Charles Cochran was in many ways your typical law student.
Known as Chuck by his University of Dayton School of Law classmates, Cochran read cases, participated in mock trial, and even played with other students in the occasional pickup basketball game.
The only difference was at a time when most students were getting ready to start their careers, Cochran had already retired from his first.
“He is the epitome of following your dream,” says friend and fellow classmate Patricia Delorey ‘85. “I was impressed with him coming back and getting back into it.”
Cochran had initially started law school in 1953 at a different university. But he was called to active duty in the Air Force. He planned on doing the two years he owed the military and returning to law school. It ended up being nearly 30 years instead.
During his time in the Air Force, Cochran reached the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, flying 7,000 hours in eight different types of airplanes, including 87 missions in Vietnam, for which he received two Air Medals.
But over all those years and flights, Cochran never forgot about his goal of finishing law school, so in 1982 he enrolled at UDSL. That’s how Professor Emeritus Jeffrey Morris, who taught at UDSL from 1981 to 2013, came to know him. Cochran developed a deep respect for the way he taught his classes.
“I felt my task as a law school teacher was to help people learn just how much they could do,” Professor Morris says. “I didn’t have a lot of tolerance for unwillingness to undertake that process.”
You couldn’t be late for Professor Morris’ class, you couldn’t wear a hat, and you couldn’t be unprepared. Rules Cochran appreciated.
“Chuck viewed that as consistent with his military experience and consistent with his outlook on life that you have an obligation to do the best you can in each circumstance,” Professor Morris says.
Cochran never forgot how students, staff and faculty welcomed him at Dayton Law, even though he wasn’t a traditional student.
“He felt absolutely enveloped by those classmates,” Professor Morris says. “He was as much a part of that class as anybody.”
Delorey remembers meeting Cochran on the day she moved to Dayton. She and other law students shared a place just a few blocks from the law school, which was in Albert Emanuel Hall at the time. Cochran was next door.
“We all hung out together, we studied together, we commiserated together,” Delorey says. “With people in law school, you have this bond you don’t have with anybody else. Especially the people you started with first year because you went through this huge emotional, mental, physical upheaval together.”
Delorey also took part in mock trial with Cochran. Both came away with an interest in the work.
“I was with Chuck in the mock trial program and it was like this is great,” Delorey says. “I really think I found my niche and he felt the same way.”
Inspired by his experiences in mock trial, Cochran took a role where he could try cases after law school.
“He could have done a lot of things and one of the things he did was public defender,” Professor Morris says. “I think it matched both his interest in trial work as well as his basic understanding that if you can help somebody out, you should help somebody out.”
Kevin Leahy, who graduated with Cochran in ’85, remembers driving with him to see a basketball game featuring Cochran’s beloved Indiana Hoosiers. Leahy was always struck by how much Cochran accomplished in his legal career, even though he got a later start than most.
“At the end of the day his story is compelling, as his dedicated practice in one third of the time, would have filled another barrister’s 40-year career,” Leahy says of Cochran’s legal experience, which included time as a magistrate judge.
Now Cochran’s efforts will help a new generation of law students. As part of his estate, Cochran made a gift to UDSL in Professor Morris’ name. The money will be used starting in fall 2026 to fund trial advocacy efforts at the law school.
“We are extremely grateful for this gift that will make a difference for students who want to take part in activities like mock trial and pursue trial work after law school in the same way Lieutenant Colonel Cochran did,” says UDSL Dean Christopher Roederer. “Just recently our mock trial team made it to the finals of the national competition. This gift will help us build on that success and allow our students to have experiences that will make them better trial attorneys.”
After Cochran retired for the second time in his life, Professor Morris continued to stay in touch. While he misses his talks with Cochran, he’s glad the gift will allow other students, whether traditional or non-traditional, to follow Cochran’s example.
“He got to be a lawyer doing what he loved, which is handle trials,” Professor Morris says. “All that was a consequence of his decision to go to Dayton Law.”