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Welcome Message from the President
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A Crucial Meeting
Sometime in the Spring of 1973, I planned a joint meeting between the board of directors of Thomas M. Cooley Law School and the Michigan Board of Law Examiners.
The relevant statute in Michigan provided that graduates of “a reputable and qualified law school, incorporated in Michigan or another state” were entitled to take the Michigan bar examination. The board of law examiners had the power to determine which law schools were “reputable and qualified” within the meaning of the statute.
The 76 students in the first class at Cooley had all signed an affidavit at the time of registration, by which they acknowledged that Cooley was unaccredited, that they were aware that the administrators of the school were making their best efforts to achieve accreditation, but that unless the school were to be accredited before they graduated, they would not be able to take the bar exam in Michigan or anywhere else.
In short, they affirmed that they were paying tuition and attending classes primarily to obtain knowledge of the law, with only the hope that they might some day become licensed lawyers. It was a remarkable act of faith on their part, and I felt a responsibility to do whatever I could to make their dream a reality.
In addition to the members of our board; Lou Smith, Phil Marco, Bruce Donaldson, Jim Ryan, John Fitzgerald, Jack Warren, Russ Swaney, Bob Fisher, and Jack Cote, I invited Professor Millard Ruud, the American Bar Association's consultant on legal education to attend our meeting. I wanted our board and the members of the board of law examiners to hear first hand about the ABA's accreditation process.
A few weeks before the meeting, I received a telephone call from board member
J. Bruce Donaldson, a tax attorney from Detroit. It seems he had been talking to a lawyer from Toledo who served as an adjunct member of the University of Toledo law school faculty. In the course of the conversation, Bruce mentioned his association with Cooley Law School, and the Toledo lawyer told him that there had been a visiting professor at Toledo named Cooley, and he wondered if there were any connection.
I told Bruce that I had never heard of this Cooley fellow, but I would check it out. I did not then have a copy of the roster of American law professors. Didn't even know that such a thing existed. But a few phone calls were all it took to locate Professor Thomas M. Cooley at the University of Pittsburgh. He was a very distinguished legal educator; had been dean of the Pitt law school at one time. And yes, he was related to the Thomas M. Cooley who had served on the Michigan Supreme Court and taught at the University of Michigan in the 19th century. Professor Cooley was in fact a grandson of the eminent Michigan jurist.
I was ecstatic at the discovery. Cooley was delighted to hear that a law school had been named after his grandfather. I invited the professor to come to Michigan and attend the joint board meeting. He accepted. I told nobody about my discovery. I wanted to surprise our board, Professor Ruud, and the members of the board of law examiners.
The meeting was held at Walnut Hills Country Club in East Lansing. It began with dinner in a private dining room. My surprise guest was an instant success. He gave his unqualified endorsement and approval of our efforts to obtain accreditation for the fledgling school. In the face of such a distinguished supporter, Professor Ruud spoke favorably of our efforts, and encouraged us to seek early approval from the American Bar Association.
It was a heady night. One by one, the members of our board spoke about their aspirations for the Thomas M. Cooley Law School. Their optimism and enthusiasm filled the room. The toasting and boasting was nothing short of euphoric.
We were good at toasting and boasting in those days. After the inaugural session of the Cooley class, a few months before, the members of the Cooley board and their wives retired to the basement of the Lansing City Club, where we shared a late supper and an orgy of self congratulation. After one particularly eloquent toast, Lou Smith tossed his champagne glass into the fireplace, a gesture reminiscent of something he had seen in a movie.
The dramatic effect electrified us all, and shortly other toasters followed suit. Lou graciously paid the bill for the broken glassware. Needless to say, in the presence of professor Cooley, professor Ruud and members of the board of law examiners, there was no tossing of champagne flutes at Walnut Hills.
Unfortunately, Stanley Beattie and Doug Roche were the only two members of the board of law examiners to attend the joint meeting. I hoped to importune the law examiners to give Cooley their approval as the grand finale of the evening. I had even prepared a one page resolution for them to sign. I told no one about it. The joint meeting was not convened for that purpose, of course, and I knew that. Still, I wanted to be prepared just in case, buoyed by the spirit of the evening, the law examiners might be amenable.
It was not to be. The resolution never left my pocket.
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This Page was last updated on:
08/19/2004