Thomas Cooley Law School
Thomas Cooley Law School is a private and independent law school located in Lansing, Michigan. Thomas Cooley Law School holds the distinction as the largest US law school in terms of the number of total enrolled students (part time and full time).(1) Thomas Cooley Law School is one of the most affordable law schools in the US, ranking 10th out of 111 private law schools in terms of affordability of tuition fees. (2)
Thomas Cooley Law School was founded in 1972 by former Michigan Supreme Court Justice Thomas E. Brennan in honor of Thomas M. Cooley, a 19th century jurist and former Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court.(3) Thomas Cooley Law School offers law degree programs for J.D. (Juris Doctor), LL.M. (Master of Laws), as well as joint degree programs for J.D./Master of Public Administration (MPA) and J.D./Master of Business Administration (MBA). Thomas Cooley Law School also enables students to choose an area of law specialization like General Practice, Litigation, Business Transactions, and Public and International Law.
Students of Thomas Cooley Law School must complete a total of 90 credit hours and pass the 21 required courses to get the Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree. These required courses include Torts, Contracts, Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Property and Research & Writing. Thomas Cooley Law School students must also finish a three to ten credit unpaid externship in a legal office. (4) Thomas Cooley Law School has flexible scheduling options that enable students to choose the class schedule that is best suited for them. Part-time students can choose form the Standard Three Years, Extended Four Years, and Weekend class scheduling options. On the other hand, full time students can choose from the Terms Off and Accelerated Year-Round scheduling options. (5) Thomas Cooley Law School is one of the few law schools that do not require applicants to finish a bachelor's degree to gain admission to its law degree programs.
Thomas Cooley Law School has other satellite campuses in Michigan (Grand Rapids and Auburn Hills). Thomas Cooley Law School also has law clinics like the Cooley Innocence Project, which is part of the Innocence Project which aims to help free wrongly imprisoned persons throughout the US. The Innocence Project provides assistance to its clients through methods like DNA testing and legal advocacy.
Literary Citations & Article References:
(1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Cooley_Law_School
(2) http://www.cooley.edu/admissions/
(3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Cooley_Law_School