On Jan. 29, Cooley Law School’s Health Law Society hosted a panel discussion on exploring careers in healthcare law, featuring health law professionals from Michigan.

Attendees had the opportunity to learn from the attorney panelists involved in health law corporate settings, and gain an understanding in health law as a career and what life is like as an in-house counsel in the corporate world. The expert panelists provided tips and insights for those seeking a career path in the healthcare field.

Panelists included, Julie Janeway of Advize Health, Liz Callahan Morris of Henry Ford Health, Jennifer Dewane of Elevance Health, Tim Gutwald of Mentavi Health and ADHD Online, Julie Janeway of Advize Health, and Nicole Stratton of Corewell Health.

“Healthcare comprises one-fifth of the U.S. economy,” Janeway said during the panel discussion. She is general counsel, director, and healthcare administration/operations support at Advize Health. “It is one of the most regulated industries in the nation and it is engaged in a plethora of business and commercial aspects. Clinicians keep healthcare running, while health lawyers keep the business of healthcare running. No matter what your area of legal interest, there is very likely a place for you in health law. If you are looking to pursue your passion as a lawyer but would like a new environment in which to pursue it, join the State Bar of Michigan Healthcare Law Section. We would love to meet you!”

Featured panelists pictured in the front row from left to right: Julie Janeway of Advize Health, Nicole Stratton of Corewell Health, and Liz Callahan Morris of Henry Ford Health; in back row: Jennifer Dewane of Elevance Health, and Tim Gutwald of Mentavi Health and ADHD Online.

In 2013, Cooley Law School and Western Michigan University entered into a 10-year affiliation agreement, which ended effective November 10. Both institutions agreed not to seek an extension in order to focus more on their own core mission and values.

During the affiliation, each institution had retained independent governance, as overseen by separate boards and the agreement did not involve an exchange of funds or financial support. The dissolution does not affect the operations of either entity.

Cooley President and Dean James McGrath is enthusiastic about the future of Cooley Law School and everything it has to offer students going forward.

"The end of the affiliation will not affect our ability to continue to prepare our students for the practice of law, as we have over the course of our over 50-year history," said McGrath. "We are very excited about the launch of our new curriculum which the faculty have been working on for months now. We are making sure our curriculum is not only ready to meet the challenges of today but is nimble enough to shift as the law continues to change. I am confident our new curriculum will enhance our program and ensure our graduates continue to be practice-ready upon graduation.”
 

On Monday, Oct. 2, the Cooley Law School Innocence Project, in partnership with Warner Norcross + Judd LLP, recognized National Wrongful Conviction Day with a panel discussion featuring Project exonerees at Warner’s Grand Rapids office.

Panelists included exonerees Kenneth Nixon, Gilbert Poole, George DeJesus, and his brother, Melvin DeJesus. Nixon and Poole were exonerated in 2021, while the DeJesus brothers were exonerated in 2022.

During the event, several panel attendees asked questions, expressed sympathies to the exonerees and their families, and applauded their perseverance and hard work. Exonerees shared the circumstances surrounding their false convictions, what helped them get through their sentences, and their hardships and successes after their exonerations.

“Once the charges were processed, my faith went right out the window,” said Nixon. “I didn’t understand how I could be in this situation by no will of my own, no wrongdoing of my own. The logical mind thinks that truth and honesty will play itself out in the courtroom; that’s what we’re taught to believe – that once it makes it to the courtroom, they’ll get it right. In reality, it’s a gut-punch after gut-punch after gut-punch. It was bigger than just fighting for my freedom. I had to prove to my sons that no matter what, when you’re right, you stand up for yourself.”

Nixon, who has started his own non-profit called the Organization of Exonerees, added: “It was hard, but I’m thankful that I’m here and trying to make change within the system.”

“Sometimes the zealousness for conviction gets in the way of the actual truth of the matter,” said Poole, who spent 32 years in prison – the longest of the featured panelists. “That’s where I fill in the cracks, because everybody wanted a conviction, wanted to resolve the case so badly, that the rules took over the actual facts.”

