University of Colorado School of Law
Encyclopedia
The University of Colorado Law School is one of the professional graduate schools within the University of Colorado System
. It is a public law school, with more than 500 students attending and working toward a Juris Doctor
or Master of Law. The Wolf Law Building Located in Boulder, Colorado
, and is sited on the south side of the University of Colorado at Boulder
campus. The law school houses the William A. Wise Law Library, which is a regional archive for federal government materials and is open to the public. United States Supreme Court Justice Wiley Blount Rutledge
graduated from the University of Colorado Law School in 1922.
The University of Colorado Law School consistently ranks as a top law school
in U.S. News & World Report
rankings (currently ranked 47th). It is renowned for its influence in the 12-state Rocky Mountain region and for the strength of its environmental law
program.
and appeared in 1923 on American Bar Association's
first ever publication of approved law schools. Although always located on the greater Boulder campus, the law school has occupied five buildings since its founding. For the first two years of its existence, the school was housed in the Kent building. From 1894 to 1909 the school occupied the Hale Law Building. For the next 50 years, until 1959, the school occupied the Guggenheim Law Building. From 1959 to 2005, the law school occupied the Fleming Law Building. In the fall of 2006, the law school once again moved and now sits in the Wolf Law Building.
. The dedication ceremony represented the end of a long and creative funding process for a public law school.
In addition to student funds, over $13 million in private gifts were donated to support the construction of the new law building. The Wolf family, in honor of Leon and Dora Wolf, were especially generous in their contribution to the new building that now bears the Wolf family name.
stirred controversy when it reported that only 35% of the school's Class of 2009 had jobs at graduation.
Officials from the school assailed the Law Week Colorado article. Former Assistant Dean of the Office of Career Development SuSaNi Harris called Law Week Colorado's report the product of a "miscalculation" and "misunderstanding" and claimed Law Week Colorado "confused 'employed' and 'unemployed.'" Later, Associate Dean Dayna Matthew told Law Week Colorado that the numbers released were "premature" and asserted that the National Association of Legal Professionals (NALP) would release more favorable statistics in February 2010. The reason, Matthew said, was that the NALP discounted graduates who did not report their employment status.
For its part, Law Week Colorado stuck to its original statistics and noted that the University of Colorado had not provided any new statistics.
to call the school "one of the biggest fallers among the top 50."
University of Colorado System
The University of Colorado system is a system of public universities in Colorado consisting of three universities in four campuses: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, and University of Colorado Denver in downtown Denver and at the Anschutz Medical Campus in...
. It is a public law school, with more than 500 students attending and working toward a Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
or Master of Law. The Wolf Law Building Located in Boulder, Colorado
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
, and is sited on the south side of the University of Colorado at Boulder
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
campus. The law school houses the William A. Wise Law Library, which is a regional archive for federal government materials and is open to the public. United States Supreme Court Justice Wiley Blount Rutledge
Wiley Blount Rutledge
Wiley Blount Rutledge, Jr. was an American educator, lawyer, and justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.-Early life:...
graduated from the University of Colorado Law School in 1922.
The University of Colorado Law School consistently ranks as a top law school
Law school
A law school is an institution specializing in legal education.- Law degrees :- Canada :...
in U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
rankings (currently ranked 47th). It is renowned for its influence in the 12-state Rocky Mountain region and for the strength of its environmental law
Environmental law
Environmental law is a complex and interlocking body of treaties, conventions, statutes, regulations, and common law that operates to regulate the interaction of humanity and the natural environment, toward the purpose of reducing the impacts of human activity...
program.
History
Established in 1892, the University of Colorado Law School is a charter member in the Association of American Law SchoolsAssociation of American Law Schools
The Association of American Law Schools is a non-profit organization of 170 law schools in the United States. Another 25 schools are "non-member fee paid" schools, which are not members but choose to pay AALS dues. Its purpose is to improve the legal profession through the improvement of legal...
and appeared in 1923 on American Bar Association's
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
first ever publication of approved law schools. Although always located on the greater Boulder campus, the law school has occupied five buildings since its founding. For the first two years of its existence, the school was housed in the Kent building. From 1894 to 1909 the school occupied the Hale Law Building. For the next 50 years, until 1959, the school occupied the Guggenheim Law Building. From 1959 to 2005, the law school occupied the Fleming Law Building. In the fall of 2006, the law school once again moved and now sits in the Wolf Law Building.
