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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Associate Dean and Ret. Brig. Gen. Michael C.H. McDaniel and Associate Dean Tracey Brame spoke during the The 18th annual West Michigan Community Day Day of Remembrance and Scout Salute to pay honors to those who died during the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Below is the speech by Gen. McDaniel.
Blog author Marla Mitchell-Cichon, is the director of Cooley Law School’s Innocence Project. She has been recognized many times in her career for her commitment to right the wrongs in our criminal justices system. She has received the State Bar of Michigan’s Champion of Justice Award, Michigan Lawyers Weekly 30 Leaders in the Law, and Ingham County Bar Association’s Leo A. Farhat Outstanding Lawyer Award to name a few.
Blog author Cooley Law School Distinguished Professor Emeritus Otto Stockmeyer devoted 35 years to teaching first-year law courses. In an update of a 2017 blog post he offers his thoughts on the important role of the first year in training successful lawyers.
This opinion blog piece was written by Cooley Law School Assistant Dean Victoria V. Vuletich. Professor Vuletich has expertise in legal ethics, the regulation of the legal profession and drafting and proposing administrative rules relating to the legal profession. She also has expertise in the restructuring of the legal profession and its implications for the profession and the public. You can listen to Professor Vuletich on Michigan's Big Show.
Here at Cooley fall classes are beginning. New students will quickly learn that first-term courses do not include Vocabulary 101. Rather, students are expected to master the law’s terminology on their own, by looking up every word in their assigned cases that they don’t understand.
Justice Benjamin Cardozo (1870-1938) served with great distinction as Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals (1914-1932) and Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1932-1938). He was the holder of 14 honorary degrees, including from Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Chicago, Michigan, and N.Y.U.
UPDATE: Nov. 2, 2021 - Check out recent graduate Ray Curtis Petty Jr.'s viral video sharing his mom's reaction to him passing the bar exam. Congratulations Ray, MU-Cooley Law School is so proud of you!
Every year, Michigan Lawyers Weekly accepts nominations of worthy attorneys to be considered as Michigan Leaders in the Law. Based on their accomplishments, service and experience, they select 20 to 30 attorneys to be designated Michigan's Leaders in the Law. Those nominees then select from among themselves the one attorney that truly epitomizes leadership, that personifies the qualities that all of us aspire to demonstrate, the ideals that compelled all of us to attend law school. Think of it: 30 alpha dogs that all want to be recognized as the leader of the pack.
Dalton Dennis remembers early on that his father never made things easy. Whatever they did, his father wouldn't give him an answer. He wanted him to come up with that himself. It was frustrating, even infuriating for Dennis as a young boy and teenager. What he realized later was that was the best thing his father ever taught him - how to think on his feet and to answer his own questions. It's those exact lessons and skills that have put him at an advantage in life, including success in law school.
