Western Michigan University Cooley Law School Blog

WMU-Cooley student Ydelmis Cutino never backs away from hard work, in fact she embraces it. She's on a path to be lawyer, and the sooner the better. 

Even at nine years old, Joseline Hardrick knew she wanted to be a lawyer. She remembers being glued to the TV watching Matlock and Perry Mason with her mother. She loved to watch the attorneys, and all the courtroom drama, especially the parts where they were cross-examining people. Her mother was thrilled. Hardrick recalls her mother making sure to tell anyone who would listen that her "baby's going to be a lawyer."

Mustafa Ameen (Fitzgerald Class, 2006), knew growing up that he was either going to be a doctor or a lawyer. That's what his parents told their children, after emigrating from India to the United States to secure a better life for the family.

In the last decade, Aaron V. Burrell (Woodward Class, 2010), a business lawyer with the Detroit office of Dickinson Wright, has become acutely aware of dynamic shifts in the way law is practiced. Burrell, who serves as co-chair of the firm’s diversity and litigation-training committees, and has a busy practice in complex commercial litigation, appellate law, and labor and employment law, is in a prime position to note changes in the legal arena.

WMU-Cooley Law School graduate Mustafa Ameen knew growing up that he was either going to be a doctor or a lawyer. That's what his parents told their children, after emigrating from India to the United States to secure a better life for the family.

In the last decade, Aaron V. Burrell, a business lawyer with the Detroit office of Dickinson Wright and WMU-Cooley graduate, has become acutely aware of dynamic shifts in the way law is practiced. Burrell, who serves as co-chair of the firm’s diversity and litigation-training committees, and has a busy practice in complex commercial litigation, appellate law, and labor and employment law, is in a prime position to note changes in the legal arena.

Mohamed Hammoud was always fascinated by the criminal justice system, and always wanted a legal career, but was afraid the demands and cost were too much for him. That was until his first son was born, Mohamed Ali, was born in 2015.

When Ana Luna thinks back on her life, and the suffering she endured, she realizes that it was those life experiences that led her to law school and her life today. 

This blog was originally posted on May 2, 2017 Tanya Gibbs knew she wanted to be an attorney since the 11th grade when her high school math teacher suggested she go to a national student conference in Washington, D.C. For 10 days she learned about the laws that govern our nation, toured the city, and even met the Supreme Court justices and several high-end defense attorneys. “I just thought it was the coolest thing, and I wanted to be a part of that,”         said Gibbs.

Why is diversity in the classroom important? That's a question WMU-Cooley Law School Professor Mable Martin-Scott sometimes gets from others when talking about her law school, and the place she's taught for the past 18 years.