Special Edition 2013 Benchmark Alumni Magazine

COOLEY CELEBRATING40 YEARS OFEXCELLENCE

BenchmarkTHE THOMAS M. COOLEY LAW SCHOOL MAGAZINE

SPECIAL EDITION 40 YEARS 2013

This special edition of Benchmark marks the 40th anniversary of the foundingof Thomas M. Cooley Law School. Since its inception, Cooley has provided anoutstanding legal education that focuses on the knowledge, skills, and ethicslawyers need to be competent and effective practitioners.

In this issue, you will learn about where Cooley has been and where it is going.You will read features about Cooley’s great faculty, devoted staff, wonderfulcampuses, outstanding programs, and successful alumni.

Most of all, you will see that Cooley remains true to its founding principles whilehaving also become the most innovative and diverse law school in the nation.

THOMAS M. COOLEY LAW SCHOOL BENCHMARK40 YEAR ANNIVERSARY ISSUE

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22 88 4411LOOKING FORWARDWhen Cooley started, according to President and Dean Don LeDuc, we hadthe advantage of ignorance, youth, and optimism. We had a simple approach: we would be lawyers and judges teachingour students to be lawyers and judges.Who better to do so? And we had a simplephilosophy: we would give people a chance.

VISIONARY FOR LEGALEDUCATIONFrom the beginning, the Hon. Thomas E.Brennan had a vision for what law schoolcould be and how he imagined it could be made better – even if this path to legaleducation was different from most otherlaw schools.

COMMUNITY ADVOCATEServing the community is not just a saying;it is a commitment deeply entrenched inCooley’s mission of developing characterand professional responsibility in future attorneys. And no one personifies thiscommitment better than Helen Mickens.

UNWAVERING DEDICATIONAnn Wood’s dedication and commitmentto practical legal education has greatly impacted the law school experience forthousands of Cooley students.

RISING UP THE RANKSWhen Cherie Beck started working asPolly Brennan’s personal secretary in1979, she had no idea that the decisionwould lead to over 30 years with CooleyLaw School.

COOLEY’S FIRST EMPLOYEEMarylynn Bain feels fortunate to be, notonly Cooley’s first employee, but to beworking for Cooley Law School.

MILESTONES AND NATIONAL RECOGNITION

40TH ANNIVERSARYGRADUATION SPEECH

SALUTE TO OURALUMNI

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2626 2828 3434

EditorTerry Carella

Co-EditorSharon Matchette

Contributing WritersSeyferthPRseyferthpr.com

DesignImage Creative Groupimagecreativegroup.com

PhotographyBrennan © Tim Boyles

LeDuc, Mickens, Miller, Beck, Bain © Adam Bird Photography

Call for SubmissionsThe Benchmark is seeking story ideas fromgraduates. We are looking for stories on a variety of subjects such as graduateachievements, international experiences,cultural diversity, legal information helpfulto practitioners, unique law practices, advice to prospective law students, and special events. If you would like to share astory idea, please write, call, or e-mail:

Communications OfficeThomas M. Cooley Law SchoolP.O. Box 13038Lansing, MI 48901

Phone: (517) 371-5140 ext. 2916Fax: (517) 334-5780E-mail: [email protected]

Postmark: Benchmark is published twice ayear by the administrative offices of theThomas M. Cooley Law School, P.O. Box13038, Lansing, MI 48901

ALUMNI DATABASEThe user name will always remain the wordalumni. The password changes are disclosedin Benchmark on the inside front cover.Please call the Alumni Relations Office at 517-371-5140, ext. 2038, or e-mail [email protected] if you have any problems. The current password for this term isknowledge.

BenchmarkThe Thomas M. Cooley Law SchoolAlumni Magazine

1BENCHMARK SPECIAL EDITION 40 YEARS 2013

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2 BENCHMARK SPECIAL EDITION 40 YEARS 2013

LeDuc

Looking ForwardDon LeDuc,

Cooley President & Dean

Don LeDuc, Cooley’s President and Dean, sees the school’sbright future as an extension of its founding philosophy andhistory of preparing students to be outstanding practitionersof the law: educated in the law, trained in its ways, mindful ofthe law’s role in society, committed to service, and adherentto its ethical principles.

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LeDuc

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When Cooley started, we had the advantageof ignorance, youth, and optimism. We had asimple approach: we would be lawyers andjudges teaching our students to be lawyers and judges. Who better to do so? And we hada simple philosophy: we would give people a chance.

We had faith in the inherent goodness of people. We believed that, in America – longknown and admired as the land of opportunity– a law school committed to giving people achance to succeed, to realize a dream to better themselves by continuing their highereducation in a law school venue, would be applauded. We also believed that, while theopportunity to obtain a law degree should befreely granted, graduation from law schoolshould be earned by meeting a high standard ofacademic performance. We felt that the use of one standardized test to decide who can attend law school and who cannot was inherently wrong and that the imposition of academic rigor was inherently right. We still do.

From the outset, we addressed problems asthey arose, but we began to face hurdles wedid not then, and do not now, understand.Rather than receiving admiration for giving people a chance to prove themselves, we facedprejudice, not just 40 years ago, but still. Elitism, a caste system, and the inexplicable antipathy toward opportunity that should, but does not, embarrass educators continues.

The disparate impact of exclusionary admissions policies on minority groups remainsignored. Legal education has failed to addressthe discrimination practiced in the name of academic “standards.” The legal profession asserts a desire to broaden access and increaseminority membership, but continues to denysupport to the law schools that can help it doso. Yet, the resistance from the legal professionand academe does not deter us. As we enterour fifth decade, we have remained, and wewill remain, true to our founding principles.

WHERE WE STAND TODAY

Cooley’s strategic plan, adopted in 2002 andexpanded in 2009, defines our mission andgoverns all that we do. It has allowed us to improve our curriculum and teaching, expandour services, ensure continued access to legaleducation, and stay financially strong.

Practice Preparation MissionPreparation of our graduates for practice has continued to improve since 2009. Ourgraduates today are better educated and better prepared for practice than at any timein our history. The quality of our teaching is excellent, perhaps best evidenced by theselection of two of our faculty members asthe best law teachers in America by HarvardPress in What the Best Law Teachers Do. Only 25 schools employ these exemplaryteachers, and only Cooley has two.

Cooley operates the largest clinical program inAmerica, requiring all its students to participatein practice at one of its 11 clinics or at one ofover 3,000 externship sites throughout theUnited States and the rest of the world. Cooleyhas one of the oldest and best legal writing programs in the country. And it offers exten-sive simulation courses with excellent results.

We have become one of the top schools in ethics and professionalism. Cooley’s Professionalism Plan has been the model for other schools, has won the American Bar Association’s highest honor, and has been integrated into every aspect of our legal education program. We lead the nation inpro bono service.

Access MissionDue to our access mission, we have becomethe national leader in minority enrollment. According to ABA figures published across the last five editions of the ABA-LSAC Official Annual Guide to ABA-Approved Law Schools,Cooley has graduated more minority law students than any other law school. While ourgoal is to provide access to all who want the opportunity to study law, our approach counters the pervasive admissions challengespresented to minority applicants. Cooley hasnot dropped its minimum academic profile requirements, unlike what many schools havedone as they face diminishing applications.

When Don LeDuc became President ofThomas M. Cooley Law School in 2002 uponthe retirement of the school’s founding president, Thomas E. Brennan, he already had27 years of experience at Cooley as a facultymember, including two terms as dean. With1,778 students, Cooley was already amongthe largest law schools in the nation. TheSchool had just signed an agreement to establish its first relationship with a university:a shared J.D./ Masters of Public Administrationdegree with Western Michigan University. The School was considering its first formal

strategic plan to guide future efforts, a planthat called for establishing branch campuses in other cities to make legal education more accessible. With the Brennan era ending,LeDuc, who came to Cooley with a planningbackground, knew that Cooley was poised toenter a new era of improvement and growth,while facing a host of new challenges, and hehad no intention of letting the plan languish on the shelf.

As Cooley celebrates the 40th anniversary of its first entering J.D. class and the 10th anniversary of its first entering LL.M. class,

the progress made at the school is astonish-ing. Where we started with 76 students in an evening program, we now have morethan 2,500 students, including 145 graduate students. Where that inaugural class convenedin 1973 above a print shop in rented premisesin Lansing, we now have five campuses andthe largest physical plant in higher legal educa-tion. Where that first class was an eveningsection, we now offer classes morning, noon,and night, on the weekends, and year-round.Here is LeDuc’s assessment of where Cooleyis today and where it will go in the future.

TheVisionContinues

— WRITTEN BY DON LEDUC, COOLEY PRESIDENT & DEAN —

— EDITOR’S NOTE —

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Best at Practice Preparation Vision StrategySaying that a school is the best at practicepreparation involves a fair amount of subjectiv-ity and considerable hubris. While I cannot saythat we are the best, it is only because I am notsufficiently familiar with the results at all otherschools. I can attest that we have improved,and continually will seek improvement in ready-ing our graduates for practice. We continue tohear from externship supervisors how superioris the preparation of our students to undertakethe tasks expected of recent law school graduates, often compared to those from otherlaw schools. And we hear how the alumni feltthemselves to be better prepared than theircontemporaries following graduation.

Largest Law School Vision StrategyDespite enrollment declines of the past threeyears, which have occurred at nearly every law school, we remain the largest law school inJ.D. enrollment. A particular bright spot is therecent growth in LL.M. enrollment, which isnow increasing above our annual projection.With expansion of our online opportunities,we will be able to offer LL.M. instruction to farmore lawyers in the future. Opening the AnnArbor campus in 2009 and the Tampa Baycampus in 2012 attracted many students whowould not otherwise have had the opportunityto study the law.

Remain Affordable Vision StrategyOf late, our hardest challenge has actually beenaffordability. Despite the effects of the econ-omy, we remain under the median private lawschool tuition rate. Meanwhile, our scholarshipprogram continues to ameliorate the cost ofeducation for more than half of our students.

Lead in Innovation Vision StrategyToday, schools are recognized as innovative fordoing things we have already done or, indeed,have always done. Since the appearance of the Carnegie report on legal education, focuson practice preparation is now the rage. Of course, we have done that for 40 years. Externships are now considered cutting edge,but we have operated ours with great successsince 1996. All of a sudden, two-year lawschool is being touted—something that Cooleystudents have had available since 1996. Year-round part-time legal education is almost thesole province of Cooley, and three-year, year-round legal education is our sole province.Weekend education began at Cooley in 1996and remains the only program that allows a student to complete a full program in threeyears, exclusively on the weekends.

Remain Financially Strong Vision StrategyDespite the challenges of the economy, Cooleyis one of the strongest schools financially. Wehave done this through budgetary foresight,prudent management of our resources,economies of scale, and the dedication andhard work of our 382 full-time employees and292 part-time employees.

WHERE WE ARE GOING

The challenge of constantly thinking ahead islosing touch with the present. Uninformedcommentators, malicious bloggers, ignorantmedia, and agenda-driven politicians spreadthe false notion that legal education, and thelegal profession itself, is a losing proposition.Shrill people with no credentials, no experience,and no understanding of the facts regularlycloud the debate with nonsense which the mainstream media, and even the organized bar,mindlessly republish as if it were authoritative.Yet, through all the din, we hear the demandfor high quality, accessible legal education.Through all the smoke, we see a successful future for our school and indeed the profession.We will not be deterred. Here is where Cooley is going.

KEY STRATEGIC ALLIANCES

Institutions of higher education must workmore effectively to provide education and serv-ices to their students. The smartest institutionsare joining forces to combine programs,broaden their offerings, and make educationmore widely available, and at a lower cost.

Cooley is at the forefront of this effort. We already have shared-degree programs withWestern Michigan University, Oakland Univer-sity, Olivet College, Davenport University, andEastern Michigan University. One of these is a“3+3” program in which students may obtaintheir undergraduate and J.D. degrees in reduced time and at lower cost.

