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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PwC is a network of firms in 157 countries with more than 200,000 employees. In Michigan, PwC has over 800 employees working in three core lines of service: tax, assurance, and advisory. When PwC’s Detroit office needs to fill the ranks in its tax division, Tim Pratcshler, principal in PwC’s state and local tax group, focuses his attention on recruiting top talent from colleges and universities, including law schools.
At just two years of age Ahmed Salim moved with his family from their homeland in Pakistan to the United States, into the south suburbs of Chicago. Salim’s parents wanted what every other immigrant family wanted – a better life for their children.
Growing up, Erica Kirkwood (Souris Class, 2009) was surrounded by family in law enforcement. Her dad is a sheriff. Her sister is a sheriff. Her grandmother is a retired sheriff. She even has an uncle and aunt who are sheriffs. Plus two sheriff cousins. Kirkwood even took the sheriff’s exam and passed it.
Cooley Law School lost a great advocate in November 2017 with the passing of Professor Emeritus Peter D. Jason. His loss will long be felt in our classrooms and in our hearts as we go forward without his wonderful wit, unblemished character, and commitment to legal education.
One of the things that sets Cooley Law School apart is the life experience of its professors. And that experience is not just in the realm of law.
Law students in Cooley Law School's Down Under program not only get to learn the law in one of the coolest places on the planet, they also get to learn from the 'best of the best.' Like Professor William Lye, OAM, who was named 2017's Barrister of the Year during Lawyers Weekly Australia Law Awards ceremony this year, and also honored with the prestigious Excellence Award.
After more than three decades at the lectern, Cooley Law School Distinguished Professor Emeritus Otto Stockmeyer has retired from full time teaching, but maintains a continuing interest in factors that help law students achieve their personal best. Here he explains why students should write out their own case briefs rather than rely on commercial “canned” ones.
Cooley Law School honors all its students during graduation, but only one stands alone above the rest. This time it is Tampa Bay campus student Justin Sblano. And he managed this outstanding accomplishment, graduating summa cum laude, despite challenges that might have brought others to their knees.
Cooley Law School has been holding networking events around the country for decades. Not only do our graduates enjoy getting together to talk about old times with lifelong friends they made during law school, they also find out what is new at the Law School. There's always something going on.
