WMU-Cooley Law School hosted civil rights activist Dr. Jerome Reide for the law school’s Social Justice Lunch Hour on June 30. Reide, who serves as the legislative liaison for the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, spoke about a variety of topics, including the need for students to become involved in their community and make society a better place. 

“We need to continue to make our society more inclusive, more diverse,” said Reide.

He also stressed the importance of women’s rights and the need for lawyers to be part of the legislature to help shape policy. 

“Policy is a pendulum that swings right or left depending upon who's in the White House, Congress, and on the Supreme Court,” he said. 

A long-time civil rights activist, Reide served as the regional field director for the NAACP from 2009-2020, and was primarily responsible for advocacy management of its Midwestern units. He also served as NAACP’s National Field Operations deputy director, Midwest Region III director, and Special Contribution Fund regional development director. Additionally, Reide served as co-chair, committee member of Individual Rights and Responsibilities within the American Bar Association, and director of the Justice Initiatives Division at the State Bar of Michigan. He also served on the board of directors for the Sugar Law Center and the Beckwith Civil Liberties Fund. 

As the coordinator of ACLU’s Access to Justice Project, Reide coordinated a national study of landlord tenant courts and published the findings in a public policy report, “Justice: Evicted.” During his time as a consultant with Wayne County Commission’s Ways and Means Committee, he helped convene four annual conferences of governmental, community, corporate and academic policy makers to discuss economic development policy in Greater Detroit-Windsor, and Ontario, Canada. Additionally, Reide coordinated an international trade mission to South Africa to link the jobs, housing, education, arts, and cultural policy initiatives of the Mandela Administration with Detroit's leadership.

Reide is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, the American Bar Association, and the National Bar Association. He has taught at Bowie State University, Eastern Michigan University, and the State University of New York's Center for Labor Studies.

Each term, the Cooley Law Review Voting Board of Editors presents awards to Law Review members who have made the most significant contribution to the publication of the Law Review. Three Cooley Law School students were honored for this term, each receiving a different award for their work with the Law Review.

The Eugene Krasicky Award recipient was Mya Hurwitz. This Award is presented to the Assistant Editor who made the most significant contributions to the Law Review. The Award is named after Professor Eugene Krasicky, who developed Cooley's Scholarly Writing program. Scholarly Writing is an honors writing course and the foundation of the Law Review.

Sarah Tanner is the recipient of the Dawn C. Beachnau Award, which is presented to the member of the Thomas M. Cooley Law Review Board of Editors who made the most significant contributions through his or her leadership and dedication to the Law Review. The Award is named after the late Law Review Administrator Dawn Beachnau, and was established in recognition of her hard work and dedication.

The John D. Voelker Award was presented to Caroline Quandt. It is presented to the Senior Associate Editor who made the most significant contributions to the Law Review publication. The award is named after former Michigan Supreme Court Justice John D. Voelker, who authored some of the most readable opinions in the Michigan Reports and is widely known for his literary works.

The Cooley Law Review was established 10 years after the founding of the law school by the late Hon. Thomas E. Brennan, and is an organization dedicated to advancing intellectual and practical discussions about the state of the law, both modern and historical. The Law Review staff prides itself on the comprehensive editing and reviewing of articles, ensuring all items published are innovative and of professional quality. In addition to publishing two times a year the Cooley Law Review also sponsors a lecture series, an annual symposium, and a distinguished brief award.

WMU-Cooley Law School launched its virtual Inclusion and Belonging Book Club with Wayne County Circuit Court Administrator Zenell Brown, Esq., in honor of her book, “Coffee and Conversations: Inclusion and Belonging,” on June 22.

A champion of justice for all through diversity, equity, and inclusion, Brown melds her court leadership, crucial conversation, dispute resolution skills, and diversity skills. During the event, she gave a first-hand account of how there were times she felt excluded in the workplace and didn’t feel empowered as a Friend of the Court employee due to the culture and the insignificant role of diversity, equity and inclusion at that time.

“Service is not the middle name of the court and it really takes on the perspective, not of me being a victim of what I call microaggression or exclusions or subtle acts of exclusion, but it takes on the perspective of how organizations treat their customers,” said Brown. “The person who is providing the service really needs to have some connection, some awareness of the community that they are serving. The people who are in charge of the organizations have to ensure that that education and awareness is actually going on and be accountable to make sure that the culture you want is actually being created.”

