University of Colorado Law School

History

Established in 1892, the University of Colorado Law School is a charter member in the Association of American Law Schools and appeared in 1923 on American Bar Association's first ever publication of approved law schools. Although always located on the greater Boulder campus, the law school has occupied five buildings since its founding. For the first two years of its existence, the school was housed in the Kent building. From 1894 to 1909 the school occupied the Hale Law Building. For the next 50 years, until 1959, the school occupied the Guggenheim Law Building. From 1959 to 2005, the law school occupied the Fleming Law Building. In the fall of 2006, the law school once again moved and now sits in the Wolf Law Building.

The Wolf Law Building

By the late 1990s, Colorado Law had outgrown its building. In 1997 law students voted to tax themselves with a $1,000 per year tuition differential to help finance the building, but in 2001 the State of Colorado General Assembly rescinded its earmarked funds from the project. Facing the risk of accreditation loss, law students worked with campus leaders and successfully passed a $400 per year fee on all Boulder students to fund capital construction on the Wolf Law Building and three other campus projects. The Wolf Law Building was dedicated on September 8, 2006, by United States Supreme Court justice Stephen Breyer. The dedication ceremony represented the end of a long and creative funding process for a public law school.

In addition to student funds, over $13 million in private gifts were donated to support the construction of the new law building. The Wolf family, in honor of Leon and Dora Wolf, were especially generous in their contribution to the new building that now bears the Wolf family name.

The Wolf Law Building was constructed under the United States Green Building Council's LEED certification rating system for environmental sustainability and received a Gold rating. Colorado Law is the second law school to be housed in a certified LEED building. In 2014, the Wolf Law Building was named the 9th Most Impressive Law School Building in the World by Best Choice Schools.

Admissions

Admission to the law school is highly competitive. The school received 3,175 applications for the class of 2014 and matriculated 163 students. The 25th and 75th percentile LSAT scores for entering students are 160 and 165, respectively; the median LSAT is 164. The 25th and 75th percentile GPA for entering students are 3.41 and 3.79, with a median of 3.64.

Employment

According to Colorado's official 2015 ABA-required disclosures, 74.2% of the Class of 2015 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation. Colorado's Law School Transparency under-employment score is 8.8%, indicating the percentage of the Class of 2015 unemployed, pursuing an additional degree, or working in a non-professional, short-term, or part-time job nine months after graduation.

Costs

The total cost of attendance (indicating the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) at Colorado for the 2013-2014 academic year is $51,110 for residents and $58,620 for nonresidents. The Law School Transparency estimated debt-financed cost of attendance for three years is $197,814 for residents and $219,168 for nonresidents.

Controversial 2009 employment statistics

In October 2009, the journal Law Week Colorado stirred controversy when it reported that only 35% of the school's Class of 2009 had jobs at graduation.

Officials from the school assailed the Law Week Colorado article. Former Assistant Dean of the Office of Career Development SuSaNi Harris called Law Week Colorado's report the product of a "miscalculation" and "misunderstanding" and claimed Law Week Colorado "confused 'employed' and 'unemployed.'" Later, Associate Dean Dayna Matthew told Law Week Colorado that the numbers released were "premature" and asserted that the National Association of Legal Professionals (NALP) would release more favorable statistics in February 2010. The reason, Matthew said, was that the NALP discounted graduates who did not report their employment status.

For its part, Law Week Colorado stuck to its original statistics and noted that the University of Colorado had not provided any new statistics.

Ranking

In 2008, U.S. News & World Report ranked the University of Colorado Law School 32nd in the nation. In 2010, its ranking fell to 38th. In 2011, the school dropped to 47th, leading The Wall Street Journal to call the school "among the biggest fallers among the top 50". The school ranks 36th as of 2016.

Experiential Learning at the University of Colorado Law School

Publications

Noted alumni

Energy and Environmental Security Initiative

Established in 2003, Energy and Environmental Security Initiative (EESI) is an interdisciplinary Research & Policy Institute. The fundamental mission of EESI is to serve as an interdisciplinary research and policy center concerning the development and crafting of State policies, U.S. energy policies, and global responses to the world's energy crisis; and to facilitate the attainment of a global sustainable energy future through the innovative use of laws, policies and technology solutions.

Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment

The The Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment is dedicated to informing and influencing natural resources law and policy. The Center fosters practical and effective solutions to resource problems through its extensive research program, outreach activities, and educational programs for law students and the general public.

The Byron R. White Center

Named after Former Supreme Court Justice and University of Colorado alum, The Byron R. White Center seeks to enhance the study and teaching of Constitutional law and to stimulate public debate and understanding of our constitutional system. The Center sponsors public lectures and symposia, encourages Colorado faculty and student scholarship in constitutional law.

The Silicon Flatirons Center for Law, Technology, and Entrepreneurship

It is the goal of The Silicon Flatirons Center for Law, Technology, and Entrepreneurship to elevate the debate around technology policy issues, facilitate networking, the development of "human capital" and the promotion of entrepreneurship in the Colorado technology community and to inspire student interest in technology law and entrepreneurship. These goals are achieved through hosting nine yearly seminars and an annual symposium, supporting for the Entrepreneurial Law Clinic and developing student interest and involvement in the technology sector.