As our nation navigates a rapidly changing legal landscape and highly consequential presidential election this fall, the Clinical Education Program at Colorado Law works tirelessly to provide knowledge and resources for students, voters, and community organizations to make steps toward a positive future. Since its founding in 1948, the Clinical Education Program has trained student attorneys as they provide free access to legal services for a wide range of clients. As students defend the environment, represent children, advocate for technology access, and more, they create ripple effects that will continue to empower individuals and communities for years to come.
American Indian Law Clinic
Established in 1992, the American Indian Law Clinic (AILC) was one of the first programs of its kind to represent individuals, tribes, and tribal entities in matters related to federal Indian law. The clinic also advocates at the United Nations to promote and protect Indigenous freedoms on an international level. Clinical Professor and Director of the American Indian Law Clinic Christina Stanton 鈥�15 guides student attorneys through a combination of classroom instruction and hands-on work on legal cases and projects centered around Indian law issues. Their projects cover a broad spectrum of legal work from advocacy and litigation to nonprofit support and transactional practice.
As a student attorney in the AILC, Oliver Skelly 鈥�25 helped represent a federally recognized tribe across a host of natural resource issues, including nuclear waste regulations and water rights. 鈥淭he opportunity to work on projects with a direct nexus to the environment, climate change, and American Indian law was an invaluable experience that I will forever cherish,鈥� he said.
Ryann Rael 鈥�25 felt grounded by the opportunity to finally be put into the 鈥渄river鈥檚 seat鈥� as a young attorney while directly improving people鈥檚 lives. Rael and other AILC students teamed up with the Juvenile and Family Law Clinic to secure permanent adoptions for a brother and sister to reunite with their aunt and grandmother in an Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) case. 鈥淭hat family is whole, happy, and together because of the work the clinics did. That is the most valuable takeaway which will impact the rest of my career,鈥� Rael shared.
In addition to representing clients, the AILC supports voting rights during election years. To address a long history of Native voter discrimination in the United States, clinical students not only share their understanding of a complex array of voting laws and requirements with the public but also serve as an onsite presence to watch polls and intervene if elections are improperly run.
Since 2018, the AILC has collaborated with Indigenous-led organizations to ensure every Native individual has access to the ballot. That year, a change in North Dakota鈥檚 voter ID requirements posed a potential threat to the voting rights of tribal members. In response, the American Indian Law Clinic, First Peoples Worldwide, IllumiNative, and Native Organizers Alliance came together to collaboratively launch the Natives Vote team. Together they endeavor to address the unique challenges faced by Native communities in exercising their right to vote.
Clinic students maintained the Natives Vote website, which offered registration assistance and mail-in ballot information and clarified the proper identification to bring to the polls. This year, the clinic visited campus and community events to provide in-person voting assistance for the local Native community.
This fall, the American Indian Law Clinic partnered with Professor Vanessa Racehorse鈥檚 Tribal Law course to support election protection efforts in South Dakota on Election Day, thanks to support from the Center for Native American and Indigenous Studies and the Office for Public and Community Engaged Scholarship. They will work alongside Four Directions, a Native-led national voting rights organization dedicated to advancing equality at the ballot box across Indian Country.
Colorado Law students volunteer at a voting location at the Turtle Mountain Reservation during the fall 2022 midterm election.
鈥淚n light of the persistent challenges of voter discrimination and the ongoing struggle to uphold the right to vote for all citizens, our curriculum delves into some of the cases that have shaped the landscape of voting rights,鈥� Stanton explained. 鈥淭hese cases explore issues such as voter suppression tactics, discriminatory voting laws, and the protection of minority voting rights. Our curriculum is crafted to foster critical thinking and encourage students to form their own perspectives on whether the Supreme Court and lower courts have effectively safeguarded the right to vote through its interpretations of the Constitution.鈥�
Stanton also coordinates Colorado Law鈥檚 outreach for Constitution Day. Every fall, the Byron R. White Center for the Study of American Constitutional Law recruits student and attorney volunteers to visit high school classrooms across Colorado to teach lessons on constitutional law. This year, volunteers will engage students in a lesson plan that highlights the Constitution and current events, including recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, through an exploration of the past and current realities of barriers to the right to vote. Curious and outspoken high school students are encouraged to express their ideas and ask bold questions about their legal interests. For many of these students, this will be their first opportunity to vote in an election. With the help of Stanton and Colorado Law volunteers, young people can head to the ballots with more knowledge about the impact of their individual votes.
