Cooley Law School closing Ann Arbor campus

• Cooley is conducting a "system-wide review" of its operations.
• School has cut faculty and staff positions to slash costs.

Thomas M. Cooley Law School is closing its Ann Arbor campus amid a nationwide downturn in law school enrollments.

The Western Michigan University-affiliated institution on Wednesday confirmed its plans to shutter its Ann Arbor operations by the end of the year.

The school had previously announced plans not to offer classes in Ann Arbor for the fall semester as it considered its future. Accrediting agencies, including the American Bar Association, must approve the wind-down plan before it becomes official.

Cooley said existing Ann Arbor campus students can take classes at other locations in Lansing, Auburn Hills, Grand Rapids or Tampa Bay, Fla. It said it would offer a $1,500 payment to help cover the costs of taking classes at one of the other campuses, as well as a $3,500 payment for a "bar review course for graduates."

The school said it would also consider a "possible adjustment to available financial aid" and would provide "specialized advising" for students.

The closure comes as Cooley is conducting what it called "a system-wide review of each program for capacity and quality." The school has cut some faculty and staff jobs and is seeking cost cuts.

The American Bar Association said first-year law school enrollment fell 11% from 2012 to 2013. About two-thirds of law schools reported enrollment declines during that period.

"The school and the accreditors will ensure that the affected students are provided the full range and quality of curriculum, instruction, and student services as all other students receive," Cooley said in a statement.

The decision affects 139 students, said Jim Robb, associate dean of external affairs and senior counsel for Cooley.

"They may attend classes in later terms at any campus they choose, which they have always been able to do and many have already done, Robb said in an email.

The school owns its 84,500-square-foot building on Plymouth Road on Ann Arbor's north side, a facility formerly occupied by Catholic luminary Tom Monaghan's Ave Maria School of Law.

Robb said the school plans to sell the property after the closure.

"We have already received expressions of interest in what is a great facility and location in the Ann Arbor area," he said.

He also said Cooley has no plans to close other operations and plans to launch classes in Kalamazoo in fall 2015.

Cooley's enrollment exploded during the 2000s, peaking in 2010 at 3,931. But declining interest in legal careers slammed the school's enrollment, which fell to 2,334 in 2013-14, a drop of more than 40 percent.

Contact Nathan Bomey: 313-223-4743 or nbomey@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @NathanBomey. Lansing State Journal reporter Matthew Miller contributed to this story.