Year End Report 2015 - WMU Cooley Law School

REASON ONE

WMU AFFILIATION ADVANCES We are proud of the strong affiliation with Western Michigan University that has already resulted in more than 120 initiatives ranging from the upcoming offering of courses on each other’s campus, joint course listings, teaching and research collaborations, shared clinical opportunities, guest faculty appearances on constitutional law, ethics, and medical-legal issues, and improved student support activities. For more details on the affiliation, see cooley.edu/wmich

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“Extraordinary teamwork helped the couple capture the national championship, the school’s second in five years.”

TEAM COACH CHRISTINE CHURCH WMU-COOLEY ASSOCIATE DEAN

REASON TWO

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ABA NATIONAL CHAMPIONS AGAIN!

Tampa Bay students Elizabeth and Bryan Devolder won the national championship in the ABA’s client counseling competition. Their victory is our second such national championship in five years and our seventh regional championship in ten years.

Other schools brag about their competition teams. Ours succeed.

See cooley.edu/news/2015/wmucooley-team-wins-national-abacompetition

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REASON THREE

INNOCENCE PROJECT SUCCESS The students and faculty of the WMU-Cooley Innocence Project succeeded again this year in obtaining the exoneration of a man wrongfully convicted of a crime he did not commit. This was our third exoneration in recent years.

And we teamed with WMU to obtain a $400,000-plus grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to fund the project’s future efforts.

See cooley.edu/clinics/innocence_project

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WMU -CO OL EY STUDENT S IN MELBOURNE , AU ST RAL IA

REASON FOUR

FOREIGN STUDY LEADS TO GLOBAL EXPERIENCE The world is growing smaller day by day. We offer invaluable international law experience to students who attend class in our ABA-approved foreign study programs based in Toronto, Ontario; Oxford, England; M端nster, Germany; Melbourne, Australia; and Hamilton, New Zealand.

See cooley.edu/foreignstudy

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REASON FIVE

PROPOSED 3+3 PROGRAM WILL LOWER STUDENT COST The accelerated program being developed with WMU will allow students to receive their bachelor and J.D. degrees in a shortened time and with great savings in tuition and living expenses.

See cooley.edu/wmich

REASON SIX

TWO-YEAR PROGRAM BENEFITS MOTIVATED STUDENTS

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Our intensive, full-time, year-round academic program allows ambitious students to complete their legal studies in only two calendar years.

It’s hard work, but it comes at great savings.

See cooley.edu/prospective/ accelerated.html

REASON SEVEN

FACULTY ARE DEEPLY COMMITTED TO STUDENT SUCCESS Our faculty are accessible, devoted to teaching and serving the students, and keen to share their years of practice experience.

The students rated the faculty highly again this year in course evaluations and reported their satisfaction with the faculty to our accreditors.

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See cooley.edu/faculty

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REASON EIGHT

LOW STUDENT-TO-FACULTY RATIO MAKES FOR BETTER EDUCATION

We have 1,444 students, 47 fulltime faculty, and 98 adjunct faculty. That calculates to a low 18:1 student-to-faculty ratio which lends itself to small classes and the kind of hands-on learning of skills for which we have become so well known.

See cooley.edu/publicinformation

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REASON NINE

PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENT MAKES FOR BETTER LAWYERS Alumni consistently tell us that their internships, clinical classes, and skills classes and competitions were among the most valuable experiences they had at the Law School. All law schools have practical offerings, but WMU-Cooley requires students to take them. That’s why our students excel as practicing lawyers.

See cooley.edu/clinics

REASON TEN

MULTIPLE CAMPUSES ACROSS MICHIGAN AND FLORIDA GIVE STUDENTS GREAT LIFESTYLE CHOICES Many students tell us that our campus locations in Auburn Hills, Grand Rapids, Lansing, and Tampa Bay give them great lifestyle choices and allow them to pursue legal education without having to uproot their families. The deans, faculty, and staff at each campus have done a tremendous job of associating the Law School with local bar and business organizations, providing students important contacts for their future careers.

See cooley.edu/campuses

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LA N SIN G

GR AN D RAP ID S

A UB UR N H ILLS

TA MPA BAY

REASON ELEVEN

FLEXIBLE SCHEDULING OPTIONS BENEFIT STUDENTS WHO ARE PARENTS OR ARE EMPLOYED Students also tell us that the Law School’s day, evening, and weekend scheduling options, coupled with starting semesters in September, January, and May, allow them to care for their families and to stay employed while pursuing their degrees. This means that they can maintain their family and business relationships while graduating with far less student loan debt.

