New U of Denver Dean to Focus on Writing, Bar Preparation, Diversity
Jose Roberto Juarez, the new dean of the Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver, wants to make Sturm one of the best writing programs in the country.
“If I could wave a magic wand, the one thing I would want to see happening in colleges and universities is a greater emphasis on writing, all the way down to the elementary level,” Juarez told the Laredo Morning Times. “If you want to be a successful lawyer or business person, you have to write well.”
Juarez's other goals include revising Sturm's J.D. curriculum and raising the school's bar passage rate. At present, about 70 per cent of Sturm students pass the Colorado bar exam on their first try. "Given the quality of students they have, the bar passage should be much, much higher," Juarez said.
Juarez also hopes to establish programs that would allow Sturm students to study law in Mexico and Latin America. He noted that Sturm already has a strong international law program, along with strong programs in tax and environmental law.
Juarez will be the third Hispanic presently heading a U.S. law school. He has long been concerned that a disproportionately small number of Hispanics pursue law degrees. He suspects that one factor discouraging Hispanics from applying to law schools is the emphasis that admissions committees place on LSAT scores. He thinks that the role LSAT scores play in law school rankings will make it difficult to get schools to agree to a different approach.
Juarez is moving to the University of Denver from St. Mary's University in San Antonio, where he has been a professor of law for over fifteen years. He taught courses in civil procedure, civil rights, federal courts, language rights, and professional standards. Earlier he was an attorney with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund in San Antonio and Los Angeles, where he worked on employment discrimination issues.
Juarez said that he had been invited by other schools to consider deanships, but was never interested in the position until the position at Sturm opened up. "I did a lot of homework and found a very interesting law school," he said.
Juarez holds a J.D. from the University of Texas at Austin and a B.A. in history from Stanford.
Source: "Juarez Tackles New Role at Colorado Law School," by Tricia Cortez - the Laredo Morning Times, May 30, 2006
“If I could wave a magic wand, the one thing I would want to see happening in colleges and universities is a greater emphasis on writing, all the way down to the elementary level,” Juarez told the Laredo Morning Times. “If you want to be a successful lawyer or business person, you have to write well.”
Juarez's other goals include revising Sturm's J.D. curriculum and raising the school's bar passage rate. At present, about 70 per cent of Sturm students pass the Colorado bar exam on their first try. "Given the quality of students they have, the bar passage should be much, much higher," Juarez said.
Juarez also hopes to establish programs that would allow Sturm students to study law in Mexico and Latin America. He noted that Sturm already has a strong international law program, along with strong programs in tax and environmental law.
Juarez will be the third Hispanic presently heading a U.S. law school. He has long been concerned that a disproportionately small number of Hispanics pursue law degrees. He suspects that one factor discouraging Hispanics from applying to law schools is the emphasis that admissions committees place on LSAT scores. He thinks that the role LSAT scores play in law school rankings will make it difficult to get schools to agree to a different approach.
Juarez is moving to the University of Denver from St. Mary's University in San Antonio, where he has been a professor of law for over fifteen years. He taught courses in civil procedure, civil rights, federal courts, language rights, and professional standards. Earlier he was an attorney with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund in San Antonio and Los Angeles, where he worked on employment discrimination issues.
Juarez said that he had been invited by other schools to consider deanships, but was never interested in the position until the position at Sturm opened up. "I did a lot of homework and found a very interesting law school," he said.
Juarez holds a J.D. from the University of Texas at Austin and a B.A. in history from Stanford.
Source: "Juarez Tackles New Role at Colorado Law School," by Tricia Cortez - the Laredo Morning Times, May 30, 2006
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