMS V I S I O N CLAWYERS. A M P A I G N OF BECOMING
KENT COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT
1,285 STUDENTS
CLINICAL OFFERINGS RICH DIVERSITY COURSE EXCHANGE WMU INITIATIVES AT OUR FACILITIES
300 S. CAPITOL AVE. LANSING, MI 48933 | (517) 371-5140 | WWW.WMICH.EDU/LAW
SUPPORT THE 20/20 VISION ANNUAL CAMPAIGN