And Cooley is about to take an even biggerstep. We have formalized an affiliation withWestern Michigan University. Subject to reviewby our accrediting agencies – the ABA and theHigher Learning Commission—we will operateas Western Michigan University Thomas M.Cooley Law School. The affiliation is not amerger, and the schools will remain separateand independent. Yet the affiliation will allowfor a deep connection between Cooley andWMU, a top-100 public university that sharesour commitment to access, teaching, service,and professionalism. Few university-based law schools effectively collaborate with otherdisciplines within their institutions. WesternMichigan University Thomas M. Cooley LawSchool will be the exception. We hope to builda wide assortment of joint programs, collabora-tive teaching and research initiatives, and newopportunities for students and faculty alike.

(continued on page 6)

Cooley’s strategic plan, adopted in 2002 and expanded in 2009, defines our mission and governs all that we do. It has allowed us to improve our curriculum and teaching, expand our service, ensure continued access to legal education, and stay financially strong.

ACCESS AND DIVERSITY IN LIGHT OF SOCIETAL NEED

Institutions of higher education, being impor-tant members of society, must do better at reflecting that society by expanding access,improving diversity, and providing educatedand skilled graduates.

Cooley again is at the forefront. We provide themost accessible legal education there is. At whatother law school can students take classes allyear round or during only the mornings, after-noons, or evenings, or solely on weekends?Where else can students begin law school notonly in September, but also in January or May?Or graduate in two years? What other schoolhas multiple campuses, thus reducing the timestudents must commute or be away from theirfamilies to pursue their studies? How manyschools have top enrollments of African-Ameri-cans, Hispanics and Latinos, Native-Americans,and Asian/Pacific Islanders? How many schoolshave students from, and alumni located in, all 50states and dozens of countries? And guess whichschool has the most foreign national J.D. students?

Cooley’s access mission is important for severalreasons. Lawyers and the legal profession play a key role in an orderly society. To be effective,their racial and cultural makeup should closelymirror society. The public needs to be able totrust the legal profession, and the professionmust understand the public it serves. Plus, lawstudents who learn in a diverse environment arebetter prepared to act within the diversity thatalready permeates our society. Demographerstell us that by the year 2040, the so-called “minorities” in the United States will constitutethe majority of Americans. Yet the racial andethnic composition of the legal profession runsway behind. African-Americans and Hispanicscombine to be a large segment of society butconstitute only a small percentage of the profes-sion. Indeed, those two groups face continueddiscrimination in American legal educationtoday.

This is so because the educational model of thelegal profession and the law schools – partly inblind deference to the invalid yet commerciallyinfluential U.S. News and World Report’s rankings– values exclusivity and demeans opportunity.That Cooley rejects those elitist values is the consistent rap against us. Because we do not exclude students with lower credentials —students who the critics say should not have theopportunity to pursue their dreams of becominglawyers – we are “ranked” far below other lawschools whose teachers, staffs, programs, and facilities are objectively inferior. That we have

consciously chosen to be outside the main-stream makes us subject to bullying by the legaleducation elite. And it likely will remain so. But we will continue to respond with the question, “who are they to say that our studentsdon’t deserve a chance to be great lawyers?”

We also know something else about the legalprofession that bears importantly on the futureof our society, something that the critics, includ-ing the organized bar, either do not know or refuse to acknowledge. Within a very short period of time, the numbers of lawyers leavingthe profession through retirement or demise willexceed the numbers entering the profession.That is because the demographics show that theprofession grew at its greatest pace 30 to 40years ago, but now those lawyers are leaving thepractice. State Bar of Michigan data show thatthe average age of a lawyer in active practice is53. More than 56 percent of all active Michiganlawyers are over 50 years of age, and 32.5 percent, nearly one-third of our lawyers, is aged60 or older.

This aging of the profession, if not addressed,will have serious, but largely unappreciated,repercussions for certain segments of society. In 80 of Michigan’s 83 counties, 50 percent ormore of the lawyers are aged 50 or over. In onequarter of Michigan’s counties, lawyers aged 60 or more constitute at least half of the lawyerpopulation, while 27 counties have no lawyersunder age 30. This may soon impact the rangeof legal services available to Michigan’s rural citizens. Indeed, one Great Plains state recentlypassed legislation providing a subsidy to lawyerswho move to rural areas where there is nolawyer, no one to write wills, draft trusts, advisesmall businesses, or resolve family disputes. Forcenturies, society has relied on lawyers to helpcitizens conduct their affairs in orderly fashion,promoting peace and stability and facilitatingfamily life and commerce alike. Continued accessto legal education – resulting in a replenished,better-trained, and ultimately strengthened legalprofession – should be seen as an important societal goal.

A NEW STRATEGIC PLAN

Since our School was founded and our philoso-phies were implemented, things have changed.Indeed, since our strategic plan was written, thevery thought process of America has changed.As a law school, we have evolved in sophistica-tion, but the frame of reference in which we operate has been replaced by something veryforeign. Fact has given way in the public mind to perception. Now, perception drives reality,opinion trumps facts, and emotion overwhelmsrationality. Critical and careful consideration has been replaced by impulse.

Recognizing that our crystal ball may not beas clear as it once was, we nevertheless lookforward while honoring the founding philoso-phies that allowed us to educate our studentsinto the successes they have become. As we develop a new strategic plan leading us throughour next decade, we will, of course, recognizeand adapt to the changes in society and the legalprofession. But we will also continue to stressour founding tenets of access and opportunity,coupled with excellence, rigor, and practice orientation. And we certainly will incorporatethe strategic alliances from which our studentsand alumni will benefit.

Our greatest opportunity is to redefine whatgood legal education is, to get away from whatmagazines think makes for a good law school,and to define how we assess what good lawyersdo. The affiliation with Western Michigan University will help us take advantage of that opportunity.

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%

##1minority graduates

2008-2012

Cooley ranks number one in minority graduates

in the 50 states

56p e r c e n t

of all active Michigan lawyers are over 50

years of age

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We will refine and improve our curriculum,stressing the importance of proficiency onthe bar examination.

We will learn and understand where the practice of law is heading as well as where it istoday. We thus will recognize evolving practicerequirements and the expectations of outsideentities, not just the law firms, about legal skillstraining. But we will do this mindful that ourphilosophy of hiring practitioners means thatwe hire those who know the past and may notknow the future, a challenge for the professionand for an aging faculty.

We will develop our Professionalism Plan evenfurther, continually reinforcing its principles andinvolving as many outside entities in its imple-mentation as possible. We will work to de-velop a common conception of integrity andethics in our incoming students.

We will seek to involve more alumni in theSchool. We need more philanthropic support,alumni association membership, moot courtjudges, mentors, and volunteer pro bono attorneys.

We will innovate by foreseeing future trendsand having the resources and the courage toact on them.

We will offer an affordable legal education,while keeping in mind that the School’s financialstrength is a key factor in meeting our mission.

We will continue to recognize that a diverselearning environment is profoundly importantto the education and training of a new generation of lawyers.

In sum, we will be inquisitive and open-mindedin looking at ways to improve the School as welaunch ourselves into a new era of preparingstudents to be outstanding practitioners of the law, students who are educated in the law,trained in its ways, mindful of the law’s role insociety, committed to service, and adherent toits ethical principles.

A New EraIn sum, we will be inquisitiveand open-minded in looking atways to improve the School aswe launch ourselves into a newera of preparing students to beoutstanding practitioners of thelaw, students who are educated in the law, trained in its ways,mindful of the law’s role in society,committed to service, and adherentto its ethical principles.

v i s i o n a r y f o r l e g a l e d u c a t i o n

To the 17,000-plus graduates of Cooley Law School across this nation andworldwide, Thomas E. Brennan has most certainly made his mark on history.Retired, but still going strong at 83, Brennan is notable for being the youngestChief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court. But his greatest legacy – theThomas M. Cooley Law School – is the result of the kind of vision that peopleof greatness and high thinking possess. As founder, president, and dean of afledgling law school that grew in only about 30 years to become the nation’slargest, Brennan proved to be a visionary in legal education. He imagined whatcould be, and he made it happen.

H O N O R A B L E

THOMAS E. BRENNANWritten by Terry Carella

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“I believed in an environment whereeverybody would just be ordinary folks,people who had ambition,” stated Brennan.“These people wanted to achieve somethingin their lives, and we wanted to provide thatkind of opportunity.”

Providing a legal education to every qualifiedcollege graduate who had the desire to go to law school was very important to Brennan.He believed that a legal education was formore than just those who were privileged and considered special, but for those who had whatit would take and were willing to work hard forthat education. He realized that an educatedcitizenry that understands the law is critical tothe strength and progress of the nation.

In his 1986 Annual Report of the President to the Board of Directors, Judge Brennan eloquently described his vision for Cooley LawSchool. He also outlined the struggles of thelaw school and the environment of legal education in general – a report that could havebeen written today, nearly 30 years later.

“I believe there is a need for lawyers in our nation which runs deeper than merelyproviding enough hired guns for all plain-tiffs and defendants who are lined up to sueeach other.

The popularity of the law as an avenue topersonal wealth will ebb and flow as thefees of lawyers go up and down.

I have no great concern, nor should our nation, with educating those who view thepractice of law merely as a way to get rich.

But I do believe that lawyers are the ministers of civil justice. We cannot permitthe great traditions of our legal system to bepreserved and promulgated or buried andforgotten as the marketplace dictates.

A law school is a temple of jurisprudence.

There ought to be one in every city of sub-stantial size, and it ought to be accessible toworking people, to ordinary people, to everyman and woman who thirsts for legal knowl-edge and is willing to pursue the study of lawwith dedication and perseverance.”

Taking his vision to heart, Brennan created a law school, the Thomas M. Cooley LawSchool, which is today the largest law schoolin the nation. Cooley educates a wide varietyof people from all walks of life including moreminority lawyers than any other law schoolin the nation. It made perfect sense toBrennan then, as it does now.

Brennan felt that the report could serve asa history of the law school and at least “ahistory of the shifting sand of our fears andschemes, our hopes and dreams.”

He recalls that, “In the life of any institutionthere are years of great achievement and accomplishment, banner years, whose numbers are etched in cornerstones or remembered as turning points. 1985 was notone of those years for the Thomas M. CooleyLaw School.”

FROM the beginning of Cooley Law Schoolin 1973, the school’s founder, Thomas E.Brennan, had a vision for what law schoolcould be and how it could be made better– even if this path to legal education was different from most other law schools.

“If you open the frontdoors wide enough,”stated Brennan, “you willget a cross section of the American people.”

*Excerpts from Thomas E. Brennan’s 1986 Report to the Board of Directors (in orange)

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Not unlike today, law schools were beingchallenged.

“Like most of the 175 A.B.A. approved law schools, Cooley has spent the last year trying to stay even,” Brennan wrote in that1986 report, “and trying to cope with declin-ing enrollments, declining revenues and adeclining public enthusiasm for legal educa-tion. There are plenty of shadows dancing onthe wall to keep us awake at night with worryif we are so disposed.”

“During the past year, I have had occasionto lay before our faculty, and today, I presentto this Board of Directors what I believe tobe the four main policy choices which lie before us:

1. Trim The Sails2. Pray For Rain3. Sell The Farm4. Go To The Whip”

Brennan thoroughly examined each avenuein the report.

To “trim the sails” would not allow the lawschool to grow. To “pray for rain” would needto be a long-term goal where “a law school’scontribution to society, like the value of its impact on the life of an individual graduate, ismore likely to be felt cumulatively, after a longperiod of time.” And to “sell the farm,” and be taken over by another university, would ultimately change what Cooley is and what itstands for.

“There remains deep in the bones of the Cooley Law School family a fierce pride in our accomplishment here and in our independence,” stated Brennan. “We havegone it alone from humble beginnings, andbuilt an institution in which we all take great satisfaction.

