Isabel Zagazeta is a 3L J.D. candidate and Dean’s Fellow at Cooley Law School in Tampa, Florida. Originally from Canada, she earned her undergraduate degree at Wilfrid Laurier University before moving to Florida to study law at Cooley. She has earned book awards, served on Law Review, mentored incoming students, and was part of Cooley’s Moot Court team that recently won first place at the 2026 Robert Orseck Moot Court Competition. With a passion for legal writing and healthcare compliance, Isabel is building a strong foundation for a future in law at Cooley.
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Sometimes seminal moments in one’s life can change a career path. For Rabih Hamawi (Story Class, 2015), who at the time, owned and operated an insurance agency in Livonia, Michigan, it was a not-so-ironic realization that led him to now battle in court against insurance companies on behalf of his clients.
Following the not-guilty verdict of Kyle Rittenhouse on November 19, 2021, Cooley Law School Criminal Law Professors Jeffrey Swartz and Anthony Flores were interviewed by media in Michigan and Florida.
“I am sympathetic to the prosecutor’s cause for gun safety reform, but at this point, the ends do not justify the means.” - Former Judge and Cooley Law School Criminal Law Professor Jeffrey Swartz.
Writing is a necessary evil to some and a welcome respite to others. But whether you love it or hate it, lawyers spend much of their time writing, and writing well is important to success as a lawyer. Cooley understood these two facts from the start, which is why Cooley now has a nationally recognized research and writing program. Designed to teach students plain-language writing and techniques that will serve them throughout their careers, the program has raised the legal-writing bar nationwide.
Despite the apparent confusion and divide on the topic of vaccines, masks, and mandates, Cooley professors are very clear about what the law says, and what is allowed, not allowed, and why.
Cooley Law School Professors Matthew Marin and Amanda Fisher’s article, "Asynchronous Teaching Methodologies: Pandemic Reflections and Best Practices,” published in the Summer/Fall 2021 issue of The Learning Curve, a publication of the AALS Section of Academic Support . It includes well supported advice for the use of asynchronous methods, even after the return to the physical classroom.
Cooley Law School graduate Jon Kohler (Adams Class, 1997), is the founder of Jon Kohler & Associates, the #1 plantation brokerage in the United States. Kohler attributes the work ethic and education he gained at Cooley Law School with his continued success. Read below Mr. Kohler’s interview with writer Adam York in this Dec. 6, 2016 blog.
Choi T. Portis (Wilkins Class, 2011), a Detroit native and deputy general counsel for the city of Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, will tell people affectionately and with a laugh that her day job is centered on “fighting over sewer water.”
Growing up, Erika Weiss’ (Livingston Class, 2014) family didn’t talk much about their Native American ancestry. While In middle school, Weiss remembers often being asked, “what are you?” She wasn’t sure how to answer what seemed like a strange question, often saying to herself “I’m a human,” while realizing she “stuck out like a sore thumb” to those asking the question.
