Cooley Law School: Difference between revisions
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*[[Bart Stupak]] - U.S. Congressman |
*[[Bart Stupak]] - U.S. Congressman |
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*[[Steve Stobbs]] - Associate Judge Third Judicial Circuit (Madison County, IL) |
*[[Steve Stobbs]] - Associate Judge Third Judicial Circuit (Madison County, IL) |
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* F. Lee Bailey |
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==Rankings and reputation== |
==Rankings and reputation== |
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Cooley has consistently been ranked as a "Tier 4" (bottom tier) law school by ''U.S. News and World Report''.<ref>[http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/rankings/law/brief/lawrank_tier4_brief.php]</ref> In response to the U.S. News rankings, Cooley created its own ranking system. The first edition of these rankings, called "Judging the Law Schools" was published in 1996 by [[Thomas E. Brennan, Sr.]], founder and president of the Cooley Law School.<ref name="cooleyfirst">See the complete first edition of "Judging the Law Schools" at [http://www.ilrg.com/rankings/ ILRG's Website].</ref> This controversial list places Cooley above such prestigious law schools as [[Cornell Law School|Cornell]], [[Stanford Law School|Stanford]], [[Duke Law School|Duke]] and the [[University of Chicago Law School|University of Chicago]]. It is available on [http://www.cooley.edu/rankings/index.htm Cooley's website]. |
Cooley has consistently been ranked as a "Tier 4" (bottom tier) law school by ''U.S. News and World Report''.<ref>[http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/rankings/law/brief/lawrank_tier4_brief.php]</ref> In response to the U.S. News rankings, Cooley created its own ranking system. The first edition of these rankings, called "Judging the Law Schools" was published in 1996 by [[Thomas E. Brennan, Sr.]], founder and president of the Cooley Law School.<ref name="cooleyfirst">See the complete first edition of "Judging the Law Schools" at [http://www.ilrg.com/rankings/ ILRG's Website].</ref> This controversial list places Cooley above such prestigious law schools as [[Cornell Law School|Cornell]], [[Stanford Law School|Stanford]], [[Duke Law School|Duke]] and the [[University of Chicago Law School|University of Chicago]]. It is available on [http://www.cooley.edu/rankings/index.htm Cooley's website]. |
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Revision as of 23:35, 12 November 2007
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Established | 1972 |
| Students | 3,252 (2006)[1] |
| Location | , |
| Campus | Urban |
| Website | http://www.cooley.edu |
Thomas M. Cooley Law School, located in Lansing, Michigan, is the largest law school in the United States. Cooley is a private law school unaffiliated with a university.
History
Named to honor the contribution and memory of Thomas M. Cooley, a nineteenth-century jurist and Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court who was prominent both within and outside of Michigan, the law school was established in 1972 by former Michigan Supreme Court Justice Thomas E. Brennan.
American Bar Association Approval
The law school was provisionally approved in 1975, gaining full approval in 1978 by the American Bar Association. In July 2006 the American Bar Association granted Cooley's request to offer full J.D. programs at each of its branch campuses, making it the only law school in the country to offer full J.D. programs at three distinct campuses.
Degree programs
Although most students study toward earning the degree of Juris Doctor (J.D.), Cooley also confers a Master of Laws degree (LL.M.) in Tax or in intellectual property and cooperates in offering a joint-degree J.D./Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.) program. Cooley operates programs allowing ABA-approved foreign study credit in Toronto, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. In addition, students can select from several approved "concentrations" or areas of specialized legal study, such as general practice, litigation specialist, administrative law specialist, or commercial transactions specialist.
To earn a J.D., students must complete 90 credit hours at the law school. To graduate, students must take 21 required courses that comprise 63 of the 90 required credit hours for graduation. Required courses include traditional first-year courses such as Torts, Contracts, Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Property, and Research & Writing. Students also must complete required courses in Taxation, Secured Transactions, Evidence, Business Organizations, Advanced Research & Writing, and other courses. Additionally, students must complete a 3- to 10-credit unpaid externship in a legal office under the supervision of an experienced attorney.
Satellite campuses
Cooley has satellite campuses in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Rochester, Michigan. According to the ABA, the median GPA for admitted applicants is 3.05, and the median LSAT score is 149.
