Heather Garretson

Assistant Professor
B.A. Calvin College 1993
J.D., cum laude, Creighton University School of Law 1996

Contact by e-mail

An experienced litigator and former Special Assistant United States Attorney (SAUSA) for the Western District of Missouri, Professor Garretson now teaches Contracts I and II at Cooley’s Grand Rapids campus.

Professor Garretson came to Cooley in 2007 from Kansas City, Missouri where she was an active member of the federal bar. As a SAUSA, she facilitated joint local and federal law enforcement investigations, prosecuted violations of federal narcotics law, and successfully argued before the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. Her litigation practice in Kansas City also included white-collar criminal defense work and commercial litigation for a large international law firm where she represented businesses and individuals in commercial disputes and investigations, and employers in complex commercial and employment matters.

Professor Garretson has served as a law clerk at both the federal and state level. Upon graduation from law school, Professor Garretson served as law clerk to the Honorable Kenneth Stephen, Nebraska State Supreme Court. Professor Garretson then served as a law clerk to the Honorable Gary Fenner, United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri.

Professor Garretson was an associate editor of the Creighton University Law School Law Review. She is a member of the State Bars of Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri and Michigan and has been admitted to practice before the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.