Society, Law & Politics

John A. Ikard, president and CEO of FirstBank Holding Company, will deliver a talk titled "Leading an Ethical Organization in a Sometimes Unethical World" on Thursday, Feb. 19, at 5:30 p.m. in the Wittemyer Courtroom at the Wolf Law Building on the University of Colorado Boulder campus.

The University of Colorado Law School is now accepting applications for the newly established, one-year, 28-credit Master of Studies in Law degree. This program will enable students who hold at least an undergraduate degree to obtain legal training short of a full Juris Doctor. "There are a range of opportunities for professionals interested in legal-related fields who are not practicing lawyers," said Dean Phil Weiser. "The MSL degree is a targeted program that will prepare students to obtain and excel in such positions."

The University of Colorado Law School will host two conferences, beginning with the Gathering of the Bench and Bar at the Wolf Law Building and the St. Julien Hotel in Boulder. The Bench and Bar Conference Oct. 1-3 will bring lawyers and jurists from across the nation to discuss some of the most important issues facing the legal profession today including the future of privacy law in the era of big data. On Oct. 2, the Byron R. White Center for the Study of American Constitutional Law will host the 22nd Annual Ira C. Rothgerber Jr. Conference at CU-Boulder’s Wolf Law Building.

In recognition of national Constitution Day, nearly 100 students, faculty and alumni of the University of Colorado Boulder Law School will teach a lesson on the First Amendment and online bullying in high school classrooms throughout Colorado Sept. 15-26.

U.S. Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonin Scalia will deliver the fourth annual John Paul Stevens Lecture hosted by the Byron R. White Center and the University of Colorado Law School on Wednesday, Oct. 1. The event will be held from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Macky Auditorium on the CU-Boulder campus. A limited number of seats are available to the lecture for the general public at no cost. To register for tickets visit the center’s website at byronwhitecenter.org .

Steve Hillard ('76) knew he wasn't done giving back to the University of Colorado Law School. He had donated generously to the capital campaign for the Wolf Law Building, but he had bigger plans. "I had a still-unfulfilled obligation to Colorado Law," said Hillard. "I am humbled by the fact that I have had some success in my career, and I definitely believe in giving back."

Interested in exploring the basic concepts of our legal system? Have you always wondered what it would be like to go to law school? University of Colorado faculty, staff and friends are invited to enjoy priority registration for Mini Law School 2014. Registration opens to the public on June 30 and the class is expected to fill up quickly. Learn more >>

Byron Chrisman (’66), perhaps one of the University of Colorado Boulder Law School’s most unlikely success stories, attributes his success as a tax attorney and real estate developer to his experience at Colorado Law. Now he and his wife, Carlene, have committed a $10 million bequest to endow the Byron and Carlene Chrisman Chairs in Free Enterprise at Colorado Law. When realized upon their passing, this estate gift will be the largest cash gift in the history of Colorado Law.

A new report led by the University of Colorado Boulder, “Considerations for Climate Change and Variability Adaptation on the Navajo Nation,” synthesizes state-of-the-science information on the region’s climate, water cycle and ecology. And it goes much further, discussing social, legal, economic, infrastructural and other factors that affect people’s vulnerabilities to climate impacts as well as their adaptive capacity, and outlining one approach for how the region’s residents might plan for ongoing environmental change.

A team of University of Colorado Boulder graduate students has qualified for the final round of an international venture capital competition April 10-12 thanks in part to what it dubs its secret sauce: the local startup community.