Western Michigan University Cooley Law School Blog

WMU-Cooley Professor Gary Bauer, a legal expert in the area of estate planning and elderlaw, spells out specific ways attorneys can start, at any point in their career, to optimize the quality of their retirement through planning. Professor Bauer also extends his services to any WMU-Cooley graduate who would like to schedule a presentation in their hometown. You can contact Professor Bauer at bauerg@cooley.edu. 

When Zack Hugg entered undergraduate school at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, he planned to seek a career in the technology field. But, by his senior year, he’d discovered interests in intellectual property and privacy laws that led him to alter course and go to law school.

Logical reasoning and analytical thinking – that is what really drew WMU-Cooley graduate Gerlinde (Linda) Nattler to the law, from as far back as in high school. She reminisced about reading stories describing ancient Roman orator Cicero’s life during a Latin class. She loved how, as a lawyer, he was able to intellectually parse out arguments and fine-tune words to razor-sharp perfection.  

Laura Bare takes her job seriously as one of WMU-Cooley Law School's associate directors in the law school's career and professional development office, but she's the first to say that getting to know the students is the best part of what she does each day. 

Exclusion of Partial DNA Specimens, Specimens from Multiple Contributors and the Lab-Created Phenomenon of Allelic Dropout by Jason S. Downs WMU-Cooley graduate Jason S. Downs is an attorney in Brevard County at Murphy’s Law Offices, P.A. His article, Exclusion of Partial DNA Specimens, Specimens from Multiple Contributors and the Lab-Created Phenomenon of Allelic Dropout, published in the Winter 2019 issue, Volume 31, No. 4, of the Florida Defender, A Publication of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Downs is a member of FACDL and the Young Lawyers Division of The Florida Bar. Before law school, he was a successful independent analyst and brief author. He was retained by many Florida criminal defense attorneys to lend his skills in formulating winning defense strategies and developing theory. He has authored hundreds of successful dispositive motions and is the author of dozens of prevailing appeals in all levels of the Florida court system and in the Supreme Court of the United States.

Background. Placing a shareholder proposal in a corporation’s annual-meeting proxy statement is the only practical way for shareholders to communicate with each other about corporate policy. Some years ago, I used the process successfully by drafting a shareholder proposal using plain-English principles. I believe that using plain English made a difference.

WMU-Cooley’s Head of Public Services at its Auburn Hills campus library, Tim Innes, recently launched a new podcast that traces the history of American law from its most ancient roots to the present day. [This article was published in the January 13, 2020 edition of the Detroit Legal News]

ALMOST EXACTLY ONE YEAR AGO I blogged about Michigan’s possible adoption of the Uniform Bar Examination (“Will the Uniform Bar Exam Come to Michigan?”). The blog described the exam, its benefits, and Michigan’s slow pace when it comes to such reforms.

WMU-Cooley Lansing campus Associate Dean and retired Brigadier General Michael C.H. McDaniel, who served in the Pentagon as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Homeland Defense Strategy, Prevention and Mission Assurance, has been asked by media outlets to discuss the United States' strike that killed Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani.

Haley Monaghan thought she wanted to be a lawyer, but the thought of going back to school after her undergraduate degree wasn't appealing.