The Sturm College of Law ("Denver Law") is the professional graduate

law school A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for b ...

of the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1864, it has an enrollment of approximately 5,700 undergraduate students and 7,200 graduate students. It is classified among "R1: D ...

. It is one of two law schools in the state of

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

. Founded in 1892, the Sturm College of Law was one of the first in America's Mountain West. The college is located on the

's campus, about seven miles south of downtown Denver. According to Denver Law's 2017 ABA-required disclosures, 67.9% of the Class of 2017 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation, excluding solo practitioners.

History

The University of Denver College of Law opened 1892."DU Law History"
/ref> Westminster Law School, founded in 1912, merged with the University of Denver College of Law in 1957. It provided the only evening program west of Kansas City. One term of the merger required the development of an evening program at the College of Law. In addition, the law library was named the Westminster Law Library.

Sturm namesake

The Sturm College of Law is named for Donald L. Sturm, owner of Denver-based American National Bank, who gave the College of Law $20 million in 2003.College of Law to be named for Donald L. Sturm
/ref>

Campus

Since the fall of 2003, the Sturm College of Law has resided in the Frank H. Ricketson Jr. Law Building located on the University Park campus near the Ritchie Center.College of Law Building Named in Honor of 1919 Law Graduate
/ref> The new facility is distinguished as the nation's first certified "green" law building, having been awarded the Gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.DU law school building earns LEEDS Gold certification
/ref>

Academics

Academic reputation

The University of Denver is currently ranked 78th in the nation by '' U.S. News & World Report''. According to the 2014 U.S. News Peer Reputation Rankings the University of Denver Sturm College of Law ranked 55th in the nation out of 194 ranked law schools. The school was ranked 40th for public interest law by the '' National Jurist''. To support this initiative, the Sturm College of Law offers the Chancellor's Scholar Program with full tuition scholarships awarded to selected students. Every Juris Doctor student is required to perform a minimum of 50 hours of supervised, uncompensated, law-related public service work as a prerequisite for graduation.

Clinical programs

* Civil Litigation Clinic * Civil Rights Clinic * Criminal Defense Clinic * Immigration Law & Policy Clinic * Environmental Law Clinic * Community Economic Development Clinic (transactional clinic) * Low Income Taxpayer Clinic The University of Denver is the home of the first clinical programs in the nation, founded in 1904.

Trial and appellate advocacy

The University of Denver's Center for Advocacy (CFA) was established in 2009 with a focus on providing Professional Education for its law students. It emphasizes synthesizing critical thinking, the law, and the professional knowledge required to succeed in the practice of law. The CFA focuses on the four areas of advocacy: Trial Advocacy; Pre-Trial Advocacy; Appellate Advocacy; and Client Advocacy. The CFA's national prominence and reputation are evidenced by its annual prominent position in the rankings of advocacy programs in the U.S. The majority of the law school's graduates ultimately practice in litigation or litigation-related careers. The CFA provides a professional approach, effectively employing both theoretical and simulated educational modalities, to prepare students for success in the “Profession That Takes the Oath.” The CFA's balanced approach to preparing students provides offerings that are seeded in three primary areas. COURSES. The CFA offers a wide array of professionally-focused courses that provide students the opportunity to earn a Concentration in Trial & Litigation with a Focus in Criminal Litigation or Civil Litigation. The majority of the courses offered by the CFA are taught by professionals and practitioners in the given field in which they are teaching. TEAMS. The CFA sponsors competitive “teams” that participate in educational tournaments across the U.S. The CFA's teams have a rich history of winning championships in both national “open” tournaments and national invitationals. The school's National Trial Team participates in the trial advocacy arena (mock trial), and the school's 14 appellate teams compete in the moot court arena. These teams are taught by practicing attorneys and presiding judges experienced in the specific field in which they are teaching. EDUCATIONAL EVENTS. The CFA hosts numerous intra-school trial advocacy and appellate based educational tournaments throughout the academic year. Judges and attorneys are heavily involved in these educational exhibitions, providing students a wealth of professional insight and mentoring. All of these CFA offerings provide a rigorous, professional education platform by which any student can prepare themselves for success in their legal career.

Employment statistics

54.1% of the Class of 2013 were known to be employed in long-term, full-time legal jobs (excepting solo practitioners) nine months after graduation. 31% of the Class of 2011 were employed in part-time or short-term jobs, unemployed and seeking employment or pursuing additional education. The employment status of 1.4% of the Class of 2011 was unknown. 0.7% of the Class of 2011 obtained a federal clerkship. 4.5% of the Class of 2011 were known to be employed in law firms of 101 attorneys or more. 18.1% of the Class of 2011 were known to be employed in full-time, long-term government or public interest jobs. 9.8% of the Class of 2011 were employed in school funded jobs. 37.3% of the Class of 2011 reported a full-time salary.

Costs

Tuition for the 2014–15 academic year is $42,120 for full-time students and $30,888 for part-time students. The total cost of attendance including tuition, fees and living expenses is $60,951 for full-time students and $49,687 for part-time students. Law School Transparency calculates that the total debt-financed full cost of attendance for students in the Class of 2016, who do not receive tuition discounts (scholarships), to be $208,407. Law School Transparency projects that the monthly payment for the 10-year plan to be $2,477. For full-time students in the class of 2016, Law School Transparency estimates that the total debt-financed cost of attendance for students who do not receive any scholarships is $208,407. This cost includes the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses for 3 years, and the cost of student loan interest accrued over this time. In the 2013–14 academic year, 46% of students received scholarships and the average scholarship award was $21,000. Average indebtedness for 2013 graduates who borrowed at least 1 loan was $130,981.

