Expanding Horizons: Detroit Chapter & Liz Casselman Spark New Real Estate Course at MSU College of Law
Expanding Horizons: Detroit Chapter & Liz Casselman Launch Real Estate Course at Michigan State University College of Law
Opening Doors to the Next Generation
When the Detroit Women in Title Chapter held their inaugural meeting on January 14, 2025, one of their goals was to introduce young professionals to the title insurance industry. Attracting new entrants to the title insurance industry has proved challenging from a a national level. A very large number of individuals in the industry are approaching retirement age and there has yet to be a comprehensive solution to attracting and training talent.
At their July meeting, the WiT Detroit Chapter decided to reach out to local law schools in the Metro Detroit area to teach a course in title insurance to law school students.
Detroit Chapter Chair and WiT Vice President Liz Casselman contacted two schools following that meeting. Michigan State University College of Law (MSU) was immediately interested and after a brief interview, approved a course for the Spring 2026 semester. Casselman developed a course proposal in compliance with American Bar Association's guidelines, including special designations to classify the course as experiential as well as one that develops the students' professional identity. Enrollment for the course opened on October 27 and within a few days, the course was completely filled with a waitlist.
MSU Law: Teaching Future Real Estate Attorneys
As all title professionals know, there are no real estate transactions without title agents. To fully understand the intracacies of real estate, future attorneys will gain valuable insights from the title perspective. From the negotiation of the purchase agreement terms to escrow and claim disputes after closing, the full life of a transaction will be explored in-depth.
Students will learn how attorneys play critical roles in the various stages, with an emphasis on the title insurance industry. Various career paths within the real estate industry will be explored, including transactional work, real estate litigation, liquor and lotto licensing, title underwriting, and title agency corporate counsel opportunities.
The class uses interactive discussion, real-world examples, guest lecturers from the industry, and insights into the future challenges and opportunities facing the Michigan real estate and title insurance industry. Casselman is committed to providing a different type of law course experience than she had, "I want to craft an experience for the students that is as close to an internship as possible without leaving the classroom. Drafting and marking up purchase agreements, reviewing real chains of title, analyzing suspicious wiring instructions, and most importantly, hearing from attorneys who do this work every day. That's the best way to showcase our industry and all it has to offer as a fulfilling and engaging career."
The course commences on January 12, 2026, nearly a year to the day that the Detroit WiT Chapter set that goal.
From Vision to Action
“A title insurance course at a top Michigan law school is a significant step in attracting new talent to the title insurance industry. It’s also a testament to the power of Women in Title, that in a matter of a few months a need was not only identified, but a solution was implemented. That’s what makes our industry and WiT different – we’re not afraid of taking action." says Liz Casselman.