Derek Matthews (Vinson Class, 2017) is no stranger to giving back to Cooley Law School in the Tampa Bay region. Outside of legal practice, Matthews sponsors the annual Cooley Alumni Golf Outing in Tampa and participates in alumni events and mentoring programs to build relationships with faculty and fellow graduates.
Read MoreAn adjunct professor at Cooley Law School, Stacey Dinser might be considered a bountiful giver. It’s just something that comes naturally to her. It then is no surprise that her dedication and enthusiasm for teaching the law have resulted in her being honored with the 2018 Frederick J. Griffith III Adjunct Faculty Award.
The decision-making process for attending law school is a difficult one. First, you need to decide if you really want to go to law school, or not. Then you need to decide what law school is a good fit for you. Never a small factor, you need to figure out how to make law school affordable or balance law school into your already busy schedule. It's not for everyone. Law school and a legal career are only for those individuals who really want it, have the ability, and are truly willing to put in the effort.
Growing up along the AuSable River, a young Colin Hunter watched as the AuSable River International Canoe Marathon would run alongside his family’s home in Grayling, Michigan, aspiring that one day he would enter and compete. In 1996, at the age of 15, he did. The grueling, 120-mile non-stop canoe race starts in Grayling and ends near the shores of Lake Huron in Oscoda, Michigan. What Hunter didn’t realize then was that training and competing in canoe racing would prepare him for success in law school and his career now as judge of the 46th Circuit Court in northern Michigan.
Giving comes from the heart and is a very personal decision. You support causes that have meaning to you and make a real difference in the world. Let us tell you about five programs at WMU-Cooley that we are very proud of and that we ask you to support.
It’s hard to imagine when Kendra Smith (Person Class, 1994) and John Smith (Bird Class, 1995) attended Cooley Law School that they would end up being the real-life protagonists in a book written about an environmental case they defended, which would go all the way to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
Barbra Bachmeier (Fisher Class, 2007) has spent her life caring for others and is willing to go wherever, and do whatever she can, to help others in need. From working as a nurse across the globe in the U.S. Army National Guard to helping victims of interpersonal violence and advocating for children, Bachmeier is up for the task.
When Kevin Thomas (Witherell Class, 2010) began seeing rules protecting consumers being turned back and funding cut at the federal level, he decided to make a run for the New York Senate, a seat he was elected to during the November 6 general election.
Back in 2010, Rashida Tlaib was elected as the first Muslim woman to serve as a Michigan State Representative. On Tuesday, November 6, 2018, Tlaib made history again as one of the first two Muslim women, and the first Palestinian-American woman, to be elected to Congress. Below is a story that ran in the law school's July 2010 alumni publication Benchmark Column.
It’s long been said that people in the Midwest are pretty laid back, friendly and helpful. Maybe that’s why so many people from other parts of the country look back with fondness on the time they spent learning the law in Michigan.
