Cooley Law School

The Mission of the Thomas M. Cooley Law School is to prepare its graduates for entry into the legal profession through an integrated program with practical legal scholarship as its guiding principle and focus. This mission includes providing broad access to those who seek the opportunity to study law, while requiring that those to whom that opportunity is offered meet Cooley's rigorous academic standards. Our History Thomas Cooley is an independent, graduate college of law accredited by the American Bar Association (321 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60610, Phone: 312-988-5000) since 1975, the Higher Learning Commission (30 North LaSalle Street, Suite 2400, Chicago, Illinois 60602-2504 Phone: 800-621-7440 / Fax: 312-263-0456) since 2001 and a member of the North Central Association. Thomas Cooley has grown from a regional law school in Lansing, Michigan, to one of national stature. We are the nation's largest Juris Doctor program and most comprehensive accredited part-time legal education program. A fair and objective admission policy and tough, practical, professional legal education have created an important place for Thomas Cooley among American law schools. The Thomas M. Cooley Law School was founded in 1972 by a group of lawyers and judges led by the then Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, Thomas E. Brennan. The school was named for Thomas McIntyre Cooley, a legal scholar and practicing attorney of the 19th century.