June 1, 2010

Chief Justice Marilyn Kelly of the Michigan Supreme Court provides keynote address to students of color, low-income, and other disadvantaged students from 13 colleges and universities as they begin a month-long academic pre-law program at Cooley’s Auburn Hills campus

Throughout June, approximately 75 judges and attorneys are joining the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Council on Legal Education Opportunity (CLEO), Oakland University, and the Thomas M. Cooley Law School to help diversify America’s next generation of lawyers by providing an intensive, pre-law program called the Sophomore Summer Institute free of charge to undergraduate students from Adrian College, Alabama A & M University, Bowling Green State University, Delta College, Eastern Michigan University, the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Oakland University, Purdue, Saginaw Valley State University, Wayne State University, and Yale University.

Chief Justice Marilyn Kelly of the Michigan Supreme Court kicked off the CLEO program on June 1 at Cooley’s Auburn Hills campus by providing the keynote address. Throughout the program, 10 bar associations will sponsor luncheons and career exploration events, and the program will conclude on June 30 with closing ceremony remarks by former Detroit Mayor and ABA Past-President Dennis Archer. The Michigan Court of Appeals also will hear an oral argument at Cooley’s Auburn Hills campus on June 30, thanks to the efforts of Judge Cynthia D. Stephens.

(Front row, from left to right): E. Christopher Johnson, director of the Thomas M. Cooley Law School’s Corporate Law and Finance LL.M. program; Chief Justice Marilyn Kelly of the Michigan Supreme Court; and John Nussbaumer, associate dean of Cooley’s Auburn Hills campus celebrate the first day of the Sophomore Summer Institute at Cooley’s Auburn Hills campus with the students in the program. Chief Justice Kelly kicked off the program by providing the keynote address during orientation on June 1. High-Res 300dpi Image © Thomas M. Cooley Law School 2010 Chief Justice Marilyn Kelly of the Michigan Supreme Court (far right) talks with Sophomore Summer Institute students at Cooley’s Auburn Hills campus. High-Res 300dpi Image © Thomas M. Cooley Law School 2010 (From left to right) Lynda Cevallos, pre-law coordinator and undergraduate adviser for the American Bar Association’s Council on Legal Education Opportunity; Michelle Piskulich, associate provost for academic affairs at Oakland University, Chief Justice Marilyn Kelly of the Michigan Supreme Court; and John Nussbaumer, associate dean of the Thomas M. Cooley Law School’s Auburn Hills campus. High-Res 300dpi Image © Thomas M. Cooley Law School 2010

Cooley Law School is the largest law school in the nation. Founded in 1972, the private, non-profit law school 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.