Although the role of women has changed in the last 100 years, some women say it will continue changing - and they’re going to change with it.

Attorney General Jennifer Granholm will talk about the role of women in law today at a presentation sponsored by Cooley Law School’s Women’s Law Alliance.

Natalie Alane, a third-year Cooley student, said Granholm is an important figure in Michigan, and is excited that she will be making an appearance to help women’s image in law.

“I think women influence things in different ways,” said Alane, the alliance’s president. “Women’s enrollment is definitely increasing. Cooley, in the past year, has hit the 50 percent mark for female enrollment. All over the country that is a trend - the role of women is increasing.”

She said she thinks the future of law will be shaped differently because of the trend.

“We’re establishing a larger presence and I think that we might even be taking the law into a different direction,” she said.

But she said there is a lot of ground to be covered.

“There are certain areas where women’s presence is lacking,” Alane said. “Overall, law isn’t one of those, but maybe in the top positions of law its lacking. Women are not equally represented in big law firms. There’s a lot more men.”

Organizations like the alliance, are ways women can become more noticeable in higher positions, Alane said.

“We highlight different things, like legal issues that are going on in the area, even women’s health issues and networking with women attorneys around the state,” she said.

Mable Martin-Scott, who had the idea to bring Granholm to Cooley, said she is a great role model for women lawyers.

“People seem to really like her and they are excited about her coming on board,” the Cooley professor of law said. “She’s going in nontraditional type roles. Some people think women can’t be as tough as men, but she’s doing it and doing a good job at it.”

Martin-Scott thinks some people may ask the attorney general about her status in the gubernatorial election this year.

“Her decision about running for governor, it shows you can do anything you want,” she said. “We’re trying to encourage our law students to do that kind of thing.”