Melvin DeJesus, who was arrested at the hospital while his daughter was being born, shared how his perseverance while in prison helped him on his path to freedom. “How can I stop fighting when my daughter is still out there? Anything that came at me, I thought there was a choice: I can go home to my family or I can go down that other road, and it’s not a nice road.”

George DeJesus, one of the exonerated brothers, added: “It’s a long process. We’ve been out a year and a half, two years, and the only time I’m not thinking about it is when I’m with my family.”

In its 10th year, Wrongful Conviction Day began as an effort of the Innocence Network, an affiliation of organizations dedicated to providing pro-bono legal and investigative services to individuals seeking to prove innocence of crimes for which they have been convicted. They work to redress the causes of wrongful convictions and support he exonerated after they are freed.

“The last few years there have been conviction integrity units that have been working statewide and at the attorney general’s office, as well as several local prosecutor’s offices,” said Tracey Brame, director of Cooley Law School’s Innocence Project. “What’s important is how they streamline the process for investigating these cases instead of our deficient appellate system. The leaders of those units have done a really good job of changing the mindset of even the prosecutors in their offices because there’s the notion that they never make a mistake, and they must’ve been guilty or it’s too late. There are strong leaders in conviction integrity units that are helping us take another look at these cases.”

Established in 2001, the Cooley Law School Innocence Project is the only post-conviction DNA innocence organization in the State of Michigan. Since its inception, the office has screened over 6,000 cases and is responsible for the exoneration of eight individuals: Kenneth Wyniemko (2003), Nathaniel Hatchett (2008), Donya Davis (2014), LeDura Watkins (2017), Corey McCall (2021), Kenneth Nixon (2021), Gilbert Poole (2021) and George DeJesus (2022). The Project also helped to exonerate Lacino Hamilton and Ramon Ward, both in 2020, and Terance Calhoun and Melvin DeJesus, both in 2022.

“Treating people with dignity and making sure that we’re doing justice for everybody involved in our justice system; if we don’t get those things right, then we’re screwed,” said Warner Partner Christopher E. Tracy. “A social contract of a country like ours, a democracy like ours, if it's going to work, it has to do these things correctly. When you get it wrong, then something like the Cooley Innocence Project thankfully is there to rectify that.”

The Cooley Innocence Project is staffed by Cooley Law School students, who work under the supervision of Cooley Innocence Project attorneys. Those interested in donating and supporting the work of the Cooley Innocence Project can GIVE HERE.

On Tuesday, Sept. 26, Cooley Law School graduate Kellen A. Dotson, celebrated his investiture to the 61st District Court in Grand Rapids. Judge Dotson is the son of Cooley Professor Mark Dotson, his wife, Laura Dotson, both Cooley Law School graduates; and Lucia Williams.

“It is an honor to be among the many Cooley Law School graduates who now uphold the law as judges in Michigan and our country,” said Judge Dotson. “It was an extremely proud and humbling moment to have so many of my Cooley law family from near and far attend my investiture to celebrate this accomplishment, especially my father – a Cooley graduate himself, who placed the judge’s robe on me during the event. My parents have always been there to support me in my law career, and I deeply appreciate everything they have taught me along the way.”

Numerous Cooley professors who had Judge Dotson as a student, as well as Cooley graduates and staff, and area judges attended the investiture in person and virtually, including Cooley Dean Tracey Brame, professors Tonya Krause-Phelan, Richard Henke, and Mable Martin-Scott; Judge Cynthia Ward, Judge Curt Benson, as well as former Cooley professors Christopher Hastings, Kevin Scott, and Polly Brennan, wife of the late Thomas Brennan, founder of Cooley Law School.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Dotson’s appointment on July 7, 2023. Previously, he served as an attorney in the Kent County Office of the Public Defender, an adjunct professor at Cooley Law School, a trial skills trainer for the Michigan Indigent Defense Trial Skills Training Program, and a mediator with the Kent County Friend of the Court. 

