The University of Colorado at Boulder Law School

Diversity

Commitment to Diversity

Colorado Law is proud to have been one of the earliest law schools in the nation to graduate lawyers of color. The first action in Our Vision states our commitment to diversity:

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

In support of this vision, the Deans’ Diversity Council was created in 2006. It is a joint effort with the CU and DU law schools and the Front Range legal community to promote diversity in law school admissions and in hiring, retention, and advancement of lawyers in corporations and law firms. Download the Deans’ Diversity Council document, which includes an overview, list of members and subgroups, vision, and campaign for inclusive excellence.

In addition, Colorado Law has a Diversity Committee that is a consortium of the school’s deans, faculty, and students who work to further and facilitate the law school's mission.

Applying to Law School

The Law School Admission Council (LSAC) developed the DiscoverLaw.org campaign to encourage racially and ethnically diverse students to discover career opportunities in law and choose a path in undergraduate school to help them succeed. The site provides students with resources, tips, and tools on how to become a competitive law school applicant through access to experts, inspiring stories about law school graduates, and a list of the most frequently asked questions.

Student Life

We prepare tomorrow’s lawyers to serve in an increasingly diverse nation and a challenging global economy. As of 2007, 24% of our students are people of color and 50% are women. Student organizations offer support and networking opportunities:

• Asian Pacific American Law Students Association (APALSA)
• Black Law Students Association (BLSA)
• Christian Legal Society (CLS)
• Diversity Action Now (DAN)
• Jewish Law Students Association
• Latino Law Students Association (LLSA)
• Native American Law Students Association
• Non-Traditional Law Student Association
• OUTlaw
• Women's Law Caucus

Curriculum

Our curriculum regularly includes a variety of specialized courses and clinics, such as:

• American Indian Law
• Class and Law
• Employment Discrimination
• Gender, Law and Public Policy
• Immigration and Citizenship Law
• International Human Rights
• Poverty Law
• Race and the Law
• Spanish for Family Law Practice

Career Development

The Office of Career Development is committed to helping students from diverse backgrounds build successful and satisfying careers through individualized career counseling and working with legal organizations to maximize career and professional development opportunities for diverse law students and alumni:

• Colorado Pledge to Diversity 1L Summer Program: Includes 19 of Denver’s largest and most prestigious law firms that give diverse law students of color the opportunity to compete for 1L summer associate positions.
• Firm-Sponsored Diversity Clerkship Programs: Several Denver law firms offer paid clerkships for diverse students, including Baker & Hostetler; Dorsey & Whitney; Faegre & Benson; Holland & Hart; Holme Roberts & Owen; and Rothgerber, Johnson & Lyons.
• Rocky Mountain Diversity Legal Career Fair: Legal employers seek to hire law students and graduates from culturally diverse backgrounds that have been traditionally under-represented in the practice of law.
• Diversity Clerkship Programs with Colorado Courts: The Colorado Supreme Court and Colorado Court of Appeals offer competitive internship programs for 3L students.
• 1L Diversity Mentor Program: In partnership with the Colorado Bar Association’s Diversity in the Legal Profession Committee, Career Development helps match incoming diverse students with attorney mentors from diversity-related bar organizations:  
  • Colorado Campaign for Inclusive Excellence
  • Diversity in the Legal Profession Committee of the Colorado and Denver Bar Associations
  • Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Colorado
  • Colorado Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Bar Association
  • Colorado Hispanic Bar Association
  • Colorado Indian Bar Association
  • Sam Cary Bar Association (Supporting Colorado's African-American Legal Community)

Senior Administration & Faculty
Since David Getches became Dean of the Law School in July 2003, minority enrollment has risen from 17% to 24%. Additionally, we are notable for the recruitment and appointment of minority faculty to key posts in the Law School’s senior administration. Three of Colorado Law’s five senior administrators are people of color, including Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Dayna Matthew, Assistant Dean for Students and Professional Programs Lorenzo Trujillo, and Assistant Dean for Career Development Susani Harris. Of the 11 members of the Dean’s Cabinet, 6 are women.

Colorado Law’s distinguished faculty includes 10 members of color (approximately 22%) and 38% women. In 2005, 40% of our new faculty hires were scholars of color. Our diverse faculty includes: Maxine Burkett, Wayne M. Gazur, Lakshman D. Guruswamy, Yumin Jiang, Dayna Matthew, Paul Ohm, Ahmed White, and Sienho Yee.

Alumni

The first students of color entered Colorado Law School in 1898. The first woman graduated in 1908. Today, Colorado Law graduates go on to excel in every branch of legal practice and scholarship, from private practice, to public service, to professorships, and to the judiciary.

• David Archuleta ’89, Judge, Boulder County Court
• D. Elizabeth Arenales ’93, Director, Health Care Program, Colorado Center on Law and Policy
• Todd Fredrickson ’91, Partner, Fisher & Phillips, LLP
• Gary M. Jackson ’70, Partner, DiManna & Jackson
• Beverly Ledbetter ’72, Vice President and General Counsel, Brown University
• Michelle Lucero ’89, Vice President of Employee Relations, Centura Health
• Cheryl Malcolm ’98, Shareholder, Otten Johnson Robinson Neff & Ragonetti
• Alex J. Martinez ’76, Justice, Colorado Supreme Court
• Gilbert A. Martinez ’77, Judge, Colorado Springs District Court
• Larry J. Naves ’74, Chief Judge, Denver District Court
• Ben M. Ochoa ’87, Partner, Rothgerber Johnson & Lyons
• Lucy Rain Simpson ’98, Staff Attorney, Indian Law Resource Center
• Gregory J. Ramos ’92, Manager, Business and Real Estate Department, Sherman & Howard
• Manuel Ramos ’73, Author, Educator, and Director of Advocacy for Colorado Legal Services
• Rodrigo Rangel ’91, Assistant City Attorney, Longmont