December 9, 2009

Cooley Law School Dean, Professors Appointed to State Bar of Michigan Character and Fitness Committee Positions

Associate Dean Joan Vestrand

The Thomas M. Cooley Law School today announced that the dean of its Ann Arbor campus and faculty members from its Lansing campus have been appointed to serve on the State Bar of Michigan’s (SBM) Character and Fitness Committees throughout the state.

* Associate Dean Joan Vestrand, head of Cooley’s Ann Arbor campus, will serve as an advisory member of the SBM’s state-wide Standing Committee on Character and Fitness through September 2010.

* Professor Nancy Wonch has been appointed to serve as Chair of the District E (Barry, Clinton, Eaton, Gratiot, Ingham, Ionia, Livingston, Montcalm and Shiawassee counties) SBM Character and Fitness Committee. She will serve a two-year term beginning in January 2010.

* Cynthia Ward, assistant dean of students and associate professor, has been reappointed to serve with Wonch as a member of the District E SBM Character and Fitness Committee. She will serve a two-year term beginning in January 2010.

Professor Nancy Wonch

Additionally, Professor Patrick Corbett and Associate Dean Amy Timmer currently serve on the District E Character and Fitness Committee. Martha Moore, assistant dean of Cooley’s Auburn Hills campus, currently serves on the District I Character and Fitness Committee.

In Michigan, in addition to completing law school and passing the bar examination, individuals who wish to practice law must prove to the SBM that they possess the requisite character and fitness to practice law by submitting an application. SBM staff review the application and investigate the applicant, and then approve the applicant or recommend further review by a District Character and Fitness Committee, often for issues like criminal offenses, credit issues, mental health issues or ethical issues.

Based on an interview and the individual’s application, the SBM’s District Character and Fitness Committee then makes a recommendation to the SBM’s Standing Committee on Character and Fitness on whether the applicant should be accepted or denied admission to the SBM. The Standing Committee then determines what further action should be taken and ultimately makes a written recommendation to the Board of Law Examiners on whether or not the applicant currently posses the moral character and fitness to practice law.

Associate Dean Cynthia Ward

Cooley Law School is the largest law school in the nation. Founded in 1972, the private, non-profit law school operates J.D. programs across Michigan in Lansing, Auburn Hills, Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor. Today, Cooley Law School has nearly 14,000 graduates across the nation and worldwide and also offers joint degree and master of laws programs. Cooley offers enrollment three times a year; in January, May and September. Additional information about Cooley can be found at cooley.edu.

Established in 1935, the State Bar of Michigan represents more than 40,000 practicing attorneys and judges. The mission of the Bar is to improve the administration of justice, promote the legal profession, and build public understanding of our legal system. More information about the Bar can be accessed at www.michbar.org.