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OCTOBER 2021

Welcome to the fall edition of the Benchmark Column! 

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I want to extend my greetings as the new director of advancement and alumni relations. I am thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to connect and meet with a number of you recently and look forward to meeting many more of you in the months ahead.

Below you will find some of the latest happenings around the law school, see some upcoming opportunities, and read about a couple of our incredible alumni and students. I encourage you to also check out our recently updated WMU-Cooley website. We are in the process of also updating to a new, interactive alumni directory and hope to have that in place very soon. Thank you for your ongoing involvement with and support for the law school. You can keep up with alumni networking events on the Alumni Events page on the website. If you are interested in becoming more involved, please don't hesitate to contact me. I would love to hear from you.

Sincerely, Bill Arnold
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ALUMNI VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT

We would like to thank WMU-Cooley graduate Takura Nyamfukudza from Chartier & Nyamfukudza, P.L.C. for not only being a featured speaker in our monthly WMU-Cooley Community Conversations event earlier this year, but for his willingness to go above and beyond by participating in the law school's upcoming Graduating Greatness video. It will be a matter of pride for all alumni, and we look forward to sharing it with you before the end of year.
 
TAKURA NYAMFUKUDZA

JOIN THE DISCUSSION ON OCT. 28 @ 5:00 PM

Since its inception over 20 years ago, the WMU-Cooley Innocence Project has screened over 5,800 cases and is responsible for the exoneration of seven men: Kenneth Wyniemko (2003), Nathaniel Hatchett (2008), Donya Davis (2014); LeDura Watkins (2017), Kenneth Nixon (Feb. 18, 2021), Gilbert Poole (May 26, 2021), and Corey Quentin McCall (June 25, 2021), and helped to exonerate Lacino Hamilton (Sept. 30, 2020) and Ramon Ward (Feb. 21, 2020). Click on the link below to join the Community Conversation Wrongful Conviction Panel Discussion 10/28 @ 5:00 p.m. ET. 
 
JOIN THE EVENT HERE
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EARN AN ll.m. ONLINE
WMU-COOLEY LL.M. GUIDE - ONLINE

Now more than ever, successful legal practice demands mastery in a specialized field. WMU-Cooley's Graduate LL.M. Programs provide recent law graduates an opportunity to develop excellence through a practice-oriented curriculum with expert faculty, all without interrupting your family and your career. Go beyond your law degree. Download our LL.M. Guide now to learn more.
DOWNLOAD THE LL.M. GUIDE

HOMELAND SECURITY
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Do you have questions about drones and how they may impact your safety and security? Take a deep-dive into drones, their social impact, and the legal rules surrounding Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) during this timely and critically important upcoming virtual event.
Join the WMU-Cooley Law School Homeland & National Security Law and the WMU-Cooley Homeland & National Security Emergency Response and Education Association for an event, Drone Law Symposium, Nov. 10 at noon. 
JOIN THE DRONE LAW SYMPOSIUM

STUDENT FEATURE: BRITTANY LINDSAY 

In March of 2020, WMU-Cooley student Brittany Lindsay was a Senior Program Director at the local YMCA supervising the Office of Youth Development. She was responsible for essential workers’ children. But when daycare shut down, it was her immediate responsibility to make all daycare options safe for the children of essential workers, like police, firefighters, and those in the military. In essence, Lindsay became an essential worker tasked to help pave the way for essential workers and their families.
READ BRITTANY'S STORY
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BE A DEI CHAMPION

Be a part of the movement to truly diversify the legal profession by being a WMU-Cooley Law School DEI Champion. Your endorsement of our mission of equitable access to legal education will help ensure that the legal profession will, in fact, reflect our country’s diverse population. We have much work to do and we need your help.
JOIN TODAY

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ASK A FRIEND TO JOIN

Do you know anyone you know who is interested in getting a law degree and would like to find out more about attending WMU-Cooley Law School? Or is there anyone you know who you think would make an outstanding attorney one day when he or she is ready to make the commitment to getting a law degree. An Open House is a great way to find out if now is the right time and to get questions answered about what it takes to do well in law school and start a legal career.
OPEN HOUSE REGISTRATION

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WATCH THE CONVERSATION 

If you didn't get a chance to join the recent WMU-Cooley Community Conversations At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal panel discussion, you can see it now. It  is a powerful documentary that reveals a dangerous system that prioritized winning over everything else, including protecting young female athletes. The panel includes WMU-Cooley graduates Mick Grewal, attorney with Grewal Law PLLC, and Judge Rosemarie Aquilina, with abuse survivor Trinea Gonczar.
WATCH THE PROGRAM

TWO-FACTOR VERIFICATION

The law school recently adopted a two-factor verification process as part of efforts to increase web and data security. This change requires all alumni with a cooley.edu email address to update their account password. If you have not yet updated your WMU-Cooley email and portal account password, you may find you are locked out. Please contact the alumni office at alumni@cooley.edu for assistance should you need it.
MORE ALUMNI RESOURCES

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JOIN ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

Be a part of the WMU-Cooley Alumni Association and reap the benefits of a worldwide network of 20,000+ colleagues, experts and friends. Annual dues are $35, a three-year membership is $100, and a lifetime membership costs $350 and includes a specially crafted gold-enameled lapel pin.
JOIN TODAY

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