Skip to content

Reda Taleb’s Life’s Work: Turning Pain into Purpose — and Giving It Back to Dearborn

Reda Taleb’s Life’s Work: Turning Pain into Purpose — and Giving It Back to Dearborn

When Reda Taleb (McLean Class, 2015) talks about “giving back,” she isn’t just reciting a slogan — she’s living by example. The daughter of immigrants from Bint Jbeil, Lebanon, Taleb’s parents, along with her six older siblings, laid roots in Dearborn’s south end, an area known for its pollution-emitting factory smoke stacks and community of Arab Americans seeking the “American Dream.”

Read More
  • Colin Hunter: Outdoorsman to Judge
    Colin Hunter: Outdoorsman to Judge

    Colin Hunter: Outdoorsman to Judge

    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.

  • Cooley Law School Graduates Kendra and John Smith: Mr. and Mrs. Atticus Finch
    Cooley Law School Graduates Kendra and John Smith: Mr. and Mrs. Atticus Finch

    Cooley Law School Graduates Kendra and John Smith: Mr. and Mrs. Atticus Finch

    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: Coming to the Attention of Others
    Barbra Bachmeier: Coming to the Attention of Others

    Barbra Bachmeier: Coming to the Attention of Others

    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.

  • Kevin Thomas Wins Over New York To Become First Indian-American Senator
    Kevin Thomas Wins Over New York To Become First Indian-American Senator

    Kevin Thomas Wins Over New York To Become First Indian-American Senator

    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.

  • Trailblazing Tlaib Elected to Historic Role
    Trailblazing Tlaib Elected to Historic Role

    Trailblazing Tlaib Elected to Historic Role

    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.

  • Bryan MacCormack: Midwest Legal Education Makes For East Coast Success
    Bryan MacCormack: Midwest Legal Education Makes For East Coast Success

    Bryan MacCormack: Midwest Legal Education Makes For East Coast Success

    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.

  • Alumni Networking: How to Connect with Cooley Grads All Over the World
    Alumni Networking: How to Connect with Cooley Grads All Over the World

    Alumni Networking: How to Connect with Cooley Grads All Over the World

    When you graduate from law school, you may have your eyes on only one prize, the bar examination. But it would do every new grad and every veteran alum well to take advantage of their alma mater’s alumni services, not just for a while, but for their entire career. Here’s why.

  • Tax Law & Estate Planning: Music to Liz Ochoa's Ears
    Tax Law & Estate Planning: Music to Liz Ochoa's Ears

    Tax Law & Estate Planning: Music to Liz Ochoa's Ears

    Life experiences are what make us who we are. From time spent with family and friends, to education and entertainment, we never know when a seemingly ordinary experience will open a door to amazing possibilities.

  • Ogenna Iweajunwa: Nothing Short of Remarkable
    Ogenna Iweajunwa: Nothing Short of Remarkable

    Ogenna Iweajunwa: Nothing Short of Remarkable

    Cooley Law School graduate Ogenna Iweajunwa recently accepted a clerkship with Justice Richard Bernstein at the Michigan Supreme Court. However, less than 10 years ago, she was learning how to tackle basic tasks such as expressing herself, pumping gas, or ordering food at a drive-through restaurant.