Clinical programs
The law school offers clinical programs such as the Cooley Innocence Project, one of several Innocence Projects that are nationally recognized in the U.S. for the help such programs provide to innocent, incarcerated persons in obtaining DNA evidence and legal advocacy to overturn wrongful convictions. Cooley also offers an elder law clinic, Sixty Plus, Inc., which provides free legal services to area senior citizens.
Nontraditional students
Cooley was the first ABA-approved law school in the nation to have an officially recognized weekend program allowing students to earn a law degree by attending class on Saturdays and Sundays only. The law school is currently one of the few accredited law schools in the U.S. that does not require applicants to hold a bachelor's degree as a prerequisite to admission. The law school has developed a formula and methodology for those wanting to apply without a bachelor’s degree.[2]
"In corde hominem [sic] est anima legis"
The law school's Latin motto was written during the 1970s by former Michigan Supreme Court Justice Thomas E. Brennan with the help of his pastor at the time. Judge Brennan originally described the meaning as "The spirit of the law is in the heart of Man" When women in a newly formed female organization called the Cooley Action Team brought to his attention that the motto should also refer to "the hearts of women," Justice Brennan responded that based on his Latin experience from high school the Latin word for men and humankind were identical.[3] Judge Brennan's formulation of the motto remains in place today.
Notable current and former faculty
- Spencer Abraham, former U.S. Senator and Secretary of Energy
- Hon. John W. Fitzgerald former chief justice of the Michigan Supreme Court[4]
- Richard Henke, American Law Institute Member
- Joe Kimble, Research and Writing scholar and author of Lifting the Fog of Legalese: Essays on Plain Language
- Philip J. Prygoski, constitutional law expert and author, American Law Institute Member
- John P. Rooney, property law expert
In 2007, Professor Joseph Kimble won The Burton Awards for Legal Achievement for his work as a drafting consultant for the newly rewritten Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. [11]
Notable alumni
- Kelly Askin - J. Skelly Wright Fellow - Yale Law School
- Chris Chocola - Former U.S. Congressman
- John Engler - Former Governor of Michigan
- Anthony Gair - New York attorney who represented the family of Amadou Diallo in a case that spurred reform of the New York City Police Department.
- Bart Stupak - U.S. Congressman
- Steve Stobbs - Associate Judge Third Judicial Circuit (Madison County, IL)
Rankings and reputation
Cooley has consistently been ranked as a "Tier 4" (bottom tier) law school by U.S. News and World Report.[5] In response to the U.S. News rankings, Cooley created its own ranking system. The first edition of these rankings, called "Judging the Law Schools" was published in 1996 by Thomas E. Brennan, Sr., founder and president of the Cooley Law School.[6] This controversial list places Cooley above such prestigious law schools as Cornell, Stanford, Duke and the University of Chicago. It is available on Cooley's website.
Thomas M. Cooley Law School was recently selected the 2006 winner of the E. Smythe Gambrell Professionalism Award as selected by the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Professionalism, for Cooley's program "Creating a Culture of Professionalism in Law School: The Thomas M. Cooley Law School Experience."[7]
F. Lee Bailey not an Alumni
Statistics
- President: Don LeDuc
- Accredited to the American Bar Association
- Accredited to the Higher Learning Commission
- Accredited to the Michigan Department of Education
- Accredited to the Michigan Board of Law Examiners
- Motto: In corde hominem est anima legis ("The spirit of the law is in the heart of Man")
- Alumni: over 11,000
- Acceptance rate: 60.8%[8]
- Median accepted student GPA: 3.01[9]
- Median accepted student LSAT: 149[10]
- Student-to-faculty ratio: 23.6 to 1
- Attrition rate: 1st Year - 23.1%; 2nd Year - 11.4%[11]
- Employment placement rate: 82%, 2005 graduates
- Number of states in which graduates are employed: 51 (including the District of Columbia)
- Michigan bar exam passage rate: 71%[12]
- 64% of the law school's student body are from outside Michigan
- Average starting salary: $49,000
- Tuition: $25,950, full time; $15,570, part time
- Percentage of students receiving grants: 55.8%
- 2004-2005 enrollment: 475, full time; 2,393, part time
- Enrollment by gender: Men: 59%, full time, 50%, part time; Women: 41%, full time, 50% part time
- The average indebtedness of graduates who incurred law school debt is estimated at $75,700