Recent Cooley Law School graduate Aimee Lorencz, pictured at graduation with her father Jeffrey Thueme.
By Sheila Pursglove
Legal News
After a long and interesting career, Aimee Lorencz achieved her dream of attending law school, graduating from Cooley Law School this spring—with an equally long and interesting string of achievements, including receiving the Alumni Association’s Distinguished Student Award at the spring honors convocation.
Lorencz is immensely grateful for being honored with the award.
“Going back to law school was difficult because I missed out on many nights and activities with my children,” she says. “I continued to tell them that hard work pays off and the look on their faces when I received the award at the ceremony made everything worth it.”
Lorencz’s path of “hard work” launched at the Macomb Academy of Arts and Sciences—a college prep high school – where a forensic biology class sparked a passion that continued through earning a bachelor of science in biology with forensics concentration from Ferris State University. She followed this with a master’s degree in criminal justice and law enforcement, going “double time” for her master’s program by finishing in one year.
She then launched a career as a correctional officer with the State of Michigan, and found it rewarding to work directly with inmates.
“I learned how to communicate effectively and how to de-escalate situations verbally,” she says. “I also learned a lot about the Michigan statutes and what was required to arrest and charge someone for a crime.”
Wanting a faster-paced environment and challenges, Lorencz then worked as a Child Protective Services (CPS) investigator and relished the work of investigating complaints of abuse or neglect and also cannabis violations. The work continued to pique her dream of attending law school.
“I realized parents needed advocates to ensure that their rights were not violated. I worked with many attorneys around Michigan and I saw what went well and did not go well,” she says. “I ultimately decided to return to school to bring more ethics to the law profession.”
While still employed at the State of Michigan, she launched her studies at Cooley as a Weekend Blended student, and is a Dean’s Fellow.
“If Cooley didn’t have this program, I would never have been able to follow my dream,” she says. “I also love the family atmosphere. We’re competitive but also empowering and rooting for each other to succeed. I believe I received a well-rounded education and I’m prepared for the workforce. The professors were amazing and truly care about the students.”
Her prior work experienced helped her with time management in her legal studies.
“I’m used to working with deadlines and having to adapt to different managers. I also think it helped for studying because I was able to identify what was important early on,” she says. “It was difficult at times though, because I hadn’t been in school for 10-plus years so I felt like I spent a decent amount of time learning how to learn again.”
In October 2024, she started at the prosecutor’s office as a litigation intern, and helped assistant prosecutors under MCR 8.120—handling hearings and trials in the district court, hearings in the circuit court, and drafting response appellate briefs to the circuit court, Court of Appeals, and Michigan Supreme Court.
“I’m forever grateful for the experience as a litigation intern and my two terms as an extern. I’ve learned so much regarding criminal law and attorney ethics,” she says. “The team has been welcoming and I absorb any information they share.
“I absolutely love criminal law and I believe my education and experiences have prepared me to be a great litigator. love that the criminal law is evolving and I can be a lifelong learner. My passions are justice and ethics, and criminal law embodies both.”
Lorencz calls Cooley’s Innocence Project—where she worked on case screening and evaluating post-conviction cases for strong evidence of factual innocence—an amazing opportunity, and that she had wanted to volunteer for an Innocence Project since her studies at the Macomb Academy of Arts and Sciences.
“I always said I would be part of an Innocence Project and I was glad to be able to review files and help the staff attorney I was assigned to,” she says. “I again learned so much from reviewing how cases were handled previously and the advances in technology and DNA.”
Representing the law school as a National Moot Court competitor revealed her passion for appellate law—and she found she relished arguing the law more than debating facts.
She enjoyed volunteering at Expungement Fairs, working directly with the community and helping people towards their goals of removing their convictions from the public registry.
“It was great to talk with people and help them feel more comfortable and less nervous,” she says.
In her role as a teaching assistant, she reviewed essays and provided feedback on the Model Rules of Professional Conduct. She also held review sessions and worked individually with students.
“I’m passionate about educating others and ethics in general,” she says. “My goal is to return to Cooley and teach Personal and Professional Responsibility in the future.”
Lorencz devoted significant time to student leadership, serving as president of the Organization of Women Law Students, vice president of Criminal Law Students, and as a 3L senator and member of the Alumni and Professional Development Committee of the Student Bar Association.
“I truly believe to lead by example and that’s what I strived for at Cooley,” she says. “I focused on empowering other people to be the best that they could be. I met many amazing people and was able to share my love for Cooley and the law with current and prospective students.”
Her career goals are to work within criminal law and ethics, handling criminal cases and appellate cases, as well as attorney and law school students’ ethics complaints.
Born and raised in the city of St. Clair, Lorencz and her husband returned to St. Clair prior to having their two children.
“I purchased the house my parents built and I grew up in—it’s been amazing to watch my children grow up in the same home I did,” she says. “I love to spend time with my family. We prefer to go up north to the family cabin and then take our ATV on the trails. We value family time and going on adventures together.”
The family also includes three adopted dogs and a cat. One dog, adopted in 2014, is now 15 years old. Another dog adopted last year used to be in a puppy mill and then at a shelter. In a cage most of his life, the canine lost all his teeth because of that experience. The family completed a trifecta with the adoption of a Great Dane last September.