Following the murder of George Floyd, Dotson undertook the role of managing attorney with the Hennepin County Public Defender’s Office in Minneapolis for a two-year period before returning to Grand Rapids to serve the 61st District. 

 

What is the great hidden cost of doing business and carrying on the government? Poor communication. And the numbers are staggering. Anyone who needs proof can find it in the just-published second edition of Writing for Dollars, Writing to Please: The Case for Plain Language in Business, Government, and Law, by Joseph Kimble, a distinguished professor emeritus at Cooley Law School. He has been collecting data for decades.

One chapter in the book summarizes 60 empirical studies showing the benefits of using plain language for both sides—agencies and companies on the one hand, and consumers on the other. Here are just a handful of examples:

• The Veterans Benefits Administration revised a single letter and tested it at a regional office. From one year to the next, phone calls dropped from about 1,110 to about 200. That’s one letter alone at a single agency. 
   
• In the State of Washington, the Department of Revenue rewrote a letter that tripled the number of businesses paying a commonly ignored use tax. 
   
• After simplifying a billing statement, the Cleveland Clinic recovered an additional $1 million a month in the months following, thanks to an 80 percent increase in patient payments. 
   
• Researchers gave persons taking out payday loans two different envelopes containing their loan: for one group, the envelope was blank; for the other group, the envelope had graphics that either compared the cost of the loan over months with credit-card fees or illustrated how long, on average, people take to repay the loan. The envelopes with graphics decreased borrowing by 17 percent. When applied to the total amount that Americans borrowed in that year, this represents an $8.5 billion decrease.
   
• In Canada, the Digital Transformation Office worked with different agencies to improve website design and content. In prototype testing, the user success jumped from 40 to 85 percent in one instance, from 23 to 68 percent in another, and from 23 to 72 percent in another.

The studies were done in countries around the world. Besides Canada, that includes the U.K., Ireland, Portugal, Norway, Sweden, Hungary, South Africa, Portugal, Australia, and New Zealand.

“Again, the gains from plain language tend to be reciprocal: what benefits government or a business very often benefits consumers as well,” said Kimble. “If, for instance, a letter or a website is decently clear so that fewer people make mistakes or need to call the phone center, then both sides win. And besides the quantifiable benefits demonstrated in the studies, think of the unquantifiable costs — the frustration, anxiety, anger, and ill-will created when the public cannot understand what they’re being asked to do, or what their rights are, or what steps they need to take to claim a benefit. In the case of medical information, poor communication can lead to disastrous results.”

The main goal of plain language is to make online and written information clear and accessible to the greatest possible number of its users. This takes great skill and draws on dozens of principles and techniques, ranging over organization, design (or layout), sentences, words, and testing documents on ordinary readers whenever possible. One chapter of the books lists the elements of plain language. Another one addresses the ten biggest myths about plain language (for instance, it reduces writing to baby talk, it’s subverted by the need to use technical terms, it’s not accurate or precise).

“The evidence is undeniable: readers (including even judges and lawyers) strongly prefer plain language in public and legal documents, they understand it better than bureaucratic and legalistic style, they find it faster and easier to use, they are more likely to comply with it, and they are much more likely to read it in the first place,” said Kimble. ”And because of all that, plain language—in its full scope—can save all kinds of organizations untold amounts of money. If they would only invest in plain-language programs, the investment would repay itself many times over. They would improve the public’s perception of them. And they would make life easier for everyone.”

After serving 35 years for a crime he did not commit, Louis Wright was exonerated when Calhoun County Circuit Court Judge Sarah Lincoln set aside his conviction for criminal sexual conduct and breaking and entering. In September, DNA testing established that Wright was not the perpetrator. Mr. Wright is represented by Attorney Marla Mitchell-Cichon and the Cooley Law School Innocence Project (Cooley Innocence Project).

