TAMPA, Fla. — On March 25, Cooley Law School’s Sports & Entertainment Law Society hosted an event, “The Law Behind the Lights: Where Sports, Entertainment and Law Intersect,” at the Cooley Event Center on its Tampa campus, featuring Jimmy DuBose, a former NFL running back for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The event also featured, Shawuki Hilton, Esq., Cooley Law School alumnus and founding attorney of The Hilton Law Firm, and a poetry performance from Everkesia Taylor of I Am Poetry. “As a former professional athlete and present treasurer of the local National Football League Players Association, I am aware of amateur and professional athletes’ need for competent legal assistance,” said DuBose. “I was pleased to see the number of Cooley Law School students who have an interest in providing legal assistance to athletes in the future.” DuBose, an alumnus of the University of Florida Gators, was the first UF running back to rush for a 1,000 yards in a single season. He was named SEC Player of the Year in 1975, and selected to the Associated Press All-American team, and the Tampa Tribune All-Century Team in 1999. Additionally, DuBose was inducted into UF’s Hall of Fame in 1978 and the Sarasota High School Hall of Fame in 2018. He played four years for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and became the first player in franchise history to rush for a hundred yards before getting injured and retiring from the NFL. Outside of football, DuBose worked in education for 22 years as a teacher, football coach, dean, and assistant principal in Hillsborough, Orange, and Pasco counties. He is currently the treasurer of the local chapter of the NFL Players Association leadership, where he has served in various capacities for over 20 years. “I’d like to say that it was an amazing event and I’m grateful for having been invited to participate,” said Hilton. “I look forward to future opportunities to work with SELS.” Hilton, who practices sports law, represents professional athletes within the Canadian Football League. Before graduating cum laude from Cooley, Hilton served as the justice of Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity International, vice president of entertainment of the Sports and Entertainment Law Society, and associate editor of the Cooley Journal of Practical and Clinical Law. He has served a diverse client base on matters related to business law, contract law, consumer protection, estate planning, intellectual property, and real estate. “Our goal was to bring together professionals from sports and the arts to give students a real, firsthand look at how law shapes each path — from NFL players to emerging artists building their dreams,” said Kimberly Ayala, SELS president. “It was an incredibly powerful experience, and if you weren’t there, you truly missed something special.” Cooley Law School’s Sports & Entertainment Law Society hosted an event, “The Law Behind the Lights: Where Sports, Entertainment and Law Intersect,” on March 25 at the Cooley Event Center on its Tampa campus. Pictured from left to right: Daniel Podboy- Navarro, Cooley Law School SELS vice president; Jim Hicks, SELS faculty advisor; Kimberly Ayala, SELS president; Shawuki Hilton; Renalia DuBose, Cooley professor; Jimmy DuBose, former NFL player; Everkesia; John Johnson, SELS public relations; and Giani Villalba, SELS secretary.
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Tonya Krause-Phelan, Cooley Law School associate dean of academics and professor, has been named to the Michigan Lawyers Weekly Hall of Fame Class of 2025. In addition to Krause-Phelan, Cooley Law School graduates Karl Numinen (1992) and Rebecca Walsh (1991) were also named to this year’s Hall of Fame class.
Cooley Law School faculty Michael Molitor, Dustin Foster, and Emily Horvath have co-authored the textbook, “Wills, Estates, and Trusts: Statutes, Cases, and Problems.”
The Michigan Supreme Court reappointed Jacqueline Freeman to the Commission on Fairness and Public Trust in the Michigan judiciary. Freeman, who represents Michigan ABA-Accredited law schools, is senior director and special advisor to the president for engagement, civil rights, and Title IX at Cooley Law School. The Commission on Fairness and Public Trust in the Michigan Judiciary was first created in 2021 to assess and work towards elimination of demographic and other disparities within the Michigan judiciary and justice system. The 24-member commission is comprised of Michigan’s legal professionals and stakeholders, including judges from various courts, members of judicial associations, ABA-accredited law schools, and others. At Cooley Law School, Freeman works to promote the law school’s mission of advancing diversity of the legal profession through professional exploration programs, which provides the opportunity to study law, prepare to pass the bar, and become lawyers. “The legal profession must have a diverse bar that is representative of the world we inhabit,” said Freeman. “This belief was foundational in the establishment of Cooley Law School and continues today to be a core guiding principle.” Originally appointed for a one-year term in early 2023 to the Commission on Fairness and Public Trust in the Michigan judiciary, Freeman’s reappointment allows her to serve through 2026. Jan 25 2024
LANSING, Mich. – On March 21, Cooley Law School held an expungement fair to aid in the removal of certain arrests and convictions from qualifying individuals’ public criminal records.
On March 13, Cooley Law School graduate Susan Chalgian was named Ingham County Bar Association’s “Top 5 Under 35” at the 16th annual Barristers Night at the University Club of Michigan State University.
On March 24, Cooley Law School’s Tampa Bay campus recognized students in the Hilary Term for their achievements during an honors convocation at the Hilton Garden Inn Tampa North in Temple Terrace.
On March 17, Cooley Law School hosted "Careers that Serve with Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel" for law students and faculty in the lobby of its Lansing campus.
On March 13, Cooley Law School’s Lansing campus recognized students in the Hilary Term for their achievements during an honors convocation.
Registration is encouraged and available online for those wishing to have convictions expunged.
