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Koosed, Margery Malkin Public Interest Law Fellowship Fund

The Margery Malkin Koosed Public Interest Law Fellowship Fund was established in 2012 by Professor Margery Malkin Koosed. It honors the memory of her father, Sanford S. Malkin, and is a reflection of her passion for the students at The University of Akron School of Law. Through the fund, Professor Koosed seeks to support those who wish to pursue careers in public interest law, especially those who desire to serve as public defenders, offering an opportunity to gain valuable experience while they provide needed services to indigent persons in the community.

Margery Malkin Koosed, Professor Emeritus and formerly the Aileen McMurray Trusler Professor in Public Interest Law at The University of Akron School of Law, is the daughter of Sanford S. and Joy Malkin. Professor Koosed received her bachelor of science degree, cum laude, from Miami University and her juris doctorate from Case Western Reserve University. Professor Koosed joined The University of Akron in 1974 as a lecturer in the School of Law and coordinator of the Appellate Review/Legal Clinical Program. In this position, she served as counsel of record for indigent prisoners pursuing relief in the state and federal courts, and she supervised law students working on these cases in the School of Law’s Legal Clinic. She also taught clinical courses. In September 1976, she became an assistant professor of law. In September 1981, she received tenure and was promoted to associate professor in the School of Law and earned full professor status in September 1987. In addition to her duties at the School, she also has twice served as a visiting professor at the Case Western Reserve University School of Law and once at the Cleveland Marshall School of Law. She retired in July 2012 and was awarded emeritus status but continued to teach full time at the School of Law in the 2012-2013 academic year.

Professor Koosed teaches Criminal Law and Constitutional Criminal Procedure, and conducts seminars in Criminal Process, Capital Punishment Litigation, and Mistaken Convictions. Her bar admissions include the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, the U.S. District Court for the Northern and Southern Districts of Ohio, and Ohio. Professor Koosed is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the American Bar Association, and the Ohio State Bar Association, as well as other professional associations. She served two terms as a commissioner on the State Public Defender Commission, chairing the State Public Defender Commission's Committee on Capital Defense Counsel Qualifications. She recently served on the American Bar Association's Ohio Death Penalty Assessment Team and previously served as coordinator of the Ohio Death Penalty Task Force. She also has served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Association of American Law Schools Section on Criminal Justice and as an acting judge of the South Euclid Municipal Court. Professor Koosed is a frequent presenter on death penalty issues at litigation seminars and symposia. Her writing focuses on death penalty litigation and wrongful conviction issues.

Professor Koosed shares her passion for the law with her husband, Lee A. Koosed, a general practice attorney of Stotter & Koosed LPA in Cleveland. Mr. Koosed has chaired the Ethics Committee of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, served 17 years as an acting judge in South Euclid, and 11 years as its part-time prosecutor. He received his juris doctorate from Case Western Reserve Law School in 1974. Professor Koosed proudly adds that “Lee has done it all, defending and prosecuting criminal cases, acting judging, and maintaining a general civil people practice.” The Kooseds live in South Euclid, Ohio, and have two sons, Brian David and Andrew Jeremy. Brian earned a juris doctorate from Georgetown University in 2005 and is an Associate with K & L Gates in New York City doing commercial litigation and occasional pro bono prisoner assistance work. He recently married the lovely and accomplished Lindsay Smith. Andrew Jeremy earned a bachelor of science in geography from The University of Akron in 2005. He is the CEO of Plant Kingdom Bakery LLC, which produces vegan baked goods in Akron and vegan snack bars in Lyndhurst, an eastern suburb of Cleveland.

This fellowship honors the memory of Professor Koosed’s father, Sanford S. Malkin, who earned his juris doctorate in 1953 from Cleveland Marshall Law School. Though he never practiced law, Mr. Malkin always believed that legal education was the best background for most any occupation. He instilled in Professor Koosed the view that justice must prevail for all people, no matter their place in society. This fellowship also honors Lee A. Koosed, who has provided 39 years of service to the community and the bar. Professor Koosed is grateful for their inspiration and support of her work, and they will forever be in her heart.

The Margery Malkin Koosed Public Interest Law Fellowship Fund is established to provide fellowship support for students at The University of Akron School of Law with an interest in public interest law. In particular, The Margery Malkin Koosed Public Interest Law Fellowship Fund provides financial support for law students as they pursue their pro bono work through the School’s Public Interest Law Fellowships Program.

Student applicants for The Margery Malkin Koosed Public Interest Law Fellowship Award Fund will submit their application in accordance with the procedures established by The University of Akron School of Law’s Public Interest Law Fellowships Program. The School of Law’s Public Interest Law Fellowship Committee shall in turn provide information regarding those student applicants who may qualify for this fellowship award, and if it wishes, its recommendation regarding the student(s) best suited for this fellowship, to the Margery Malkin Koosed Public Interest Law Fellowship Committee. The latter committee shall consist of the following persons or their designee: Margery Malkin Koosed (non-voting member), Martin H. Belsky, John P. (Jack) Sahl, Dana K. Cole, and the Summit County Public Defender. The final decision on the recipient of this award will be made by majority vote of the latter committee, which shall promptly convey the name of the recipient to The University of Akron School of Law’s Public Interest Law Fellowship Committee.

Akron Law student recipients of The Margery Malkin Koosed Public Interest Law Fellowship will undertake pro bono work in the fall or spring semester or the summer term at an office providing legal services to indigent persons.  Primary consideration will be given to those students working in public defender offices.  Consideration may be given to students who are working in legal aid societies. The fund also may be used to facilitate placement of students in public interest law fellowships outside of northeast Ohio, should the need exist.