Colorado Law’s three-year, full-time Juris Doctor (JD) degree provides a strong, well-rounded legal education with a rich mixture of theory, policy, doctrinal analysis, and professional skills. Students have broad flexibility to meet their individual interests and needs.
Environmental, Energy, and Natural Resources Law. Ranked consistently among the very best in the country, environmental and natural resources law has been a key focus of the Colorado Law curriculum for more than half a century, and is one of the strongest and deepest programs of its kind.
Technology, Entrepreneurial, and Intellectual Property Law. Boulder is the heart of one of the nation’s premier telecommunications and technology hubs, and boasts a vibrant entrepreneurial community, ranking it No. 1 by Federal Reserve Bank of Boston researchers as the highest performing small city for venture capital investment.
American Indian Law. With more than 30,000 American Indians living within a 30-mile radius of the CU-Boulder campus, Colorado Law is in the “Hub of Indian Country,” which is why Boulder is home to the Native American Rights Fund.
Juvenile and Family Law Program. With U.S. state trial courts reporting nearly 5 million cases involving domestic relations, there is an increased demand for trained lawyers and advocates who have acquired an interdisciplinary specialization in resolving family issues.
From the student’s first day, Colorado Law invests in her or his academic success. Through the Rothgerber Academic Assistance Program, upper-division law students tutor first-year students in any of their courses, except Legal Writing and Advocacy. The program is open to all first year students, and more than 50 percent of the class participates in this free opportunity.
While Colorado Law offers exciting but limited summer courses, it offers a variety of legal study abroad opportunities in Europe, Russia, Israel, and Canada. Study abroad allows students to learn about other nations’ system of laws, participate in international and comparative legal studies, and approach legal systems and subjects from a non-U.S. perspective. This is a great opportunity to study with law students from other countries in the areas of international business, comparative law, European Union law, and international law.
Colorado Law’s Legal Research and Writing Program ensures that its graduates are proficient in legal research, analysis, and writing, and capable of adapting these skills to varying contexts. All first-year Legal Writing and Appellate Court Advocacy courses are taught by resident legal writing faculty, and legal research and research strategy is guided by professional librarian instructors. Upper-division courses are designated as writing classes and students spend a seminar preparing a substantial paper requiring significant legal research and writing.