“This Board, our faculty, the administrativestaff, the students and alumni: We are Cooley Law School. We have made it whatit is, and we can make it whatever we want it to be in the future.”

Therefore, not surprisingly, his recommen-dation to the board was the fourth choice:Going to the whip – “and the one on whichI place the greatest reliance. Going to thewhip is nothing more nor less than tryingharder.”

“Going to the whip means doing more ofwhat you do, and doing it better.”

Cooley Law School grew from an acorn to an oak in a dozen years. There had to be a reason. We must have been doing something right.


THERE REMAiNS dEEp iN THE BONES OF THE cOOLEy LAW ScHOOL FAMiLy

iN OuR AccOMpLiSHMENT HERE ANd iN OuR iNdEpENdENcE. WE HAvE gONE iT ALONE FROM HuMBLE BEgiNNiNgS,

ANd BuiLT AN iNSTiTuTiON iN WHicH WE ALL TAkE gREAT SATiSFAcTiON.

A FiERcE pRidE“

HON. THOMAS E. BRENNAN

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“But if we are going to do what we do, anddo it better – it is important for us to knowwhat it is we do. I would define it this way:

The mission of the Thomas M. Cooley LawSchool is to provide an accredited, afford-able, accessible, nationally recognized andethically oriented, professional program ofpractical legal scholarship in the law to asmany qualified students as possible.

That is a mission to which our commitmenthas never faltered.

I believe it is a mission which remains asviable in 1986 as it was in 1973.

It is said that when the going gets tough, the tough get going.

Surely difficult times command us to returnto first principles, brush up on our funda-mentals, stick to basics.

At the same time a reasonable acumen suggests that we must look around and seehow our basic mission can best be adaptedto changing circumstances.”

What Brennan outlined in his report back in1986 is a reality today.

He said that Cooley’s future viability as abig school depended on its ability to attractout-of-state students. Cooley Law Schoolnow attracts students from across the nation and worldwide.

He talked about Cooley’s unique year-round,three divisional program. Cooley offers threeentering classes a year, in September, January, and May.

He talked about creating an affiliation with other institutions of higher education.Cooley has formed partnerships with WesternMichigan University, Oakland University, Davenport University and Olivet College,and built numerous community ties and relationships with many other businesses andeducational institutions.

Also in 1986, Brennan talked about how Cooley, to be the law school of choice, neededto be a multi-campus national law school in anumber of cities throughout the United States.Cooley now has five campuses, in Lansing,Auburn Hills, Grand Rapids, and Ann Arbor,Mich., and in Tampa Bay, Fla.

The mission of the Thomas M. Cooley LawSchool is to provide an accredited, affordable,accessible, nationally recognized and ethicallyoriented, professionalprogram of practical legal scholarship in thelaw to as many qualifiedstudents as possible.

That is a mission to which our commitment has never faltered.

BENCHMARK SPECIAL EDITION 40 YEARS 2013

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Brennan’s view of the legal profession in1986 was equally prescient. “The law practiceis becoming nationwide,” stated Brennan.

“Cooley already offers practice coursesgeared to other jurisdictions. Its diplomahangs on the walls in every state. A pres-ence in many different cities would helpto strengthen the national prestige of itsdiploma. A national faculty would gener-ate among its members a greater appre-ciation for the laws and practices of otherstates, and a broader perspective of theapplication of the law and the role of ourprofession nationally.”

Without question, Thomas E. Brennan had thelong vision of what Cooley Law School should beand what it would become. Yet, the mission ofCooley is the same today as it was 40 years ago:

“The mission of the Thomas M. CooleyLaw School is to prepare its graduates forentry into the legal profession through anintegrated program with practical legalscholarship as its guiding principle andfocus. This mission includes providing broadaccess to those who seek the opportunity tostudy law, while requiring that those to whomthat opportunity is offered meet Cooley’s rigorous academic standards.”

And Brennan’s words in 1986 ring out in whatCooley states is its role in legal education today:

“Cooley Law School teaches students theknowledge, skills, and ethics needed to bea success in the law and a valuable memberof society. Cooley has developed a legal education curriculum and program designedto prepare its students for the practice of lawthrough experienced-based teaching oflawyer skills. Students learn to apply legaltheory to situations they may encounter as practicing attorneys. As part of Cooley’sProfessionalism Plan, students are alsotaught the professionalism principlesadopted by the Thomas M. Cooley LawSchool community.”

The Hon. Thomas E. Brennan’s legacy to society is grounded in his commitment to providing a legal education to aspiringlawyers from all walks of life. That legacynow benefits not only many thousands ofCooley graduates, but likewise benefits people of all different races, cultures, and social backgrounds – citizens who reflect the vast diversity of today’s world.

His contribution is significant, but Brennanremains the same down-to-earth, family-oriented man he has always been. So what is important to him? A father of six andgrandfather of 19, Brennan smiled andnoted, “If I’m remembered by my grandchildren, that’ll make me happy.”

“This mission includes providing broad access to those who seek the opportunity to study law,while requiring that thoseto whom that opportunityis offered meet Cooley’s rigorous academic standards.” HON. THOMAS E. BRENNAN

HON. THOMAS E. BRENNAN

HigHLigHTS

Judge Brennan was admitted to the State

Bar of Michigan in 1953, and practiced law in Detroit for nine years. He was elected tothe Detroit Common Pleas Court in 1961,

advancing to the Wayne County Circuit

Court and finally to the Michigan SupremeCourt, where he served as Chief Justice in 1969 and 1970.

In 1972 Judge Brennan founded the Thomas

M. Cooley Law School. In 1974 he resignedfrom the court to become the school’s

first full-time dean. During his decanal

tenure, Judge Brennan founded the CooleyLegal Authors Society, the Student Bar Association, the Scholastic Review Board,

the Thomas M. Cooley Law Review, and

he designed the school’s year-round, three-times per year enrollment system.

Judge Brennan served as president of thelaw school from 1979 until he retired on

January 19, 2002, and also served on theboard of directors from 1972 until 2002.

The Honorable Thomas E. Brennan Law

Library is named in his honor.

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It seems like a daily occurrence. You meet someone in the Lansing area,share that you work, attend, or havegraduated from Cooley Law School,and the person typically responds with,“Do you know Helen Mickens?”

We sure do.Helen Mickens (Bushnell Class, 1980) is quite possibly Cooley’s biggest community advocate, devoting nearly 35 years of her life and professionalcareer to a region that she treasures deeply, celebrating its accomplishmentsand helping to strengthen it wherever possible. An avid world traveler withhusband Charles, Helen holds Lansing as a cherished destination.

Serving the community is not just a saying. It is a commitment deeply entrenched in Cooley’s mission of developing character and professionalresponsibility in future attorneys. And no one personifies this commit-ment better than Helen Mickens.

As a longtime Lansing resident, Helen’s love for the region and all of the communities Cooley serves is clear. Not only does she attendmany cultural events, she frequents museums and parks, participatesin downtown programs, and has served on numerous communityboards. She has also been instrumental in Cooley’s support of thearts and education throughout Michigan.

Her enthusiasm for Cooley is tireless, first fueled, no doubt, by herexperience there as a law student. Following her graduation in 1980,she returned to Cooley in 1982 as its assistant dean and has dedicatedher career to Cooley ever since.

Today, Mickens is embracing her associate dean emerita status, investingher talents and experience in Cooley’s expansive alumni community. The Benchmark recently caught up with Mickens to learn more about herfuture plans, and have her reflect on her accomplishments, rich memories,and inspirations.

ALL ROADS LEAD TO COOLEY’S COMMUNITY ADVOCATE:

HELENP R A T T M I C K E N S

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How did growing up on a farm give way toa legal career and such active communityinvolvement?

I grew up on a 100-acre farm just outsideKalamazoo with my two older brothers,Charles and Jim, and our cousin, Sonya. I recall when I was a 4-year-old child, beforewe moved to the farm, neighborhoodfriends would seek me out to resolve theirbackyard conflicts, even if I was theyoungest. It was interesting to me that theywould turn to me to resolve their conflicts.

My father, Charles Pratt, was KalamazooCounty’s first African-American judge. Mymother, Thelma, actively volunteered fordecades for the Red Cross and at BorgessHospital. My parents both listened well,and people from the community often cameto them to ask for assistance or advice.

What are some of your fondest memoriesas a Cooley student, albeit attending a farsmaller law school than it is today?

I enjoyed every aspect of my Cooley education. While it was hard work, myundergraduate studies at Kalamazoo College prepared me well. I also earned a master’s degree in Higher Educationfrom Michigan State University. My fatheralways said that learning is never wasted –you never know how, when and where it will be useful. I found my law schoolclasses interesting and thought of them asan extension of my liberal arts education.

Because our class had only 150 studentsand met as only one section, I got toknow everyone. I met many wonderful people from all over the country and lookback fondly on times with my classmates.Every single day was different, and each daybrought its own challenges and excitement.

I commuted five days a week to the Lansingcampus from Kalamazoo in my ToyotaCorolla that I bought brand new the weekbefore law school began. By the time Igraduated, that Corolla had over 100,000miles on it!

Tell us more about the path that led you tobecome Cooley’s associate dean.

Just after passing the Michigan bar exam, I accepted a position in the Michigan Courtof Appeals with Judge Michael Cavanaughand spent two years enjoying that incredible experience.

While I was at Kalamazoo College, many ofmy friends studied abroad and came backtelling stories about places that I had neverexperienced. After completing my time withJudge Cavanaugh, I decided that I wanted to experience more of the world, andmoved to Senegal, West Africa, for sixmonths to learn French and teach English.

When I returned to the States, I moved toNew Orleans to get ready for the Louisianabar exam. That’s when I received a call fromDean LeDuc asking me if I’d like to inter-view for the position of assistant dean. Iwas offered the position and was happy tobe back in Michigan. I took and passed theLouisiana Bar later.

What were those first years like?

Early on, I coordinated graduations andstandardized the exam procedures. I alsohad the privilege of working with studentsto find solutions for both personal and academic problems, ranging from substanceabuse to learning challenges. I rememberone student who was confined to bed because of her pregnancy, so I administeredher exams at her home.

And yes, I created the “no tobacco products”exam rule after one student complainedabout a young man incessantly chewing and spitting tobacco during an exam. I alsocreated the “no unauthorized persons in theexam room” rule after one woman insistedon taking her five-year-old son to an exam.

Looking back on your 30-plus years as assistant and, most recently, associatedean, what accomplishment makes youmost proud?

Every so often a former student will tell methat something I said in class or said to themor did for them years ago greatly impactedtheir life. It’s all about the people. Knowingthat I’ve had a positive impact on even oneperson’s life is what makes me most proud.

You’ve been associated with Cooley for 34of its 40-year history. What do you appre-ciate most about Cooley Law School?

First, I respect that Cooley has been true toits mission of practical legal education sincethe day it was founded. I appreciate andfondly recall my students.

Second, the people I work with are smart,kind, generous and thoughtful. They havebeen wonderful. I have enjoyed workingwith Dean Don LeDuc and seeing theprogress he’s brought to the law schoolover the years. I also enjoyed working withdeans Michael Cox and Peter Kempel.

Third, I’m proud that Cooley has given and continues to give so much to thecommunity at every campus.

Makes Me Most Proud“Every so often a former student will tell me that something I said inclass or said to them or did for them years ago greatly impacted theirlife. It’s all about the people. Knowing that I’ve had a positive impact on even one person’s life is what makes me most proud.”

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Your list of community involvements isboth wide-ranging and long-serving.What are you passionate about?

In my involvement with the Capitol RegionCommunity Foundation and the Lansing Rotary, I’ve had a great opportunity to learnabout and advocate funding for innovativecommunity projects that make a long-termdifference in the community.