“In 1988, there was no credible evidence pointing to Mr. Wright,” said Marla Mitchell-Cichon. “Mr. Wright’s false confession led to a no contest plea and decades of incarceration.”  At sentencing, Wright asked to withdraw his guilty plea, but the court denied his request. Mr. Wright has always maintained his innocence.

Through its collaboration with the Attorney General’s Conviction Integrity Unit, the Cooley Innocence Project was able to obtain DNA testing of evidence collected during the original investigation. “I commend the Michigan Attorney General’s Office for agreeing to DNA testing in this case,” Mitchell-Cichon said. ”Without their willingness to test the rape kit evidence, Mr. Wright may never have received justice.” In September 2023, the Michigan State Forensic Science Division (MSP) identified foreign DNA not consistent with Mr. Wright’s DNA profile. 

Michigan has had a post-conviction DNA testing law on the books since 2001, but those who pleaded guilty cannot request testing under the statute. House Bill 5271 proposes to change that.

On January 18, 1988, a man broke into a home and sexually assaulted an eleven-year-old girl. Mr. Wright quickly became a suspect when an off-duty Albion police officer reported seeing Mr. Wright in the neighborhood five hours before the offense. Within 24-hours Mr. Wright was taken into custody and the police reported that Mr. Wright confessed to the crime. Mr. Wright’s interview was not recorded, nor did he write or sign a confession. 

The Albion Department of Public Safety found boot prints outside the victim’s home following the assault. Plaster castings were created of those prints. According to police, the boots Mr. Wright was wearing at the time of his arrest were “identical” to the boot prints found at the crime scene. However, the MSP determined that the “casts could not have been made by the suspect’s boots.” 

The original detective’s report noted that he attempted to collect fingerprints from the victim’s home: “Latent Fingerprint Examination of the exterior and interior of the residence was made with negative results.” However, the MSP was given a fingerprint for analysis and concluded that the print did not match Louis Wright. 

Both MSP reports were generated before Mr. Wright’s no contest plea on September 30, 1988.

The police did not conduct any identification procedures in the case. There was no photo array or live line-up; the victim was never asked to identify anyone in or outside of court.

The recent DNA testing established that a man other than Wright is the perpetrator. The Calhoun County Prosecutor has committed to reopening the investigation and determining the identity of the true perpetrator.

“I commend the attorneys and investigators in my office, the local agencies, and the Cooley Law School Innocence Project for their hard work,” said Attorney General Dana Nessel.    

  Left, Darlene Hall (Wright’s sister); Right, Louis Wright.

In 2021, the Cooley Innocence Project received an Upholding the Rule of Law grant from the Department of Justice. The grant provides support  to review cases in which unreliable forensics played a role in the conviction. Since 2018 the Cooley Innocence Project has partnered with Michigan Attorney General’s Conviction Integrity Unit on DNA and other forensic casework. This partnership led to Louis Wright’s release after 35 long years.

About the Cooley Innocence Project: The Cooley Law School Innocence Project is part of the Innocence Network, which has been credited with the release of over 375 wrongfully accused prisoners through the use of DNA testing. The Cooley Innocence Project has screened over 6,000 cases and is responsible for the exoneration of eight men: Kenneth Wyniemko (2003), Nathaniel Hatchett (2008), Donya Davis (2014) LeDura Watkins (2017), Kenneth Nixon (2021), Gilbert Poole (2021), Corey McCall (2021), and George DeJesus (2022). The Cooley Innocence Project supported the exonerations of Ramon Ward, Lacino Hamilton, and Terance Calhoun by contributing its DNA expertise and grant resources to obtain testing. The project is staffed by Cooley Law School students, who work under the supervision of Cooley Innocence Project attorneys. Those interested in donating and supporting the work of the Cooley Innocence Project can do so at https://www.cooley.edu/academics/experiential-learning/innocence-project

About Cooley Law School: Cooley Law School was founded on a mission of equal access to a legal education and offers admission to a diverse group of qualified applicants across the country. Since the law school's founding in 1972, Cooley has provided a modern legal education to more than 20,000 graduates, teaching the practical skills necessary for a seamless transition from academia to the real world. Cooley enrolls classes year-round at its Michigan and Florida campuses. Cooley is an independent, non-profit law school, accredited by both the American Bar Association and the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.

