Cooley Law School

Social Justice Clinics

Giving students experience in the law and the courts before graduation furthers the social justice interests of the individuals they represent. More importantly, it furthers the cause of social justice by giving students real-world exposure to what happens when social justice fails and what they can and should do about it. 

• The Cooley Innocence Project (Lansing, Michigan). The Cooley Innocence Project gives students the mission of identifying and providing legal assistance to individuals who may be wrongly convicted if DNA evidence or re-examination of other forensics evidence might exonerate them. Securing the release of innocent people is not only a civic good but an excellent learning experience. 
• Public Defender Clinic (Lansing, Michigan & Tampa, Florida). The Public Defender Clinics help people who cannot afford legal representation and must rely on a state-provided public defender. Students are allowed to appear in court for the Washtenaw County Public Defender's Office in Michigan or the Hillsborough County Public Defender’s Office in Florida if supervised by a member of the state bar and with the judge’s permission, including: misdemeanor and felony criminal cases, and juvenile delinquency, abuse, and neglect cases. 

Community Service Clinics

• Estate Planning Clinic (Lansing, Michigan). The Sixty Plus, Inc., Elderlaw Clinic (Sixty Plus) is an estate planning clinic at Cooley Law School’s Lansing, Michigan campus. The students are supervised by attorneys and are authorized to practice law under the supervision of a Michigan licensed attorney. Student Attorneys can interview and counsel clients, draft a variety of estate planning documents, including wills, power of attorney for health care, durable power of attorney for finances, and enhanced life estate deeds for clients. 
• Debt-Relief Clinic (Tampa, Florida). The Debt Relief Clinic provides debt-related legal assistance on issues arising from past-due medical/hospital bills, loans, predatory lending, unfair/abusive collections practices, and more for under-served individuals in Hillsborough County, Florida. You will have an opportunity to represent clients in transactional matters, alternative dispute resolution, and pre-litigation resolution, all under the supervision of practicing attorneys.

Cooley’s externship program furthers the school’s mission of practical legal scholarship by placing students with practicing lawyers throughout the United States and in various countries around the globe. With nearly 3,000 placements, students are provided mentored learning environments by lawyers and judges. Student externs also receive classroom training from faculty members in addition to supervision and evaluation by their attorney mentors.

There are many facets of a good lawyer. Knowledge and understanding of the law is key. However, there are a host of skills necessary to effectively put that knowledge into practice. Lawyers must be good writers, effective communicators, and sensitive to the various backgrounds and cultures of those whom they serve. They must also be able to conduct thorough research and provide thoughtful analysis.

Here at Cooley, we believe in learning by doing. Your substantive courses will arm you with a firm foundation of legal knowledge and understanding of critical concepts. We also provide an array of skills courses and simulation opportunities that will hone your ability to apply your knowledge to resolve disputes.

In addition to elective courses such as trial skills, pretrial skills, and client counseling, you can also participate in moot court, mock trial, and client counseling competitions. Cooley students can choose to hone their skills in competitions against other Cooley students and, and if selected, represent Cooley Law against students from other law schools. Faculty members coach the travel teams and accompany them across the country as students compete on skills including client counseling, negotiation, trials, and appellate advocacy.

• Moot Court
• Mock Trial
• Practice Skill Competitions

Our Academic Resource Center (ARC) fosters peer-to-peer learning. Dean’s Fellows are academically successful upper class students who host workshops and provide assistance for students on how to deal with the academic challenges of law school.

Your faculty at Cooley Law School bring real-world experience into the classroom, making learning robust and relevant. Cooley professors bring an average of over 11 years of practice experience before ever joining the faculty at Cooley; many in high-profile positions. You could learn criminal law from a professor who was a prosecutor for more than 20 years and learn about constitutional law from a Brigadier General and U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Homeland Defense Strategy. These are just two examples of the caliber of professors from which you’ll learn the law. The real-world experience of our faculty complements the theoretical foundation of our proven modern teaching methods. As mentors, they combine their experience practicing law with a love of teaching, providing individualized support and continuous feedback to each student.