Brown explained that she opens the book with the importance of having “ground rules” during these type of conversations “to bring down some of the angst and people jumping into the conversations talking about things they haven’t talked about and feeling uncomfortable in that respect.”

Throughout her book, which was published during the Covid pandemic in 2020, Brown also discusses the intentionality piece of inclusion.

“I’ve been able to tell you what it was like being a victim of being excluded or not feeling welcoming and included. I’ve been able to observe what it looks like from the customer’s perspective and share that,” she said. “But the intentionality piece is when I had to start looking at what was I doing? How was I not making sure people were included? What could I change in my everyday behaviors?

“One of the biggest things is that we can take DEI and divide it by politics, ideology and everything like that or we can take DEI and say it’s something that everybody has a role and a voice at the table,” Brown continued. “Oftentimes, it’s presented that if you talk about it, you’re trying to divide. That’s not the intent. We’re not trying to divide. We’re not trying to replace anybody. We’re not trying to give anyone an undue advantage. We’re trying to talk about how do we make sure that this country, this nation that says you’re welcome here and is the land of free opportunity, that we look to see what resources are needed so everybody can have that equal opportunity. It doesn’t leave anybody out of the conversations.”

As the leader of Michigan’s Third Circuit Court administrative operations and member of National Association of Women Judges, Brown has 20 years of experience and a daily practice in the arts of court leadership and inclusion. In 2022, Brown was awarded the American Bar Association’s Robert B. Yegge Award for outstanding contribution in judicial administration, and the National Association of Court Management’s Perkins Award for consistently going above and beyond the call of duty to make behind-the-scenes contributions in court administration.

The full Inclusion and Belonging Book Club launch can be viewed at WMU-Cooley’s Community Conversation Playlist on YouTube. 

BOOK CLUB SESSIONS

• Thursday, June 29, noon- 1:00 pm 
• Thursday, June 29, 5:00-6:00 p.m. 

Graduates of Cooley Law School’s Lansing and Tampa campuses were honored during graduation ceremonies at Michigan State University’s Wharton Center's Pasant Theatre on Dec. 15 and Cooley Law School’s Tampa Campus Auditorium on Dec. 16, respectively. 

Sixty-four juris doctor degrees and nine master of laws degrees were presented to members of the law school’s Distinguished Professor Emeritus Peter M. Kempel and Justice Thomas Douglas classes among both campuses. 

In Michigan, student speaker remarks were made by (left to right) Melissa Bianchi of the Kempel Class, and Adam Ostrander and Jose Flores of the Douglas Class. Judge Kellen Dotson of 61st District Court was the keynote speaker. 

In Florida, student speaker remarks were made by Christina Sabella (on right) of the Kempel Class and Sydni Rease (on left) of the Douglas Class, while Scott Westheimer, president of The Florida Bar, delivered the keynote speech.

 

Each Cooley Law School class is named for a distinguished member of the legal profession. The commencement ceremony for Cooley’s summer and winter graduating classes honor Distinguished Professor Emeritus Peter M. Kempel and Justice Thomas Douglas, respectively.

While earning his law degree, Professor Kempel was the law librarian and instructor in legal research at the University of Detroit School of Law. After he served as a research attorney for the Michigan Court of Appeals, he clerked for former Associate Supreme Court Justice Michael D. O’Hara, then sitting on the Court of Appeals. In 1973, Professor Kempel joined Cooley Law School and started his career of 40 years as the director of Library and Research Services. He served as chair of the State Bar Libraries and as president of Legal Aid of Central Michigan. A member of the Cooley Legal Authors Society, Professor Kempel taught Legal Research, Family Law, Jurisprudence, Legislation, Legislative Drafting, Contracts, Sales & Negotiable Instruments, Evidence, Trial Practice, Professional Responsibility, and Legal Ethics for over 26 years. 

Thomas Douglas, the first Justice of the court and its first chief justice, was born in 1790 in Wallingford, Conn. Douglas’ father was a shoemaker and farmer, but Douglas as a young man tried to find a better life as an attorney for himself and his wife, Hannah Sanford. Douglas began “reading law” to earn his license to practice, and succeeded in being elected a judge in Jefferson County, Ind., before he was even licensed to practice. As a result, Florida’s first chief justice began working as a judge before he ever practiced as a lawyer. In 1826, President John Quincy Adams appointed Douglas U.S. District Attorney for East Florida -- a post he held until he was named to the Florida Supreme Court in 1845.

