August 3, 2010

Cooley Law School Welcomes Lisa DeMoss to Lead Insurance Law LL.M. Program

Visiting Professor Lisa DeMoss

Cooley Law School has hired attorney and health-care consultant Lisa DeMoss, of Rochester, Mich., to lead its new Master of Laws in Insurance Law program at the school’s Lansing, Mich., campus. The program, which begins in January 2011, is part of a partnership program with Olivet College.

DeMoss will serve as director of the Graduate Insurance Program and as a visiting professor. She is looking forward to getting the new program in motion.

"I am thrilled to be part of the graduate program faculty at Cooley Law School. These are exciting and unsettling times for the insurance industry. Cooley is providing its graduates with interdisciplinary training for the insurance sector jobs of the future, while working collaboratively with the industry to foster the growth of knowledge based employment opportunities within our state," DeMoss said.

She added that, "this innovative program provides an opportunity for lawyers and insurance industry leaders to share their expertise and insight while addressing new and expanding regulatory challenges confronting the industry."

DeMoss served as senior vice president, general counsel, and corporate compliance officer for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan in Detroit, Mich., 2003-2009, before becoming a health care consultant. As a consultant, she has provided strategic advice and risk management for health care entities under health care reform.

She served as vice president and deputy general counsel in litigation, and as principal counsel for the Auto-National Division of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan 1998-2003, and as litigation counsel for the organization from 1984-1998.

DeMoss began her law career in 1977 as an associate with Fitzgerald Peters Dakmak and Bruno, in Detroit, Mich., becoming a partner in 1980.

She earned her bachelor of arts degree summa cum laude at Michigan State University, and her juris doctor at Wayne State University Law School.

The partnership agreement joins Olivet College's Risk Management and Insurance Program with Cooley's Law School's juris doctor and master of law programs, creating only the second master of law’s insurance program in the nation.

Don LeDuc, president and dean of Cooley Law School, said, "We are absolutely delighted that Lisa DeMoss is joining Thomas M. Cooley Law School as director of its Master of Laws in Insurance Law program. She brings a combination of experience and enthusiasm that not only will benefit our students but also help Cooley in its quest to make Michigan a national leader in the insurance industry. Given the recent passage of the recent health care reform and the unchartered waters on which our country now sails, Professor DeMoss' 25 years of service in the health care arena will allow Cooley Law School to lead the nation in health care insurance law education."

Cooley Law School is the largest law school in the nation.  Founded in 1972, it 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.