Law school celebrates 50th anniversary

Pictured during WMU-Cooley’s 50th Anniversary Charter Day celebration are (left to right) WMU-Cooley President and Dean James McGrath, WMU-Cooley Board Chair Judge Louise Alderson, WMU-Cooley Student Bar Association President Riley Stheiner, WMU-Cooley Alumni Association President Susanne  Harris and WMU-Cooley Director of Advancement and Alumni Relations Bill Arnold.
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Photo provided by WMU-Cooley


Western Michigan University Cooley Law School faculty, students, alumni and community members recently marked the 50th of the school being chartered with a celebration of its more than 21,000 graduates and a proclamation of WMU-Cooley Law School Day.

“Since day one, Cooley Law School has proudly called Lansing our home,” said WMU-Cooley President and Dean James McGrath. “Not only has the law school been a fixture in the downtown area for the last 50 years, but our faculty, staff and students have been active and engaged members of the community.”

During the event, he recognized Pauline “Polly” Brennan, who was in attendance. She is the wife of the law school’s founder and a former Michigan Supreme Court justice, the late Thomas Brennan Sr.

“She is a person whose dedication, sacrifice, devotion and encouragement over countless years helped make it possible for us to be here celebrating this moment today,” McGrath said.

Additionally, McGrath highlighted some key moments in the school’s history since its founding on July 19, 1972:

• Jan. 12, 1973: WMU-Cooley’s first law class held at 507 S. Grand Ave. in Lansing

• February 1975: WMU-Cooley receives provisional ABA approval

• February 1978: WMU-Cooley receives full ABA approval

• 1978: WMU-Cooley opens the Sixty Plus, Inc, Elderlaw Clinic

• 2001: WMU-Cooley launches the Innocence Project

• 2022: WMU-Cooley celebrates 50 years and more than 21,000 graduates worldwide

“Throughout all the years and all the changes, there have been a number of things that have remained constant,” McGrath said. “Number one: Cooley’s commitment to providing access to legal education. That was the job from day one and it still is today.”

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