On Nov. 2, Cooley Law School’s Organization of Women Law Students (OWLS) and the Career and Professional Development office hosted the State Bar of Michigan’s Family Law Section (FLS) to discuss various career paths.

Panelists included Attorneys Cara Willing of the Law Offices of Griffiths & Willing who chairs the FLS membership education committee; Jordan Ahlers, associate attorney at Speaker Law Firm, PLLC; and Julie Griffiths of the Law Offices of Griffiths & Willing. The panelists shared the broad opportunities available for those interested in practicing family law, including appellate advocacy, trial court practice, and alternative dispute resolution. Additionally, panelists discussed the value of joining the State Bar sections as a law student.

“The State Bar of Michigan’s Family Law Section provided Cooley Law School students with great advice, as they learned about future practice areas through mentorship and experience,” said Karen Poole, director of career and professional development at Cooley.

Panelists during Cooley Law School’s recent discussion by the State Bar of Michigan’s Family Law Section included (left-right)  attorneys Julie Griffiths, Jordan Ahlers, and Cara Willing.
 

On July 13, WMU-Cooley Law School’s Lansing campus held its summer term honors convocation recognizing students for their achievements.

 

Alexandra Calzaretta 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 recipients’ participation in leadership activities at WMU-Cooley.

Originally from Westminster, Colorado, Calzaretta earned her bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma State University. While at WMU-Cooley she was a member of the Student Bar Association where she served as a senator and member of the executive board. Calzaretta was a member of the Law Review, Mock Trial and Organization of Women Law Students.

In addition to the Leadership Achievement Award, Calzaretta was honored with the Student Bar Association Fitzgerald Award for significant commitment towards the improvement of the school’s various student organizations.

During the convocation, the Alumni Association Distinguished Student Award was presented to Melissa Bianchi. 

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 WMU-Cooley Alumni Association. Recipients are presented a diploma frame from the law school.

Bianchi, who is originally from Midland, Texas, earned her bachelor’s degree from Texas Christian University. 

She served as an associate editor for the WMU-Cooley Law Review, treasurer for the Organization of Women Lawyers, and participated in the Sixty Plus Estate Planning Clinic. Bianchi was chosen as a fellow to the ABA Legal Education Police Practices Consortium, and served as a teaching assistant for professors Tonya Krause-Phelan and Monica Nuckolls.

In addition to the Alumni Distinguished Student Award, Bianchi was presented with the Student Bar Association's Distinguished Student Award and the Law Review's John D. Voelker Award, which recognizes a law student who made significant contributions to furthering the purpose of the publication.

 

Zhanna Mendolia also was presented the Alumni Distinguished Student Award during the Tampa Bay campus Honors Convocation.  

Mendolia is originally from Stavropol, Russia where she earned a foreign law degree before immigrating to the United States. She is a Dean’s List student who is active in the Young Lawyers Division of the Florida Bar "Health and Wellness Olympics 2023,” and has intentions to open her own practice in the future. 

Cooley Law School Associate Dean of Academics and Professor Tonya Krause-Phelan, along with four Cooley graduates, Stephanie Arndt (2004, Cross Class), Jennifer Hetu (2006, Edwards Class), Mary Pat Meyers (1982, Brooke Class), and Lori K. Smith (2008, Sharpe Class) were honored during Michigan Lawyers Weekly’s 2023 Class of Influential Women of the Law award ceremony. The awards were presented on Friday, Sept. 22, at Petruzzello’s in Troy.

Each year, the Women of the Law program honors 35 women attorneys and judges for their excellent work on behalf of the justice system and for their clients, their commitment to their communities, and their service to the profession.

