Cooley Law School’s Tampa Bay Campus Expands Instructional offerings and Hires additional Faculty to meet student demand

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Cooley Law School’s Tampa Bay Campus Expands Instructional offerings

and Hires additional Faculty TO MEET STUDENT DEMAND

TAMPA BAY, FLA. (Dec. 16, 2013) – Since opening its Tampa Bay campus in May of 2012, the Thomas M. Cooley Law School has been expanding its curriculum and faculty during each new term as part of a scheduled, three year roll out of its educational program.  

Jeffrey L. Martlew, associate dean at Cooley’s Tampa Bay campus, today announced five additional Tampa Bay area attorneys will be joining Cooley’s teaching ranks as adjunct faculty members.  Tampa attorney William Hyland, Sarasota attorney Sue Ellen Krick, Florida Assistant Attorney General Caroline Johnson Levine, retired attorney Charles Schutze, and Tampa Bay Storm media relations coordinator Ben Shotten, who is also an attorney, will begin teaching at Cooley in January.

Hyland, an attorney with 20 years of civil litigation experience and who previously taught at Stetson Law School, will teach Pretrial Skills at Cooley.  A native of Virginia, Hyland earned his bachelor of arts degree from the University of Alabama and juris doctor from Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law. Early in his legal career, Hyland was an assistant state attorney for Florida’s 13th Judicial Circuit, where he handled litigation on all misdemeanor and felony cases.  More recently, he worked for Travelers Insurance as lead trial counsel on the senior litigation team, and with the Tampa office of Wicker Smith.

Krick, a senior litigation attorney with the Law Offices of Kevin T. Wells PA, will teach Federal Law Administration. She previously practiced insurance defense law, representing clients, including Lloyds of London, Metropolitan, Progressive, TIG, AIG, CJ&W, Wal-Mart, TGH, the cities of St. Petersburg and  Largo, Ford, and others.  Krick earned undergraduate and graduate degrees at the University of South Florida, and earned her juris doctor from South Texas College of Law.  Before attending law school, she served as a deputy with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department.   

Johnson Levine will teach Florida Constitutional Law.  She currently is assigned to the General Civil Litigation Bureau of the Florida Attorney General’s Office, where she defends state agencies and employees against civil claims, and advocates the validity of Florida statutes.  Previously, she prosecuted criminal cases for 10 years as an assistant state attorney in Polk County.  As an active member the legal community, Johnson Levine serves on a number of committees and boards, including the Florida Bar’s Professionalism Committee and its Publicity and Communications Committee, the Federal Bar Association’s Federal Lawyer magazine’s editorial board and State and Local Government Section, and the Hillsborough Association for Women’s Lawyers.  Johnson Levine earned her bachelor’s degree from Florida Atlantic University and juris doctor from Florida State University.

With 15 years experience in corporate accounting and 25 years as an attorney, Schutze will teach Accounting for Lawyers. He practiced in a variety of areas including bankruptcy, divorce, forensic accounting, criminal defense and IRS representation. He also taught graduate level courses at Cardinal Stritch University in Wisconsin, and graduate and undergraduate classes at the University of Phoenix. Schutze earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Fordham University, M.A. in Accounting and MBA in Taxation from Iona, and his juris doctor from Pace Law School.

Shotten, a licensed attorney and a media relations coordinator for the Tampa Bay Storm, will teach Sports Law. He currently handles public, media and community relation, and is the liaison between the team and sports media.  Previously, he worked as an attorney in Lansing, Mich., where he practiced in bankruptcy, business and criminal law.  Shotten earned a bachelor of arts degree in history from the State University of New York at Albany, a juris doctor from Thomas M. Cooley Law School and master’s degree in Sports Administration from Canisius College.

About Cooley Law School’s Tampa Bay Campus

Cooley Law School was founded in Lansing, Mich., in 1972.  It is a non-profit educational corporation, fully accredited by the American Bar Association, the Higher Learning Commission, and approved by the Florida Commission on Independent Education.  Cooley opened its Tampa Bay campus at 9445 Camden Field Parkway, Riverview, Fla., in May 2012, with one dean, five professors and 100 students.  The campus now has two deans, 31 full and part-time faculty members, and an enrollment of 390 students.  Morning, afternoon and evening classes are offered on a year-round program.    

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About Cooley Law School: Celebrating 40 years of excellence, the Thomas M. Cooley Law School is a private, nonprofit, independent law school accredited by the American Bar Association and the Higher Learning Commission. Cooley has provided its more than 17,000 graduates with the practical skills necessary for a seamless transition from academia to the real world. Cooley offers its Juris Doctor program, Joint Degree programs, and Master of Laws programs three times a year with enrollment in January, May and September. Cooley Law School has campuses across Michigan in Lansing, Auburn Hills, Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor, and in Tampa Bay, Florida.