Cooley Students and Former Public Defender Honored at Law Day Luncheon

May 4, 2012 – Cooley Law School Associate Dean Nelson Miller awarded the Marion Hilligan Public Service Award at the Grand Rapids Bar Association Law Day Luncheon. The award was given to Richard Hillary Sr., for his many years of leading the Kent County (Michigan) Public Defender's Office. He is also a leader in diversity efforts, working to reform the county's jury pools. Mr. Hillary is also a past president of the Grand Rapids Bar.

Also recognized during the day's festivities were several Cooley Law School students who volunteer their special expertise to serve as "reverse mentors" in Grand Rapids. In reverse mentoring, an idea pioneered by General Electric CEO Jack Welch in the 1990s, established managers can tap the various areas of newcomers' expertise to help serve emerging new client populations.

Joining former Grand Rapids Mayor John Logie (front row, second from right) are Cooley Law School students (front row, from left) Desiree Shiffler, William Heckman, Mike Hanrahan, Christine Welton, and (back row from left) Harold Best, Sujai Pitale, Zaneta Adams, Shahzaib Shakeel, Scott Ayotte, and Thomas Mysliwiec.

From left: Cooley Law School Associate Dean Nelson Miller, Richard Hillary, Sr., and Grand Rapids Bar Association President Mark Smith.

 

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About Cooley Law School: Founded in 1972, the Thomas M. Cooley Law School is a private, nonprofit, independent law school accredited by the American Bar Association and the Higher Learning Commission. Cooley has provided its more than 15,000 graduates with the practical skills necessary for a seamless transition from academia to the real world. Cooley offers its Juris Doctor program, Joint Degree programs, and Master of Laws programs three times a year with enrollment in January, May and September. Cooley Law School has campuses across Michigan in Lansing, Auburn Hills, Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor, and its new campus in Tampa Bay, Florida.