Assistant Professor of the Practice of Law

Founded in 1897, the Sturm College of Law is a national leader in experiential learning and interdisciplinary legal study. Located in one of the nation’s most dynamic and beautiful cities, the Sturm College of Law features a faculty of outstanding and nationally recognized scholar-teachers, an accomplished student body, a highly talented and dedicated staff, and roughly 17,000 alumni who have achieved careers of distinction in law, business, government, public interest, and other professional domains. A private Research 1 university dedicated to the public good, the University of Denver offers more than 300 academic programs and serves roughly 11,000 undergraduate and graduate students.

Position Summary

The University of Denver Sturm College of Law seeks to hire a full-time faculty member at the rank of Assistant Professor of the Practice of Law to teach in the law school’s innovative and nationally recognized Externship Program, through which students gain real-world legal experience and receive academic credit by externing with judges, governmental agencies, non-profit organizations, law firms, and corporations. In collaboration with the Director of the Externship Program, the successful candidate will (1) advise students with respect to externship selection; (2) teach student-externs various skills and perspectives relevant to strengthening their professional capacities, navigating their workplaces, and beneficially shaping their professional identities and ethical foundations; (3) engage with both current externship supervisors regarding programmatic expectations and prospective supervisors to expand externship opportunities for students; and (4) collaborate with faculty and staff colleagues within the Sturm College of Law to advance programmatic goals. The successful candidate would be expected to begin work by July 1, 2026.

Essential Functions

Advising:

• Advise students in identifying and selecting externship placements that advance their professional goals.

Teaching:

• Impart relevant professional skills and perspectives to student-externs.
• 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.

External Engagement:

• Engage with current externship placement supervisors regarding programmatic requirements and expectations, including training, supervision, and evaluation.
• Work to expand externship opportunities for students, including in specialty legal settings (e.g., public interest, sports and recreation, technology law).

Collaboration and Governance:

• Collaborate with faculty and staff to advance programmatic goals.
• Participate fully and actively in faculty governance, including faculty meetings and committees.

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-JD legal work
• An understanding of legal practice across a variety of settings

Preferred Qualifications

• Admission to the Colorado bar or 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

Working Environment

• Standard office environment.
• Unexpected interruptions occur often and stress level is moderate to high.
• Noise level is quiet to moderate.

Physical Activities

• Ability to work in front of a computer for extended periods of time.
• Occasionally required to move about the office/campus.

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 https://www.du.edu/registrar/calendars-deadlines (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) April 15, 2026.

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 $100,000-$110,000.

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 may ultimately pay more or less than the posted compensation range. The salary offered to the selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal salary equity considerations, and available market information, but not based on a candidate’s sex or any other protected status.

Benefits:
The University of Denver offers excellent benefits, including medical, dental, retirement, paid time off, tuition benefit and ECO pass. The University of Denver is a private institution that empowers students who want to make a difference. Learn more about the University of Denver.

Please include the following documents with your application:
1. Curriculum Vitae
2. Cover Letter

The University of Denver is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression), marital, family, or parental status, pregnancy or related conditions, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran. The University of Denver does not discriminate and prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, age, religion, creed, disability, sex (including sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression), marital family, and parental status, pregnancy, genetic information, military enlistment, or veteran status, and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination under federal, state, or local law, regulation, or ordinance in any of the University’s educational programs and activities, and in the employment (including application for employment) and admissions (including application for admission) context, as required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; the Americans with Disabilities Act; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967; the Equal Pay Act; the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act; the Colorado Protecting Opportunities and Worker's Rights ("POWR") Act; and any other federal, state, and local laws, regulations, or ordinances that prohibit discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation. For more information, please see the University of Denver's Non‑Discrimination‑Statement.

All offers of employment are contingent upon satisfactory completion of a criminal history background check.