The Wolf Law Building
By the late 1990s, Colorado Law had outgrown its building. In 1997 law students voted to tax themselves with a $1,000 per year tuition differential to help finance the building, but in 2001 the State of Colorado General Assembly rescinded its earmarked funds from the project. Facing the risk of accreditation loss, law students worked with campus leaders and successfully passed a $400 per year fee on all Boulder students to fund capital construction on the Wolf Law Building and three other campus projects. The Wolf Law Building was dedicated on September 8, 2006, by United States Supreme Court justice Stephen BreyerStephen Breyer
Stephen Gerald Breyer is an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1994, and known for his pragmatic approach to constitutional law, Breyer is generally associated with the more liberal side of the Court....
. The dedication ceremony represented the end of a long and creative funding process for a public law school.
In addition to student funds, over $13 million in private gifts were donated to support the construction of the new law building. The Wolf family, in honor of Leon and Dora Wolf, were especially generous in their contribution to the new building that now bears the Wolf family name.
Admissions
The 25th and 75th percentile LSAT scores for entering students are 160 and 165, respectively; the median LSAT is 164. The 25th and 75th percentile GPA for entering students are 3.41 and 3.79, with a median of 3.61.Controversial 2009 Employment Statistics
In October 2009, the journal Law Week ColoradoLaw Week Colorado
Law Week Colorado is Colorado's weekly newspaper for lawyers and an information source on legal issues in the state. It circulates to lawyers, judges and general counsel from offices in Denver...
stirred controversy when it reported that only 35% of the school's Class of 2009 had jobs at graduation.
Officials from the school assailed the Law Week Colorado article. Former Assistant Dean of the Office of Career Development SuSaNi Harris called Law Week Colorado's report the product of a "miscalculation" and "misunderstanding" and claimed Law Week Colorado "confused 'employed' and 'unemployed.'" Later, Associate Dean Dayna Matthew told Law Week Colorado that the numbers released were "premature" and asserted that the National Association of Legal Professionals (NALP) would release more favorable statistics in February 2010. The reason, Matthew said, was that the NALP discounted graduates who did not report their employment status.
For its part, Law Week Colorado stuck to its original statistics and noted that the University of Colorado had not provided any new statistics.
Ranking
In 2010, US News & World Report ranked the University of Colorado Law School 38th in the nation. In 2011, the school dropped to 47th, leading the online journal Above the LawAbove the Law
Above the Law may refer to:*legibus solutus, doctrine of Roman Law*Above the Law , a law blog*Righting Wrongs, a 1986 Hong Kong film titled "Above the Law" for international release...
to call the school "one of the biggest fallers among the top 50."
Dual Degree and Certificate Programs at the University of Colorado Law School
- Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration (JD/MBA)
- Juris Doctor/Master of Public Affairs (JD/MPA)
- Juris Doctor/Master of Science, Telecommunications (JD/MST)
- Juris Doctor/Master in Environmental Studies (JD/ENVS)
- Juris Doctor/Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Studies (JD/PhD)
- Juris Doctor/Doctor of Medicine (JD/MD)
- Juris Doctor/Master of Urban and Regional Planning (JD/MURP)
- Juris Doctor/Bachelor of Laws Canada (JD/LLB)
- Tax Emphasis Program
- American Indian Law Certificate
- Juvenile and Family Law Certificate
- Entrepreneurial Law Certificate
Experiential Learning at the University of Colorado Law School
- Clinics: the American Indian Law Clinic, the Civil Practice Clinic, the Criminal Defense Clinic, the Entrepreneurial Law Clinic, Family Law Clinic, the Juvenile Law Clinic, the Natural Resources Law Clinic, and the Samuelson-Glushko Technology Law & Policy Clinic.
- Externships http://www.colorado.edu/law/externships/
- Public Service Pledge
- Appellate and Trial Competitions http://www.colorado.edu/law/academics/competitions.htm
Publications at the University of Colorado Law School
- University of Colorado Law Review
- Colorado Journal of International Environmental Law and Policy (CJIELP)
- Journal on Telecommunications and High Technology Law
Centers at the University of Colorado Law School
- Center for Energy and Environmental Security (CEES)
- The Natural Resources Law Center
- The Byron R. White Center
- The Silicon Flatirons Center for Law, Technology, and Entrepreneurship