The Silicon Flatirons Telecommunications Program of the University of Colorado Law School has received more than $750,000 from private and non-profit donors to help establish a new clinic and to fund research.
Pam Samuelson and Robert Glushko of Berkeley, Calif., have donated $500,000 to establish a Technology Policy Law Clinic. The donation follows a $250,000 gift from the Dale Hatfield Research and Scholars Program to create a fund to support technology policy research, regulatory education and stipends for students to pursue public interest work in technology policy.
"Given our current program, we are uniquely situated to provide students with a top-flight education in technology law and to continue to provide valuable insight on cutting-edge topics," said Phil Weiser, executive director and founder of the Silicon Flatirons Program. "I am thrilled with the support we have received both locally and nationally."
The Samuelson-Glushko Technology Policy Law Clinic will give second- and third-year law students the opportunity to conduct technology policy research and to work in public service internships in the technology and telecommunications arena.
The clinic also will serve as a means for educators and students to work with government officials to identify opportunities for improving Colorado's technology policy, said Glushko.
"The University of Colorado at 麻豆影院 is ideally situated to promote thoughtful technology policy, particularly with regard to the massive changes now transforming the telecommunications industry," said Glushko, who began his career at AT&T's Bell Labs and is now a professor at the University of California, Berkeley School of Information.
Pam Samuelson, who is married to Glushko, is a leading scholar on information policy and is jointly appointed at the University of California, Berkeley School of Information and the Boalt Hall School of Law.
"Law schools need to increasingly realize the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and that policy is often made in regulatory circles well before the relevant issues reach the courts -- the domain of traditional law clinics," said Samuelson.
In addition to the Glushko-Samuelson and Hatfield gifts, local venture capitalist Brad Feld will fund a Technology Meetup group, bringing entrepreneurs to the law school to exchange ideas, and a roundtable on entrepreneurship, innovation and public policy.
The Technology Policy Law Clinic is the latest of the law school's clinical offerings. Nationwide, legal clinics are increasingly viewed as performing a critical role in helping law students effectively transition from the classroom to legal practice, said David Getches, dean of the law school.
"Colorado is committed to providing students with a rich set of opportunities to engage in cutting-edge experiences, and we are thrilled that Bob and Pam are enabling us to offer such an exciting educational opportunity," said Getches.