Honoring 25 Years of Justice
The Cooley Innocence Project’s Lasting Impact
Since its founding in 2001, the Cooley Innocence Project has given students the opportunity to work on real cases with real, life-changing consequences. As Michigan’s only post-conviction DNA innocence organization, the Cooley Innocence Project has screened thousands of cases and helped secure the exoneration of 10 wrongfully convicted individuals.
25th Anniversary Gala - September 16, 2026
To mark this milestone, Cooley Law School will host a 25th Anniversary Gala honoring the legacy and impact of the Cooley Innocence Project. The event will bring together alumni, faculty, students, legal partners, and supporters for an evening of reflection and recognition, celebrating lives changed, cases fought, and the collective commitment to justice that has defined the Project for 25 years. Proceeds from the gala will support the continued work of the Innocence Project and the next generation of students dedicated to seeking truth and accountability.
Cooley Innocence Project 25th Anniversary Gala
Saturday, September 19, 2026, 6:00 pm
Grewal Hall
224 S Washington Square
Lansing, MI 48933
Keynote Speaker: Dan Slepian - NBC News journalist, author, podcaster, producer at Dateline NBC, and Pulitzer Prize finalist.
Purchase tickets to the 25th Anniversary Gala
Download the 25th Anniversary Sponsorship Packet
To confirm your sponsorship by June 30, 2026, please email advancement@cooley.edu.
Looking Back & Moving Forward
As we commemorate 25 years of advocacy and achievement, we honor the clients whose lives have been transformed, the students who carried the work forward, and the partners who believed in justice with us. The next chapter begins now - expanding impact, strengthening reform efforts, and training a new generation of lawyers who fight for truth.
Join us in celebrating 25 years of justice realized, and justice yet to come.
Bring the Innocence Project to Your Organization
The Cooley Innocence Project offers speaking engagements for community groups, legal organizations, schools, and civic leaders interested in learning more about wrongful convictions and the pursuit of justice. Faculty, staff, and exonerees share firsthand insights into the causes of wrongful convictions, the role of DNA testing and investigative review, and the human impact of innocence advocacy.
Contact us at innocence@cooley.edu to schedule a speaker and bring meaningful conversations about justice to your community.
Learning Beyond the Classroom
At the heart of Cooley's Innocence Project is hands-on experiential learning. Students screen applications, investigate facts, conduct interviews, analyze cases, prepare court pleadings and even represent clients in court. This immersive approach equips our graduates with legal skill, ethical grounding, and unwavering commitment to fairness. Cooley Innocence Project alumni practice in courts, clerkships, public interest firms, and justice-driven organizations across the country.
Support the Mission & Help Advance Justice
For 25 years, the Cooley Innocence Project has fought for the wrongfully convicted while training future-ready lawyers through real-world advocacy. Your support helps sustain this critical work: funding investigations, litigation, student training, and systemic reform efforts.
Support the next chapter of justice.
Purchase tickets to the 25th Anniversary Gala
Download the 25th Anniversary Sponsorship Packet
To confirm your sponsorship by June 30, 2026, please email advancement@cooley.edu.
Cooley Innocence Project 25th Anniversary Gala
Saturday, September 19, 2026, 6:00 pm
Grewal Hall
224 S Washington Square
Lansing, MI 48933
Keynote Speaker: Dan Slepian - NBC News journalist, author, podcaster, producer at Dateline NBC, and Pulitzer Prize finalist.
25th Anniversary Sponsorship Packet
To confirm your sponsorship by June 30, 2026, please email advancement@cooley.edu.