Editing Sturm College of Law

{{Infobox Law School
|class_canceled=Yes
|temp_pass_fail_grading=Yes
|pass_fail_grading_notes=Mandatory Honors/Pass/No Pass. In required courses and courses over 20 students, max 25% honors. Other courses no limit. All academic probation/dismissals suspended for the semester. May graduation for students under required GPA decided case by case.
|type=Private non-profit
|image=[[Image:Sturm-logo.png|200px]]
|established=1892
|parent=University of Denver
|dean=Martin J. Katz
|street_address=2255 E Evans Ave
|city=Denver
|state=CO
|country=US
|full_time_students=1200
|ranking=77
|website=www.law.du.edu
|nickname=DU
}}
The University of Denver '''Sturm College of Law''' ("DU Law") is one of two law schools in the state of Colorado, and the only law school in the Denver metro area. Founded in 1892, the Sturm College of Law is one of the first in America's Mountain West. The college is located on the [[University of Denver]]'s main campus, about seven miles south of downtown Denver.

As the only law school in the Denver metro area, DU law students are able to pursue internships with the some of the firms, corporations, government and non-profit agencies, as well as the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit]] and the [[United States District Court for the District of Colorado]], located in downtown Denver.

==History and background==
The University of Denver College of Law opened its doors in 1892, pioneering legal education on America’s frontier and graduating many of the attorneys and judges who built the legal structure of America’s Mountain West. Independence, ingenuity, and excellence remain guiding principles at DU Law and for the whole of the University of Denver, which also includes top graduate schools in business, international studies, social work and other fields.<ref name="law.du.edu">[http://www.law.du.edu/index.php/about/du-law-history "DU Law History"]</ref>

The law school initially adopted an apprenticeship model of legal education, recruiting the most prestigious attorneys in Denver to teach students the nuts and bolts of the practice of law. Students gained invaluable insight from their practitioner professors; aside from the rigors of classroom study, students also frequently observed courtroom proceedings. This approach to teaching students by employing in-the-field methods remains at the heart of DU Law.

A pioneer amidst pioneers, the College of Law opened the doors to its Legal Aid Dispensary in 1904, thus creating the first clinical programs in the nation and the precursor to DU Law’s Student Law Office (SLO). A frontrunner in serving Denver’s indigent populations, the Dispensary saw several incarnations before it evolved into the law school’s present day clinical programs. The SLO trains law students in the practice of law under the supervision of experienced faculty, while at the same time representing the under-served in criminal defense, civil practice, civil rights and disabilities, tax, and mediation matters. The Environmental Law Clinic, and Rocky Mountain Child Advocacy Clinical Partnership and the Tenth Circuit Clinic give students additional opportunities for public interest practice.

The Westminster Law School is an important part of the history of legal education in Denver. For 45 years, from its founding in 1912 to its merger with the University of Denver College of Law in 1957, Westminster provided the only evening program of law study from Kansas City to the Pacific Coast. In Westminster’s prime, it boasted a sizeable student body and its alumni were successful in passing the bar and practicing law. Evolving accreditation standards eventually required too large a budget for the strictly part-time institution, and the school merged with the University of Denver. Terms of the merger included naming the law library the Westminster Law Library and the development of an evening program at the College of Law.<ref>[http://www.law.du.edu/index.php/library/about-the-library/name "Westminster Law Library"]</ref>

=== Sturm namesake ===
The Sturm College of Law is named for [[Donald L. Sturm]], owner of Denver-based [[American National Bank]].  In 2004, Mr. and Mrs. Sturm generously gave the College of Law $20 million, the largest single donation in the school's history and one of the largest gifts ever to the University of Denver.<ref name="College of Law to be named for Donald L. Sturm">[http://www.law.du.edu/news/story.cfm?ID=49 College of Law to be named for Donald L. Sturm]</ref>

=== Ricketson Law Building ===
Since the fall of 2003, the Sturm College of Law has resided in a new, state of the art, $63.5 million facility called the "Frank H. Ricketson Jr. Law Building" located on the University Park campus near the [[Ritchie Center]].<ref name="Ricketson">[http://www.law.du.edu/news/story.cfm?ID=38 College of Law Building Named in Honor of 1919 Law Graduate]</ref>  The new facility is distinguished as the nation’s first certified “green” law building, having been awarded the Gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification by the [[U.S. Green Building Council]].<ref name="DU law school building earns LEEDS Gold certification">[http://www.law.du.edu/news/story.cfm?ID=56 DU law school building earns LEEDS Gold certification]</ref>

==Academics==
=== Academic reputation ===
DU Law ranks as one of the top 100 law schools in the nation by [[U.S. News & World Report]]. It is currently ranked 77th, with a part-time program ranked 13th.<ref name="US News and World Report's 2011 Law School Rankings">[http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/law-rankings Best Law School Rankings | Law Program Rankings | US News<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
[[File:University of Denver campus pics 057.jpg|280px|left|thumb|Sturm College of Law: The Second LEED Certified Green Law School in the Country<ref>[http://www.colorado.edu/law/about/wolf/leed.htm Colorado Law :: LEED Certified Law School<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>]] {{dead link|date=January 2011}} {{dead link|date=January 2011}}

