“Find out who you are and do it on purpose.” – Dolly Parton
As we celebrate our 120th year anniversary as Cleveland’s “brain-gain” law school, it is a good time to reflect on who we are. At a time when law schools never have been more competitive, what makes us distinctive? I think the answer is that we are a law school for life. Simply put, for our students and graduates, their C|M|LAW experience is an important part of who they are, and their passion and loyalty for C|M|LAW is extraordinary.
Last week, we heard some important remarks from CSU President Ronald Berkman at the opening of our new Judy and Robert H. Rawson, Jr. Learning Commons. President Berkman noted that everywhere he goes, he meets Cleveland lawyers and leaders who tell him that were it not for Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, they would not have had the opportunity to get a legal education.
C|M|LAW is important to successive generations of young women and men, some seeking to be the first in their family to enter the legal profession, others seeking to follow a proud, distinguished family tradition of hard work and excellence at our law school.
President Berkman’s moving remarks, and an email I received from one of our students, Erica Molnar, just minutes after the dedication ceremony, inspired this morning’s message.
C|M|Law student Erica Molnar wrote me, “ I was standing today at the opening ceremony of the Learning Commons, and while I was listening to the various speeches all I could think about was what an enormous difference this school is compared to the university in Romania where I finished my undergrad studies. And when I say enormous I really mean it. I was an extern for Judge Melody Stewart '88 during the summer at the Eighth District Court of Appeals, and I told her that I pinch myself every morning on my way to school to make sure that this is not just a dream. Similarly, when the school offered me a scholarship, I asked my sister to read the letter for me because I just couldn’t believe that something so good is happening to me. Seeing how many people invest in this institution really makes me study as hard as I can.”
Below are some other examples of what I hear or read almost every day.
Judge Michelle Paris '84, David Paris '78, Managing Partner, Nurenberg Paris, and Dana Paris '2013 are three of many examples of alumni who have said that C|M|Law was transformative in their lives. Every year, David Paris writes letters to each of the Nurenberg, Paris, Heller & McCarthy Endowed Scholarship Fund recipients- many of whom would not otherwise have been able to attend law school- and he asks that they pay it forward by donating to C|M|Law. David wrote “Every day something happens that reminds me howmy life has changed since earni ng my law degree.”
“My brother and I are the first generation to go to college…. When I struggled to decide where to go to law school, I turned to my uncle….He made the choice easy. He said….that 'if you are going to practice in Cleveland there is only one choice. CM’s alumni network is deep and dense. Everywhere you go, there is a CMLaw alumni leading the pack.'… By choosing CMLaw, I was choosing to put the weight of that alumni network behind me and that it was worth its weight in the extra loans and money that it would cost me…..Looking back ….I made the right choice. And I know my uncle …..is proud of the choice I made and the career I've built.” - Kimberly Kendall Coral '2012
“You have a lot of alumni who cherish our school and are grateful everyday to have the opportunity to positively impact our families and communities by practicing law.” – Jerry Walton '79
“I have been blessed and have had a wonderful career as a trial lawyer. Much of that success is due to the professors and faculty at CM law school. I'm happy to be able to give back to the school that helped me become successful. I will continue to do so as long as I can.” - Michael Monteleone '74
“I truly do not know where I'll be in 5 or 10 years, but I firmly believe that my legal education will help me find a way to best help others, and the professors I have had along the way, such as yourself, will be an invaluable resource in my journey.” -C|M|Law student Dustin Likens to Professor Karin Mika
“I love the fact that I go to a school that really encourages and pushes for us to engage with the community.” – C|M|Law student Vanessa Hemminger to Professor Brian Glassman
“My father often told us about the wonderful professors of law he had. Whenever he spoke about his days as a student at CMLaw, we caught a glimpse of the young man who was so full of excitement over the incredible opportunity he had to become a lawyer. As a lawyer, he was so passionate about law that it was sometimes difficult for him to go to sleep at night. He couldn’t wait to get back up the next morning to continue practicing law.” –Shelley Stokes-Hammond, daughter of Congressman Louis Stokes '53.
“I love Cleveland-Marshall, and I love the opportunity it provides for its students to take the law and apply it toward a life of justice.” –Alana Jochum '2010, Executive Director, Equality Ohio
“I tell everyone who will listen that Cleveland Marshall was and continues to be a major influence in who I am as a lawyer.” - Nancy Berardinelli-Krantz '2002, Senior Legal Counsel, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
“If you aspire to do good things for good people and to improve the quality of the human condition this [Cleveland-Marshall College of Law] is exactly where you want to be.” - Avery Friedman '72 in our law school video, About C|M|Law.
Our graduates are everywhere, especially in Cleveland and Northeast Ohio. They are practicing lawyers, corporate counsel, business leaders, entrepreneurs, nonprofit leaders, social justice and civil liberty advocates, judges and other elected leaders, and government appointees and employees. At a time when cities are fiercely competing for talent, we can rightfully claim the title of Cleveland’s “brain-gain law school.”
Our covenant with our students and graduates is to hold true to our commitments and traditions, dedicated to diversity, opportunity, excellence, and civic responsibility.
C|M|LAW is an urban public law school that honors our past, plans for our future, invests in our strengths, and believes in ourselves. We do it on purpose.
My best,
Lee