Transformation is more than a promise...it’s what we do. At Cooley Law School you'll be immersed in a rigorous, rewarding experience where legal theory meets real-world practice. Our expert faculty of accomplished legal professionals will support you every step of the way. You won’t just earn a degree; you’ll become future-ready, equipped with the skills, confidence, and mindset to lead in a rapidly changing world.

With locations surrounded by the beauty of water, whether in the Great Lakes State of Michigan or the Sunshine State of Florida, you get to learn the law in an outstanding, comfortable, and supportive environment. The choice is yours.

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JD Program

Curriculum & Academic Resources

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. You’ll work hard, be challenged, and gain real-world experience; allowing you to graduate confident and future-ready.

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Clinics

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.

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Externships

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.

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Simulation Courses & Competitions

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

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Academic Resource Center: Dean's Fellows

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.

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Taught & Mentored by Distinguished Faculty

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.

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Student Life

Student Organizations

You can expand your leadership skills and develop lasting relationships with fellow students through involvement in student organizations. You may be interested in becoming the voice of students in the Student Bar Association, participating in organizations such as the Black Law Student's Association, or exploring the intersections of faith and the law in the Muslim, Christian, or Jewish student groups. You can also participate in organizations related to sports law, intellectual property law, criminal law, and a variety of other subjects.

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Law Review

The Cooley Law Review's mission is to publish pragmatic and theoretical legal scholarship for judges, practicing attorneys, and students of law. The Law Review team is comprised of some of the highest achieving students from Cooley Law School. Together, they strive to produce a quality legal publication reflective of the caliber and diversity of students, faculty, alumni, and our school as a community. The goal is to publish articles that will be useful for practitioners and provide support and guidance for judicial opinions.

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Community and Pro-Bono Legal Services

Students, faculty, and staff generously serve communities not only where they live, but around the country. For instance: hurricane and disaster relief; mentoring high school students; supporting children's literacy programs; veteran assistance programs; mental health initiatives.

Cooley coordinates with more than 30 programs that offer free legal assistance to people who cannot afford representation. Cooley faculty, staff, and students contribute hundreds of thousands of hours of free legal service per year through pro bono projects, externships, and clinics.

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Career Placement and Bar Passage

Cooley Law School works hard to help you reach your professional goals. Students are encouraged to visit the Career and Professional Development (CPD) Office early and often in their law school career to continue the career development process through graduation and beyond.

Job Postings. Students have access to #HireCooley for their daily publication of volunteer and paid positions, including summer associate, internships, fellowships, law clerk, judicial clerkships, and part-time and full-time employment openings throughout the world. Students access #HireCooley on the Careers page of the Cooley Connect portal.

Career Counseling. Personal appointments are encouraged for students to discuss preparation or revision of resumes and cover letters, interview preparation, career exploration, and networking opportunities.

Programs & Workshops. CPD hosts workshops and events designed to introduce you to career options and practice areas, prepare you for the rigors of a legal job search, and help you build a professional network. Each term, you can attend career exploration and development events like:

Mock Interview Programs
Guest Speakers
Excursions to the Legal Community
Cooley Volunteer Corps (CVC)
Interview Technique Workshops
Resume and Cover Letter Workshops
Specialty Job Fairs and Conferences
On-Campus Interviews for associate, summer associate, and law clerk positions

Online Resources. All of our resources are included in Cooley's online library database. You can search the database by title, author, subject, or keyword. Cooley subscribes to leading national job bank services.

Reciprocity Policy. The Career and Professional Development Office is pleased to share its resources with, and accept requests for reciprocity from, students and graduates of other ABA accredited law schools.

BARBRI Partnership

It's never too early to start thinking about the bar exam. Cooley is in partnership with Barbri, the largest bar prep company in the nation, which allows our students to receive their commercial bar preparation course for no cost upon graduation.

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Tuition and Aid

AWARDS OF UP TO 100% TUITION

At Cooley Law School you can earn a 10-100% tuition scholarship that is applied to all 90 credits required for graduation as long as you are in good standing (not on probation).

There are also scholarship opportunities after enrollment.

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Admission Decisions: Beyond the Numbers

Cooley Law School has a rolling admission process and admits both a Fall (September) and Spring (January) entering class. Fall entering students may enroll in a full-time daytime program at both the Lansing, Michigan and Tampa, Florida campus. Spring entering students may enroll in a part-time evening program in Tampa, Florida or a weekend hybrid program in Lansing, Michigan.

Admission decisions are based upon the applicant's highest LSAT score and the UGPA as it is evaluated by LSAC. JD Next scores are also considered. In addition, we review personal statements and resumes, and encourage applicants to submit an optional impact statement.

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