The school is known for its commitment to public service and is ranked as a top law school for public interest law by the [[National Jurist]] (currently ranked 40).<ref>[http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/cypress/nationaljurist1108/ "National Jurist"]</ref>  To support this initiative, the Sturm College of Law offers the Chancellor’s Scholar Program with full tuition scholarships awarded to selected students with a demonstrated history of excellence in scholarship and public service.<ref>[http://www.law.du.edu/index.php/financial-aid/list-of-scholarships/chancellor-scholarship "Chancellor Scholarship"]</ref>  Every Juris Doctor student is required to perform a minimum of fifty hours of supervised, uncompensated, law-related public service work during his or her law school career as a prerequisite for graduation.<ref>[http://www.law.du.edu/index.php/public-interest-office/public-service-requirement "Public Service Requirement"]</ref>

=== Clinical programs ===
[[File:HistoricSLO.jpg|280px|right|thumb|The University of Denver is the home of the first clinical programs in the nation, founded in 1904.]]
* Civil Litigation Clinic
* Civil Rights Clinic
* Criminal Representation Clinic
* Environmental Law Clinic
* Mediation & Arbitration Clinic

The University of Denver is the home of the first clinical programs in the nation, founded in 1904.<ref name="law.du.edu"/>

=== Trial advocacy ===

The University of Denver is particularly well known for its outstanding programs in trial advocacy.  The school sponsors several traveling trial teams that compete nationally and internationally, including:

* The ABA Trial Team
* The AAJ Trial Team
* The Jessup Moot Court Team (competes in international law)
* The Vis Moot Court Team (competes in international commercial arbitration)

Additionally, the University hosts several intra school Moot Court Competitions with most open to all students, including 1Ls.
* Rothgerber Johnson & Lyons Negotiations Competition
* Daniel S. Hoffman Trial Advocacy Competition
* Ved P. Nanda International Appellate Advocacy Competition
* Client Counseling Competition
* Peter H. Holme, Jr. Barrister’s Cup Appellate Advocacy Competition
* Honorable Phillip S. Figa Motions Competition

The STLA (Student Trial Lawyers Association) is the largest student run organization on campus and was recently chosen by Sturm College of Law Students as the year's most "Outstanding Student Organization."  The organization hosts several mock trial rounds and is open to all students wanting to participate. Participants are given feedback and guidance from their peers, practicing attorneys, and area judges. It is a non-competitive environment designed for educational and networking purposes.<ref>[http://law.du.edu/documents/alumni/magazine/Winter09/index.html ''Alumni Magazine'']</ref>

==Notable alumni==
* [[Wayne N. Aspinall]], former [[United States House of Representatives|Congressman]] from Colorado
* [[Charles Brannan]], former [[United States Secretary of Agriculture|Secretary of Agriculture]]
* Kingsley Browne, law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice [[Byron White]] and professor, [[Wayne State University]].
* [[Terrance Carroll]], Speaker of the [[Colorado House of Representatives]]
* [[Peter Domenici]], [[United States Senator|Senator]] from New Mexico
* [[William D. Ford]], former United States Congressman from Michigan
* [[Rebecca Ann King]], former [[Miss America]]<ref>[http://www.du.edu/experience/vision/alumni.html University of Denver -- Alumni]</ref>
* [[Valentino Mazzia]] (1922–1999), forensic anesthesiologist.<ref>Severo, Richard. [http://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/21/nyregion/valentino-mazzia-77-student-of-deaths-under-anesthesia.html "Valentino Mazzia, 77, Student Of Deaths Under Anesthesia"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', March 21, 1999. Retrieved October 21, 2009.</ref>
* [[Mike McKevitt]], former United States Congressman from Colorado
* [[Harry N. MacLean]], 1967, true crime author and also an adjunct professor at the school<ref>[http://www.lawrence.edu/news/pubs/books/maclean.shtml Alumni Authors – Harry Maclean ’64 – Lawrence.edu – Retrieved November 23, 2009]</ref>
* [[Jim Nicholson (U.S. politician)|Jim Nicholson]], former [[United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs|Secretary of Veteran Affairs]]
* [[Gale Norton]], former [[United States Secretary of the Interior|Secretary of the Interior]]
* [[Byron G. Rogers]], former United States Congressman from Colorado
* [[Andrew Romanoff]], former Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives

== Publications ==

* [[Denver University Law Review]] <http://www.law.du.edu/index.php/denver-university-law-review>
* Denver Journal of International Law and Policy <http://djilp.org/>
* Sports and Entertainment Law Journal
* Transportation Law Journal
* University of Denver Water Law Review <http://www.law.du.edu/index.php/university-of-denver-water-law-review>
* Race to the Bottom Blog  <http://www.theracetothebottom.org/>
* University of Denver Criminal Law Review <ref>http://law.du.edu/index.php/university-of-denver-criminal-law-review</ref>

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
* [http://www.law.du.edu Sturm College of Law (official website)]