Following my 12 years of riding the bus nearly every single day during the 1990s, I greatly appreciate public transportationand the rich and diverse conversations thoserides provide. So often people in comfort-able lifestyles don’t realize the deep impactthat a lack of transportation can have onsomeone’s life. I am a strong advocate forLansing’s CATA (Capital Area Transporta-tion Authority).

More recently I’ve been involved with ePIFany (PIF Pass It Forward) Now, an organization that works to create a positivecommunity “revolution” through small, random acts of kindness. Last summer, myhusband, Charles, and I went to a local gasstation where we paid for a stranger’s gas.One woman began crying tears of thankful-ness, as she had been out of work for thelast two years. This was a special moment.

What challenges have you overcome during your time at Cooley?

I’ve had multiple sclerosis (MS) for the past 10 years. My mother’s sister was bed-ridden with MS at a time when medicationsand other treatment tools weren’t available.I knew that my mother would have beendevastated if she found out I had MS, so Ididn’t share my diagnosis with many peopleuntil her passing. I have some discomfort and other problems including fatigue, but I consider myself very lucky overallcompared to some with this progressive,debilitating disease.

What is your guiding philosophy in life?

Be nice. You never know what kind of daysomeone is having, so always try to give themthe benefit of the doubt. One kind word orhelpful hand can greatly impact others’ lives.People remember the little things. I hope thatis how people remember me – as someonewho was helpful as well as nice.

How do you like to unwind?

We enjoy old as well as new, eclectic, locallyowned restaurants. We are particularlyfond of contemporary art and enjoy visitingart museums, especially MSU’s new Eli &Edythe Broad Art Museum. And travel isa passion of ours. Charles and I especiallyenjoy New Orleans, France, and China.

Are there any books that you have readand enjoyed recently?

• Country Driving: A Chinese Road Trip, by Peter Hessler

• A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson

•Midnight in Peking: How the Murder of a Young English Woman Haunted the Last Days of Old China, by Paul French

• The Sharper Your Knife the Less You Cry: Love, Laughter and Tears in Paris at the World’s Most Famous Cooking School, by Kathleen Flinn

What’s ahead in your new position as Associate Dean Emerita?

I’d like to reacquaint some of Cooley’s earlygraduates with the school that Cooley hasbecome in 2013. In the 34 years that I’vebeen associated with Cooley, I’ve seen theschool go through many changes, and Ithink many of our 17,000-plus graduateswould be astounded to see all that Cooley istoday. Like a lot of things in my life, it will beanother great adventure.

Words To Live By“Be nice. You neverknow what kind of daysomeone is having, so always try to give them the benefit of the doubt. One kindword or helpful handcan greatly impact others’ lives.”

“

Charles Mickens, Jean Michel, and Helen Mickens During a Visit to Beaune, France

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ANN MILLER

WOOD

Gaining approval of Cooley Law School from the American Bar Association and Higher Learning Commission • Establishing accreditation for Cooley’sjoint degree programs with other universities • Creating 11 new experientialeducation clinics • Building one of the largest externship programs in the world

Not many could accomplish any single one ofthese feats. Ann Miller Wood has accomplished all of them, and many more.

PLANNING AND ASSESSMENT ARE

KEY TO COOLEY’SSUCCESS


When you ask the longtime Cooley AssociateDean of Planning, Programs, and Assessmentabout her career, she quickly steers the conversation away from herself and instead focuses on the students she serves. Her unwavering dedication to practical legal education has greatly impacted the law schoolexperience for thousands of Cooley students.Additionally, her passion for helping individualsaccess legal services has changed the lives ofmany clients and inspired students to work forthose in need.

As she moves to senior emerita status, Ann will continue building Cooley’s clinical internship and externship efforts, including itsnew clinic in Tampa Bay. “It is rare to findsomeone who takes on every single challengewith the passion, poise, and hard work thatAnn does. Cooley proudly salutes Ann for heryears of dedication to the school,” stated Cooley President Don LeDuc.

Ann reflects on her 22-year Cooley careerand her future plans.

After studying history and English at NewYork’s Binghamton University, you entered thejournalism field as a copy editor. What madeyou change career paths and switch gearsfrom the news business to law?

I realized journalism wasn’t for me the night of ahorrible traffic accident. I saw everyone else inthe newsroom light up as they discussed howthey’d cover the story. Meanwhile, I couldn’t getpast how terribly tragic this accident was. Thatnight, I decided that I wanted my career to beabout preventing disaster, rather than waiting forit to happen.

As a journalist, I also saw issues that needed legal experts to help address them. One of themotivating factors that sent me to law school wasthe Attica Prison riot of 1971. In covering astory, I met several survivors of that riot and realized that many of the issues remained to beaddressed years later.

Throughout your career, you have always focused on serving people without the meansor understanding of legal representation.What motivates you to do this?

Following my work as an assistant clerk at theMichigan Court of Appeals, I did some reflectingon practicing as a traditional lawyer or as a legalaid attorney. While I could have had a high-pay-ing corporate job, my true passion has alwaysbeen for serving low-income clients.

In my first case as an attorney at Legal Aid ofCentral Michigan, I represented a client whohad been accused of food stamp fraud after anunintentional mailing error. While the casewas settled for a few hundred dollars, for thisclient it was the difference between havingmoney to eat or not. I experienced the joy ofbeing a good advocate, and this truly is some-thing no amount of money can buy.

Since 1986, you have served the Cooley com-munity as a professor, director of legal clinics,and associate dean. Why did you choose todedicate so much of your career to Cooley?

In my time at Legal Aid of Central Michigan, I hadthe privilege of coaching Cooley students whovolunteered to work with me. I loved watchingtheir skills develop through complex cases and always respected the training that Cooleygraduates received. Because of this, whenCooley announced an opening in the SixtyPlus, Inc., Elderlaw Clinic, a clinic that alwaysintrigued me, I was thrilled to join Cooley firstas a visiting professor, then a faculty member,and later as the clinic’s full-time director.

Throughout the years, I have always been extremely proud to work at an institution thatprovides extensive opportunities for students to receive a practical legal education. Since theday it was founded, Cooley has recognized theimportance of an education that allows studentsto jump directly into the workplace. The rest ofacademia has recently seen the benefits of thistype of education and are now beginning to adopt similar programs themselves. In this sense, Cooley has been a groundbreaker.

Looking back on your 20-plus years as associate dean, what specific accomplish-ment makes you most proud?

When I came to Cooley, I shared the goal ofreadying graduates to enter the work force.They had to be able to carry a case through frombeginning to end, so I decided it was imperativethat we continue developing our experiential education programs.

I am proud of the way these programs havegrown. We now offer 11 Cooley clinics and over3,000 externships around the world. No matterwhat area of law students are interested in, or where they are located, Cooley can offerpractical legal experience in practice areas thatthey enjoy. I believe this is the best kind of education in the world.

“It is rare to find someone who takes on every single challenge with the passion, poise,and hard work that Ann does. Cooley proudly salutes Ann for her years of dedication tothe school,” stated Cooley President Don LeDuc.

3,000+ 20+YEARS AS ASSOCIATE DEAN

EXTERNSHIP SITESAROUND THE WORLD

11CLINICAL PROGRAMS

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Ann Miller Wood with Clinical Students

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Is there a program at Cooley that you’re particularly excited about right now?

I’m excited about Cooley’s latest clinic, nowopen at our Tampa Bay campus. The receptionwe’ve received from the legal communitythere has been wonderful. This clinic will be a great service to the community.

As you transition to your new position, onwhat do you hope to focus, particularly as you work on clinical internship and externship efforts?

I’m eager to continue working on the externshipprogram. I’m looking forward to working withChris Church, associate dean of practice and performance skills, on how Cooley can enhanceits experiential education for remote students.

Tell us about your family.

My husband, Jim, is recently retired from theMichigan Department of Natural Resources.Trained as a fisheries biologist, he remains curious and full of wonder at the naturalworld. Since the day I met him, he’s alwaysbeen exploring and we are looking forward todoing more of this together.

Our daughter Abby, 21, is a senior studying English and theatre at Kalamazoo College. Growing up as an only child, she had to keep upwith the dinner conversations, so she’s alwaysbeen adept with words.

And of course I cannot fail to mention our German short-hair named Ruby. Ruby hasboundless energy and loves to play by the riverand in the woods on our property. Keeping upwith her keeps us all active.

What types of activities do you enjoy in your free time?

Our family has always enjoyed the “roughing it”thing. In our free time, you’ll usually find us doingsomething outdoors. Last summer we went upto the Quetico Provincial Park in Canada for aweek of canoeing, portaging and fishing.

And we are all scuba divers. Some of our favoriteplaces to dive are the Florida Keys, the Bahamas,and Greece.

My family has a cabin in the Upper Peninsula, andwe hope to spend more time up there as I havemore free time.

Are there any particular books that have stoodout to you or influenced you throughout yourlife? What is on your bookshelf or Kindle right now?

As far as legal books go, I’ve always enjoyedbooks that grapple with the ethical challengesand questions that all lawyers face. Two of my favorites are To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee,and Anatomy of a Murder, by Robert Traver.

My husband is part Native American, so mydaughter always asked lots of questions abouther heritage. I began reading lots of books aboutNative Americans that dealt with issues of travel,justice and cultural challenges. Louise Erdrich and Barbara Kingsolver are two of my favoriteauthors in this genre.

Light on Yoga, by B.K.S. Iyengar has also beenvery influential. I am a yoga teacher and havebeen involved in spiritual training for over 15years. I highly recommend yoga to law studentsas a way to handle stress in a healthy manner.

What advice do you have for Cooley students?

Don’t worry about following a set path foryour career or for your life. Make yourselfavailable, be open to new opportunities, andfollow wherever these opportunities lead.When you do this, you’ll find that things workout wonderfully in the end.

Throughout the years, I have always been extremely proud to work at an institution that provides extensive opportunities for students to receive a practical legal education.


Mock Trial ProgramInnocence Project Externship Program

C H E R I E B E C KCorporate Secretary, Executive Assistant tothe President, and Associate Legal Counsel

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When Cherie Beck started working as PollyBrennan’s personal secretary in 1979, she hadno idea that six months later she would becomethe executive secretary to her boss’ husband, thepresident and founder of the Thomas M. CooleyLaw School, Thomas E. Brennan.

“After Justice Brennan interviewed me and offered me the job, I asked him when I wouldbegin, and I will never forget his words,” she said.“He pointed and said, ‘There is your desk. Youbegin now.’ So I did.”

Thirty-three years later, Beck now serves as executive assistant to Cooley President and DeanDon LeDuc, corporate secretary, and associatelegal counsel. She staffs Cooley’s Board of Directors and handles legal affairs for the school.Her journey to these roles began right after she graduated from what was then DavenportCollege with a legal secretary degree.

“The placement office at Davenport told methat Cooley Law School had an opening for a secretary,” Beck said. “The position was to support Mrs. Brennan, the wife of the Hon.Thomas E. Brennan, who at the time was working on the school’s first oratory contest and needed secretarial assistance. I applied, theinterview went well, and I accepted the position.It was a decision I have never regretted.”

In addition to her work assisting Polly, Beck supported the directors of personnel, communications and operations. She proved tobe a diligent and committed worker, and, aftersix months, Polly recommended her for the position of executive secretary to the presidentof Cooley. She was offered the job immediately,but as a recent college graduate, she had somereservations.

“I knew Justice Brennan was a former Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court and nowthe president of a law school, and I was only sixmonths into my first job out of college,” Becksaid. “But I was so thankful for the opportunity,and, between working for Justice and Mrs.Brennan, I learned so much about working inbusiness, for a graduate school and aboutprofessionalism.”

Beck decided to return to Davenport and get her bachelor’s degree, and Justice Brennan thenpushed her to consider law school.

