Innovative University of Denver Sturm College of Law students, Zachary Al-Tabbaa, 3L, and Desiree Palomares, 2L, are taking their education and legal responsibility to the next level. Appointed as co-presidents of the Hispanic National Bar Association – Law Student Division’s Region XIII (Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska and Wyoming) in October 2018, they are on a mission to create opportunities for students to thrive in law school and become successful members of the legal profession.
You don’t have to look much further than the Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) at Sturm College of Law to see how the University of Denver is fulfilling its mission of being a private university dedicated to the public good. Since 1982, the clinic has been helping the low-income population dig its way out from under mountains of IRS debt.
When professors, veterans, and law students join efforts, impressive solutions are possible. In the case of the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, that solution is the groundbreaking pro-bono Veterans Advocacy Project (VAP), which is making monumental strides in veteran legal services.
The European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union, has awarded a €300,000 ($350,000) grant to four universities including the University of Denver to develop a “transatlantic-based” law school course that will compare European Union and United States climate change and energy transition policies, laws, and practices.
Associate Professor Margaret Kwoka received the Pro Bono Achievement Award from the Animal Legal Defense Fund, recognizing her exemplary efforts for animals. She received the award at their third annual gala held in Los Angeles on September 8, 2018 where guests learned about the ALDF’s recent victories on behalf of animals. Net proceeds from the gala help fulfill their mission to protect the lives and advance the interests of animals through the legal system. Pictured with Kwoka is ALDF’s Pro Bono Program Director Tom Linney, Executive Director Steve Wells and Founder & General Counsel Joyce Tischler.
A recent $687,000 gift from the Arnold & Porter Foundation to the University of Denver will create two new endowed scholarships at the Sturm College of Law to support outstanding students with a demonstrated commitment to civil liberties and civil rights. The gift also will support a strategic litigation fund designed to advance the nationally recognized work of the law school’s Civil Rights Clinic, part of its No. 8-ranked clinical program.
For one week this summer, the University of Denver Sturm College of Law hosted 20 rising high school juniors who immersed themselves in the legal profession. Through the Journey to JD (J2JD) program, founded by the Center for Legal Inclusiveness (CLI), this diverse range of students gained a basic understanding of the legal system and were empowered to explore a career in law.
The Civil Rights Clinic (CRC) has had an exciting and eventful past few months. In June, the CRC reached a tentative settlement agreement in a case brought on behalf of a transgender individual confined in the Colorado Department of Corrections. The settlement was finalized in September, and two of the student attorneys provide a reflection of their work on that case below. In July, the CRC secured the release of a federal prisoner after over two years litigating his post-conviction claim. The government immediately appealed, and we are continuing to litigate that appeal. In the interim, we are happy that our client is home with his family. Finally, in August, the CRC tried a case in federal court brought on behalf of a federal prisoner challenging the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ infringement of his religious rights. A student attorney who worked on that case for the past year provides a second reflection of her experiences below.
