August 16 – DENVER – The University of Denver Sturm College of Law transformed its #14-ranked (U.S. News & World Report) part-time JD program to make it more accessible to students with competing professional or familial commitments. Effective fall 2018, students admitted into the Professional Part-Time JD Program can complete all of their required courses in a convenient hybrid format, through a combination of state-of-the-art online instruction and weekend on-campus classes.
The Civil Rights Clinic (CRC) has had an exciting and eventful past few months. In June, the CRC reached a tentative settlement agreement in a case brought on behalf of a transgender individual confined in the Colorado Department of Corrections. The settlement was finalized in September, and two of the student attorneys provide a reflection of their work on that case below. In July, the CRC secured the release of a federal prisoner after over two years litigating his post-conviction claim. The government immediately appealed, and we are continuing to litigate that appeal. In the interim, we are happy that our client is home with his family. Finally, in August, the CRC tried a case in federal court brought on behalf of a federal prisoner challenging the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ infringement of his religious rights. A student attorney who worked on that case for the past year provides a second reflection of her experiences below.
With Professor Walker Sterling returned from her year-long Fulbright, the Criminal Defense Clinic is once again being co-taught by Professors Walker Sterling and Lasch. The Criminal Defense Clinic (CDC) represents indigent members of Denver’s community who are accused of crimes in municipal, misdemeanor, and county courts in and around the Denver area. Typical cases include assault, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, failure to obey a lawful order from a peace officer, disturbing the peace, and harassment. The Criminal Defense Clinic also represents juvenile clients, and has several juvenile court cases as well.
The Environmental Law Clinic (ELC) welcomed two new faculty members this fall. Wyatt Sassman joined the clinic as an assistant professor. Sassman previously clerked for Judge Gilbert S. Merritt on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, worked for the Southern Environmental Law Center in Charleston, South Carolina, and taught in the Appellate Courts Immersion Clinic at Georgetown.
Greetings from Denver Law’s Legal Externship Program!
An integral part of one of the nation’s top ten clinical programs, Denver Law’s Legal Externship Program continues to innovate while keeping our students’ interests, goals, and academic needs first and foremost. With the fall semester fully underway, we are excited to have our largest ever fall student enrollment! As always, students are putting their talents to use across public and private sectors, growing their skills, honing in on their interests, and developing a strong sense of their professional identities, while faculty work tirelessly to support them inside and outside of the classroom.
Greetings from Denver Law’s Legal Externship Program!
I am excited to report that this is a time of tremendous growth for Denver Law externships. In 2016-17, we placed 418 students in more than 520 externships, and worked with over 310 supervisors. Summer enrollment alone increased by 50 percent!
The students in the Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) have continued to provide successful resolution to IRS and Colorado Department of Revenue issues for more than 90 clients in the fall of 2018. The LITC recently had eight offers in compromise accepted by the IRS. These settlements with the IRS reduced the LITC clients’ tax liabilities by more than $250,000.
Students in DU’s Mediation Practicum are mediating small claims disputes in both Denver County Court and Adams County Courts. They have successfully mediated cases involving construction, remodeling, landscaping, car repair, personal loans, lost luggage and other transportation/travel services disputes.