“He constantly told me how valuable a legal education was; not just to practice law, but forany profession,” she said. “He kept encouraging me to go to law school. So after graduating from Davenport University with my bachelor’sdegree, I decided to take the LSAT to see if Iqualified to get in to Cooley. I did, so I appliedand was accepted.”

Beck followed Cooley’s standard three-year program and attended classes in the evenings,the afternoons, and the weekends. In addition toher coursework, she continued to work full-timeas Justice Brennan’s secretary and spent all of her spare time studying. It was hard, but shepushed through and graduated with theRichard C. Flannigan Class in January 1999.

“I would say going to law school was the most challenging and satisfying thing I have ever done and it changed me as a person by giving memore self-confidence,” she said.

After Beck passed the Michigan bar exam, JusticeBrennan appointed her Cooley’s assistant legalcounsel. In addition to this new position, she remained his executive assistant.

Following Justice Brennan’s retirement, Beck began working as President Don LeDuc’s executive assistant. LeDuc, like Justice and Mrs. Brennan before him, recognized Beck’s potential and recommended to Cooley’s boardof directors that she be elected as the school’scorporate secretary. As Beck’s duties increasedwithin the general counsel’s office, LeDuc promoted her from assistant legal counsel to associate legal counsel.

Now serving in all three of these positions, onecould certainly say that Beck has come a longway since her days as Mrs. Brennan’s personalsecretary. With the recent celebration of her33rd anniversary with Cooley, she had time toreflect on that journey.

“Thinking back, I can’t imagine where the timehas gone,” she said. “But I can say that workingfor the president, the board of directors, and the general counsel’s office has been extremelyfulfilling. The work has been challenging and diverse, and I can’t imagine doing anything else.”

The bestdecisionC H E R I E B E C K

“Thinking back, I can’t imagine where the time has gone,” Cherie Beck said. “But I cansay that working for the president, the board of directors, and the general counsel’soffice has been extremely fulfilling. The work has been challenging and diverse, and I can’timagine doing anything else.”

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“It’s my life. I have been met with significant chal-lenges and opportunities and am forever gratefulfor everything Cooley has afforded me, but it’sall the people and the family atmosphere thatmake working at Cooley so special.” These arethe words of Marylynn (Curtis) Bain, CooleyLaw School’s first employee.

Cooley Law School has had few days duringwhich Bain did not report for duty. Her lifelongcareer at Cooley began on March 19, 1973, justmonths after the school opened its doors.

“I interviewed with both Justice Thomas Brennan(Cooley’s founder) and his wife Polly,” recalledBain. “After meeting the Brennans and visitingthe law school, I was extremely excited at theopportunity to work at Cooley.”

Bain has done it all during her time at the lawschool. The early days were filled with a multi-tude of tasks including managing law school applications, registering students, assisting withexams, recording grades, and day-to-day contactwith faculty and students. Her responsibilitieseven included filling the pop machines.

While working at Cooley, Bain attendedMichigan State University and graduated witha bachelor of arts in business administration.Over the years she has held positions as: registrar, manager of Cooley Lawyers CreditUnion, director of placement and alumni rela-tions, and special assistant to the president,among other responsibilities.

As the years passed, Bain’s responsibilitiescontinued to evolve. She is now director ofenrollment data systems and led the effort toimplement Cooley’s first comprehensive student information system.

She works closely with many departments tohelp meet their data management needs andprovides critical information to Cooley lead-ers as they make decisions to move the lawschool forward.

“Because of her knowledge, skills and expertise,Marylynn is an invaluable resource,” said Paul Zelenski, Cooley’s associate dean for enrollmentand student services. “Beyond her work, she is afriend to many and a trusted colleague.”

Bain has seen Cooley grow from a fledglinglaw school to a driving force in legal education.And while the size of the school has increased,the Cooley family atmosphere remains thesame because of people like Bain.

She is quick to point out that Brennan createdthe family culture. “There have been a numberof moments over the years that have made meproud to work at Cooley, but the oldest andmost significant was when Justice Brennan resigned from the Supreme Court to becomethe full-time dean of the law school,” said Bain.“I was there with his family and the reporterswhen he announced his resignation.”

In the simplest terms, Bain loves Cooley Law School, and that love is evident in herwork. Every day she puts the interests of theinstitution and its students at the forefront ofher daily duties. She even met her husbandJohn (Smith Class, 1985) while he was a student at Cooley. Marylynn and John raisedthree great children, Jennifer, John and Laura.

“I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunityto work for Cooley,” she said. “The school is such an important part of my life, and I am thankful every day for how much it hashelped me grow both as a person and as aprofessional.”

M A R Y L Y N N B A I N

“I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to work for Cooley,” Marylynn Bainsaid. “The school is such an important part of my life, and I am thankful every day forhow much it has helped me grow both as a person and as a professional.”

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M A R Y LY N N B A I NDirector of Enrollment Data Systemsand Cooley’s First Employee


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SALUTE WE


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YOU.As we mark Cooley’s 40th anniversary, wesalute and pay tribute to Cooley’s successfulalumni from across the nation and around the world.The following pages depict just a small sampleof a growing list of Cooley Law School graduateswho have gone on to do great things.Find out more at cooley.edu/leaders

ROSS BERLINSeniorVice President, PGA TOUR

Florida

PATRICK BAKOSFriedman & Associates

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

JANENE MCINTYRELansing City Attorney

Michigan

MAJOR ERIC A. JONKERSenior Legal Advisor, U.S. Army JAG Corps,Afghanistan-Pakistan Hands (APH) ProgramAfghanistan

JON COOPERNHL Head Coach, Tampa Bay Lightning

Florida

HON. CHRIS CHOCOLAFormer U.S. Congressman; President and CEO, Club for Growth

Washington, D.C.

MICHAEL D. COHENExecutive Vice President and Special Counsel to Donald J. Trump at the Trump Organization

New York

DENNIS BENNERFounder and Partner, Benner and Piperato, P.C.

Pennsylvania

KEITH PRETTYPresident and CEO, Northwood University

Michigan

DAVID GRUMBINESenior Counsel, Whirlpool Corporation

Michigan

HON. SARA J. SMOLENSKIChief Judge of the 63rd Judicial District Court

Michigan

DR. KELLY ASKINSenior Legal Officer for International Justice in the Open Society Justice Initiative

New York

SZU-YU CHANGChang Law Firm

California

DR. NICK MARTINEZMartinez & Odom Law Group

Florida

EDWARD GIBSONSenior Director at Alvarez & Marsal

Washington, D.C.

ELIZABETH JOY FOSSELDiversity & Inclusion Counsel,Varnum LLP

Michigan

JAMES J.VLASICMember, Bodman PLC

Michigan

HON. RASHIDA TLAIBMember of the Michigan House of Representatives

Michigan

DENNIS SWANPresident and CEO, Sparrow Health System

Michigan

JOSÉ BROWNCline, Cline & Griffin

Michigan

HON. JOHN ENGLERFormer Governor of Michigan and President of the Business Roundtable

Washington, D.C.

SHAUN C. KENTKent Law Firm, LLC

South Carolina

HON. ELIZABETH HOGANJudge of the 22nd Judicial Circuit Court

Missouri

HON. JOHN FIELDSFormer Judge of the Berrien County Circuit Courtand International Judge in Kosovo and Bosnia

Michigan

HON. MARK GRISANTINew York State Senator

New York

KHALID KAHLOONKahloon Pasic & Lewis Law Firm

Kentucky

HON. NICHOLAS P. SCUTARINew Jersey State Senator

New Jersey

HON. JANE MARKEYJudge of the Michigan Court of Appeals

Michigan

HON. RUBY MAKIYAMAMember of the House of Councillors, The National Diet of JapanJapan

DIANE DIETZChief Communications Officer for the Big Ten ConferenceIllinois

LAWRENCE P. NOLANNolan,Thomsen & Villas, P.C.

Michigan

ERIC BREISACHWomble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, LLP

Washington, D.C.

WILLIAM D. COX IIIBill Cox Law

Texas

KEVIN MCQUILLANGeneral Partner, Focus Ventures

California

HON. BART STUPAKFormer U.S. Congressman; Partner,Venable LLP

Washington, D.C.

COL. RODNEY WILLIAMS (RET.)U.S. Department of Veterans AffairsMichigan

NELL KUHNMUENCHLobbyist and Director at Governmental Consultant Services Inc.

Michigan

VALERIE SMULDERSSmulders Law Office, PLLC

Michigan

G. MICHAEL STAKIASPresident & CEO, Liberty Partners

New York

SHARON HANLONZelman & Hanlon, P.A.

Florida

HON. KEVIN ROBBINSJudge of the 36th Judicial District Court

Michigan

JOHN C. HEUGELJohn C. Heugel Attorney at Law

Wisconsin

We are proud of them.

They have become leaders.CATHERINE M. REYNOLDSSenior Vice President and General Counsel, CMS Energy and Consumers Energy

Michigan

BILL NIELSENDirector of Industry Outreach, Microsoft Corporation

Washington

HON. VONDA EVANSJudge of the Wayne County Circuit Court

Michigan

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milestones.Cooley Law School Celebrates Milestones and National Recognition

10 20 30 40

lLansing Campus Tampa Bay Campus

Grand Rapids Campus Tampa Bay Campus

Ann Arbor Campus

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Throughout 2013, Cooley Law School celebrates its 40th anniversary. In addition to this major milestone, Cooley is also celebratingthe 10th anniversaries of its Auburn Hills andGrand Rapids, Mich., campuses, plus its LL.M. Programs.

Ten years ago, the school expanded to Auburn Hills and Grand Rapids to accommodatethe rising demand for a Cooley education. The school’s innovative approach to legal education had prospective students from not only Michigan but around the world taking notice. The success of the Cooley model, which includes courses taught by real-world practitionersand flexible, year-round scheduling options, easily took hold in these new locations.

“Cooley is about offering the highest quality legal education experience,” said CooleyPresident and Dean Don LeDuc. “The school stresses legal knowledge, practice skillsand professional ethics; concepts that are now receiving much attention in legal education, but have been in place at Cooley since its founding.”

The school continued its expansion with the opening of a campus in Ann Arbor, Mich., in September 2009 and a campus in Riverview, Fla., in May 2012, making Cooley theonly American Bar Association (ABA)-approved law school in the country with fivecampuses. Each campus has had a significant impact on the community it calls home.

Lansing Campus

Auburn Hills Campus

Cooley Temple Conference Center / Lansing

Grand Rapids Campus

Auburn Hills Campus

AUBURN HILLS CELEBRATES ITS 10TH ANNIVERSARY

The Auburn Hills campus, which celebratedits 10th anniversary in September 2012, began offering classes on the campus of Oakland University in 2002. At that time, there wasonly one other ABA-approved branch campusin the entire country, and no law school had successfully started one since 1989.Thecampus opened with just 28 students, threeoffices and one 40-seat classroom. Ten yearslater, the student body has grown to nearly600 students, which would rank the campusin the top third of all ABA-approved lawschools in terms of enrollment. The campus isalso one of the most diverse in the country,with women comprising 44 percent of the population and African Americans andHispanics comprising 24 percent. The totalstudent population has had a substantial economic impact on the Auburn Hills community.

“Because of the influx of students we attract,the city is redeveloping its downtown area to become a ‘college’ town, including the construction of a 100-unit downtownapartment and retail complex for our students and medical graduate studentsfrom Oakland University,” said AssociateDean John Nussbaumer.

“The community has really embraced ourstudents and we are thankful for that.”

The Auburn Hills community has also welcomed Cooley’s volunteer programsand outreach efforts. For example, the10CORE Law Society, which was estab-lished by Cooley Associate ProfessorFlorise Neville-Ewell, seeks to educate thepublic about housing issues in an effort toprotect them from fraudulent and unfairreal estate practices.

