Michael C. H. McDaniel, Western Michigan University Cooley Law School associate dean and professor of law has been accepted as one of 30 lawyers in the Michigan Lawyers Weekly Leaders in the Law Class of 2017.
Every year, Leaders in the Law are chosen by Michigan Lawyers Weekly for their significant accomplishments in law practice including outstanding contributions to the practice of law in Michigan, leadership in improving the justice system, improving the legal community and their communities at large and setting an example for other lawyers.
As an honoree, McDaniel is nominated to win the 2017 Lawyer of the Year award. McDaniel and other Leaders in the Law will gather March 23 for the annual luncheon and celebration, where the 2017 Lawyer of the Year will be announced.
McDaniel's scholarship reflects his interest in veterans and homeland security. In addition to teaching constitutional law, McDaniel is also the director of the Homeland and National Security Law LL.M. program at WMU-Cooley Law School, a program he created in 2013. McDaniel is a retired Brigadier General and was Deputy Assistant Secretary for Homeland Defense Strategy, Prevention and Mission Assurance at Department of Defense prior to joining law school. In 2003, he was also Homeland Security Advisor to then-Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, and has been the chairperson for Great Lakes Hazard Coalition (GLHC) since 2012. He also served as the Assistant Adjutant General for Homeland Security with the Michigan National Guard.
McDaniel has been on the board of directors for the Infrastructure Security Partnership (TISP) since December 2012, assisting the organization in national infrastructure security and resiliency planning. In 2016, McDaniel was appointed by Michigan Gov. Rick Synder to the Flint Water Interagency Coordinating Committee (FWICC) and helped to secure $100 million in funding from Congress. The funding sped up the process of removing hazardous water pipes, with over 600 pipes replaced by the end of 2016.
In December 2016, McDaniel won the Above and Beyond Award, presented when occasions warrant to a member of the administration or faculty who goes above and beyond duty in his or her efforts to help students. In 2011, the Student Bar Association at the law school's Auburn Hills campus recognized McDaniel with the Crystal Gavel Professorship Award for "excellence and conspicuous ability as a teacher."
McDaniel graduated from Case Western Reserve University in 1982. He has been with WMU-Cooley Law School since 2011. Michigan Lawyers Weekly will present the Leaders in the Law awards at the Detroit Marriott-Troy on Thursday, March 23.
Published: Fri, Mar 10, 2017
