By Katie Land, news editor
Prospective law students seeking to get a leg up may be eligible for a unique opportunity to attend the Free College Pre-law Summer Institute at Thomas M. Cooley Law School. Designed to attract disadvantaged or underrepresented participants, spaces are reserved for Oakland University students.
From Wednesday, May 30, to Friday, June 29, participants will receive more than 100 hours of academic instruction taught by law school faculty in torts, logic and critical reasoning, legal writing, and trial advocacy.
“This program is a good opportunity for students because they will experience first-hand what law school classes are really like, improve their logic and critical thinking skills, and get a chance to write and advocate like lawyers, and get paid for their efforts in the bargain,” said John Nussbaumer, dean of Cooley’s Auburn Hills campus.
At the same time, this program offers a significant advantage to students planning to take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). Student participants over the past two years have raised their individual LSAT scores by an average of five points each.
The summer institute will also include two practice LSAT exams, mock trial experience and career exploration luncheons with judges and lawyers.
Open to college sophomores, juniors and seniors nationwide, half of the 25 spaces are reserved for eligible Oakland students.
To be considered, students must be from an historically underrepresented, low-income, or otherwise disadvantaged group. Accepted students will receive a $750 stipend upon successful completion of the program and those who qualify as low-income or otherwise disadvantaged will receive a free LSAT prep course from Kaplan Test Prep Services.
“Programs like this benefit the community by diversifying the pool of students headed towards the legal profession, at a time when people of color are on their way to becoming the majority of America's citizens,” Nussbaumer said. “We need a profession that looks more like the clients we serve.”
The program is sponsored by Oakland University, Cooley, Kaplan Test Prep and the ABA Council on Legal Education Opportunity (CLEO).
“I want to especially thank OU Provost Dr. Virinder Moudgil for his generous support of this program, which provides OU students with this opportunity,” Nussbaumer said.
The deadline to apply is Monday, May 7, at
cooley.edu/cleo. The courses will take place at Cooley Law School’s Auburn Hills Campus. For more information,
visit the website, call (248) 751-7800, ext. 7732 or e-mail
cleo@cooley.edu.
For more information about summer programs, courses and camps available through Oakland, view the website at
oakland.edu/summer.