Three WMU-Cooley Law School students were honored by the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan Foundation as recipients of WLAM Foundation Awards for Outstanding Law Students in 2023.

Each student, who was sponsored by a partnering law firm or corporation, received a $3,500 scholarship. 

Caroline R. Quandt (Left), sponsored by The Dobrusin Law Firm, received the Dobrusin Law Firm Scholar award for demonstrated interest in promoting women in business and female entrepreneurship.

Jennel Davoren (Center), sponsored by Women Patent Lawyers, received the Florence King Scholar in Patent Law award for demonstrated leadership capabilities in advancing the position of women in society, including service in such areas as: social justice, equality, family law, child advocacy, domestic violence, or work on behalf of underserved areas or populations, as well as eligibility to practice and an interest in patent law.

Adriana Burga (Right), sponsored by the Dickinson Wright Women’s Network, received the Dickinson Wright Women’s Network Scholar award for demonstrated leadership capabilities in advancing the position of women in society, in business, and in the community.

Quandt, Davoren, and Burga were among 15 law school students in Michigan who were honored by WLAM, receiving a combined $52,500 in scholarship awards. In addition to their academic success, these law students were recognized for helping to advance women’s roles in essential areas of the law, including STEM, social justice, equality, child advocacy, and domestic violence.

Founded in 1983, the WLAM Foundation is a statewide organization providing wide-ranging networking and professional development opportunities for women lawyers, including attorneys, judges, and law students. Its mission is to secure the rights of women in society and advance the interests of women members of the legal profession, promote improvements in the administration of justice, promote equality and social justice for all people, improve relations between the legal profession and the public, and encourage the continued legal education of lawyers. WLAM has awarded over $772,000 to more than 292 law students since 1997. 

Cooley Law School’s Lansing campus recognized students for their achievements during an honors convocation held on March 14.

Adriana Burga, Norelle Miranda, and Frances Silney-Bah were each presented with the Leadership Achievement Award, which acknowledges those students who have consistently, comprehensively, and effectively provided leadership in a variety of capacities. The award is intended to be the culmination of the recipients’ participation in leadership activities at Cooley.

The Alumni Association Distinguished Student Award was presented to Samantha Hulliberger. The award is given to selected graduating students based on academic accomplishments, professionalism and ethics, leadership, extracurricular activities, and post-graduation plans. The recipients are selected by the past presidents and executive committee of the Cooley Alumni Association. Recipients are presented a diploma frame from the law school.

Each year, Cooley Law School’s student body selects one adjunct faculty member to be the recipient of the Frederick J. Griffith III Adjunct Faculty Award. Professor Christi Henke, who teaches Advanced Legal Methods, Conflict of Laws, and is director of the law school’s Academic Resource Center was presented the award, which was established in memory of Rick Griffith, who taught as an adjunct for nearly two decades until he passed away at the age of 52. The award is presented in recognition of a member of the adjunct faculty whose service best reflects the character and attributes of Griffith: dedication to the law school, excellence in teaching, passion for persuasive advocacy, compassion for law students and optimism about life and the future of legal education.

Originally from Northridge, California, Burga earned her bachelor’s degree from Pepperdine University. While at Cooley she was selected as a Dean's Fellow and was a member of the Moot Court Board, Organization of Women Law Students, Women Lawyers Association of Michigan, and the International Law Society. Burga also served as a graduate assistant and as a grade appeals magistrate. During the convocation she was also presented with the Law Review John D. Voelker Award.

Miranda, who is originally from Bacoor, Philippines, earned her bachelor’s degree from Saint Mary’s College of California. While at Cooley, Miranda served as president of the International Law Society, chairperson of the Mock Trial Board, associate editor of the Cooley Law Review, senator for the Student Bar Association, and secretary for the Health Law Society. Additionally, she served as a member of the Black Law Students Association, Organization of Women Law students, and Moot Court Board. Miranda was also presented with the Student Bar Association (SBA) Distinguished Student Award, the SBA Fitzgerald Award, and the SBA Robert E. Krinock Memorial Award.

Silney-Bah of Columbia, Missouri earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She was vice president of the Black Law Students Association, vice president and treasurer of the International Law Society. Silney-Bah also served as a member of the Moot Court National team and board member, was a teaching assistant, and participated in Cooley Volunteer Corps.

