TAMPA, Fla. — Cooley Law School has announced faculty promotions and new appointments at its Tampa Bay campus, recognizing outstanding academic leadership while welcoming accomplished legal educators and professionals to its faculty. Professor Joseline Hardrick has been promoted from associate professor of law to professor of law, recognizing her excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service to the law school and legal profession. Professor Matt Marin has been promoted from associate professor of law and director of academic support services to professor of law and director of academic support services in recognition of his leadership in student success, academic support, and legal education. Returning to the teaching ranks at Cooley's Tampa Bay campus are Professor of Law Stevie Swanson and Associate Professor of Law Carly McLaughlin. Together, they bring extensive experience in legal education, scholarship, and bar preparation. Swanson returns to Cooley after serving as a professor of law at Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law in Knoxville, Tennessee. She brings more than 23 years of legal education experience, having previously taught at Cooley Law School, the University of Michigan Law School, and Mitchell Hamline School of Law. A graduate of Yale University and the University of Michigan Law School, Swanson teaches Property, Secured Transactions, Slavery & Human Trafficking, and Real Estate Discrimination. An award-winning educator, she has been recognized multiple times as Professor of the Year and is a respected scholar whose recent publications examine racial discrimination in real estate and housing law. After serving as managing editor for the National Conference of Bar Examiners, McLaughlin brings experience with legal assessment, bar examination development, and legal writing, which provides students with valuable insight into the skills and competencies needed for success in law school and beyond. At Cooley, she teaches Legal Research & Writing and brings extensive expertise in legal writing, editing, assessment, and attorney licensure. Her work at NCBE helped shape bar examination content and resources used by jurisdictions nationwide, giving students a unique perspective on the knowledge and skills expected of new lawyers. “At Cooley Law School, we are committed to providing our students with an exceptional legal education led by accomplished educators who are passionate about teaching, mentoring, and preparing future-ready attorneys,” said James McGrath, president and dean of Cooley Law School. “The promotions of Professors Hardrick and Marin recognize their outstanding contributions to our students and our institution, while the additions of Professors Swanson and McLaughlin strengthen an already exceptional faculty. Together, they bring a remarkable breadth of legal experience, scholarship, and practical knowledge that will greatly benefit our students and transform the legal profession.” Hardrick has established herself as a respected scholar and educator in constitutional law, criminal law, and civil rights. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, she is a nationally recognized speaker and author whose work examines constitutional issues, criminal justice, and the intersection of law and public policy. Marin has played a key role in advancing Cooley's Academic Support Services program, helping students develop the skills and strategies necessary for academic success and bar examination preparation. Through his leadership, he has mentored countless students as they prepare for legal practice. The faculty appointments and promotions reflect Cooley Law School's continued investment in academic excellence and its commitment to preparing practice-ready graduates through experienced faculty who combine scholarly achievement with real-world legal experience.
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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.
New students in Cooley Law School's evening and weekend programs attended orientation on January 3-5, 2025. Orientation included new students at Cooley's Lansing and Tampa campuses to welcome the Dorean Koenig class to the Hilary (January) Semester.
LANSING, Mich. RIVERVIEW, Fla. – On November 14, Cooley Law School’s Kimble Center for Legal Drafting hosted a webinar that drew viewers from Poland, Nigeria, Canada, the UK, and throughout the US. The webinar—“Clear Legal Writing: New Resources, Technology, and Cases”—focused on various aspects of legal writing in plain language. It was cosponsored by Clarity, an international organization devoted to clear legal writing.
RIVERVIEW, FLA. – Cooley Law School’s Moot Court team won the Best Brief award at Florida State University’s Claude Pepper Elder law Moot Court competition, held Nov. 7-9, at FSU College of Law in Tallahassee, Fla. The team consisted of law students from Cooley’s Tampa Bay campus: Gabriella Logiudice, Safa Kudia, and Colby Weron. During the competition, 20 briefs from 20 Moot Court teams were evaluated, including teams from George Washington University, Baylor University, University of Chicago, Chicago-Kent, Stetson, University of California San Francisco, and Texas Tech. Law students from Cooley’s Lansing, Michigan, campus also competed in the competition, including: Arjan Malushi (brief writer), Larry Westcomb, and Jasmin Guillen. The competition does not allow any help from outside sources with anything except the basics of brief writing. Teams could not talk with practitioners or professors about the legal issues raised by the fact pattern. For Cooley, Logiudice was the brief writer on the team, while Kudia and Weron conducted research and spent countless hours debating the structure of each argument. They progressed to the elimination rounds, and faced George Washington University in their elimination round and did not progress. “This competition draws some of the best Moot Court teams from around the country,” said Cooley Law School Professor Christine Zellar Church, who coached the Tampa Bay team. “All of our students learn so much from picking a fact pattern apart, researching the fine points of the law, writing a brief, and then engaging in oral argument with teams from other schools. We are all so proud of the hard work and excellence of our students.” Cooley Law School was founded on a mission of equal access to a legal education and offers admission to a diverse group of qualified applicants across the country. Since the law school's founding in 1972, Cooley has provided a modern legal education to more than 21,000 graduates, teaching the practical skills necessary for a seamless transition from academia to the real world. An independent, non-profit law school, accredited by both the American Bar Association and the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, Cooley holds classes year-round at its Michigan and Florida campuses. Nov 15 2024
WMU-Cooley Law School hosted civil rights activist Dr. Jerome Reide for the law school’s Social Justice Lunch Hour on June 30. Reide, who serves as the legislative liaison for the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, spoke about a variety of topics, including the need for students to become involved in their community and make society a better place. “We need to continue to make our society more inclusive, more diverse,” said Reide. He also stressed the importance of women’s rights and the need for lawyers to be part of the legislature to help shape policy. “Policy is a pendulum that swings right or left depending upon who's in the White House, Congress, and on the Supreme Court,” he said. A long-time civil rights activist, Reide served as the regional field director for the NAACP from 2009-2020, and was primarily responsible for advocacy management of its Midwestern units. He also served as NAACP’s National Field Operations deputy director, Midwest Region III director, and Special Contribution Fund regional development director. Additionally, Reide served as co-chair, committee member of Individual Rights and Responsibilities within the American Bar Association, and director of the Justice Initiatives Division at the State Bar of Michigan. He also served on the board of directors for the Sugar Law Center and the Beckwith Civil Liberties Fund. As the coordinator of ACLU’s Access to Justice Project, Reide coordinated a national study of landlord tenant courts and published the findings in a public policy report, “Justice: Evicted.” During his time as a consultant with Wayne County Commission’s Ways and Means Committee, he helped convene four annual conferences of governmental, community, corporate and academic policy makers to discuss economic development policy in Greater Detroit-Windsor, and Ontario, Canada. Additionally, Reide coordinated an international trade mission to South Africa to link the jobs, housing, education, arts, and cultural policy initiatives of the Mandela Administration with Detroit's leadership. Reide is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, the American Bar Association, and the National Bar Association. He has taught at Bowie State University, Eastern Michigan University, and the State University of New York's Center for Labor Studies. Jul 07 2023
