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school newsCooley Grads Have Memorable Day atAdmission Ceremony for Passers of theFebruary 2006 Michigan Bar ExamSuccessful examinees from the February 2006 Michigan Bar Examinationwere admitted as new attorneys at a ceremony held on May 18, 2006, inthe fifth floor courtroom in the Cooley Center. Faculty, family, andfriends were able to share the moment when these candidates becamemembers of the State Bar of Michigan, then socialized at a reception heldby the school after the ceremony.The program was provided with the assistance of the Ingham CountyClerk’s Office and the Ingham County Bar Association. Cooley Presidentand Dean Don LeDuc welcomed the admittees and their guests onbehalf of the school. Ingham County Bar President David Brake wasresponsible for the convening of the court, and the Hon. William E.Collette, Chief Judge of the 30th Circuit Court, granted the motions toadmit the new attorneys.Many of the admittees and sponsors were graduates of Cooley LawSchool. Twenty-seven new attorneys entered the legal profession at theceremony, with 15 of them being Cooley alumni.Cooley set up a program to offer individual admission sponsors for all ofits graduates. M. Ann Miller, Associate Dean for Planning and Programs,volunteered to be an individual sponsor. She observed that “the personalrelationships that the sponsors described distinguished this Cooley swearing-inceremony. When the motions to admit are made with personalknowledge of the new admittee, with pride in their accomplishments,and with a touch of humor, the ceremony becomes what it should be:a celebration of welcome to the practice. It was a great honor for thefaculty and staff of Cooley Law School to share this joyous event withthese new attorneys and their guests. Our congratulations and bestwishes go to them!”New attorney Tony Snyder (Boyles Class, 2005) thought it was “veryfitting that I would start my law career the same way I started my laweducation, at Cooley Law School. As you sit there and look around atthe familiar faces, both those you sat with in class, as well as those thathave been supporting you all these years, it’s a very surreal experience.Cooley is the reason I got a law school education. Cooley is the reasonI passed the Bar. Cooley was the place I wanted to become a lawyer.Thank you to all the Cooley folks that made yesterday such a happyexperience. I look forward to working with Cooley and all its alumni inthe future!”Admittee Jana Hewett (Reid Class, 2006) had these impressions.“I thought the ceremony was overwhelming at first because it is such abig step in my career, but as I looked around and saw some familiar facesfrom around Cooley, it just made the ceremony even more special, andmade me realize that Cooley was, and will always be, a big part of mylife. I am really glad I chose to get sworn in where my law career started.Thanks!”Edward Whalen (Starr Class, 2005) gave his impressions of the day asfollows. “First of all, what a pleasant mix of seriousness and joviality.What a monumental milestone; there was just so much blood, sweat,and tears embodied in that ceremony, it was almost too difficult tocomprehend. What a great day! What a great venue!”Stacy M. Lebbon (Reid Class, 2006) put it this way. “It was reallymeaningful to have the swearing-in ceremony at Cooley as it felt like Ihad come full circle. I started my law school training and my law careerin the same building. Having Professor Bretz individually sponsor me wasalso full circle as he was the one who called on me my very first day oflaw school in my very first class — Criminal Law. So, thank you toCooley for being there from the beginning.”Niki Wilkinson, also a graduate of the Reid Class, said that the“swearing-in ceremony was a very special day for me because I was fortunatejust to get accepted into a law school and to pass character andfitness. I worked very hard to finish law school, to make it within the top5 percent, and to pass the bar exam; and I was sponsored by one of theprofessors that I admire most (Professor Joni Larson).Thank you.”Finally, Danielle Havenstein of the Reid Class reported that “the swearing-inceremony was a great culmination of my experiences at Cooley.I live in Grand Rapids, so I was invited to the Kent County swearing-in,but I wanted to do it at Cooley with my classmates and professors. KathySwedlow has been my mentor, teacher, friend, and shoulder to cry onthroughout my Cooley experience. I have also found other Cooleyprofessors to be open, caring, and willing to give their time to students.I credit these Cooley professors with my success in law school, andapplaud Cooley for its ability to attract and retain highly skilled lawyerswho are able to make the transition to highly skilled teachers.”16 BENCHMARK TRINITY 2006
