Western Michigan University Cooley Law School Blog

WMU-Cooley Professor Gary Bauer has decades of business and marketing experience, alongside nearly 20 years of teaching experience. Read Professor Bauer's blog, which originally posted on SoloLawyerByDesign. 

WMU-Cooley Professor Gary Bauer has decades of business and marketing experience, alongside nearly 20 years of teaching experience. Read Professor Bauer's blog, which originally posted on SoloLawyerByDesign. 

Otto Stockmeyer is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Western Michigan University Cooley Law School. This article is from the Spring 2019 issue of The Mentor, newsletter of the State Bar of Michigan Master Lawyers Section. Professor Stockmeyer is a member of the Section Council. His previous blog posts are cataloged here. 

WMU-Cooley Professor Gary Bauer considers his job an important one for those law students considering going solo. His years of business and marketing experience, alongside nearly 20 years of teaching experience, are invaluable in helping WMU-Cooley students learn to navigate the successful road to solo practice, or those considering a new career. Read Professor Bauer's April 25, 2019 SoloLawyerByDesign blog post below that explores a second career in the law after retirement. 

Ret. Brig. General and WMU-Cooley Law School Associate Dean Michael C.H. McDaniel was the keynote speaker during the City of Lansing's Memorial Day Ceremony. Below is his speech.

Recently I encountered three examples of comma misuse among legal writers. At first I thought the comma faults were random. But then I noticed they had something in common; in each case the comma preceded a verb. The commas create the impression of a runner stumbling midway to the finish line. From a law-school student publication: “May the odds forever, be in your favor.” From a legal newspaper: “And a lot of these kids, were really good players.” From a law-school press release: “[The law school] is committed to pursuing a collaborative approach in working with the Council, to continue meeting ABA standards.”

WMU-Cooley Professor Gary Bauer considers his job an important one for those law students considering going solo. His years of business and marketing experience, alongside nearly 20 years of teaching experience, are invaluable in helping WMU-Cooley students learn to navigate the successful road to solo practice. Read Professor Bauer's top five essentials when starting to go solo in his Feb. 16, 2017 SoloLawyerByDesign blog post below.

Students often tell WMU-Cooley Professor Barbara Kalinowski that they are bad writers or they say, "It's just not my thing." Those kinds of comments don't wash for Kalinowski, especially in the classroom.  

Lawyers are trained to be expert communicators. Yet speaking before a group can be an intimidating prospect for some, whether it’s a civic club luncheon, trade association meeting, or bar association CLE program. Rejoice if you are invited to make a speaking presentation, as there are many ways it can benefit your practice. Here are some tips for making your presentation an effective and impressive one.

On Friday, Feb. 15, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency in order to fund a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Following President Trump’s announcement, Constitutional professors from Western Michigan University Cooley Law School responded by releasing a joint statement about the National Securities Act and an analysis of what our Constitution says and what it means for our democracy.