“I am honored to be recognized as an Influential Women of the Law by Michigan Lawyers Weekly and be among these remarkable women lawyers who selflessly dedicate themselves and their work to the legal profession,” said Krause-Phelan. “As a leader in the law, it is not only about the work we do, but about inspiring and mentoring those around us to improve the law school community.”

In addition to Criminal Law, Krause-Phelan teaches Criminal Procedure, Defending Battered Women, Criminal Sentencing, and Ethics in Criminal Cases. As associate dean for academics, she is currently working with faculty to make Cooley a visible and respected national leader in the development and delivery of modern legal education.

Before joining the ranks of academia, Krause-Phelan began her legal career working as an assistant public defender at the Kent County Office of the Defender. While a defender, she handled and tried all types of felony cases ranging from shoplifting to murder. After three years as a defender, she moved to private practice, specializing in criminal defense where she represented both appointed and retained clients in both state and federal courts. While still practicing, she began her teaching career as an adjunct professor at Ferris State University where she taught both Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure to criminal justice majors

Arndt graduated from Cooley Law School in 2004 and is an appellate specialist with Christensen Law, where her practice largely focuses on nursing home negligence and medical malpractice cases. She is a member of the Michigan Bar Association and is admitted to the U.S. District Courts for both the Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan as well as the U.S. Supreme Court.

Hetu, a 2006 graduate of Cooley Law School, focuses on trademark and brand protection for businesses of all sizes in the U.S. and international markets at the Bodman, PLC’s Troy office.  A former trademark attorney with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Hetu is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, Intellectual Property Law Section Council,  International Trademark Association, Michigan Intellectual Property Law Association, and Michigan Intellectual Property American Inn of Court.

Myers, who graduated from Cooley Law School in 1982, is a partner with the Meyers Law Firm in Dearborn. She focuses her practice on medical negligence and other personal injury litigation. Meyers participates in the University of Detroit Law School Chapter of the American Inns of Court as a master of the bench and was adjunct faculty for the Medical/Legal internship rotation at the Wayne State University School of Medicine. In 2022, Meyers received the Outstanding Achievement Award from the Michigan State Bar Association-Negligence Section.

A 2008 Cooley Law School graduate and a shareholder at Sterling Heights-based O’Reilly Rancilio, P.C., Smith’s practice focuses on all aspects of family law. She is president of the Macomb County Bar Association, former president and current director of the Macomb County Bar Foundation, and is secretary for the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan Macomb Region.

Photo 1: Women attorneys and judges were honored during Michigan Lawyers Weekly’s 2023 Influential Women of the Law ceremony on September 22. Pictured (left-right) are WMU-Cooley Associate Dean Tonya Krause-Phelan and Cooley Law School graduates Jennifer Hetu, Stephanie Arndt, Mary Pat Meyers, and Lori Smith.  

 

The Michigan Supreme Court reappointed Jacqueline Freeman to the Commission on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Michigan judiciary. Freeman, who represents Michigan ABA-Accredited law schools, is senior director and special advisor to the president for engagement, civil rights, and Title IX at Cooley Law School.

The Commission on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Michigan Judiciary was first created in 2021 to assess and work towards elimination of demographic and other disparities within the Michigan judiciary and justice system. The 24-member commission is comprised of Michigan’s legal professionals and stakeholders, including judges from various courts, members of judicial associations, ABA-accredited law schools, and others.

At Cooley Law School, Freeman works to promote the law school’s mission of advancing diversity of the legal profession through professional exploration programs, which provides the opportunity to study law, prepare to pass the bar, and become lawyers.

“The legal profession must have a diverse bar that is representative of the world we inhabit,” said Freeman. “This belief was foundational in the establishment of  Cooley Law School and continues today to be a core guiding principle.”

Originally appointed for a one-year term in early 2023 to the Commission on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Michigan judiciary, Freeman’s reappointment allows her to serve through 2026.