The individually sponsored Cooleygraduates in the group were AllanArchie (Smith Class, 2003), sponsoredby Alumni Association Past PresidentVirginia P. Allen (Wing Class, 1982);Stephen Cornish (Reid Class, 2006),sponsored by Professor Nancy Wonch(Kelly Class, 1978); Joseph Ernst (ReidClass, 2006), sponsored by ProfessorGary Bauer (Green Class, 1988);Danielle Havenstein (Reid Class, 2006),sponsored by Professor Kathy Swedlow;Jana Hewitt (Reid Class, 2006), sponsoredby Professor Daniel Ray; StacyLebbon (Reid Class, 2006), sponsoredby Professor Ronald J. Bretz; JosieLewis (Reid Class, 2006), sponsored byProfessor Kathy Swedlow; JenniferOlson (McAllister Class, 2005),sponsored by Robert L. Renfior II;Clinton Perryman (Reid Class, 2006),sponsored by Professor Ronald J. Bretz; Mark Pritzlaff (Swift Class, 2004),sponsored by Andrea E. Pritzlaff; Kathryn Rice (Starr Class, 2005),sponsored by Steven Shelton (Boyles Class, 2005); Andrew Rockafellow(Starr Class, 2005), sponsored by Michael Newell (Boyles Class, 2005);Neal Smith (Boyles Class, 2005), sponsored by Professor Terry Cavanaugh;Anthony Snyder (Boyles Class, 2005), sponsored by Associate DeanCharles Cercone; Milea Vislosky (Starr Class, 2005), sponsored byProfessor Terry Cavanaugh; Edward Whalen (Starr Class, 2005),sponsored by Associate Dean M. Ann Miller; and Niki Wilkinson(Reid Class, 2006), sponsored by Professor Joni Larson.I credit theseCooley professorswith mysuccess in lawschool, andapplaud Cooleyfor its ability toattract andretain highlyskilled lawyerswho are able tomake the transitionto highlyskilled teachers.”The alumni in the group sponsored by Ingham County Bar AssociationPresident David Brake were Jacqueline Freeman (Reid Class, 2006),Joy McConnell (Reid Class 2006), John McKisson III (Starr Class, 2005),Thomas Munley (Reid Class, 2006), Trevor Robinson (Swainson Class,2003), and Katica Trajkovski (Reid Class 2006).Denver Area Grads and Incoming StudentsMeet at ReceptionKay Granath (Johnson Class, 2002) and Linda Kreusel (Chase Class,2002) hosted an afternoon reception for 13 graduates, prospectivestudents, and friends of Cooley Law School on June 24. The groupgathered at Eisenhower Park in southeast Denver, Colo.Ms. Granath and Ms. Kreusel welcomed the group and asked fortheir ideas for future events and activities for the alumni in the area.Ms. Kreusel said, “My impression is that for the attendees, theywere excited about the possibility of a Cooley Alumni Club inColorado. Their main goal in attending the reception was to meetother Cooley alumni and have the opportunity to network withother Cooley graduates in the area. When I decided to participate instarting this club in Colorado, that was also my main goal. It was agood experience. There was a lot of talk about our time at Cooley,as well as common professors we had. It was a fun experience.”According to graduate Elizabeth Lindsay-Ochoa, “The picnic was agreat opportunity to catch up with former classmates as well asmeet Cooley graduates from other classes. I also enjoyed meeting anew student and answering all her questions about law school.”Bringing alumni and admitted new students together is one of thebest things about these events. Graduates can give these “newbies”the lowdown on living in Lansing and what to expect as they begintheir law studies.Graduate Patrick Costigan said that attending Cooley was the besttime of his life. He learned the law from some of the best instructorsand is successful now due to the knowledge he gained from them.Additionally, he said it was also great because he met his wife atCooley. Others present made comments that because they attendedCooley they felt confident setting up their own practices.The alumni guests included Greg Clifton (Sharpe Class, 1998),Cherami Costigan (Swainson Class, 2003), Patrick Costigan (ChaseClass, 2002), Sue Kokinos (Reid Class, 2006), Liz Ochoa (IredellClass, 2001), and John Waters (Reid Class, 2006).Alumni GolfOutingJoin us at the 2007 Cooley Alumni Association Golf Outing on August 13The Thomas M. Cooley Law School Alumni Association wishes to announce that its 2007 Annual Golf Benefit willbe held at the Country Club of Lansing on Monday, August 13, 2007. The afternoon activities will begin with an11 a.m. “Off the Grill Luncheon Buffet” and a 12:30 p.m. ‘Shotgun Start.’The $150 per person fee will include 18 holes of golf, cart, and hot and cold hors d’oeuvres with soft drinks,beer, cocktails, and special prizes. Further information will follow in the spring of next year. We look forward toseeing you and again, thanking you for your support of the Alumni Association Memorial Scholarship Fund.BENCHMARK TRINITY 200617
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