Colorado Law's membership in the Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative Collegiate Program Consortium enables us to create a diverse array of opportunities designed to help students understand ethical principles in practice as a framework for decision-making and leadership as attorneys. Methods include courses, curriculum components, competitions, trainings, programs, events, and assessments throughout the academic year.
Curriculum
Master of Studies in Law in Ethics and Compliance: In fall 2016, we began our one-year Master of Studies in Law (MSL) degree program in Ethics and Compliance, which trains students for careers as ethics and compliance professionals and offers a unique perspective on the intersection of law and business.
New Ethics Courses and Course Components: Through the Collegiate Program at Colorado Law, we have developed several new courses, seminars, and course components to bring a deeper focus to ethics, cultures, leadership, and decision-making.
Faculty grants: Funds to provide new course components or guest lecturers on ethics topics.
Competitions and Hands-on Learning
Ethics Writing Competition: During the fall semester, the Collegiate Programs at Colorado Law and the Boulder Leeds School of Business partner to offer a writing competition based on a complex, real-world ethics problem. Students provide recommendations and guidance from the perspective of a practicing lawyer facing a potential organizational crisis. At the conclusion of the competition, students from Colorado Law and Leeds gather to discuss how they analyzed the case problem, and to celebrate their work with representatives from the Daniels Fund.
: In April, law students from a Legal Ethics, Professionalism, and Creative Problem Solving seminar serve as legal advisors to undergraduate teams from the Collegiate Program Consortium schools.
Interdisciplinary Ethics Tech Competition: The Collegiate Programs at Colorado Law and the Boulder Leeds School of Business team up to hold an annual Interdisciplinary Ethics Tech Competition. This event brings together students from not only Colorado Law and Leeds, but also from the College of Engineering and Applied Science, the Department of Information Science, and others across campus. Working in interdisciplinary teams, students are tasked with responding to an ethical challenge. Students prepare oral and written presentations to a team of experienced judges, showcasing their understanding of ethical principles, technical subject knowledge, and professionalism.
Colorado Law Student Ambassadors Program: This group of 30-40 law students receive orientation training in ethics, professionalism, and networking skills in order to represent the law school at a variety of events throughout the academic year. The program aims to demonstrate to students how values such as integrity, accountability, and respect can play a role in small, day-to-day interactions—not just pivotal career-defining moments.
Ethics Speakers and Series
Annual Lectures: Each year, the Collegiate Programs at Colorado Law and the Denver Business School partner to welcome an accomplished business leader to share his or her stories of ethical leadership. These inspirational lectures have featured a renowned ground-breaking investigative journalist, leaders from private industry including the telecom and finance sectors, and a leader in ethics and compliance from higher education.
Dean's Ethical Leadership Lunch series: Dean Anaya hosts a series of leadership lunches each semester for a small group of students to engage with a successful legal professional and community leader on topics ranging from ethical leadership to professional identity. View a list of the distinguished professionals who have joined us for a Dean's Leadership Lunch in recent years.
Special Collaborations:Colorado Law is proud to partner with the other schools in the Collegiate Program consortium to strengthen and expand ethics programming throughout the region.
Community and Faculty Engagement
Conferences: By attending ethics conferences and competitions throughout the year, including the , faculty and students extend the relevance of ethics and professionalism in both the legal and business worlds.