December 7, 2011

Two Michigan Circuit Court Judges Receive Honors as Cooley's Top Adjunct Professors

Two Michigan Circuit Court judges, who teach at Thomas M. Cooley Law School, are recipients of the school's Frederick J. Griffith III Adjunct Faculty Award. The Honorable Colleen A. O'Brien, judge of the Oakland County Circuit Court, and the Honorable Rosemarie E. Aquilina, judge of the Ingham County Circuit Court, have been chosen to receive this year's award.

Thomas M. Cooley Law School announced the recipients of this year’s Frederick J. Griffith III Adjunct Faculty Award. The Honorable Colleen A. O’Brien, judge of the Oakland County Circuit Court, and the Honorable Rosemarie E. Aquilina, judge of the Ingham County Circuit Court, are recipients of the award, which recognizes adjunct faculty members who best display dedication to the law school, excellence in teaching, passion for persuasive advocacy, compassion for law students and optimism about life and the future of legal education. Cooley Professor Emeritus Otto Stockmeyer presented the award to Judge Aquilina Tuesday, Dec. 6 at Cooley’s Lansing campus. Judge O’Brien was unable to attend the award ceremony. Pictured (left to right) are Stockmeyer, Judge Aquilina and Rick Griffith’s wife, Margie Griffith.
Thomas M. Cooley Law School announced the recipients of this year's Frederick J. Griffith III Adjunct Faculty Award. The Honorable Colleen A. O'Brien, judge of the Oakland County Circuit Court, and the Honorable Rosemarie E. Aquilina, judge of the Ingham County Circuit Court, are recipients of the award, which recognizes adjunct faculty members who best display dedication to the law school, excellence in teaching, passion for persuasive advocacy, compassion for law students and optimism about life and the future of legal education. Cooley Emeritus Professor Otto Stockmeyer presented the award to Judge Aquilina Tuesday, Dec. 6 at Cooley's Lansing campus. Judge O'Brien was unable to attend the award ceremony. Pictured (left to right) are Stockmeyer, Judge Aquilina and Rick Griffith's wife, Margie Griffith.

The Frederick J. Griffith III Adjunct Faculty Award recognizes adjunct faculty members who best display dedication to the law school, excellence in teaching; passion for persuasive advocacy, compassion for law students and optimism about life and the future of legal education. Cooley Law School established the award in 1997 in memory Rick Griffith who taught at Cooley as an adjunct professor for nearly two decades until his untimely death at age 52. He was a former Michigan Supreme Court Commissioner and practiced of counsel with the Lansing law firm of Murphy, Brenton & Spagnuolo.

Despite the demands of a busy Circuit Court docket, Judge O'Brien has taught pre-trial skills at the Auburn Hills campus for 11 consecutive terms. Judge O'’Brien is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Detroit College of Law. After a 17-year career as a litigation attorney, she was elected to the Oakland County Circuit Court bench in 1998 where she continues to serve.

Judge Aquilina has taught a wide variety of courses to students at the Lansing campus including, in the last year alone, animal law, defending battered women, legislative process and three sections of family law. Judge Rosemarie Aquilina is a graduate of Michigan State University and Thomas M. Cooley Law School. She spent 20 years as an officer with the Judge Advocate General Corps as the first female JAG officer in the Michigan Army National Guard. At the same time, she worked full-time as a lawyer and on the staff of then-Senator John Kelly in the Michigan Legislature. After retiring from the National Guard, she focused on her own Lansing law practice. Then in 2004, Aquilina was elected to the 55th District Court, followed by the Ingham County Circuit Court in 2008.

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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.