Since receiving an associates degree in Building Construction Technology, she had spent seven years working in a business as a construction estimator. Then one morning she woke up and thought, “this isn’t enough.”
“I realized I just wasn’t happy and felt like I’d maxed out in what I was doing and where I was going in this line of work,” recalled Jeanne. “Going to law school was a total leap of faith. I had never once in my life thought of myself as lawyer until I found myself listening to my friend talk about how excited she was about going to law school. It had always been her dream. It hit me that moment that law school might be right for me too. It’s funny, but I saw it as a sign.”
That night Jeanne jumped online to see what she needed to do get into law school. She checked out Cooley Law School’s website and discovered that they not only offered great scholarships, but they offered an option, unlike any other Michigan law school, where she could go to law school only having an associates degree.
“It seemed like all stars were aligning. From my perspective, I didn’t believe getting a bachelor’s degree would make me a better lawyer. What I wanted to do was start now, not years down the road. I took the LSAT practice tests and based on those results, I figured I had a chance to get a full ride. Well, I ended up with an 85 percent scholarship, so pretty close!”
Jason joined up with his brother in a family owned firm right after graduation, but a new opportunity opened up when his brother got a new job. “Again, it seemed like divine intervention, said Jeanne. ” Jason’s brother was appointed as the Montcalm magistrate and that got us talking again about working together in practice. We both knew that we wanted to handle our business differently than most law firms. We wanted to represent folks in our community that really needed help. And that if you call, we will answer our phone. We want people to know that we care for our clients.”
“Our mantra is ‘know your rights.’ So many of our clients desperately need legal services, but can’t afford to travel to Grand Rapids to hire a big firm lawyer. We are absolutely committed to offering professional, accessible, and affordable legal services. And I am so thankful for Cooley. If they hadn’t given me the opportunity to attend law school when I did, things could have been much different. In fact, our business mirrors many of the same qualities that I admire and respect in Cooley – professional, accessible, and affordable.”
If you are on facebook, you can find them at https://www.facebook.com/jeannereedlaw.