June 30, 2010

Nearly 20 undergraduate college students complete Michigan's first-ever nationally sponsored institute designed to diversify the legal profession

On June 30, nearly 20 students of color, low-income, and other disadvantaged students from 13 colleges and universities completed Michigan's first-ever, nationally sponsored institute designed to diversify the legal profession. Dennis Archer, a former American Bar Association (ABA) president and former mayor of Detroit, gave the commencement address and the Michigan Court of Appeals heard an oral agreement in a real case that the students used for legal writing and appellate advocacy exercises throughout the program.

Thomas M. Cooley Law School and Oakland University (OU) partnered with the American Bar Association's (ABA) Council on Legal Education Opportunity (CLEO) to bring its Sophomore Summer Institute to Cooley's Auburn Hills campus. The month-long program provided students with intensive, academic coursework and sought to help disadvantaged students build the skills and confidence they need to succeed in law school. The program was offered at no cost to the students, as CLEO, Cooley and OU provided the support needed for the program.  

Dennis Archer, a former American Bar Association (ABA) president and former mayor of Detroit, gives the commencement address to students on the final day of the Sophomore Summer Institute.

E. Christopher Johnson (far left), director of Thomas M. Cooley Law School's Corporate Law and Finance LL.M. program and Dennis Archer (center), a former American Bar Association (ABA) president and former mayor of Detroit, talk with a Sophomore Summer Institute student at Cooley's Auburn Hills campus.

(Second row, far left) John Taylor, professor at the Auburn Hills campus of the Thomas M. Cooley Law School; (front row, from left to right) Lewis Langham, assistant professor at Cooley's Auburn Hills campus; Martha Moore, assistant dean of Cooley’s Auburn Hills campus; Gloria Whittico, Professor at the Regent School of Law; E. Christopher Johnson, director of Cooley’s Corporate Law and Finance LL.M. program; and John Nussbaumer, associate dean of Cooley's Auburn Hills campus, celebrate the final day of the Sophomore Summer Institute at Cooley's Auburn Hills campus with the students participating in the program.