Hulliberger is from Lansing, Michigan and earned her bachelor’s degree from Calvin University. She is currently part of the Air Force ROTC program and will be sworn in as an officer following graduation from law school. While at Cooley, Hulliberger served as president of the Student Bar Association and managing articles editor for the Law Cooley Review. She competed on the National Moot Court Team, worked as a teaching assistant for Criminal Procedure, and served on the law school’s Grade Appeals Board.

(L-R) Norelle Miranda, Adriana Burga, and Frances Silney-Bah were each presented with the Leadership Achievement Award during Cooley Law School’s recent Honors Convocation.

The Alumni Association Distinguished Student Award was presented to Samantha Hulliberger during Cooley Law School’s March 14 Honors Convocation.

Cooley Law School Professor Christi Henke, who teaches Advanced Legal Methods, Conflict of Laws, and is director of the law school’s Academic Resource Center, was presented the Frederick J. Griffith III Adjunct Faculty Award.
 

Joseph Kimble, a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Cooley Law School, has been recognized by TopLaw for his article Minimize Prepositional Phrases. Question Every of (Part 1). The article received an inaugural TopLaw 50 Award for 2024. It was a top-10 pick — as measured by reader clicks — within its Litigation World newletter Pick of the Week features. Litigation World, one of TopLaw’s five newsletters, has nearly 9,000 subscribers and covers civil litigation, including topics like legal writing. 

Kimble’s article, published in Judicature by Bolch Judicial Institute at Duke Law School in Summer 2023, examines unnecessary prepositional phrases. In his article, Kimble writes: “They are, in my view, the prime cause of sentence-level verbosity in legal writing. And the prime offender is of-phrases—hence my advice to question every ‘of.’ Naturally, not all prepositional phrases can be eliminated—perhaps most of them can’t be—but tight prose minimizes them.”
Kimble offers three techniques (with examples) to minimize prepositional phrases:

• Use a possessive form
• Change the prepositional phrase to an adjective
• Cut the prepositional phrase entirely

Kimble said of the award: “That article was actually the first of a two-parter in a column I do for Judicature called ‘Redlines.’ In the second part, I offered two more techniques: “liquidate zombie nouns” and “use the active voice” (with certain exceptions). It’s nice to see that readers found the advice useful. Let’s hope that they follow it—for the sake of their own readers.” 

“Thanks to Hollywood, people think litigators spend more time in court than they actually do,” said TopLaw Publisher and Lawyer Neil J. Squillante. “In reality, litigators spend much of their time writing. This explains why Professor Kimble’s excellent article on minimizing prepositional phrases struck a chord with TopLaw subscribers, earning the article and its author a well-deserved TopLaw 50 Award.”

All of TopLaw’s 2023 Picks of the Week from its newsletters were in contention for the TopLaw 50 Awards of 2024.

On Monday, Oct. 2, Cooley Law School Health Law Society hosted an event, featuring noted health law practitioner and Cooley Law School graduate, Joe Rivet, at the law school’s Lansing campus. Rivet, founding partner of Rivet Health Law, PLC., in Norton Shores, was joined by his law partner at the firm, Richard Chafee, also a Cooley graduate.

During the event, Rivet discussed the many facets of health law and explained that health law affects everyone. He also detailed the intricacies of starting a law practice and the importance of loving your work, adding: “Where you find a problem, bring a solution.”

“Joe has helped to shape the careers of many of our students,” said Christi Henke, director of Cooley Law School’s Lansing Academic Resource Center. “He serves as a great role model and mentor. It has been exciting to watch the success of his law firm.”  

Rivet began a career in health care at 19 when he served as a transporter in a hospital. He served as a coder, auditor, and coding compliance specialist and worked his way into leadership roles at Priority Health and Health Alliance Plan. Rivet also served as the vice president of coding compliance and audit/EMS compliance officer at R1 RCM, a Chicago-based international revenue cycle company. In July 2020, he opened his law firm, which focuses on a specialized area of health law.

“It was great to see Joe Rivet return to the halls he once walked as a student, and he now provides guidance and information as a successful attorney,” said Ramon Garcia, president of Cooley’s Health Law Society.

Rivet is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan, the State Bar Provider Subcommittee, and reimbursement chair for the Michigan Group Medical Association. He is also a member of the American Bar Association Solo, Small Firm and General Practice Division. Rivet was designated a 2022 Power Lawyer by Lawyers of Distinction, selected as a Rising Star in 2023 by Super Lawyers, and recognized by Best Lawyers Ones to Watch in health law. In March 2023, Cooley’s Health Law Society honored Rivet with its inaugural Health Lawyer of the Year award, which was presented in partnership with the State Bar of Michigan Health Law Section.

