Sturm College of Law News
Graduate Program Students Tour the World’s Premier Renewable Energy Laboratory
February 02, 2009
GOLDEN, Colorado – Students in the Environmental and Natural Resources Law & Policy graduate program (ENRLGP) spent last Friday afternoon at the world’s premier renewable energy facility listening to one of the country’s top renewables policy experts discuss the state of the renewables sector.
The tour of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) – located only 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the University of Denver campus – allowed students to learn first-hand about specific research efforts involving solar, wind, and biofuels related energy. In addition, Robert J. Noun, executive director of communications and external affairs for NREL, spoke about the evolution of renewables policy in the United States and where future policy might be heading.
Mr. Noun, who is an attorney and has followed renewables policy for more than 25 years, noted that the economic stimulus bill as drafted by the administration of President Barack Obama contained nearly $70 billion in infrastructure projects that involve renewables or energy efficiency as well as an additional $20 billion in renewables-related tax incentives. “This bill, if enacted, will be a huge driver in the economy,” Mr. Noun said. He also noted that the Obama administration has committed to doubling production of alternative energy within three years. “The next big market for renewable energy is in the United States,” he said.
Among several key research areas undertaken at NREL are: (1) improving the efficiency and energy captured by wind turbines; (2) exploring new feedstocks for biofuels; (3) improving performance of solar energy systems; and (4) studying zero-energy buildings.
Don C. Smith, director of the ENRLGP, said, “In many people’s minds, NREL is the premier renewable energy facility in the world. This is confirmed by the fact that many leading global politicians and companies visit NREL each year. The University of Denver has benefited enormously from our relationship with NREL, and we look forward to strengthening that relationship in the future.”
ENRLGP students regularly serve as interns at NREL and currently one program graduate works at NREL. More information about NREL can be found by clicking here.
Leading Latin American Attorney Roberto Crouzel Discusses Natural Resources Opportunities
January 30, 2009
DENVER – Roberto H. Crouzel, one of Argentina’s leading business and transactional lawyers, spoke earlier this week about “Argentina: An Economy to Watch” at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law.
Dr. Crouzel, a partner in Buenos Aires-based Estudio Beccar Varela — one of the premier law firms in Latin America — is a visiting scholar at the College of Law.
In his remarks, Dr. Crouzel pointed out the abundance of natural resources located in Argentina. “These resources are the main reason why investors are coming to the county,” he said. He called special attention to the opportunities associated with the mining sector. “Argentina is still a place to invest for mining because of the high percentage of unexplored areas as well as the favorable geological setting,” he said. In 2007, $2 billion was invested in mining projects and $2.3 billion in mining-related materials were exported from the country.
Argentina also has enormous agricultural potential as well, he said, noting that the country has the world’s third largest resource of fresh water.
Dr. Crouzel explained that looking to the future Argentina is destined to be an even bigger player in the world’s economy. “Argentina is one of the largest countries in the world with the fewest people per square kilometer. It has plenty of resources to produce what the world’s population will need the most.”
Don C. Smith, director of the Environmental and Natural Resources Law & Policy graduate program, said that Dr. Crouzel’s remarks clearly illustrated that natural resources professionals will increasingly need to look beyond North America to find suitable locations in which to invest and develop. “Dr. Crouzel speaks with a great deal of authority on the matter of natural resources-related opportunities in Argentina. As a lawyer for many companies who are investing in Argentina, he knows first-hand that this country is poised to flourish when the world economy returns to a healthier state.”
More information about Estudio Beccar Varela can be accessed here.
Nationally Recognized Renewable Energy Expert – and DU Adjunct – Publishes Newsletter
January 28, 2009
DENVER – John A. Herrick, senior counsel in the Denver office of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck and an adjunct professor at the University of Denver College of Law, has published the latest issue of FORECAST: FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY.
The lead article in the January 21, 2009, issue of FOREcast is entitled, “Obama-Biden Administration Advocating Renewable-Driven Economic Recovery.” The article says that a “substantial component of the final [economic stimulus plan being proposed by the Obama Administration] will certainly address energy issues, including major efforts to create green jobs, expand the country’s ability to produce energy from renewable resources and move to a cleaner and greener economy.”
The newsletter also contains “FOREcast practice tips,” an insightful feature that addresses practical information for renewable energy developers and their attorneys, a summary of “Key Funding and Business Opportunities,” and a review of important Department of Energy awards. The full issue can be accessed by clicking here.
Mr. Herrick teaches “Renewable Energy & Energy Project Finance” in the Environmental and Natural Resources Law & Policy graduate program (ENRGP) at DU. This course has generated enormous interest among students since Mr. Herrick is one of the nation’s top five lawyers in the renewable energy finance sector. Before joining the Brownstein firm last year, Mr. Herrick served 15 years as Chief Counsel at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Golden, Colorado, office. In that role, Mr. Herrick was a central figure in the work of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), which is located about 10 miles west of Denver and is the world’s most advanced center of renewable energy expertise.
Don C. Smith, director of the ENRGP, said, “John Herrick is perhaps the nation’s foremost expert on renewable energy project finance. He has helped structure new energy production facilities totaling over $4 billion in value, structured the federal financing for the nation’s first cellulose biorefinery, and helped form research and development partnerships with private industry, academia, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Students seeking to understand the opportunities and challenges associated with renewables will definitely want to take this course.”