Newest Clinic Makes Waves
Colorado Law also positively serves the community through its newest clinic, the Community Collaboration Law Lab (CCLL). Founded in 2016 as the Sustainable Community Development Clinic, the CCLL provides pro bono legal services to nonprofit organizations and businesses with a focus on social justice and sustainable development. Student attorneys explore regulatory compliance, real estate development, and agricultural law to promote the missions of community-centered organizations. Professor Deborah Cantrell, who oversees the clinic, has tailored the program to maximize experiential learning opportunities for student attorneys, equipping them with practical skills and knowledge they can bring to their future legal practice. In addition to working with actual clients, students are exposed to new ways of engaging with the community through the missions of social justice organizations.
Adam Hunt 鈥�25 described his work with the clinic as an opportunity to learn ways to navigate a complex regulatory system and tailor compliance plans to the needs of the nonprofit client. His biggest lesson: at times, an attorney鈥檚 job is to work within the fields of ambiguity and uncertainty. Aidan (Addy) Sterns 鈥�25 enjoyed researching federal health insurance regulations and developing real estate leases for two organizations with missions to educate the broader community.
鈥淚t was impactful and rewarding to provide legal support to organizations with such meaningful missions and provide a direct, positive impact to the communities around them,鈥� Sterns said. She also collaborated on a project for a closer community鈥攈er own law school鈥攂y creating a food pantry for students. This work continues into the 2024-25 academic year and will provide support for future law students for years to come.
Natalie Tiggleman '25 gained confidence in her legal competencies through her work in the CCLL. She was especially fulfilled by a project assisting a local LGBT group with becoming a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Tiggleman expressed, 鈥淲itnessing the excitement of each member as their dream came to life was incredibly rewarding, especially as a member of the LGBT community myself. These experiences underscored the importance of equitable development and reinforced my commitment to pursuing a more just and inclusive future through legal advocacy. This experience gives me a leg up in my future career, deepening my understanding of diverse legal areas and solidifying my passion for using the law to drive social change.鈥�
Criminal/Immigration Defense Clinic
Another clinic making a positive impact on the future is the Criminal/Immigration Defense Clinic. Led by Professor and Associate Dean for Community and Culture Violeta Chapin, the clinic recently helped secure a future for a member of the CU community. Students supported a CU employee in the custodial department as they pursued lawful permanent status through an employment-based visa. Over the years, the Criminal/Immigration Defense Clinic has worked on many similar cases to provide CU employees more permanent residency in the U.S. so that they can live, travel, and work freely without fear of losing their status or facing deportation.
Emma Berry '23 recalls helping two clients who had been navigating the immigration system since they were young children. One client was a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient from Ghana whose status was threatened by a criminal charge after running a red light. Berry represented them in court and cross-examined the charging officer. Another client was from South Korea but had been in the U.S. since they were a baby. To prevent the client鈥檚 deportation due to aging out of their visa, Berry helped successfully request that the removal proceedings be dismissed.These clients still face issues in the immigration system today, but with the help of Colorado Law student attorneys and faculty, they are not forced to face the complex system alone.
A Force for Good
Taking a clinic is often a favorite experience for Colorado Law alumni who continue to use their skills to promote important values like sustainability, public service, and access to justice. This year, the Criminal Defense Clinic will target wrongful convictions with the Korey Wise Innocence Project. As climate concerns and technology advances abruptly change our world, the Getches-Green Natural Resources, Energy, and Environmental Law Clinic and the Samuelson-Glushko Technology Law and Policy Clinic pursue federal protections for the public interest. Other clinics serving a diverse clientele at no charge include the Civil Practice Clinic, the Juvenile and Family Law Clinic, and the Entrepreneurial Law Clinic.
According to Professor Chapin, 鈥淭he intimate size, the relationships that grow through teamwork, and all of the emotions, sweat, and tears that go into defending and advocating for real people are what make the clinical experience so unique and powerful.鈥