Department Summary
The University of Denver Sturm College of Law is a national leader in experiential learning, whose innovative and highly respected clinical program ranks in the Top 5 in the nation. Located in a dynamic and beautiful urban setting, the Sturm College of Law features an outstanding and diverse student body, a motivated and highly professional staff, a faculty that includes some of the most accomplished legal scholars in the nation, and roughly 17,000 alumni who have achieved careers of distinction in law, business, government, public interest, and other professional domains.
The Sturm College of Law was the first law school in the nation to offer academic credit to students for representing indigent clients. Today, its Student Law Office provides second- and third-year law students with the opportunity to refine their lawyering skills and forge their professional identities while providing outstanding legal representation to clients in seven in-house clinics: advancing social change; civil litigation; civil rights; community economic development; criminal defense; environmental law; and immigration law and policy.
Position Summary
The Christopher N. Lasch Clinical Teaching Program (“Program”) at the Sturm College of Law prepares talented and dedicated individuals to serve as future full-time clinical faculty members at U.S. law schools. Christopher N. Lasch Clinical Teaching Fellows (“Lasch Fellows”) undertake a rigorous training program involving assignment to a particular clinic within the Student Law Office and an associated three-year course of teaching, research, and study culminating in an LL.M. degree. The Program honors the life and legacy of Professor Christopher N. Lasch (1965-2021), who served on the faculty of the Sturm College of Law for over a decade. Professor Lasch was a fierce advocate for social justice, a nurturing teacher and mentor, and a scholar of immense range and significance who took a strong and enduring interest in the training of future lawyers and clinical law teachers.
During the course of the Program, Lasch Fellows enroll in a seminar focused on clinical pedagogy; supervise clinical students, first as co-supervisors with full-time clinical faculty and then on their own; assist in teaching clinical seminars; engage in client representation; and prepare one or more scholarly articles of publishable quality. Lasch Fellows receive an annual stipend and are awarded LL.M. degrees upon the successful completion of their fellowships.
We seek a Lasch Fellow in the Criminal Defense Clinic (“CDC”), which represents individuals in criminal proceedings.
The successful candidate would commence their responsibilities on June 1, 2025.
Essential Functions
- Supervision of second- and third-year law students, with the goals of training students to become ethical, effective, and compassionate advocates and of delivering outstanding client representation
- Classroom teaching and curriculum development, in collaboration with the Director of the CDC
Required Qualifications
- JD or equivalent degree
- Excellent written and oral communication skills
- At least three (3) years of practice experience in criminal defense
- A commitment to inclusive teaching methods designed to effectively engage a diverse student population
- Membership in the Colorado Bar or willingness to petition for admission prior to the start date of the fellowship
- Note: Lawyers teaching in a law school clinical program are permitted to waive into the Colorado bar, upon application.
Preferred Qualifications
- Teaching, training, or supervision of law students or early-career lawyers
Application Deadline
For consideration, please submit your application materials by 4:00 p.m. (MST) February 10, 2025.
Special Instructions
Candidates must apply online through jobs.du.edu to be considered. Only applications submitted online will be accepted.
Salary
The salary for this position is $70,000 in Year 1, $72,500 in Year 2, and $75,000 in Year 3.
The University of Denver has provided a compensation range that represents its good faith estimate of what the University may pay for the position at the time of posting. The University may ultimately pay more or less than the posted compensation range. The salary offered to the selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal salary equity considerations, and available market information, but not based on a candidate’s sex or any other protected status.
Benefits
Lasch Fellows are covered by the University of Denver’s Student Health Insurance Plan, available exclusively to students at the University of Denver who are actively enrolled in an on-campus, degree-seeking program, and are also eligible for a transit pass and certain benefits offered by the University. Lasch Fellows receive a waiver of all tuition and fees associated with the LL.M. program in which they are enrolled, as well as a professional development budget. As full-time students, Lasch Fellows may also qualify for deferment of their student loans and/or loan repayment assistance from their law schools.
Please include the following documents with your application:
- Resume
- List of at least three (3) reference
- Statement of interest of no more than two (2) pages addressing (a) why you are interested in the fellowship; (b) what you can contribute to the CDC; (c) your experience in the area of criminal defense; (d) your future professional goals; and (e) anything else you consider pertinent. *Upload as cover letter
- A writing sample that represents recent, challenging legal work. The writing sample should not be a collaborative work or a document significantly edited by someone else.
The University of Denver is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression), marital, family, or parental status, pregnancy or related conditions, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran. The University of Denver does not discriminate and prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, age, religion, creed, disability, sex (including sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression), marital family, and parental status, pregnancy, genetic information, military enlistment, or veteran status, and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination under federal, state, or local law, regulation, or ordinance in any of the University’s educational programs and activities, and in the employment (including application for employment) and admissions (including application for admission) context, as required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; the Americans with Disabilities Act; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967; the Equal Pay Act; the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act; the Colorado Protecting Opportunities and Worker's Rights ("POWR") Act; and any other federal, state, and local laws, regulations, or ordinances that prohibit discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation. For more information, please see the University of Denver's Non‑Discrimination‑Statement.
All offers of employment are based upon satisfactory completion of a criminal history background check.