Thomas E. Brennan

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Thomas E. Brennan
54th Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court
In office
1969–1970
Preceded byJohn R. Dethmers
Succeeded byThomas M. Kavanagh
81st Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court
In office
January 1, 1967 – December 6, 1973
Preceded byOtis M. Smith
Succeeded byJohn W. Fitzgerald
Personal details
Born
Thomas Emmett Brennan

(1929-05-27)May 27, 1929
LLB
)

Thomas E. Brennan (May 27, 1929 – September 29, 2018) was an American attorney, jurist, and academic administrator who was the founder of

Thomas M. Cooley Law School and the 81st Justice and chief justice of the Michigan Supreme Court
.

Early life and education

Brennan was born in Detroit, Michigan, and graduated from the private

University of Detroit Law School
in 1952.

Career

Campaigns and legal practice

He was an unsuccessful candidate for the

U.S. representative from Michigan's 15th congressional district to fill the seat of John Dingell Sr., who had died in office. Brennan lost to Dingell's son, John Dingell
Jr.

In 1953, he joined the law firm of Waldron, Brennan, Brennan, and Maher, with whom he worked until 1961, when he was elected to a seat on the Common Pleas Bench. In 1963, he was appointed by

Michigan Governor George W. Romney
to the Wayne County Circuit Bench, and in 1964 he was elected to that same position.

Michigan Supreme Court

In 1966, at the urging of Governor Romney, Brennan, sought the nomination of the Republican Party as Associate Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court. Brennan won the nomination, and the election. In 1969 and 1970, Brennan served as Chief Justice, the youngest Justice to serve in that capacity.

Thomas M. Cooley Law School

During his service on the Bench, Brennan received many requests for law school recommendations. This was the basis of his vision for a new, private, law school in

Thomas M. Cooley Law School. Brennan left the Supreme Court on December 6, 1973, to dedicate his professional career to the newly formed law school. Brennan served as first Dean
of Cooley Law School until 1978, when he became its first president.

Later career

Brennan was an unsuccessful candidate for

Martha W. Griffiths
in the general election.

Judging the Law Schools

In 1996 Brennan began annually issuing his self-styled

law school ranking, Judging the Law Schools using various American Bar Association (ABA) -published statistics, which he circulated among other law school deans and had posted on Cooley's website.[1] The rankings consisted of 50 different lists, including a "quality" list.[2] Subsequently, Brennan began self-publishing the rankings. Brennan's rankings garnered considerable criticism when, in 2009, Brennan ranked Cooley as the 12th best law school in the US, and then ridicule when he ranked it as the second-best law school, after only Harvard Law School in the 2011, and final, edition of his rankings.[3]

Personal life

In 1951, he married Pauline M. Weinberger, with whom he had six children. He died in Lansing, Michigan on September 29, 2018.[4][5]

Notes

  1. ^ "ILRG: Brennan's Law School Rankings". www.ilrg.com.
  2. ^ Torrey, Saundra (February 12, 1996). "FOR LAW SCHOOL DEANS, RANKINGS CAN RANKLE". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  3. ^ Mystal, Elie (February 8, 2011). "Latest Cooley Law School Rankings Achieve New Heights of Intellectual Dishonesty". Above the Law. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  4. ^ "Founder of WMU law school dies at 89". 30 September 2018.
  5. ^ House Concurrent Resolution No. 28 (2018): A concurrent resolution of tribute offered as a memorial for the Honorable Thomas Brennan, former Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court

External links

Party political offices
Preceded by Republican nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Michigan
1982 		Succeeded by
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