Cooley Law School

Cooley Law School
MottoIn corde hominum est anima legis[1]
In the heart of men is the soul of the law
Established1972; 52 years ago (1972)
School typePrivate law school
Endowment$37.8 million (2020)[2]
DeanJames McGrath[3]
LocationLansing, Michigan (flagship)
Riverview, Florida
Enrollment~500[4]
USNWR ranking180–196 overall out of 196
64–70 part-time out of 70
(2024)
(both at most in bottom 8%)[5]
Bar pass rate36% (2022 first-time takers)[6]
Websitewww.cooley.edu

Cooley Law School (Cooley) is a private law school in Lansing, Michigan, and Riverview, Florida. It was established in 1972. At its peak in 2010, Cooley had over 3,900 students and was the largest US law school by enrollment; as of the Spring of 2022, Cooley had approximately 500 students between its two campuses.[4] In November 2020, Western Michigan University's board of trustees voted to end its affiliation with Cooley, which began in 2014, with disassociation effective November 5, 2023.[7] As of 2024, Cooley has failed to reach the 75% two year bar passage required of ABA Standard 316 for continued accreditation.[6][8] Multiple media outlets have labeled Cooley the "worst law school in America".[9][10][11]

  1. ^ "Cooley: About". WMU-Cooley. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  2. ^ "DataUSA - Western Michigan UniversityThomas M Cooley Law School". DataUSA.io. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  3. ^ "James McGrath; WMU Cooley Law School". WMU-Cooley Law School.
  4. ^ a b Temple, Mikayla (May 27, 2022). "Cooley Law School enrollment down to about 500 students". Fox47 News. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
  5. ^ "Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School". U.S. News & World Report. Best Law Schools (2024). Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  6. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference abadis was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference March 2024 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "ATL March Madness: The Worst Law School In America — Champion". abovethelaw.com. Above the Law. 7 April 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  10. ^ Shenon, Philip (May 4, 2018). "Trump's Lawyer Went to the Worst Law School in America". Politico. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  11. ^ Jones, Evan (June 23, 2021). "The Worst Law School in America". Lawschooli. Retrieved 12 May 2024.