“Our outreach to the community grew organically from the pro bono and commu-nity service interests of our faculty andstaff,” Nussbaumer said. “We allowed themto pursue their passions, and the studentsfollowed their lead. This culminated in November 2012 with a proclamation of appreciation from the Oakland County Board of Commissioners, which honored the campus because it has ‘aided the greater community through its exceptional outreachefforts led by faculty and supported by students.’”

But perhaps the greatest impact felt by the Auburn Hills community has been thecampus’ 2008 move from Oakland Universityto its own 67-acre LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver-certified location, making the city home toonly the fourth law school in the nation with LEED status. The 132,000-square-foot facility is the most technologically advancedlaw school in southeast Michigan, with wire-less Internet access throughout the building,two high-tech courtrooms, four high-definitiondistance-education classrooms, two computerlabs, and class podcasting capabilities.

“It was important to the Auburn Hills faculty,administration, and student body that thenew location incorporate technology and sus-tainable practices because we have big plansfor the future of our campus,” Nussbaumersaid. “In 10 years, I think the campus will bean even more established and respectedmember of the southeast Michigan educa-tional community, known for the quality ofour graduates and our service to thoseless fortunate than ourselves. We willalso continue our longstanding traditionof providing access to a high-quality and affordable legal education to thousands of students who otherwise would neverhave had the chance to become a member of the legal profession.”

GRAND RAPIDS CAMPUS TURNS 10

Nine months after opening its Auburn Hillscampus, Cooley opened another campus inGrand Rapids, Mich. In May 2003, the schoolbegan offering courses to law students atWestern Michigan University’s Grand Rapidscampus while Cooley constructed a new,100,000-square-foot facility in the city’sHeartside District. The addition of Cooley’scampus to the once downtrodden districtencouraged other development, and the areais now a dynamic, urban neighborhood thatboasts a thriving business sector and livelyarts and entertainment culture. “The impact began with the campus’ $25 million facility in the redeveloping districtjust south of the Van Andel Arena,” AssociateDean Nelson Miller said. “The campus’ location encouraged the development ofother vacant sites nearby and the locationalso gave the Heartside District the benefit of the school’s pro bono services and its Access to Justice Clinic.”

Cooley students and faculty continue thesecommunity revitalization efforts by maintain-ing pro bono and community service projectsnear the campus at soup kitchens, missions,cultural centers, chambers of commerce,courts, nonprofits and schools.

“Community involvement has been boththe plan and a natural result of the campus’growth, as the school’s strategic vision includes creating and sustaining key commu-nity partnerships,” Miller said. “The campuscarried forward the school’s partnering strategy at several levels. In addition to partnerships with area government agenciesand the professional community, the campusdeveloped service community partnershipswith Mel Trotter Ministries, the Justice forOur Neighbors immigration program, theHispanic Center of West Michigan and manyother organizations. Students come to thecampus with admirable service commitments.We want them to preserve, carry out, and expand those commitments while here inGrand Rapids.”

Above all else, the campus’ strong commit-ment to educating the next generation oflawyers will have the greatest impact, onefelt not only in Grand Rapids, but acrossthe country.

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Cooley’s Auburn Hills 67-acre location is one of only four law schools in the nation with LEED status.

GREEN ROOF / AUBURN HILLS CAMPUS

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“Over the past 10 years, the campus has successfully educated hundreds of graduateswho have passed bar exams here in GrandRapids and in states across the country andnow practice law for the benefit of theirhome communities,” Miller said. “In the next10 years, the campus will be even moreclosely connected with the community and its government, educational and private community partners. It will also have graduated more lawyers who, because ofcost, schedule, and other access issues, mightnot have had a chance elsewhere, and it willhave prepared those lawyers even better for the kind of generative law practice thatenriches communities.”

COOLEY CELEBRATES 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF MASTER OF LAWS PROGRAMS

2013 is full of celebrations and anniversariesat Cooley Law School. In addition to theschool’s 40th anniversary of its founding andthe 10 year milestones at the Auburn Hillsand Grand Rapids campuses, Cooley celebrated the 10th anniversary of its Master of Laws Programs.

Created in 2003, the Master of Laws Programs (LL.M.) provide recent graduatesand practitioners with an innovative educa-tion that combines theory and practice while enhancing an individual’s area of spe-cialty, benefiting the professional communityat large. In the 10 years since its founding,the LL.M. Programs have helped numerousJ.D. graduates improve their legal knowl-edge and career opportunities.

“Cooley’s LL.M. programs target both complex and developing areas of law,” said Associate Dean of Faculty and LL.M.Programs Charles P. Cercone. “I am mostproud of the tremendous lawyers who lefttheir prestigious law practices to becomeprofessors here and to lead these programs.Over the last 10 years they have providedour LL.M. students with the opportunity

to grow personally and professionally andto broaden their career opportunities.”

Cooley’s LL.M. programs are offered at any ofits Michigan campuses, with a number of theprograms offered online. The seven programsinclude: Tax, Intellectual Property, CorporateLaw & Finance, Insurance Law, Homeland &National Security, Self-Directed Study, andU.S. Legal Studies for Foreign Attorneys.

COOLEY FACULTY MEMBERS SELECTED AS “BEST LAW TEACHERS” IN THE NATION

Thomas M. Cooley Law School has the distinction of being the only law school in the country with two members of its facultyfeatured in the recently published book Whatthe Best Law Teachers Do (Harvard UniversityPress, 2013). The book names AssociateDean Nelson Miller and Professor Phillip J. Prygoski as two of the 26 “best law teachers” in the United States.

Authored by Professor Gerry Hess, of Gonzaga University School of Law; ProfessorSophie Sparrow, of the University of NewHampshire School of Law; and MichaelHunter Schwartz, Dean and Professor of Lawat the University of Arkansas at Little RockWilliam H. Bowen School of Law, the book is the culmination of a four-year study thatsought to identify extraordinary law teachers.The study details the attributes and practicesof professors who have a significant, positive,and long-term effect on their students.

“It comes as no surprise that Cooley has twoprofessors listed as the best in their profes-sion. Cooley is extremely fortunate to haveNelson Miller and Phil Prygoski named as twoof the ‘best law faculty’ in the country,” saidCooley Law School Associate Dean of FacultyCharles Cercone. “Cooley has strived tobring only the best practitioners into theranks of the school’s professors since itsbeginning in 1973. We are honored to haveboth Phil and Nelson on our team.”

Each chapter in What the Best Law Teachers Dofocuses on a theme common to all ofthese outstanding law teachers, including:how they relate to students, prepare forclass, teach, provide feedback and assesstheir students’ learning, as well as what theyexpect of their students, and the personalqualities they share.

Prygoski is credited in the book as beingpassionate and told the authors, “I think abig part of motivation. . . is the passion forthe subject . . . and if they (the students) seethat you’re passionate, you’re jacked upabout it, and that you care, they’re going tobuy into it.”

As part of the research for the book, the authors visited each of their 26 subjects attheir respective law schools so they could observe classroom behavior and conductlengthy interviews with professors, deans, colleagues, students, and alumni. Most often,according to Sparrow, the authors left thesevisits feeling moved, inspired, and excited tomake changes to their own teaching methodsbased on what they observed and heard.

A student of Miller’s is quoted in the book assaying, “At the end of the term he gave this20-minute talk about the importance of tortsand the relevance today, and I left feeling really fired up because he was fired up aboutit…It’s like, here’s something to get excitedabout; here’s a way to make a difference inthe world.”

According to Hess, “All of the teachers westudied are regarded as being among themost rigorous professors at their law schools,that have high expectations of every student,yet they also are known for their kindness totheir students. They foster self-confidence intheir students and inspire in them a belief thatthey are capable of great things. They get toknow their students as people and manifestcaring and respect for their students. Theseteachers model hard work, creativity, and humility.”

Faculty Members for Cooley’s LL.M. Programs (Front Row Left to Right); Lisa Demoss, Gina M. Torielli, E. Christopher Johnson, Jr., Joni Larson,(Back Row) Michael C.H. McDaniel, James Carey, David C. Berry, and Gerald T. Tschura

(Left) Associate Dean and Professor Nelson Miller,and (Right) Professor Phillip J. Prygoski

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ABA OFFICIAL GUIDES SHOW COOLEYWITH THE MOST MINORITY STUDENTGRADUATESData from the last five annual editions of theAmerican Bar Association (ABA) Official Guide toLaw Schools show that Thomas M. Cooley LawSchool graduated 958 minority law studentsduring the five years covered, more than anyother law school in the country. Cooley’s minority graduation total was first, followedby Harvard with 865 graduates, Loyola Marymount with 784 graduates, Georgetownwith 775 graduates, and American Universitywith 747 graduates.

Associate Dean John Nussbaumer discussedCooley’s access to legal education programsand diversity initiatives at the Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession’s State of Diversity and Inclusion in the Legal Profession speaker series. The series visitedChicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, NewYork, Seattle, and Washington D.C.The focuswas on relevant diversity data and statistics,the various facets of diversity in the legal profession, and promising strategies, programsand initiatives from around the country.

“Cooley’s mission includes ‘providing broadaccess to those who seek the opportunityto study law, while requiring those towhom that opportunity is offered to meetCooley’s rigorous academic standards,’”stated Nussbaumer. “One major benefit ofthis part of Cooley’s mission is the extentto which we are helping to diversify thelegal profession, and this is an extremelyimportant task.”

The ABA Official Guides track graduationnumbers in several different minority grad-uate categories, including African-Americangraduates, Hispanic graduates, Asian/NativeHawaiian/Pacific Islander graduates, andAmerican Indian/Alaskan Native graduates.Dean Nussbaumer’s research shows thatonly four schools in the country made thetop 20 list in all four of these categories –American University, George WashingtonUniversity, Harvard University, and CooleyLaw School. Data showed that Cooley had 439 African-American graduates, 222 Hispanic graduates, 238 Asian/NativeHawaiian/Pacific Islander graduates, and 17American Indian/Alaskan Native graduates.

“The two largest racial and ethnic groups thatface the greatest discrimination in Americanlegal education today are African-Americansand Hispanics,” Nussbaumer continued. “During the first decade of this century,nearly two-thirds of all African-Americanapplicants, and nearly half of all Hispanic applicants, were denied admission to everyABA-approved law school to which theyapplied, compared to less than one-third ofall Caucasian applicants. Among these twogroups, Cooley ranked third nationally inAfrican-American graduates, and eighth in Hispanic graduates.”

“Cooley is working to reversethis discrimination by providinga high-quality and affordablelegal education to thousands of students who otherwisewould never have had thechance to become a memberof the legal profession,” saidNussbaumer. “I think this is one of our school’s most significant accomplishments.”

COOLEY LANSING CELEBRATES 40 YEARS BY HOSTING NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF LAW REVIEWS

In January 1973, Cooley Law School openedits doors in downtown Lansing, Mich. to Cooley’s first entering class of students. Fortyyears later, Cooley welcomed over 250 lawreview students from 62 different law schools as host of the 59th Annual National Conference of Law Reviews.

Cooley put together the best of legal writingand entertainment to create an outstandingexperience for law review students. With thetheme “Best Practices,” keynote speaker, former U.S. Secretary of Energy and formerU.S. Sen. Spencer Abraham spoke to the students about the importance of what theydo on law review, engaged them in storiesfrom his career experience, and provided students with tips to improve law reviews

through strategic writing. Abraham was thefounding faculty advisor of Cooley’s Law Review in 1981, and also taught Torts andLegal Research for the law school.

“Secretary Abraham’s talk at the conferencewas uplifting,” said Bradley Charles, CooleyLaw School assistant professor and chair ofthe National Conference of Law Reviews. “He helped the students understand thattheir work on law reviews is important. And he was very entertaining as well.”

The four-day conference included a choice ofmore than 20 sessions. Law Review studentslistened to Cooley Professor Joseph Kimble,editor in chief of The Scribes Journal of Legal Writing and the longtime editor of the “Plain Language” column in the Michigan BarJournal, discuss word usage and how to be anexpert on the subject. They were enlightenedby nationally renowned speaker Bryan Garner,the prolific author, founder of LawProse andeditor of Black’s Law Dictionary.

