THE UNIVERSITY OF DENVER COLLEGE OF LAW is now accepting applications for its graduate fellowship program in clinical legal education. Denver Law’s Master of Laws (LLM) Clinical Teaching Fellowship Program offers attorneys the opportunity to gain extensive practice in law school clinical teaching under the supervision of experienced clinical faculty. Graduate fellows also learn about academic legal scholarship and, with the assistance of a faculty mentor, produce publishable-quality scholarship during their residence. Fellows receive an annual stipend and are awarded an LLM upon their successful completion of the fellowship. It is the explicit goal of the fellowship to prepare fellows for a career in clinical teaching.
Fellows enroll in a three-year program during which they are in residence at one of Denver Law’s five in-house clinics: the Civil Litigation Clinic, the Civil Rights Clinic, the Community Economic Development Clinic, the Criminal Defense Clinic, and the Environmental Law Clinic. Fellows will directly supervise J.D. students enrolled in the clinics, first as co-supervisors with clinic faculty and then on their own. Fellows also assist in teaching clinic seminars and perform work on their own client matters. Additionally, fellows enroll in a clinical pedagogy seminar and other activities designed to support an interest in clinical teaching and legal education. In addition to the above requirements, to complete the degree, the fellow must write a law review article of publishable quality.
Each of Denver Law’s five clinics will offer one clinical teaching fellowship that will commence in the summer of 2018. Clinical Fellows receive an annual stipend of $50,000, health and dental benefits, a waiver of all tuition and fees in the LLM program, and a travel budget for conferences. As full-time students, teaching fellows also may qualify for deferment of their student loans. In addition, teaching fellows may be eligible for loan repayment assistance from their law schools. Fellows are integrated into the intellectual life of the law school and the larger University. They are invited to attend faculty workshops and participate in mentoring sessions.
Qualifications: J.D. or equivalent; minimum 3 years of practice experience in the relevant area of law; excellent written and oral communication skills; strong interest in clinical teaching. Fellows must be members of the Colorado Bar or willing to petition for admission prior to the start date of the fellowship (Colorado permits lawyers teaching in a clinical program to waive into the Bar).
How to apply: To apply for a fellowship, please submit the following:
- Statement of interest of no more than two pages. The statement should address a) why you are interested in this fellowship; b) what you can contribute to the clinic; c) your experience with the area(s) of law in which the clinic practices and with public interest/social justice work; d) your professional or career goals for the next five or ten years; and e) anything else you consider pertinent.
- Please note: If you are applying for a fellowship in the Civil Rights Clinic or the Criminal Defense Clinic, please also submit 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.
Please send all application materials via email to Laurie Saraceno at lsaraceno@law.du.edu, and use “LLM Application” as the subject line.
Deadline: The application deadline is January 26, 2018, though applications will be considered on a rolling basis with priority given to those received by January 12, 2018.
The University of Denver is committed to enhancing the diversity of its faculty and staff and encourages applications from women, minorities, members of the LGBTQ community, people with disabilities and veterans. The University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.