“She was overbred and was stuck outside in the Arizona sun for her whole life,” Lorencz says. “She came to us as severely underweight and now she is doing great.”
Legal News
After a long and interesting career, Aimee Lorencz achieved her dream of attending law school, graduating from Cooley Law School this spring—with an equally long and interesting string of achievements, including receiving the Alumni Association’s Distinguished Student Award at the spring honors convocation.
Lorencz is immensely grateful for being honored with the award.
“Going back to law school was difficult because I missed out on many nights and activities with my children,” she says. “I continued to tell them that hard work pays off and the look on their faces when I received the award at the ceremony made everything worth it.”
Lorencz’s path of “hard work” launched at the Macomb Academy of Arts and Sciences—a college prep high school – where a forensic biology class sparked a passion that continued through earning a bachelor of science in biology with forensics concentration from Ferris State University. She followed this with a master’s degree in criminal justice and law enforcement, going “double time” for her master’s program by finishing in one year.
She then launched a career as a correctional officer with the State of Michigan, and found it rewarding to work directly with inmates.
“I learned how to communicate effectively and how to de-escalate situations verbally,” she says. “I also learned a lot about the Michigan statutes and what was required to arrest and charge someone for a crime.”
Wanting a faster-paced environment and challenges, Lorencz then worked as a Child Protective Services (CPS) investigator and relished the work of investigating complaints of abuse or neglect and also cannabis violations. The work continued to pique her dream of attending law school.
“I realized parents needed advocates to ensure that their rights were not violated. I worked with many attorneys around Michigan and I saw what went well and did not go well,” she says. “I ultimately decided to return to school to bring more ethics to the law profession.”
While still employed at the State of Michigan, she launched her studies at Cooley as a Weekend Blended student, and is a Dean’s Fellow.
“If Cooley didn’t have this program, I would never have been able to follow my dream,” she says. “I also love the family atmosphere. We’re competitive but also empowering and rooting for each other to succeed. I believe I received a well-rounded education and I’m prepared for the workforce. The professors were amazing and truly care about the students.”
Her prior work experienced helped her with time management in her legal studies.
“I’m used to working with deadlines and having to adapt to different managers. I also think it helped for studying because I was able to identify what was important early on,” she says. “It was difficult at times though, because I hadn’t been in school for 10-plus years so I felt like I spent a decent amount of time learning how to learn again.”
In October 2024, she started at the prosecutor’s office as a litigation intern, and helped assistant prosecutors under MCR 8.120—handling hearings and trials in the district court, hearings in the circuit court, and drafting response appellate briefs to the circuit court, Court of Appeals, and Michigan Supreme Court.
“I’m forever grateful for the experience as a litigation intern and my two terms as an extern. I’ve learned so much regarding criminal law and attorney ethics,” she says. “The team has been welcoming and I absorb any information they share.
“I absolutely love criminal law and I believe my education and experiences have prepared me to be a great litigator. love that the criminal law is evolving and I can be a lifelong learner. My passions are justice and ethics, and criminal law embodies both.”
Lorencz calls Cooley’s Innocence Project—where she worked on case screening and evaluating post-conviction cases for strong evidence of factual innocence—an amazing opportunity, and that she had wanted to volunteer for an Innocence Project since her studies at the Macomb Academy of Arts and Sciences.
“I always said I would be part of an Innocence Project and I was glad to be able to review files and help the staff attorney I was assigned to,” she says. “I again learned so much from reviewing how cases were handled previously and the advances in technology and DNA.”
Representing the law school as a National Moot Court competitor revealed her passion for appellate law—and she found she relished arguing the law more than debating facts.
She enjoyed volunteering at Expungement Fairs, working directly with the community and helping people towards their goals of removing their convictions from the public registry.
“It was great to talk with people and help them feel more comfortable and less nervous,” she says.
In her role as a teaching assistant, she reviewed essays and provided feedback on the Model Rules of Professional Conduct. She also held review sessions and worked individually with students.
“I’m passionate about educating others and ethics in general,” she says. “My goal is to return to Cooley and teach Personal and Professional Responsibility in the future.”
Lorencz devoted significant time to student leadership, serving as president of the Organization of Women Law Students, vice president of Criminal Law Students, and as a 3L senator and member of the Alumni and Professional Development Committee of the Student Bar Association.
“I truly believe to lead by example and that’s what I strived for at Cooley,” she says. “I focused on empowering other people to be the best that they could be. I met many amazing people and was able to share my love for Cooley and the law with current and prospective students.”
Her career goals are to work within criminal law and ethics, handling criminal cases and appellate cases, as well as attorney and law school students’ ethics complaints.
Born and raised in the city of St. Clair, Lorencz and her husband returned to St. Clair prior to having their two children.
“I purchased the house my parents built and I grew up in—it’s been amazing to watch my children grow up in the same home I did,” she says. “I love to spend time with my family. We prefer to go up north to the family cabin and then take our ATV on the trails. We value family time and going on adventures together.”
The family also includes three adopted dogs and a cat. One dog, adopted in 2014, is now 15 years old. Another dog adopted last year used to be in a puppy mill and then at a shelter. In a cage most of his life, the canine lost all his teeth because of that experience. The family completed a trifecta with the adoption of a Great Dane last September.
“She was overbred and was stuck outside in the Arizona sun for her whole life,” Lorencz says. “She came to us as severely underweight and now she is doing great.”
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