Notable alumni

* Wilbur M. Alter, Justice on the Colorado Supreme Court * Wayne N. Aspinall, former Congressman from Colorado *

Lewis Babcock Lewis Thornton Babcock (born April 4, 1943) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado and former judge of the Colorado Court of Appeals. Education and career Born in Rocky Ford, ...

, former federal judge for the

United States District Court for the District of Colorado The United States District Court for the District of Colorado (in case citations, D. Colo. or D. Col.) is a federal court in the Tenth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are a ...

* Charles F. Brannan, former

Secretary of Agriculture The United States secretary of agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other governments The department includes several organiz ...

* Blake Brettschneider, former professional soccer player *Ashlie Brillault, former

Lizzie McGuire ''Lizzie McGuire'' is an American television comedy, comedy television series created by Terri Minsky that premiered on Disney Channel on January 12, 2001. The series stars Hilary Duff as the titular character who learns to navigate the person ...

and The Lizzie McGuire Movie actress. * Robyn Brody, associate justice of the

Idaho Supreme Court The Idaho Supreme Court is the state supreme court of Idaho and is composed of the chief justice and four associate judge, justices. The decisions of the Idaho Supreme Court are binding on all other Idaho State court (United States), state court ...

* Terrance Carroll, Speaker of the

Colorado House of Representatives The Colorado House of Representatives is the lower house of the Colorado General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Colorado. The House is composed of 65 members from an equal number of constituent districts, with each distri ...

Jason Crow Jason Crow (born March 15, 1979) is an American politician, lawyer, and former U.S. Army officer serving since 2019 as the United States representative for . Crow is the first member of the Democratic Party to represent the district, which e ...

, Congressman from Colorado * Pete Domenici,

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

from New Mexico * Chase Iron Eyes,

Lakota Lakota may refer to: *Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes *Lakota language Lakota ( ), also referred to as Lakhota, Teton or Teton Sioux, is a Siouan languages, Siouan language spoken by the Lakota people of ...

lawyer and founder of Last Real Indians, from

Standing Rock Sioux Reservation The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North & South Dakota controls the Standing Rock Reservation (), which straddles the border between North and South Dakota in the United States, and is inhabited by ethnic " Hunkpapa and Sihasapa bands of Lak ...

Adrian Fontes Adrian Fontes (born April 3, 1970) is an American politician and attorney. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he has served as the Secretary of State of Arizona since 2023, after defeating Republican Party (United ...

, Arizona Secretary of State * William D. Ford, former United States Congressman from Michigan * John L. Kane Jr., former federal judge for the

* Rebecca Ann King, former

Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 18 and 28. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is judged on competition segments with scoring percentages: ''Priva ...

* Paul Laxalt, Former

Governor of Nevada A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

and

from Nevada * Valentino Mazzia (1922–1999), forensic anesthesiologist. * Phil McGrane,

Secretary of State of Idaho The secretary of state of Idaho is one of the constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Idaho. It is an elected position within the Executive (government), executive branch of the state government. The current secretary of state is Phil McGr ...

* Mike McKevitt, former United States Congressman from Colorado * Harry N. MacLean, 1967, true crime author and also an adjunct professor at the schoolAlumni Authors – Harry Maclean ’64 – Lawrence.edu – Retrieved November 23, 2009
* Larry Mizel, philanthropist and founder of MDC Holdings, one of the nation's largest homebuilders * Ostis Otto Moore, Justice on the

Colorado Supreme Court The Colorado Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Colorado. Located in Denver, the court was established in 1876. It consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices who are appointed by the Governor of Colorado from a ...

* Shahzada Jamal Nazir, former Federal Minister for the ministries of National Health Services, Religious Affairs, National Heritage & Integration and National Harmony, Government of Pakistan * Jim Nicholson, former Secretary of Veteran Affairs * Gale Norton, former Secretary of the Interior * Brian Parker, former

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

tight end * Byron G. Rogers, former United States Congressman from Colorado * Andrew Romanoff, former Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives * Carlos Samour, Justice on the Colorado Supreme Court * Karl C. Schuyler, former

from Colorado * Alvin Wiederspahn (1949-2014), member of both houses of the Wyoming State Legislature; was an attorney in

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne comprise two Native American tribes, the Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o (more commonly spelled as Suhtai or Sutaio) and the (also spelled Tsitsistas, The term for th ...

* A. L. Zinn, 1924, Justice of the

New Mexico Supreme Court The New Mexico Supreme Court () is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is established and its powers defined by Article VI of the New Mexico Constitution. It is primarily an appellate court which reviews civil and criminal ...

"Funeral Rites Of A. L. Zinn To Be Friday", ''The Santa Fe New Mexican'' (May 16, 1957), p. 1.

Notable faculty

* Christine Arguello,

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

of the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado * Melissa Hart, Associate Justice of the

* Troy A. Eid,

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the District of Colorado

Publications

Denver Law Review The ''Denver Law Review'' is a law journal published by the students of the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. It was established in 1923 as the ''Denver Bar Association Record''. In 1928, the journal was renamed ''Dicta'' and in 1968 it ...

Race to the Bottom Blog
* Denver Journal of International Law and Policy * Sports and Entertainment Law Journal * Transportation Law Journal * University of Denver Criminal Law Review * University of Denver Water Law Review

References

External links

Sturm College of Law (official website)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sturm College Of Law Law schools in Colorado University of Denver Universities and colleges established in 1892 1892 establishments in Colorado