Conceptualizing Substantive Justice Conference
January 27, 2009
Professor Nancy Ehrenreich is organizing a conference entitled “Conceptualizing Substantive Justice.” The conference will be held at the Sturm College of Law on April 17-18, 2009.
Click HERE for Conceptualizing Substantive Justice Website
Call for Papers
Post-modern critiques have thoroughly discredited many of the Anglo-American legal norms in which modernism finds expression – formal equality, procedural justice, negative liberty, etc. But much room (and need) remains for discussion of new prescriptive paradigms of law and policy – for moving beyond critique to alternatives. For example, is it possible to articulate an alternative vision of justice that relies on positive notions of liberty, substantive notions of equality, and distributive notions of justice – and yet avoids the pitfall of claiming universal applicability or objective legitimacy? Can grounds for that vision be found within the U.S. Constitution, or would amendments or resort to statutory enactment be more appropriate? Does critical race theory’s endorsement of “looking to the bottom” suggest a methodology for identifying a set of concrete commitments that could ground a substantive notion of justice? How would that methodology be operationalized? How would conflicts among different outsider groups be resolved in the formulation of that vision?
Those interested in these or related questions are invited to attend a workshop-styled conference on “Conceptualizing Substantive Justice,” to be held at the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law on Friday and Saturday, April 17& 18, 2009.
Please submit paper proposals by Friday, March 13, 2009 to: Professor Nancy Ehrenreich, Sturm College of Law, University of Denver, 2255 E. Evans Ave., Denver CO 80208, nehrenre@law.du.edu, 303-871-6256.
Alumna fought enemy, history in Afghanistan
January 14, 2009
Important News for all Summer 2009 and later Colorado Bar Exam Applicants!
December 04, 2008
Beginning July 2009, the Colorado Supreme Court has altered the essay portion of the bar exam to adopt the Multiple-State Essay Exam (MEE). The exam remains unchanged for February 2009 Colorado Bar Exam applicants.
As background, MEE questions are composed by a team of scholars, practitioners, and judges under the auspices of the National Conference of Bar Examiners [more information available at www.ncbex.org]. Consequently, the scope and format of the essay exam will change to reflect the MEE format, providing test-takers with 8 nationally-created thirty-minute essay questions instead of 9 state-created 25-minute essay questions. Significantly, the subject matter of the exam will change with the addition of Conflict of Laws and the deletion of Administrative Law, Colorado Civil Procedure, and Colorado Domestic Relations from the panoply of available test subjects. Otherwise we have been assured that the essay exam subjects and protocols will remain largely unchanged.
Thus, starting in July 2009, bar exam applicants should anticipate essay questions covering the following subjects as listed on the NCBE website:
- Business Associations
- Constitutional Law
- Contracts
- Criminal Law and Procedure
- Evidence
- Family Law
- Federal Civil Procedure
- Real Property
- Torts
- Trusts and Estates
- Uniform Commercial Code
In sum, starting July 2009, the Colorado Supreme Court has decided to purchase all 3 components of the bar exam from the NCBE: (1) 2 performance tests; (2) 8 essay questions; and, (3) 200 multiple-choice questions. Accordingly, Colorado Bar Exam applicants should expect that the two-day format will remain unchanged starting in July 2009 as follows:
Day 1:
2 performance tests and 8 essay questions (Conflict of Laws, Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law and Procedure, Evidence, Family Law, Federal Civil Procedure, Real Property, Torts, Trusts and Estates, Uniform Commercial Code);
Day 2:
200 multiple-choice questions (Constitutional Law, Contracts/Sales, Criminal Law and Procedure, Evidence, Real Property, Torts)
Please let us know if you have questions and please visit www.ncbex.org for detailed subject matter outlines!
Note: The Colorado Bar Exam has indicated that it will add Conflict of Laws as an additional essay subject starting in two years to provide current students adequate time to prepare for studying this additional subject over the course of the next two years.
Fox News Special Report on drilling leases in Utah features DU Law Professor Fred Cheever
December 01, 2008
Fox News Channel (national network), November 24 – University of Denver Sturm College of Law Professor Fred Cheever was interviewed by Fox News, the national cable outlet, on the possibility that the Obama administration could block access for drilling, despite the leases.
DU Law Among Top 40 Public Interest Law Schools in the U.S.
November 25, 2008
As the first law school in the nation to provide legal services to underrepresented populations, the University of Denver Sturm College of Law is known for its dedication to law in the public interest. Today, DU Law offers one of the most comprehensive Public Interest Law programs in the United States.
View the National Jurist article, page 22 »
Congratulations to Michelle Larson-Krieg, Alice Paul Feminist Jurisprudence Essay Contest winner
November 17, 2008
The Legal Rhetoric and Women and the Law programs of American University Washington College of Law are pleased to announce the winner of the 2008 Alice Paul Feminist Jurisprudence Essay Contest.
Congratulations to Michelle Larson-Krieg, J.D. Candidate, 2009- University of Denver, Sturm College of Law author of “Comparable Worth in Minnesota and Ontario: Implications for U.S. Policy.”
To view winning essays and submit an entry for the 2009 contest visit www.wcl.american.edu/gender/wlp.
Law Professor Eli Wald mentioned in NY Times review of Malcolm Gladwell’s latest
November 03, 2008
View New York Times article here »