Past Events

WMU-Cooley Parsell Garden stop on Old Town Garden & Patio Tour

Make WMU-Cooley Law School's Parsell Memorial Garden a stop during Lansing's Old Town in Bloom and Beyond Garden & Patio Tour!

The garden is named in memory of Darryl J. Parsell, 1952-2010, Director of Alumni Relations. Read more about the beautiful pocket garden in the Legal News story here.

Saturday, July 7, 2018
12 noon - 6:00 p.m. 
Tickets: $15 in advance; $17 day of tour
 

29th Annual Golf Classic

Join us for the 29th Annual Golf Classic at the Country Club of Lansing. Enjoy a great day of golfing, a grill luncheon, and raffle prizes. 

June 18, 2018 

• 11:00 a.m. Off the Grill Luncheon
• 12:30 p.m. Shotgun Start
• 6:00 p.m. Light Dinner Buffet and Awards Ceremony

Life After 41: An Intimate Conversation with LeDura Watkins

The Hon. Hugh B. Clarke, 54-A District Court 

Mable Martin-Scott and Kenneth Scott

Please join the WMU-Cooley Innocence Project in welcoming back LeDura Watkins on the one year anniversary of his exoneration, after spending over 41 years in prison. At the time of his release, Watkins was the longest serving exoneree in the United States.

• When: Friday, June 15, 2018 at noon
• Where: Cooley Center Lobby, 300 S. Capitol Ave., downtown Lansing, Michigan or Livestream
• What: LeDura Watkins: Life, one year later.

Beyond Basics: Literacy is for Everyone

The charity event will be held on Sunday, June 10, 2018, from 6:00-9:00 p.m. at WMU-Cooley's Auburn HIlls, Michigan campus at 2630 Featherstone Road.  There will be live music, an auction, comedy, and a book drive. Go here to buy tickets and to sponsor!Tickets are $20 and can be purchased online at GOO.GL/RCFRUR

Man Who Served Wrongful Conviction to Visit WMU-Cooley Auburn Hills

Alton Logan, author of Justice Failed: How ‘Legal Ethics’ Kept Me in Prison for 26 Years, will visit WMU-Cooley’s Auburn Hills campus on May 22 at noon. Featured guests during visit include Berl Falbaum, co-author of the book and Harold Winston, Logan’s public defender.

In 1983, Logan, 28, was convicted of killing off-duty Cook County corrections officer Lloyd Wickliffe in a Chicago-area restaurant and was sentenced to life in prison. What Logan didn’t know was that a man named Andrew Wilson had confessed to the crime. Wilson had confided his guilt to his, who did not come forward with the information for more than two decades. A signed affidavit containing Wilson’s confession had been hidden for years in a fireproof strong box at the home of one of the attorneys, keeping Logan behind bars.

Logan endured difficult choices during his time in prison, including being unable to attend his grandmother’s funeral and having to choose between 15 minutes with his mother, who was dying of breast cancer, or attending her funeral.

During his time in prison, Logan took courses in carpentry, electrical installation, typing, and earned his GED and associate of applied science certificate, as well as a certificate for building maintenance.

On April 17, 2009, Logan was declared innocent and after leaving prison, even with the skills certifications, he found it difficult to become employed. Logan believed the government owed him for his wrongful conviction, even if it would not make up for the lost years.

The discussion is free and open for the public to attend.

Spring Graduation in Tampa

On Saturday, April 21, WMU-Cooley Law School’s Tampa Bay campus will host its spring commencement ceremony for 60 students receiving juris doctor degrees. The ceremony will be held at the University of South Florida’s Marshall Center- Oval Theater in Tampa, Florida. Chosen by her classmates, Ashley Bruner of Tampa, Florida, will present the valedictory remarks. Florida Supreme Court Justice Peggy A. Quince will provide the keynote. The ceremony will be held at 1 p.m. and is a ticketed event.

12th Annual Howard Soifer Memorial Lecture

Keynote speakers are three WMU-Cooley graduates, Andrew Acker, Jeffrey Butler, and Charles Dadswell, who will tell their story about their quest to recover, restore and return the famous lost Betty Board concert recordings to Betty Cantor Jackson, the Grateful Dead and Warner Music Group. RSVP for lunch at [email protected].

WMU-Cooley Associate Dean to Speak about the 'Kalamazoo Case'

James D. Robb, general counsel and associate dean of external affairs at WMU-Cooley Law School, will be participating in “Educational Equity: From the ‘Kalamazoo Case’ to the ‘Kalamazoo Promise’ and Beyond,” a Western Michigan University Ethics Center panel discussion taking place Monday, April 2, 6 p.m. at Western Michigan University’s Bernhard Center (Room 204). Robb will discuss the "Kalamazoo Case" authored by Thomas M. Cooley in his role as Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court. The case stood for the principle that communities can opt to use their tax dollars for investments in secondary education. Joining Robb will be three other panelists: Michael Evans, executive director, Kalamazoo Literacy Council; Cyekeia Lee, director of community collaboration, Kalamazoo Promise; and Sandra Standish, executive director, KC Ready 4s, who will share their thoughts on what a commitment to educational equity means and engage in a dialogue on how to map future paths to expand equity and access. “Educational Equity: From the ‘Kalamazoo Case’ to the ‘Kalamazoo Promise’ and Beyond,” is co-sponsored by WMU’s College of Education and Human Development and WMU-Cooley Law School. The event is free and open to the public.