Removed from the hustle and bustle of teaching, summer is an opportune time for faculty to advance their research and scholarship in collaboration with other legal scholars. Several Colorado Law faculty members hosted workshops and conferences on campus this summer, convening top scholars to share innovative research on legal issues against the scenic backdrop of the Rocky Mountains.
Conferences like these are among the many ways Colorado Law faculty engage in scholarship and research. Below are highlights of the faculty-hosted Boulder Summer Workshops that took place this summer.
Intersectional Environmentalism Workshop
Moses Lasky Professor of Law Sarah Krakoff hosted the Intersectional Environmentalism Workshop June 14 to address issues of environment, race, and inequality. Participants included Shalanda Baker (Northeastern School of Law), Ann Eisenberg (University of South Carolina School of Law), Sharmila Murthy (Suffolk Law School), and Michalyn Steele (BYU Law School).
Colorado Law alumni and students Edyael Del Carmen Casaperalta ('18), Leah Vasarhelyi ('21), and Natasha Viteri ('21) also participated in the workshop.
"As we hurtle toward surpassing dangerous levels of greenhouse gas emissions and at the same time live in a world marked by extreme economic inequality, the time is right to reshape discussions about environmental law so that they always automatically include questions of inequality, racial discrimination, and redistribution," said Krakoff, who also serves as interim executive director of the Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment. "One way to think of this is that we are participating in the broader movement to provide intellectual support for the 'Green New Deal.'"
Early Career Energy Scholars Workshop
On June 14 and 15, Associate Professor Sharon Jacobs hosted the second Early Career Energy Scholars Workshop at Colorado Law. The workshop brings together young energy law scholars from around the country to share and receive feedback on early-stage drafts. This year, participants from nine different law schools attended, workshopping drafts on topics including property rights in oil and gas, wholesale electricity market governance, and energy justice.
Junior Criminal Law Workshop
Organized by Associate Professor Benjamin Levin, the Junior Criminal Law Workshop, held June 29-30, provided an opportunity for junior criminal law and procedure scholars to engage with each other’s work as a supportive, but critical community. Each participant shared a work in progress, and the other participants read and provided feedback. The workshop also served as a site to initiate or continue longer-term conversations about criminal justice scholarship and teaching. Participants included criminal law scholars from Harvard, Yale, NYU, Penn, University of Richmond, Wayne State, and UNLV.
Junior Business Law Colloquium
Associate Professor Brad Bernthal hosted the Junior Business Law Colloquium (JBLC) July 11 and 12. This year’s attendees include business law scholars from Notre Dame, University of Illinois, University of Florida, and several other law schools.
Started by Professor Andrew Schwartz nine years ago, the JBLC is an intimate scholarly workshop for a dozen of the most promising junior business law scholars in the country. Participants must be pre-tenure or have just received tenure. Each participating scholar submits an original piece of scholarship. All participants read each article and provide comments and feedback.
When they weren’t exchanging ideas, the group took in the beauty of Boulder in the summer with a tubing trip down Boulder Creek.
"Five of this year’s JBLC courageous scholars attempted to tube Boulder Creek during their time at Colorado Law. Only one of the five succeeded. While a few professors took back bruises following the JBLC, everyone was OK. But our guests were humbled by the power of Boulder Creek during a big runoff year," Bernthal said.