The University of Colorado at Boulder Law School

Overview

Established in 1892, the University of Colorado Law School is a top 25 public law school located at the base of the inspiring Rocky Mountains. Colorado Law’s 535 students, selected from among the statistically best applicants in the nation, represent 100 undergraduate institutions and diverse backgrounds. With a low faculty-to-student ratio, its highly published faculty is dedicated to interacting with students inside and outside the classroom. The school has 4 research centers, 3 student-run journals, 8 dual degrees, and 4 certificates focused on areas of strength, including natural resources and environmental law, technology law and policy, entrepreneurial law, American Indian law, and juvenile and family law. The Experiential Learning Program encompasses lawyering activities, including 9 legal clinics, externships, public service, and appellate and moot court competitions. Colorado Law’s graduates, whose state bar passage rate is consistently above the ninetieth percentile, are leaders in their profession and committed to public interest work.

Our Vision

A supportive and diverse community of scholars and students in a place that inspires vigorous pursuit of ideas, critical analysis, and civic engagement in order to advance the rule of law in an open, sustainable society.

Our Mission

Teaching:
We believe that legal education should employ robust theoretical inquiry, doctrinal and policy analysis, and professional skills. As part of a premier research university we seek to integrate opportunities for interdisciplinary study. Because the law is dynamic, we must equip our students to deal with change and to exercise sound judgment and creativity in offering solutions for problems of individuals, institutions, and nations. Our faculty members are passionate about teaching and are committed to providing students with a well-rounded learning experience that prepares them to serve wisely and with professionalism. And our location provides a natural vitality that motivates students to reach for their full potential.

Scholarship:
We believe that all faculty should be committed to the broader mission of education that is accomplished through exploration, discussion, and dissemination of ideas. We seek a better understanding of existing law, to develop and test new ideas and approaches, to challenge the status quo, and to convey our research and ideas to lawyers, academics, policy makers, and the wider world. The philosophies and approaches of faculty members can and should vary widely in pursuing this mission, but all are expected to produce noteworthy work.

Public Service:
We believe that our faculty and students all have obligations to the Law School, the University, the profession, and the local and global communities for the privilege of being part of an honored endeavor. Moreover, a commitment to service is an ingredient of a full and satisfying life. Accordingly, we will contribute our time and talents in pursuit of our mission in ways that match our individual interests and abilities. As a public institution with a tradition of public service, we will strive to instill in our students an awareness of a lawyer’s civic responsibilities and opportunities to serve and lead.

Strategic Initiatives

• To foster a vibrant and amicable intellectual climate where diverse ideas and perspectives are generated, embraced, and tested with rigor and respect and where students, faculty, and staff mutually support one another in the pursuit of individual accomplishment and overall advancement of the Law School.
• To equip students to research and analyze thoroughly law and policy, to examine the theoretical and social bases for law, to exercise sound professional skills and ethical judgment, and to use the law creatively and responsibly to achieve their clients’ goals.
• To earn national and international recognition and esteem of scholars, lawyers, jurists, policymakers, and citizens for the quality and accomplishments of our faculty, our students, and our graduates.
• To attract and retain an influential world-class faculty whose members are mutually supportive of their varied individual endeavors.
• To admit an increasingly stronger and more diverse student body and to help place our recent graduates in interesting, rewarding, and satisfying positions.
• To pursue financial stability and maintain an infrastructure sufficient to allow our mission to succeed and our goals to be fulfilled.