See cooley.edu/prospective

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REASON TWELVE

PRO BONO AND COMMUNITY SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES ABOUND

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We were outstanding again this year in pro bono and community service.

Students and faculty provided 107,000 hours of free legal service through their volunteer, clinical, and externship activities. And our community outreach efforts helped children’s charities, food banks, crisis shelters and a host of other organizations that serve those who are less fortunate than are we.

See cooley.edu/ethics

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REASON THIRTEEN

EXCEPTIONAL FACILITIES PROMOTE COLLABORATIVE CULTURE Our students told us this year how much they like and gain from the comfortable surroundings that promote learning in a collaborative, supportive, and nurturing environment. The WMU-Cooley culture has become one of helping, cooperating, and sharing, which we think makes for a better education and ultimately better-trained lawyers.

See cooley.edu/campuses

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“Extraordinary teamwork REASON FOURTEEN helped theWEcouple capture HAVE MADE LEGAL EDUCATION ACCESSIBLE the school’s second We admit students from all regions of in five years.” the nation, from many foreign countries, from all types of TEAM COACH CHRISTINEand CHURCH backgrounds.

Some students have just WMU-COOLEY ASSOCIATE DEAN graduated from college while others have been out for years. Many students are employed, and many have families. But our campus locations, scheduling options, and year-round admissions combine to afford students the ability to attend the Law School on their own schedule.

K E V I N CO TT ER , SPE AK ER O F THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTAT IVE S A ND W MU - COOL E Y A LU MN I

REASON FIFTEEN

SUCCESSFUL ALUMNI LEAD THE PROFESSION This year, Thomas C. Rombach (Morse Class, 1987) and Kevin Robinson (Reid Class, 2006) concluded their year as presidents of the State Bars of Michigan and West Virginia, respectively. Lawrence P. Nolan (Cooley Class, 1976) just became president-elect of the State Bar of Michigan. Kevin Cotter (Edwards Class, 2006) was elected this year as Speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives. And many other alumni have risen to positions of prominence in the legal profession, the business world, government, and academia. Did you know that WMU-Cooley graduates have served in Congress? Or the Canadian parliament? Or Japan’s national legislature? Or many other state legislatures? Or as judges in the courts of many states? Or as general counsel of a Fortune 500 company? Or as presidents of universities?

See cooley.edu/leaders

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REASON SIXTEEN

DIVERSE AND GLOBALLY ENGAGED

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The Law School is a great place at which to learn because our student body is the most ethnically, culturally, and internationally diverse in all of legal education. Our students range in age from 20 to 65. Female students outnumber the males. More students from other nations are enrolled at our School than at any other law school.

Their diversity brings unparalleled richness to the classroom and the Law School itself.

See cooley.edu/prospective/diversity

REASON SEVENTEEN

UNCONDITIONAL SCHOLARSHIPS

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Many of our students are aided by the School’s generous merit-based scholarship program. Our scholarships are unconditional in that students retain them throughout their enrollment so long as they are not subject to school discipline. Students have told us that scholarships at other schools come with so many strings attached that they cannot realistically meet continuing requirements. The benefit to WMU-Cooley’s students is that they know where they stand and can bank on it.

See cooley.edu/prospective/scholarships

REASON EIGHTEEN

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ALUMNI EVENTS CONNECT AND INFORM We stay connected with alumni through a host of networking events around the nation. This year alone, we held 19 alumni events in Michigan, four each in Florida, Illinois, and Texas, three in Maryland, two each in D.C. and New York, and one in Alaska, Indiana, New Jersey, and Ontario. We will be coming to yet other states in 2016. Read about these past events and look for upcoming events at cooley.edu/alumni/events

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REASON NINETEEN

WMU-COOLEY GRADUATES ARE READY TO WORK Need a lawyer or an extern to join your office?

Maybe you should look to WMU-Cooley. Externship supervisors and employers consistently told us this year that our students and graduates arrived prepared for law practice, enthusiastic to work, and ready to go. Contact our Office of Career and Professional Development to find a WMU-Cooley lawyer who will be effective and useful to you right out of the gate. You won’t be disappointed.

See cooley.edu/careers

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REASON TWENTY

ONE OF NATION’S LARGEST ALUMNI NETWORKS A mere glance at these maps shows you that our nearly 20,000 graduates are found in every state plus 26 other nations or territories around the world. This geographic spread testifies to the competence, capability, and ingenuity of the WMU-Cooley lawyer. It also demonstrates the opportunities available to our students who know the growing importance of practicing law in the global economy. You can easily find your fellow graduates and update your own contact information on our website.

See cooley.edu/alumni

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