“Having the foremost expert on Englishusage, Bryan Garner, and the foremost experton plain English, Joe Kimble, made this a special conference that the law studentswon’t soon forget,” Charles said.

Students also gained important judicial viewpoints about the use and value of law review articles during a panel presentationgiven by Hon. Richard Suhrheinrich of theU.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit,Hon. Stephen Markman of the MichiganSupreme Court, and Hon. Jane Markey (Dethmers Class, 1981) of the MichiganCourt of Appeals.

As the finale, all the law review studentswere entertained and amazed by JoeCastillo, the world’s best sand artist and finalist on America’s Got Talent.®

The National Conference of Law Reviews offered law review editors the opportunity to share ideas and discuss issues related tostudent-edited law publications. The annualconference included panels of faculty advisers,law review editors and academic authors.Conference attendees had the opportunity to hear from various members of the legalcommunity, meet with publishing editors and socialize with diverse groups of law review editors.

“Law reviews and journals are being forced totransition to a more digital world, and theNational Conference of Law Reviews is theonly forum for them to get together andshare solutions,” Charles said. “That’s why wewere able to get 62 different law schools toattend this year’s conference.”

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ANN ARBOR CAMPUS ACHIEVES FULL ABA APPROVAL

Cooley’s Ann Arbor campus also had reasonto celebrate. On June 20, 2012, the AmericanBar Association, Council of the Section ofLegal Education and Admissions to the Bar,granted full approval to the campus and determined that both Cooley’s Ann Arborcampus and the law school itself were in fullcompliance with ABA standards.

“We are pleased that the council saw fit to grant both provisional approval and finalapproval at the same time,” said Cooley President Don LeDuc. “The ABA’s approvalreflects the outstanding work of Ann ArborAssociate Dean Joan Vestrand and her dedicated faculty and staff.”

In recommending approval, the Council’s Accreditation Committee noted the diversityof Cooley’s student body (29 percent minority) and faculty (21 percent minority),Cooley’s clinical programs and externshipplacement sites, the wide variety of pro bono opportunities for the Ann Arbor students, and the quality of Cooley’s teachers, staff, and facilities.

“I am so proud of the way Ann Arbor has embraced Cooley and our students and welcomed us into its courtrooms, law firms,businesses, and the community,” said AssociateDean Vestrand. “It is an honor to have thecouncil recognize our efforts in providinggreat legal education and public service.”

Additionally, Cooley Ann Arbor’s ImmigrantRights and Civil Advocacy clinic, under theleadership of Associate Professor JasonEyster, was wholeheartedly embraced by theAnn Arbor community in January 2012 aftermany discussions and focus groups with legal community leaders in Ann Arbor andWashtenaw County determined the need forthis type of legal service. The clinic was designed to give students real-life experiencein an area of the law that is currently underserved locally as well as nationally.

“In the United States, all individuals have certain protections regardless of their immigration status,” said Eyster. “Here insoutheast Michigan, we have people from allover the world, including Russia, China, Africa,and South America. Immigration law is a fieldthat needs attorneys, and I’m excited to offer my skills, not only to clients but to thestudents who will gain valuable experience by working in this clinic.”

DEDICATION CEREMONY FORMALLYMARKS TAMPA BAY CAMPUS OPENING

On Oct. 31, 2012, over 250 people attendedCooley’s Tampa Bay campus dedication cere-mony and ribbon cutting at 9445 CamdenField Parkway, Riverview, Fla. The Floridacampus is Cooley’s fifth campus and thefirst outside of Michigan.

Don LeDuc, Cooley president and dean, andthe Hon. Thomas E. Brennan, Cooley’sfounder, attended the event, along with an impressive number of leaders from the community and across the state of Florida.Speakers included Al Higginbotham, Hillsborough County Commissioner; SharonHanlon, attorney Zelman & Hanlon P.A. andCooley Board member; the Hon. EmilianoJose Salcines of the Florida Second DistrictCourt of Appeal; Gwynne Young, president ofthe Florida State Bar; Robert Nader, presidentof the Hillsborough County Bar Association,and Jeff Martlew, associate dean of the Cooley Tampa Bay campus.

“We’re excited to begin a new chapter forCooley Law School in Tampa Bay and dedicatea campus for our growing student populationoutside of Michigan,” said LeDuc.

The Tampa Bay campus began offering eveningclasses to 109 students in May 2012. The fullcurriculum for the campus will be rolled outover a three-year period. Once it is in place,Cooley will employ approximately 53 full-timefaculty and staff and about 35 part-time faculty in the Tampa Bay area.

“This campus is an exceptional learning environment because it has been tailored tomeet the educational needs of today’s law students,” said Martlew. “We are pleased withthe enthusiastic reception of the local benchand bar, and we look forward to buildinga strong relationship with the Tampa Bay

community.”

In addition to its large alumni base of nearly1,000 graduates throughout Florida, Cooleyhas a growing presence in the Tampa Bay area through its Service to Soldiers: Legal Assistance Referral Program and its involvement with the ABA’s Military Pro Bono Project, where it, along with the Hillsborough County Bar Association, offers a complimentary training programaimed at preparing local attorneys to represent members of the military in legal issues ranging from child custody concerns to housing rental disputes.

Most Minority Student Graduates

National Conference of Law Reviews

Ann Arbor Campus

Tampa Bay Dedication Ceremony

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“Cooley President Don LeDuc, Board Chair-man and member of the inaugural CooleyClass, Larry Nolan; Board Member Emeritusand surviving member of the first Board ofDirectors, Jack Cote; distinguished membersof the board of directors, learned andbeloved members of the faculty, graduatesof the Alfred Moore Class, mothers, fathers,grandparents, husbands, wives and assortedrelatives, friends and …creditors of the gradu-ates, ladies and gentlemen:This is a great dayfor all of us. For you graduates, it’s a day ofachievement, satisfaction, accomplishment, relief, survival, escape. Whatever you call it. You feel good today. And so do I.

I want to thank President LeDuc for inviting me to speak here this afternoon. I’m compli-mented to be called the founder of Cooley LawSchool, but in truth, Don LeDuc has providedthe academic and executive leadership whichhas earned Cooley a special place in the hierarchy of American education. He invited me to speak because, this month, the lawschool celebrates the 40th anniversary of the meeting of the first class on January 12, 1973.President LeDuc and the entire Cooley facultyand staff deserve our special congratulations.For 40 years of service to the legal profession, and to the nation.

On this day 40 years ago, Richard MillhouseNixon was sworn in for his second term as the 37th President of the United States.Today, Barack Obama begins his second term as the 44th President. Forty years and eightpresidents. It’s one heck of a long time.

I wonder how many of you graduates of the Alfred Moore Class were walking around backthen. I wonder. Would all those graduates whowere born after January 12, 1973 please standup.There they are, ladies and gentlemen, thehappy faces of the Facebook generation. Let’s give them a hand.

You know, standing up here looking out at thisvast auditorium, and at literally thousands ofpeople, I can’t help but remember the night we met with our very first class. It was a cold, wintery Friday evening. We gathered in a rented upstairs room. Seventy-six nervous andexcited students, each of whom had signed anacknowledgement that Cooley was not accred-ited.We had no library, no dean, no full-timefaculty, no blackboard, no chalk.We had nothingbut hopes and dreams and determination tomake something out of nothing.

I told the class that night that someday,Cooley would be known for its campus, forits buildings, for its alumni. And when thatday came, I said, it would seem that CooleyLaw School always was. I remember browsingin the state archives some years later andstumbling across a three-by-five index cardabout Thomas McIntyre Cooley. It said thatThomas M. Cooley was a Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court in the 19th centurywho founded the law school in Lansing thatbears his name. So much for the pride of beingthe founder of Cooley Law School.

But you didn’t come here this afternoon just to hear me talk about the good old days.Or hear me tell you that when I was yourage, we thought a lap top was where you puta napkin at dinner. Or Googling was whatyoung men did when a pretty girl walked by.Or that an iPad must be something prescribedby an opthalmologist.

I suppose when you were young your grandfather told you that, when he wasyour age, he had to walk five miles to schoolevery day. Rain or shine. Barefoot. In the snow.Uphill. Both ways. You probably didn’t believehim either. No sir, you didn’t come here tolisten. You came here today to walk.You cameto walk up onto this stage and receive yourdiploma.You’ve earned that piece of paper andyou’ve come here this afternoon to claim it. To feel it in your hand. To show it to your family and your friends. And to hang it on thewall and show it to the world.

So I am going to talk to you today about thatdiploma, and I’m going to tell you just threethings: It is a Doctor of Laws from Cooley.

Now the first point is that your diploma is adoctoral degree. It represents 90 credit hoursof postgraduate education.

You know, there’s a lot of talk these days aboutthe economy. Folks are questioning the value ofa college education.Young people are graduat-ing from college and they can’t find a job. Somefolks are beginning to question whether thecost of higher education is worth it. Graduatesare often saddled with huge student loans, andthere’s a lot of gloom and doom out there.But let’s take a moment to get things in per-spective.When I graduated from law school in1952, I worked as a title examiner at an abstractcompany for about two years. I jumped at achance to work in a law firm. Took a 27 per-cent pay cut to get into the practice of law. My secretary at that law firm made moremoney than I did. So did my wife, who was asubstitute teacher in the public schools.

A GRADUATIONTO REMEMBER40th Anniversary Graduation Speech by Hon. Thomas E. Brennan

On January 20, 2013, the Hon. Thomas E. Brennan marked the 40th anniversary of the school with his memorable comments in this speech

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After two years at the law firm, I went out onmy own, and I never looked back. So maybe youcan see why I tell people that there is no suchthing as an unemployed lawyer.

If you are a member of a learned profession,you have knowledge and skill that have value inthe market place. You never hear any talk aboutmedical doctors or dentists being unemployed.If you can hang out a shingle, you can find workto do. It’s a funny thing. Everybody wants a job, but nobody wants a boss. If you have a profession, you can be your own boss.

There are over 311 million people in the United States. Less than half of 1 percent ofthem are lawyers. That means there are over250 potential clients for every lawyer. It oughtto be some comfort to you graduates, as yousit here this afternoon to know that there are 250 people out there waiting to give youmoney to do what you learned to do in lawschool. Of course, first, you have to pass the bar exam.

I got an email a few weeks ago from a fellownamed Jim, who graduated from Cooley about25 years ago. I remember him well. He failedthe bar exam three times. When he came tosee me back then, I told him he didn’t haveto be a licensed attorney to be successful. Isuggested he talk to some of our alumni whowere doing very well in business. He just smiledand said, “You’ll see.” And walked out of my office. Today, he is a Chief Assistant Prosecutorin New Jersey with eight younger lawyersworking for him.

Bar examinations aren’t easy. They’re not sup-posed to be. But your diploma entitles you tosit for the exam, and your education at Cooleyhas prepared you to pass it. I can assure youthat if you really want it, you will have a licenseto practice law to hang alongside your diploma.

Of course, if you just want a job … if you wanta boss, and a paycheck and a 401(k) and healthcare, and paid vacations and a chance to getpromoted, I can tell you that the piece of paperyou are going to get up here will be your board-ing pass on the flight to security and success.Think about it.There is hardly a job descriptionin the business world that you are not qualified— maybe even overqualified — to do.

Does a bank want to hire a loan officer? Doesan insurance company want a claims adjuster?Does a manufacturer want a personnel officer?Who wouldn’t choose an applicant with a lawdegree over someone with a four-year collegeeducation? And consider this: Your law degree tells more about you than howmuch you know.

It testifies to your work ethic, to your commitment, to yourdedication and perseverance. It tells an employer that you will show up. That you will beprepared. That you know how to get a job done. That you knowhow to meet a challenge withguts and grit and come out a winner.

