Cooley Law School
Private law school in Lansing
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| 2024 | U.S. News & World Report ranked Cooley in its lowest brackets, positioning the school at #180-196 overall out of 196 ABA law schools and #65-70 of 70 part-time ABA schools. |
| 2024 | Cooley Law School admitted 47.59% of applicants, with 25.14% of those accepted enrolling, featuring an average enrollee LSAT score of 147 and an undergraduate GPA of 3.15. |
| 2024 | Based on statistics for 2021 graduates, Cooley had the lowest two-year bar passage rate among ABA-accredited law schools at 55.87%. |
| November 5 2023 | The official disassociation between Western Michigan University and Cooley Law School became effective. |
| 2022 | Only 36% of Cooley alumni passed the bar exam on their first attempt, significantly below the ABA average of 71.36%. |
| 2022 | Cooley Law School's total cost of attendance (tuition, fees, and living expenses) ranged from $66,706 to $69,506 for the academic year. |
| 2022 | Cooley was found to have a 59.51% ultimate bar passage rate for the Class of 2019 and was granted a two-year extension to meet Standard 316, subject to conditions including improving teaching and learning resources. |
| 2022 | Closed the Center for Research and Study, finalizing the consolidation of Lansing campus operations to the Cooley Center building. |
| 2022 | Cooley Law School's enrollment had decreased to approximately 500 students across its two campuses in Lansing, Michigan, and Riverview, Florida. |
| 2021 | Began consolidating Lansing campus operations by moving the Brennan Library to the Cooley Center. |
| May 2021 | Cooley was potentially scheduled to appear before the ABA council if their February report did not demonstrate compliance with bar passage requirements. |
| April 2021 | ABA statistics revealed Cooley's bar passage rate was 62.31% for the Class of 2018, down from 66.01% for the Class of 2017. |
| February 2021 | Cooley was required to submit a report to the ABA demonstrating compliance with bar passage standards. |
| 2020 | Cooley closed its campus in Kalamazoo and announced the closure of its Grand Rapids campus by August 31, 2021. |
| 2020 | Ended name sponsorship of Cooley Law School Stadium. |
| November 5 2020 | WMU's board of trustees voted to end its affiliation with Cooley Law School, citing the affiliation as a distraction from the university's core mission. |
| May 2020 | The ABA's Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar council determined Cooley Law School was among ten law schools that failed to significantly comply with Standard 316, which requires at least 75% of graduates to pass the bar exam within two years of graduation. |
| 2019 | James Cooper Morton, a former lecturer, pleads guilty to multiple criminal charges including forgery of court documents, attempting to obstruct justice, and bigamy. |
| 2019 | Cooley closed its Auburn Hills campus. |
| April 2018 | The ABA announced that Cooley Law School was now in compliance with admission standards, and the previous sanction was lifted. |
| 2017 | Law School Transparency research identified Cooley as one of the most at-risk law schools for exploiting students for tuition. |
| 2017 | The ABA sanctioned Cooley Law School for violating admission standards by admitting students who might not be capable of earning a Juris Doctor degree or passing the bar exam. |
| October 2014 | Cooley announced the closure of its Ann Arbor campus by the end of the year. |
| August 2014 | Cooley began laying off faculty and staff across all its campuses. |
| August 13 2014 | The official affiliation between Cooley and WMU became effective, with the school renaming itself to 'Western Michigan University Cooley Law School'. |
| July 2014 | Cooley announced it would not enroll first-year students at its Ann Arbor campus and planned cuts in faculty and staff. |
| July 28 2014 | The ABA and Higher Learning Commission approved an affiliation between Cooley Law School and Western Michigan University. |
| 2013 | Completed the buildout of the Cooley Center, establishing it as the principal teaching and administrative center of the law school. |
| May 2012 | Cooley Law School opened a new branch campus in Riverview, Florida, with an initial enrollment of 104 students. The 132,000-square-foot facility was designed to accommodate up to 700 students and included a 25,000-square-foot law library, a 336-seat auditorium, and 24 classrooms. |
| 2011 | Cooley Law School was sued in a class action lawsuit by former students alleging misleading employment and salary statistics. The case was ultimately dismissed, but the courts acknowledged the school's 'dismal' employment prospects and lowest admission standards in the country. |
| 2010 | Cooley initiated the first phase of a $6 million expansion of the Brennan Library, adding The Center for Research and Study and eventually doubling the library's size. |
| 2010 | Cooley became the name sponsor of 'Cooley Law School Stadium' (now Jackson Field), home of the Lansing Lugnuts baseball team. |
| 2010 | Cooley reached its peak enrollment with over 3,900 students, becoming the largest law school in the United States by enrollment. |
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