Cooley Law School graduates and law firm partners, Joe Rivet, left, and Richard Chaffee, attend a Cooley Health Law Society event on Oct. 2, 2023, at the law school’s Lansing campus.

Cooley Law School’s American Constitution Society held a discussion on textualism featuring Distinguished Professor Emeritus Joseph Kimble. Kimble’s presentation, which took place on Nov. 27, took a deeper look at how textualism and some of its so-called canons of construction affect the interpretation of statutes. Textualism focuses on the words, syntax, and structure of the text to try to derive its ordinary meaning.

During the presentation, Kimble said that he is not a fan of textualism as it is practiced.

“Textualism can create—and has in fact created—one-sided results,” said Kimble, who taught Research & Writing and Advanced Research & Writing during his tenure at Cooley Law School. He is now senior director of Cooley's Kimble Center for Legal Drafting. “I would, of course, want to carefully examine the text in legal documents but also bring to bear other considerations, such as legislative history, the expressed or apparent purpose, all forms of context, sensible policy, the consequences of a decision, and reasoned intuition. I believe judges should be universalists. No plausible analytical point should be off the table.”

Kimble has published dozens of articles on legal writing and has written three books: “Lifting the Fog of Legalese: Essays on Plain Language;” “Writing for Dollars, Writing to Please: The Case for Plain Language in Business, Government, and Law;” and “Seeing Through Legalese: More Essays on Plain Language.” During his career, Kimble has lectured on writing to legal organizations in the United States, Canada, Europe, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.

Distinguished Professor Joseph Kimble speaks about textualism during a discussion hosted by Cooley Law School’s American Constitution Society on Nov. 27.

On March 28, Cooley Law School’s Tampa Bay campus recognized students for their achievements during an honors convocation.
Courtney Yonker was presented with the Leadership Achievement Award, which acknowledges those students who have consistently, comprehensively, and effectively provided leadership in a variety of capacities. The award is intended to be the culmination of the recipient’s participation in leadership activities at Cooley.

Yonker, who is from Tampa, earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Tampa. Whileat Cooley, she was selected as a Dean’s Fellow and served as Moot Court’s chairperson and chief justice. Yonker also served as a Cooley Ambassador and as a member of the Florida Association of Women Lawyers. During the convocation she was also recognized for service as the Lead Dean’s Fellow working closely with the Academic Resource Center and serving as an intermediary between the center’s faculty and staff and other Dean’s Fellows.

The Alumni Association Distinguished Student Award was presented to Mya Hurwitz. The award is given to selected graduating students based on academic accomplishments, professionalism and ethics, leadership, extracurricular activities, and post-graduation plans. The recipients are selected by the past presidents and executive committee of the Cooley Alumni Association. Recipients are presented a diploma frame from the law school.

Hurwitz earned her bachelor’s degree from Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. While at Cooley, she was selected as a Dean’s Fellow and served as a teaching assistant and president of the Student Bar Association. Hurwitz was a member of the Cooley Law Review, International Legal Honor Society of Phi Delta Phi, and the Florida Association of Women Lawyers.

Each year, Cooley Law School’s student body selects one adjunct faculty member to be the recipient of the Frederick J. Griffith III Adjunct Faculty Award. Professor Mustafa Ameen, who teaches Florida Criminal Practice and Florida Drunk Driving Law, and is a partner at Ameen & Shafii Attorneys at Law was presented the award, which was established in memory of Rick Griffith, who taught as an adjunct for nearly two decades until he passed away at the age of 52.

The award is presented in recognition of a member of the adjunct faculty whose service best reflects the character and attributes of Griffith: dedication to the law school, excellence in teaching, passion for persuasive advocacy, compassion for law students, and optimism about life and the future of legal education.

(L-R) Shameka Conwell, Katherine Semone, Distinguished Student Award winner Mya Hurwitz, and Rob Johnson.

(L-R) National Competition Teams-Chester Bedell Mock Trial Competition Team Members: Left to right: Jaxon Parker, Steve Chandler, Safa Kudia, Alan Bangiev, Stephanie McKinney, Michelle Guzman, and Karly Hudson. 

Thee Yonker family celebrates daughter Courtney Yonker's accomplishments.