November 9, 2011

Immediate Past President of the State Bar of Michigan Elected to Thomas M. Cooley Law School Board of Directors

Anthony Jenkins

Anthony Jenkins, immediate past president of the State Bar of Michigan has been elected to the board of directors of the Thomas M. Cooley Law School. He is the third former State Bar of Michigan president to serve on the school’s current board, joining Thomas Cranmer and Edward Pappas.

Cooley Law School President Don LeDuc said, "We are pleased that someone of Tony’s professional stature has chosen to join Cooley’s board. Given the school’s mission to prepare its graduates for practice and its commitment to provide access to the legal profession, particularly for underrepresented groups, no one is better suited to help Cooley fulfill those visions than he. We are honored by his decision and know that he will be a great example for our students of what a lawyer should be."

Mr. Jenkins looks forward to his association with Cooley Law School. "It is both an honor and a privilege to join the Board of Directors of Cooley Law School, and to become part of the team that advances the school’s mission.  I look forward to my service."

Mr. Jenkins is a member and chief diversity officer at Dickinson Wright PLLC in the firm’s Detroit office. He practices in the areas of Acquisitions and Dispositions, Corporate, Development and Land Use, Leasing, Minority Business Enterprises, Municipal Law and Finance, Real Estate, and Real Estate Finance.

He is a nationally recognized expert in the certification of companies as minority-owned businesses. His clients have included such entities as Wayne County and the Detroit Public Library.

Mr. Jenkins has been named to Best Lawyers in America, (Corporate), Crain’s Detroit’s Best Lawyers, and Michigan Super Lawyers (Real Estate). He has received the Michigan Chronicle’s Men of Excellence Award, Corp: Magazine’s Diversity Leadership Award, a Service Award as chair of the ABA Committee on Group and Pre-Paid Legal Services, a Service Award for the ABA Commission on Multi-Jurisdictional Practice, and the Detroit City Council’s Spirit of Detroit Award. He received a Martindale Hubbell AV Peer Review Rating. In June 2011, Mr. Jenkins was recognized by the D. Augustus Straker Bar Association with the Trailblazers Award for Years of Excellent Service to Bar and Bench.

He has served on the city of Detroit’s Board of Police Commissioners, the Detroit Institute of Arts Board of Directors, the Detroit Medical Center’s Board of Trustees. He also served as co-chair of the capital campaign for Loyola High School.

Mr. Jenkins has been active in the American Bar Association, presently serving as a member of the ABA Federal Judiciary Committee and a past member of the ABA Board of Governors and ABA House of Delegates. He serves or has served on several Detroit area civic and charitable boards, including the Elected Officials Compensation Commission, the Board of Police Commissioners, the Advisory Board to the Founders Society of the Detroit Institute of Arts, and the Detroit Medical Center. 

He earned his B.A. cum laude from Harvard College in 1974, his M.P.A. from Princeton University in 1979, and his J.D. from New York University Law School in 1980.

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About Thomas M. Cooley Law School:
Thomas M. Cooley Law School is the largest law school in the nation.  Founded in 1972, the private, nonprofit law school operates its Juris Doctor program, Joint Degree programs, and Master of Laws programs across Michigan in Lansing, Auburn Hills, Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor. Cooley recently announced a new Tampa Bay, Florida-area campus, with courses beginning in May 2012.  Cooley has more than 15,000 graduates across the nation and worldwide and offers enrollment three times a year in January, May and September. Cooley is an independent law school, accredited by the American Bar Association and the Higher Learning Commission. Additional information can be found at cooley.edu.