Dean's Message

S. James Anaya, Dean
Welcome to Colorado Law.  We are an engaged, diverse, and inclusive community of students, faculty, staff, and alumni who help one another succeed. Our selective admissions process keeps our student body small, enabling our faculty, staff, alumni, and community to invest deeply in each student’s success. Because we take our responsibility to educate and train future lawyers very seriously, our curriculum, research centers, and experiential learning opportunities are designed to prepare students for success in today’s changing legal environment.  

Our students have extraordinary credentials and life experiences. In addition to being intelligent, congenial, hard-working, and entrepreneurial, our students are engaged with the community.  A plethora of active student organizations, rich externship opportunities, and a robust Public Service Pledge Program enable our students to foster Colorado Law’s tradition of service.

Our faculty are leaders in their fields and are committed to helping Colorado Law students develop the legal knowledge, critical thinking, writing, and problem-solving skills necessary for professional success. A deliberately low student-to-faculty ratio enables meaningful engagement between faculty and students, giving students abundant opportunities to develop deep substantive expertise and long-lasting professional relationships. 

Our staff is devoted to helping students and alumni succeed.  From the moment our students commit to attending Colorado Law and throughout their professional careers, we provide unwavering personal and professional support.  Our admissions office welcomes students to the Colorado Law community, and our student affairs office provides support for students as they develop their professional identity and skills. Our career development office helps students secure and retain rewarding employment.  Those unsure about their field of interest can rely on our wealth of career exploration opportunities and resources.

Our alumni represent Colorado Law in a variety of professional settings and fields across Colorado and nationwide.  They thrive in a variety of professional domains: national law firms, regional law firms, government organizations (both at the federal and state levels), business organizations (often utilizing their legal skills in business roles), and public interest organizations.  Not only do our alumni thrive professionally, but they also enthusiastically work with current Colorado Law students in a number of key ways that foster students’ career success.

We are educating students for success.  Our relevant and challenging curriculum prepares students to thrive in a variety of sectors and settings.  Our three research centers enable students to develop unique connections and insights in today’s most important fields, including: 

In addition, our Schaden Experiential Learning Program and Clinical Program (with nine clinics representing a range of practice areas) allow students to develop and hone their legal skills through extensive real-world experiences while in school.

We invite you to learn more about what makes the Colorado Law experience so special. Please contact us for more information or, even better, come visit us.

Thanks for taking the time to get to know us better.

Sincerely,

S. James Anaya, Dean