The old adage “experience is the best teacher” rings true. For students at the University of Colorado Law School, experiential education is about applied learning— acquiring experience and skills by working on current cases for clients in need.
Thanks to a new $5 million endowed chair donated by local philanthropists Richard F. Schaden and his son, Rick E. Schaden (’87 BU), CU law students will have greater opportunities to incorporate real-world practice into their schooling.
Colorado Law has been a leader in hands-on legal education since it became one of the nation’s first law schools to establish its legal aid and defender clinic 60 years ago. Today, students receive academic credit for working on cases in one of nine clinics in areas ranging from civil and criminal cases to entrepreneurial law and American Indian law.
“I worked for the Colorado Public Defender for over a year as an unpaid intern,” said Melanie Gavisk (’09 LW). “I worked on countless cases, and even defended and won my first trial. I am profoundly thankful for this experience and will continue to work to defend indigent clients.”
The Schaden Family Fund’s endowment will provide funding to hire a senior faculty member to oversee the school’s experiential education programs. “I believe experiential education is essential,” says Richard F. Schaden. “This concept gives lawyers in training an opportunity to deal with real people with real problems.”
