On April 25, Cooley Law School will mark a golden milestone, celebrating the 50th anniversary of its first graduating class, the Class of 1976, while saluting the Class of 2026.
Forty-six juris doctor degrees will be presented to members of Cooley Law School’s 2026 Class during the commencement ceremony at the MSU Wharton Center Pasant Theatre in East Lansing on April 25. Graduates from Cooley’s first class are planning to attend and will be recognized at the ceremony.
“Fifty years ago, a small, but determined group of graduates walked across the stage as the very first class of Cooley Law School,” said Cooley Law School President and Dean James McGrath.
Larry Nolan, founder and president of Nolan, Thomsen, & Villas PC in Eaton Rapids and former president of the State Bar of Michigan who graduated from Cooley in 1976, shared how Cooley was influential in helping him lead a successful career in law.
“When I first started law school at Cooley in 1973, the school’s founder, Justice Thomas Brennan, took me under his wing and showed me first-hand the family culture that resonated among faculty, staff, and students,” said Nolan, who went on to serve on the board of directors for over four decades. “Now, 50 years later, that same family atmosphere continues in with today’s graduates – a testament to Justice Brennan’s vision for Cooley.”
Since opening its doors in 1972, Cooley Law School has remained committed to providing a rigorous and hands-on legal education that is inclusive and collaborative, preparing students who are confident and future-ready for a career in law.
“Those 66 graduates from 1976 carried with them not just diplomas, but a bold idea — that access to legal education should be expanded, that opportunity should not be reserved for the few, and that the law could be a pathway for people from all walks of life to serve their communities,” said McGrath. “And to today’s graduates, they are now part of that same story. The challenges ahead of them will demand integrity, adaptability, and a deep commitment to justice. But if the past 50 years have taught us anything, it is that Cooley graduates are more than ready to meet those challenges.”
Forty-six juris doctor degrees will be presented to members of Cooley Law School’s 2026 Class during the commencement ceremony at the MSU Wharton Center Pasant Theatre in East Lansing on April 25. Graduates from Cooley’s first class are planning to attend and will be recognized at the ceremony.
“Fifty years ago, a small, but determined group of graduates walked across the stage as the very first class of Cooley Law School,” said Cooley Law School President and Dean James McGrath.
Larry Nolan, founder and president of Nolan, Thomsen, & Villas PC in Eaton Rapids and former president of the State Bar of Michigan who graduated from Cooley in 1976, shared how Cooley was influential in helping him lead a successful career in law.
“When I first started law school at Cooley in 1973, the school’s founder, Justice Thomas Brennan, took me under his wing and showed me first-hand the family culture that resonated among faculty, staff, and students,” said Nolan, who went on to serve on the board of directors for over four decades. “Now, 50 years later, that same family atmosphere continues in with today’s graduates – a testament to Justice Brennan’s vision for Cooley.”
Since opening its doors in 1972, Cooley Law School has remained committed to providing a rigorous and hands-on legal education that is inclusive and collaborative, preparing students who are confident and future-ready for a career in law.
“Those 66 graduates from 1976 carried with them not just diplomas, but a bold idea — that access to legal education should be expanded, that opportunity should not be reserved for the few, and that the law could be a pathway for people from all walks of life to serve their communities,” said McGrath. “And to today’s graduates, they are now part of that same story. The challenges ahead of them will demand integrity, adaptability, and a deep commitment to justice. But if the past 50 years have taught us anything, it is that Cooley graduates are more than ready to meet those challenges.”
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