So the first point is that aftertoday, you will be a doctor.A doctor of laws.

The American Bar Association tells us thatmedical doctors have their most productiveyears between their 12th and 20th years inpractice. And lawyers have their best years between their 20th and their 40th years inpractice. Of course, there are no guarantees in life, but my guess is that if you work ashard at your profession as you did at your education, you will make a decent living overthe next 40 or 50 years.

The second point I want to leave with you isthis: Your diploma is a doctor of laws.

The law is the most interdisciplinary science. Ittouches on everything people do, on everythingthat happens in life.

When Judge John Fitzgerald, God rest his soul,taught the first class at Cooley, he began bywriting a quotation from Chaucer on the black-board, “The life so short, the craft so long tolearn.” One thing you surely understand bynow is that nobody knows all the law.

A lawyer is defined as a person who is learnedin the law.To be a person learned in the law isto be a person who studies the law, reads thelaw, contemplates the law, discusses the law,knowing that the journey takes more than asingle lifetime.

Your diploma says that you are learned in thelaw. It says that you are a lawyer. And it is a veryBIG, impressive and credible document. It hasthe familiar Cooley logo prominently displayed.That logo features the crown of a pillar andthe Latin motto, “In corde hominum estanima legis.”


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35BENCHMARK SPECIAL EDITION 40 YEARS 2013Hon. Thomas E. Brennan greets graduates after the ceremony.

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Forty years ago, we didn’t have a logo. I wentinto the class one day and showed the studentssome drawings and asked them to vote forthe logo. They picked the one with the Ioniccolumn. We bought the old Masonic Temple a year or so after that. It looked like a lawschool. Had pillars out in front. Unfortunately,they were Doric and not Ionic columns. Butwe never changed the logo.

I came up with the Latin motto for the school.“In corde hominum est anima legis.” I told thestudents that it meant “the spirit of the law is in the hearts of men.” A couple days later acommittee of women students came to my office.They called themselves CATS. Anacronym for Cooley Action Team Sisters. Theylet me know that the spirit of the law is also inthe hearts of women. I assured them that theLatin word hominum means mankind in thegeneric sense, and not just the male of thespecies. That got me off the hook.

To tell the truth, there is no such Latin wordas ‘hominum.’ But I figured since I made upthe word, I was also entitled to make up thedefinition. So we settled on the translation“The spirit of the law is in the human heart.”And so it is.

That motto is more than just a catchy slogan. Itis a statement of philosophy. It is an affirmationof the existence of natural law. It testifies that there is such a thing as objective truth. Itreminds us that deep within the very heart andsoul of every human being there abides the faculty of conscience which strives to under-stand the meaning of our lives, to distinguishbetween good and evil and to chart a coursefor the pursuit of true happiness. The spirit ofthe law is within us.

The Ten Commandments that Moses carrieddown from Mount Sinai are etched in ourhearts as surely as they were written on tabletsof stone. And the Codes of Hamurabi are emblazoned on our instincts as surely as theywere on the pillars of Babylon 4,000 years ago.

Every religion known to man proceeds from abelief in an intelligent creator. Even the folkswho believe we originated from a big bangwould have to concede that before the bangthere was the idea of the bang. If the bang wasinevitable, then the bang was not the beginning,being preceded by the conditions that led tothe bang. And if it was not inevitable, then itwas the result of choice or decision.

Human beings are said to be made in the imageand likeness of their creator because we havethe two faculties that are always ascribed to thecreator of the universe: intellect and free will.

Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration ofIndependence that all men are created equaland that they are endowed by their creatorwith certain unalienable rights among which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The pursuit of happiness. The never endingchase.The striving.The searching.The climbingup.The reaching out.The quest for the HolyGrail.The journey to the promised land.

California, you may know, is the only state thatclaims to be heaven on earth. That’s true. Theconstitution of California says that all peoplehave the right to pursue and to obtain happi-ness. That might explain why so many peoplemove to California. And why the Golden Statehas a budget deficit of $16 billion. Too manypeople think that freedom means being able todo whatever you want to do.

But the pendulum of human history thatswings back and forth between anarchy anddictatorship, as it does today in the MiddleEast, teaches the hard truth that there can be no true liberty without the rule of law.And the massacre of innocent women and children at the Sandy Hook School in Connecticut reminds us of the horrorthat lurks when freedom is disconnectedfrom sanity.

President Dwight Eisenhower urged Americansto act in their “enlightened self interest.” PopeJohn Paul II wrote that freedom is the right todo what we ought to do.

At its core, the science of law is the accumula-tion of human knowledge and experience aboutwhat people ought to do, how we ought to live.

The words of Justice Cooley announce fromthe side of the Temple Building in downtownLansing, “Law students must always rememberthat they are preparing themselves to be ministers of justice.” Justice is defined as givingto every man his due. To be a minister of justice, then, is to be concerned with the ought-ness or the shouldness of things. Common lawjudges do it all the time. Who ought to winthe case? What ought to be done in thesecircumstances? What should happen in thisfactual situation?

Right and wrong are not determined by the flip of a coin, but by reason, logic, experience,knowledge and tradition.You’ve read a lot ofold cases in these last three years. Heard a lotof lectures and spent a lot of time debatingwith classmates and professors. You know that there is more to law than you will find in Wikipedia.

The law, they say, is a jealous mistress. But if youreally love the law, I can promise it will be goodto you. It has been very good to me. Whichbrings me to my third and final point.

The diploma you will receive today is from theThomas Cooley Law School. Forty years ago,nobody had ever heard of the Thomas CooleyLaw School. Today it is the largest accreditedcollege of law in the United States. Over theyears, Cooley has built a reputation that, frankly,I’m very proud of. It has always been known as the easiest law school to get into, and thehardest law school to graduate from.

A couple of weeks ago, I got a nice letter froma fellow who graduated in September of 2000.He is now the senior attorney for the NewYork State Education Department, making fourtimes his former salary as a police officer. Hisletter said, “By the end of my first year, all of myclose friends flunked out or left school. I usedto joke that at Cooley, it’s not ‘look to your left,look to your right, one of you won’t be herenext year,’ it’s ‘look to your left and look toyour right, all three of you won’t be herenext year.’”

These graduates are what America is all about. They are exceptional men and women who have

worked and risked and sacrificed to earn their diplomas. They will join a virtual army of nearly 20,000

lawyers living and working from Poland to American Samoa; men and women who are proud of

their Cooley diplomas, proud of their superior professional education and practical training, proud to

be associated with like-minded graduates of Thomas Cooley.

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BENCHMARK SPECIAL EDITION 40 YEARS 2013

It’s not quite that bad, but I do remember adermatologist telling me that Cooley is an excellent law school. I asked him how he knewthat. He said he had a patient who went toCooley and she was so nervous about her examinations, she was losing her hair. Ofcourse, I was never in favor of making our students go bald, but it didn’t bother me whenstudents complained about the difficulty of ourprogram. It was great public relations.

They were making the case in the communitythat Cooley was tough, demanding and profes-sional, in spite of our liberal admissions policy.Beginning that very first day, we were determined to make the American dream ofopportunity a reality.We very intentionallythrew the front door wide open to every qualified college graduate who wanted to go to law school. And from the very first day we always assured our students that no one wouldgraduate from Cooley who did not measure upto the standards of professional excellence thatwere exemplified by our namesake, ThomasMcIntyre Cooley.

You know, Cooley Law School educates moreminority lawyers than any other law school inAmerica.And we have always done it withoutthe kind of favoritism and discrimination thatsome schools use to create an artificial sense of diversity. How do we do it?

The answer is simple. If you open the frontdoor wide enough, you will get a cross sectionof the American people.As you watch thesegraduates walk across the stage and hear theirnames announced, you will see what I mean.

These graduates are what America is all about.They are exceptional men and women whohave worked and risked and sacrificed to earntheir diplomas. They will join a virtual army of nearly 20,000 lawyers living and workingfrom Poland to American Samoa; men andwomen who are proud of their Cooley diplomas, proud of their superior professionaleducation and practical training, proud to be associated with like-minded graduates ofThomas Cooley.

Get on your computer and Google “CooleyPride.” You will see what I am talking about.Forty years ago, Cooley was a Mom and Pop,do-it-yourself, storefront operation. My dearwife, Polly, sat behind a card table answering thephone and processing applications while Iwas out buying books and hiring law teach-ers. About four in the afternoon on January12, 1973, Polly decided to admit one morestudent. So I had to run out and buy another student desk.

We began that first session when Lou Smith,the secretary, read the roll call, and asked eachstudent to rise and tell us what degrees theyhad.When he finished, I had a few words to say, and now as we celebrate 40 years of legal education, I ask your indulgence as I read thosefew words:

“With unspeakable joy, I welcome you to theThomas M. Cooley Law School. Others willcome after you. There will be many, many otherfirst days and first nights. There will be manyother times to remember and to relish andenjoy. But none so sweet — none so sweet asnow.We are here, all of us, because we believe.Because we believe in ourselves. Because webelieve in each other. And because we believe,whether we realize it or not, in a spirit whichgives purpose and meaning to the things thatmen do quite beyond our poor capacity to understand or appreciate.

In time, the Thomas M. Cooley Law Schoolwill be a great and distinguished institution of higher learning. And in that time, it willseem always to have been. It will seem tohave a life of its own, independent of its officers, its faculty, even its student body. Itwill be seen and known in terms of its realestate, its library, its pension plan, its alumni,its publications, its corporate resources.

But the genesis of human achievement doesnot lie in corporate resources, or tangible,physical things. It lies in the unique and Godgiven capacity of the human spirit.To envisionwhat is not, but can be.To embrace what is unfulfilled, and cause it to happen.To make anact of faith and turn unreality into reality. It isgiven to all of us here tonight, as it is given tofew men and women, to taste and feel and toknow the power of human purpose.And weshall remember.

But we shall remember too, despite ourpride and satisfaction this night, that a longand difficult road lies before us. As we godown that road, let us ask or permit no excuses of each other.

You have a right to expect that the ThomasM. Cooley Law School will embody all of the excellence in legal education that thegreat judge, scholar and teacher, Thomas McIntyre Cooley represents in the history and tradition of Michigan and American jurisprudence.And we will expect no less ofyou than total absorption in the study of thelaw, total dedication to this institution, and afierce, unyielding pride in what you are doingfor yourselves and your future. And in whatall of us, together, are doing for those whowill come after us.

It was, I must say now, as I look back, a ratherprophetic night.What I didn’t realize or expectthat night was that three years later, the Cooleyclass would have a better passing rate on theBar examination than the graduates of theUniversity of Michigan.

One of the chores I took on in the early days was to compose a song; the Cooley Alma Mater. It’s printed on the back of your programs and later you’ll hear a recording of it by the Michigan State University Chorale. I don’t have any musical talent or experience. I had to number the keys on the piano with a magic marker in order to plunk out a tune.But if you are going to compete with the University of Michigan, you need a song.

Cooley has no football team, no marching band,no cheerleaders, but it does have a spirit thatreflects the bonds of affection and dedicationthat have tied your class together over thelast three years. I like to think that the wordsof the song I wrote somehow reflect the waymost of the members of the Alfred MooreClass feel today:

Thomas Cooley, Alma Mater, Mighty Temple of the Law Where first we sought the face of justice Full of wonder, full of awe.Thomas Cooley, Alma Mater, Reservoir of truth sublime Where first we tasted sweetest reasonLearning wisdom grows with time.

We came to you in Michaelmas Different as the Autumn trees And working grew in friendships through quiet Snowbound Hilaries We’ll say goodbye to Trinities Treasuring our memories Of Thomas Cooley, Alma Mater As we wear your white and blue We proudly sing our highest praises Thomas Cooley, Hail to You.

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Special Edition 2013 Benchmark Alumni Magazine

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