Visiting Assistant Professor of the Practice of Law

A national leader in experiential and interdisciplinary legal education, the University of Denver Sturm College of Law is widely regarded as one of the nation’s most innovative and ascendant law schools. The law school features an outstanding and diverse student body, a community of nationally recognized scholar-teachers, an accomplished and highly professional staff, and roughly 17,000 alumni who have achieved careers of distinction in law, business, government, public interest, and other professional domains. Located in a beautiful and economically vibrant metropolitan area, the Sturm College of Law supports a full-time JD program, a part-time weekend JD program, a range of pioneering Master’s programs, and a set of esteemed specialty programs.

Position Summary

Widely recognized as one of the most comprehensive, innovative, and respected experiential learning programs within U.S. legal education, the Externship Program at the Sturm College of Law provides students with real-world practice experience through field placements with a diverse range of non-profit, governmental, and for-profit employers and shapes students’ professional identities through teaching, advising, and guided self-reflection.

We seek to hire a part-time faculty member to teach in our Externship Program as a Visiting Assistant Professor of the Practice of Law, beginning January 4, 2025. Working in collaboration with the Director of the Externship Program and other externship faculty and staff, the successful candidate will assist students in selecting externship opportunities that advance their professional objectives, engage with employers regarding programmatic requirements, and teach and advise students on ways to navigate their workplaces, strengthen their professional capacities, and beneficially shape their professional identities and ethical foundations. The position is anticipated as an eight-month (i.e., January – August 2025), half-time (0.50 FTE) appointment.

Essential Functions

• Advise students in identifying and selecting externship placements that advance their professional goals.
• Foster professional self-reflection by students, in both individual and group settings.
• Assist students in navigating professional matters arising in the workplace, including ethical issues.
• Engage with externship placement supervisors regarding programmatic expectations, including workloads, training programs, and student evaluations.
• Collaborate with faculty and staff in the Externship Program to advance programmatic goals.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Knowledge of legal practice in a variety of settings
• Desire and capacity to mentor students
• Well-developed communication and writing skills
• Strong interpersonal skills

Required Qualifications

• A J.D. degree from an ABA-accredited law school
• Membership in the bar of any U.S. jurisdiction
• At least three years of post-J.D. legal work
• An understanding of legal practice across a variety of settings
• A demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in teaching, professional experience, and/or public engagement

Preferred Qualifications

• Admission to the Colorado bar or the ability to gain such admission
• Experience mentoring, supervising, or teaching law students and/or early-career lawyers
• Familiarity with the legal communities of the city of Denver and the state of Colorado
• Experience with legal pedagogy

Work Schedule
While the University's administrative offices are open Monday – Friday, 8:00 am – 4:30 pm, faculty schedules vary from term to term and are based on courses taught, service commitments, and research agendas. The University's academic calendars are posted on the registrar's website (the law school is on a semester system and has a different academic calendar).

Application Deadline
For consideration, please submit your application materials by 4:00 p.m. (MST) November 15, 2024.

Special Instructions
Candidates must apply online through jobs.du.edu to be considered. Only applications submitted online will be accepted.

Salary Grade Number:
The salary grade for the position is UC.

Salary Range:
The salary range for this position is $27,000 - $30,000

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 ma