Michael Cohen went to the 'worst law school in the United States' - where 85 per cent of applicants are admitted and less than HALF pass the bar on their first try

  • Donald Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen graduated from Thomas M Cooley Law School in Lansing, Michigan, in 1991 
  • With an annual tuition of $51,000, Cooley has an 85 per cent admission rate 
  • Cooley has long been considered one of the worst law schools in the United States, with less than half of its graduates passing the bar on their first attempt 
  • In 2017, Cooley was forced to go to court to fight over its accreditation from the American Bar Association after being questioned on its admission standards
  • Cooley's general counsel James Robb, said that it was 'disappointing' that people were making fun of the school upon hearing it was Cohen's alma mater 
  • Robb called critics of the school 'elitists who do not appreciate, or do not care about, the opportunity to succeed' 

President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen went to what is widely thought of as the worst law school in the United States, it has been revealed.

Cohen graduated from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, Michigan, in 1991.

While the school's roster of graduates includes two members of Congress, federal and state judges and business leaders, Cooley's reputation has never matched its alumni's successes.

With an annual tuition of $51,000, Cooley has an 85 per cent admission rate and was rated No 1 on the National Advisory Council for Law School Transparency's '10 least selective law schools in the country' last year.

Less than half of Cooley's graduates pass the bar on their first attempt. Country-wide, the bar's pass rate on first attempt is 75 per cent.

President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen graduated Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, Michigan, in 1991

President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen graduated Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, Michigan, in 1991

With an annual tuition of $51,000, Cooley has an 85 per cent admission rate and was rated No 1 on the National Advisory Council for Law School Transparency's '10 least selective law schools in the country' last year

With an annual tuition of $51,000, Cooley has an 85 per cent admission rate and was rated No 1 on the National Advisory Council for Law School Transparency's '10 least selective law schools in the country' last year

In 2017, Cooley was forced to go to court to fight over its accreditation from the American Bar Association.

The ABA had found that the 46-year-old law school was out of compliance on basic admission standards, according to Politico.

Cooley's general counsel, James Robb, told Politico that it was 'disappointing' that people were making fun of the school upon hearing it was Cohen's alma mater.

He said: 'I wonder whether the "commentators" would say the same thing about the University of Alabama in light of Judge Roy Moore; about Columbia [University] in light of Roy Cohn, who also represented Donald Trump; about Duke [University] in light of Richard Nixon; about [the University of] Baltimore in light of Spiro Agnew; about Harvard in light of Alger Hiss, or Yale in light of William Clinton. I think not.'

He called critics of the school 'elitists who do not appreciate, or do not care about, the opportunity to succeed'.

Robb said that the school prided itself on its willingness to admit students, despite background or test scores.

'Our law school was founded on the premise that all qualified applicants should be given a chance,' he said.

Cooley has long been considered one of the worst law schools in the United States, with less than half of its graduates passing the bar on their first attempt

Cooley has long been considered one of the worst law schools in the United States, with less than half of its graduates passing the bar on their first attempt

Cooley, named after former chief justice of the state Supreme Court in Michigan, became the largest law school in the country with a student body of 3,900 in 2010.

But in recent years, enrollment has plummeted more than 60 per cent, forcing the school to close one of its campuses and lay-off or lose more than half of its full-time faculty. 

Cooley identifies as a nonprofit institution and as recently as 2016, paid its president, Don P DeLuc a $432,000 salary. 

In the years after graduating from Cooley, Cohen returned to New York.

He practiced personal injury law, made millions in real estate, failed in a run for New York City Council and partnered with his Ukraine-born father-in-law to own a fleet of vehicles in New York City's gritty taxi cab industry.

And he was a dealmaker, emerging as a key figure in trying to establish Trump-branded properties overseas, including in Russia.

During the campaign, he was involved with a plan to help the Trump Organization build a tower in Moscow and in October 2016 brought Trump a letter of intent from a Russian developer.

Later, he sent an email to Russian President Vladimir Putin's chief spokesman seeking help to advance the stalled project. He said he did not recall receiving a response.

Interest in his ties to Russia only intensified in February 2017, when it was revealed that Cohen had hand-delivered a Moscow-friendly plan to settle the dispute in Ukraine to Gen. Michael Flynn, then Trump's national security adviser. Cohen later testified to Congress about the proposal and denied wrongdoing. 

Cooley's general counsel, James Robb, told Politico that it was 'disappointing' that people were making fun of the school upon hearing it was Cohen's alma mater after he hit headlines for being President Donald Trump's personal lawyer

Cooley's general counsel, James Robb, told Politico that it was 'disappointing' that people were making fun of the school upon hearing it was Cohen's alma mater after he hit headlines for being President Donald Trump's personal lawyer

Cohen never worked for Trump's campaign but aided his political efforts: He set up 2012 and 2016 'Draft Trump' endeavors, helped put together Trump's diversity coalition and, despite his long-standing registration as a Democrat, threw himself into Republican fundraising.

In the weeks since he hit headlines for organizing a $130,000 deal with Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet over an alleged affair with Trump, social media users have joked about Cohen's law school degree.

Many joked that he had attended the worst law school in the United States.

'I'd like to point out that Trump attorney Michael Cohen graduated from Western Michigan University Cooley Law School, widely viewed as America's worst law school,' one Twitter user said. 'Its admissions requirements are a joke and half its students don't pass the bar exam to actually practice law.'

Another wrote: It turns out that, in 2013, Michael Cohen killed a story by Us Weekly about an affair between Don Jr. and Aubrey O'Day. The only class they must teach at Cooley Law School is 'How To Cover Up Affairs 101.'

Another Twitter user said: 'Cooley Law School, Michael Cohen's alma mater, announced yesterday it's raising its admission standards. Might be a little late to close the barn door.'

Cooley's general counsel Robb called those making fun of the school 'bullies'.

'What I am seeing is incivility and bullying by people who truly know little about legal education—and especially about our fine law school,' he said in a statement.

 

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