$4 million gift to
MSU-DCL funds
trial practice institute

Attorney Geoffrey N. Fieger has partnered with MSU-Detroit College of Law to establish the first trial practice institute at a law school designed specifically to train law students as successful trial lawyers.

Fieger has made a gift of $4 million to initiate and sustain the Geoffrey Fieger Trial Practice Institute. The range of initiatives offered by the institute is a comprehensive set of programs aimed at bridging the law school experience with the practice of trial law in real-world settings.

Fieger graduated from the Detroit College of Law -- now known as MSU-DCL -- in 1979. His $4 million gift is the single largest donation in the law college's history.
"Michigan State University is a great institution," Fieger said, "and the law college gave me the education I needed as a foundation to represent my clients successfully in the courtroom.

"I feel it is the calling of trial lawyers to champion noble causes, as well as the forgotten and the damned," he said. "I have teamed with MSU-DCL to create this institute to ensure that the art of advocacy -- champions battling in a courtroom -- is not lost."

"MSU-DCL is very proud of Mr. Fieger's accomplishments as one of the law school's most prominent alumni," said Terence L. Blackburn, dean and professor of law at MSU-DCL. "We are honored to receive his support and pleased to have the trial practice institute named for him.

"Mr. Fieger is arguably the most preeminent trial lawyer in the country, and he is an inspiration to our students," Blackburn said. "It is Mr. Fieger's dedication to his clients, his thorough preparation for each case and his skill in the courtroom that serve as a model for this institute."

The Geoffrey Fieger Trial Practice Institute offers a rigorous, comprehensive two-year curriculum -- designed in collaboration with practicing trial lawyers and judges -- featuring required and elective courses related to pretrial and trial skills.

Sixteen second-year MSU-DCL law students were admitted preliminarily this fall to the institute. Interested students may now interview at the end of their first year of law school, and after a rigorous selection process, accepted students start the program at the beginning of their second year.

A unique aspect of the certificate program is a collaboration with other MSU programs. The Department of Theatre will offer training in courtroom demeanor, and students will attend autopsies and learn about forensic science through the College of Human Medicine. Students also will be involved in a personal psychological study to better understand and empathize with the jury, judge and opposition.

"This gift recognizes the historic special strengths of MSU-DCL and surely will build upon and advance those strengths," said President Peter McPherson. "The gift offers students a unique way to blend education with skill, theory with application and the classroom with the courtroom."

"We believe this institute will become the country's preeminent trial practice program for law students," said MSU-DCL Board of Trustees President Clif Haley. "The financial support of alumni such as Geoffrey Fieger is essential to this mission and further enhancing the academic programs at MSU-DCL."

Fieger, a Detroit native, practices law throughout the United States from the firm of Fieger, Fieger, Kenney & Johnson, P.C., in Southfield. His practice areas include litigation, medical and professional malpractice, negligence law, personal injury, products liability and class actions. He has won more multimillion dollar verdicts for his clients than any other U.S. attorney.

He is one of a few civil trial lawyers who are also experienced criminal defense attorneys. For nearly 10 years, Fieger served as Jack Kevorkian's trial attorney, advocating the position that the government should not interfere with a mentally competent individual's freedom of choice.

In addition to his law degree from MSU-DCL, Fieger earned bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Michigan.

Copyright 2001 Michigan State University Division of University Relations.