From the Bench to the Blackboard

Spotlight on Adjunct Faculty Judges

Walking down the halls of the University of Colorado Law School on a typical day, you will see students carrying books, professors engaged in discussion, and faculty on their way to meetings. But sometimes you will also see esteemed judges walking to classrooms where they take time out of their busy dockets to invest in the lawyers of tomorrow.

Each year, about five to eight classes at Colorado Law are taught by judges including Hon. Susan Blanco '03, chief judge of Colorado’s 8th Judicial District; Colorado Supreme Court Justice Melissa Hart; Hon. Timothy O’Hara, United States Magistrate Judge in the District of Colorado; Hon. Jon Olafson, a Colorado District Court judge; Hon. Tim Tymkovich '82, judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit; and Hon. Thomas Ward '12, a District Court Magistrate in Boulder County. Their courses range from Legal Ethics and Professionalism, Motions Advocacy, and Election Law to Advanced Torts and Federal Litigation—Everything But the Trial.

Colorado Law seeks out judges for adjunct faculty roles because of the unique perspectives they bring as neutral decision makers and fact finders, explained Amy Bauer, associate dean for instructional development and teaching professor, who oversees the hiring and coordination of adjunct faculty. Further, judges are already educators by virtue of their jobs. This makes them experienced at taking complex legal concepts and explaining them to people in digestible ways, she said.

Magistrate Thomas Ward '12

Julia Gessert '26 has taken two classes taught by judges: Legal Ethics and Professionalism with Magistrate Ward and Federal Litigation—Everything But the Trial with Judge Olafson. Gessert said she enjoys taking classes from judges, because they offer practical insights into how the concepts they teach are applied in the real world. “As someone who hopes to practice litigation, it feels like you are receiving a behind-the-scenes look into how judges think through certain problems or consider different types of information,” she said.

Magistrate Ward teaches Legal Ethics and Professionalism by incorporating small-group discussions of real-life ethical scenarios. “I wanted to teach, because I take seriously the lawyer’s oath to use my legal knowledge for the betterment of society and the improvement of the justice system,” he said. “I hope that by sharing my experiences in owning a law firm handling both transactional and litigation matters, as well as the attorney behavior I have observed from the bench, I will enrich students’ law school experience and set them up with lessons they can draw from in their careers.” 

Hon. Susan Blanco '03, chief judge of Colorado’s 8th Judicial District

Chief Judge Blanco expressed that it has been a fun experience returning to her alma mater to teach and mentor students outside the classroom. She likes to set up interactive activities in class like working in small groups or getting students on their feet and litigating.

Her favorite part of teaching is interacting with and learning from students; she strives to build positive relationships with students so they feel comfortable asking questions about things they don’t understand. “It was really fun to develop the class in a way that I know I would have enjoyed as a student,” she said. “Being able to watch the students blossom into attorneys, like watching them litigate cases in the mock courtroom, has been a very rewarding experience.”

For judges who also teach, serving as adjunct professors means taking on considerable extra responsibilities alongside their already demanding schedules. Magistrate Ward explained that his teaching duties (including lesson preparation, responding to students, and grading exams) require time outside business hours on evenings, weekends, and holidays, but that he takes inspiration from other judicial officers who teach and who have given him advice on time management. “This work has meaning to me, so I do my best to make it work. This is no different than balancing responsibilities as a lawyer, it just takes a different form,” he said. 

This commitment yields valuable benefits for students. For example, Celene Olguin '25 took Legal Ethics and Professionalism with Magistrate Ward and said his class had a “profound impact” on her law school career. She explained, “Judge Ward ensured that each and every voice was heard and he welcomed tough, and sometimes uncomfortable questions with no judgment. He answered questions thoughtfully in light of his experience and illuminated what would be expected out of us as attorneys.”

Bauer emphasized how grateful Colorado Law is for the judges who choose to teach. “It is a real added workload that they take on year after year, and it is a tremendous service to the law school—not only to the students but the faculty and staff as well as the broader legal community,” she said.