Chioma Tasie had applied to several law schools as any hopeful would do, but says that once she encountered the
Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Ann Arbor, her decision was easy.
Cooley made entering law school a "comfortable" experience, says Tasie, who was born and raised in Nigeria, earned her bachelor's and master's degrees from Alabama A&M University, and served as a social worker before arriving in Michigan. The school, she says, has allowed her to "really learn while improving."
Tasie says that she's not sure just where in the globe she'll go to next after finishing law school. She's chasing opportunity, she says, and is confident that her law degree will translate across geographic boundaries. "I'm available to go wherever I need to go," she says.
She's not alone. The newest campus of one of the nation's largest law schools last September boasts a growing contingent of international students. Cooley, as it happens, has one of the largest foreign national student populations (more than 140 at last count) in the nation. And, the school says it is now ready to leverage its global diversity at a particularly auspicious time in legal education history.
Despite a long-standing march towards a global economy, law schools in the U.S. have lagged in providing an international perspective, says Cooley Associate Dean of Enrollment and Student Services Paul Zelenski. But now, that's beginning to change, and Cooley seems to be in the right place for the global movement. "I think there's a general movement, a wider acceptance of the U.S. law degree," Zelenski says. "Foreign countries are having an influence on the American law process. It's an interesting time."
The vast majority of Cooley's international students (not surprisingly) come from Canada. And about half of the school's Canadian students decide to return to pursue careers at home. "The lines are becoming more blurred between countries," Zelenski says. "The services of lawyers have no boundaries."
It helps that Cooley has for 11 years had a program in Toronto that offers two three-week sessions of law courses. Students can choose among eight course options, including classes on international comparative law.
More countries also see the U.S. as lucrative ground to provide legal services, Zelenski says over an email exchange. Countries such as China and India are developing strategies to provide lower-cost legal services in the U.S., he says. But also, Cooley sees the need to "globalize" its curriculum for the benefit of U.S. students who may not even want to leave the country.
"Even if they're in a small town practicing law, there might be immigration issues or things that we can't even think of right now because of our global economy," he adds. "We've been fortunate; you come here and because we're large, we leverage a diverse student body. That's irreplaceable."
Zelenski says that Cooley is now working on a new plan to be rolled out over the next year to recruit more international students to the school. The school plans to at first focus its efforts on countries where English is widely spoken, such as Hong Kong and certain regions of South America, using the Internet and service agencies on the ground in foreign countries. The hope is to bridge the geography gap between, say, Buenos Aires and Ann Arbor.
But international students are already coming to Cooley, Zelenski says, not only because Ann Arbor ranks as a swell place to live on nearly every national list that measures such things, but also because the school doesn't treat them any differently than U.S.-based students when it comes to scholarships or other financial aid.
Cooley offers tuition scholarships to all students based on LSAT scores or the school's admission index. And, any student in the top 10 percent of the class after earning 15 credits may be eligible for more than half-off tuition via a class-ranking scholarship.
The school's faculty is comprised of working lawyers and sitting judges, many of them who have taught abroad in places as varied as Tanzania, the Czech Republic, Italy, Spain, and Slovakia, Zelenski says.
And the school offers more than 3,000 externship sites that include nearby sites such as the Washtenaw County Public Defender's office and far flung locations in Austria, Romania, Spain, Dubai, Taiwan and (interestingly) the
Republic of Palau. Direct study abroad programs in Australia and New Zealand are also offered, he says. And not necessarily to train lawyers that will only practice in the U.S.
While many students do decide to stay, others make the choice to return home to practice. That was the case with Japanese politician, Hiroe "Ruby" Makiyama. A 1991 Cooley graduate, Makiyama said in a recent profile in Cooley's alumni magazine that although Japanese law is substantially different, her U.S. legal education taught her how to "think" and act in the real world.
It's a hallmark of Cooley, says Joan Vestrand, dean of the Ann Arbor campus. The school prides itself on turning out practice-ready lawyers, something other schools are starting to emulate now that recessionary times have put a premium on real-world skills for job seekers. "Traditionally, law is about theory," Vestrand says. " Cooley focuses on producing practice-ready lawyers. I'd put this program against any other," she adds. "Other schools are following our model."
A September 2009 report in the
National Law Journal pointed out that Cooley is on to something. Stiff competition for law firm positions, and client balking at paying to train new attorneys has many law school leaders arming students with practical skills, and "emphasizing teamwork, leadership, professionalism, and an ability to view issues from the clients' perspective."
The validation hasn't gone unnoticed by Cooley. While the school boasts that it's the largest of its kind in the nation, if not the world, its program is ranked as fourth-tier by
U.S. News and World Reports, the psychologically important list of law schools that Cooley President and Dean Don LeDuc has called reflective of "elitist values" for its "inherent prejudice and heavy reliance on reputation."
But area employers such as the
Washtenaw Public Defender's Office say Cooley students tend to stand out. At any given time, the office has between 45 to 80 law student interns, says County Public Defender Lloyd Powell. Over time, Cooley students have come to form the majority of interns in the program.
"We get more from Cooley than any other," says assistant defender Timothy Niemann. "This is a litigation intensive office; we're either in court or preparing to go to court. ... [Cooley students] receive specific training on things they're going to be doing in the internship; they learn about how to interview and case investigation, and sentencing guidelines. They're a great asset."
Another benefit, Vestrand says, is that Cooley students come from all walks of life and, by design, reflect the communities they will eventually represent. Traditional law school admissions structures "can keep out a lot of minorities or disadvantaged communities," Vestrand says. "We don't only want to graduate law students, we want to graduate citizen lawyers [that reflect the communities from which they come]."
Cooley structures its program with the aim to make law school a possibility for those that might not otherwise have had the opportunity. It operates classes on weekends and evenings, allowing working parents and shift workers a shot at a legal education, and has multiple campuses to shorten its students' commutes. And while many law schools admit students just once a year, Cooley admits them three times a year, which helps foreign nationals who may be wrestling for visas and other paperwork to enter the U.S.
"We look for populations that may not have had the opportunity or access to education," Zelenski says. "Our strength is our diversity. Diversity breeds diversity. When you look at our access mission and our practical legal approach, it becomes attractive for American students and people abroad as well."
Chioma Tasie agrees, and says that she loves being at the fast-growing Ann Arbor campus. The one detractor? Michigan's winters. But even that is growing on Tasie.
"I'm loving Michigan," she says.
Michelle Martinez is a freelance writer and and editor who has reported on Metro Detroit businesses and issues for five years. She is also a regular contributor to Metromode. Her previous story was Real Time Farms.
Comments? Questions? Send 'em here. And look for us on Facebook!
All Photos by David LewinskiPhotos:
Chioma TasieThe Court Room at Cooley Law
Max Coolidge
County Public Defender Lloyd Powell
Joan Vestrand