Deborah Cantrell

Community Collaboration Law Lab works to Establish Law School Food Pantry

Anonymous — Thu, 27 Jun 2024 16:34:02 +0000

Community Collaboration Law Lab works to Establish Law School Food Pantry Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 06/27/2024 - 10:34

Emily Battaglia

Since 1948, Colorado Law has provided legal clinics as an experiential learning opportunity to students as a chance to serve the community. By handling actual cases, students make the transition from legal theory to legal practice. We take pride in the fact that our clinics provide free legal services to many community members who could not otherwise hire an attorney, and this program plays a large role in achieving our values of civic engagement and social responsibility.

The Community Collaboration Law Lab (CCLL) is Colorado Law's newest legal clinic, formed in the fall of 2016. Led By Prof. Deborah Cantrell, The CCLL provides valuable services to the community, often in ways that are not currently provided by other legal practitioners.

“The Lab harnesses the law to help communities build their own power and solve challenges that have been ignored by the status quo,” Cantrell said. “We rely on many different substantive areas of law including land use and ownership, for profit and nonprofit entity formation and operation, food access and safety, contract drafting and negotiation. Our legal services include traditional legal work like document drafting and less traditional work including community facilitation and design-center problem solving.”

Most recently, student attorneys in the CCLL have been working on a project to establish a no-cost food pantry in the law school. Spearheaded by students JJ Carl ‘25, Aidan Stearns ‘25, and Charlotte Goodenow ‘24, the project was inspired by no-cost community grocery stores operated by a local nonprofit, ��«��Ƶ Food Rescue, and by efforts across the way from the Law School at CU’s School of Education.

"CCLL has collaborated on several food access projects in the past with ��«��Ƶ Food Rescue (BFR),” Prof. Cantrell explained. “It’s been terrific to watch how impactful BFR’'s community-based, no-cost grocery stores have been. I thought our Law School community might similarly benefit. I was even more inspired to move forward on this project when I learned that our campus neighbors at the School of Education were offering a very small no-cost food pantry to their community.”

The process has spanned across two semesters so far. In the fall, the students first focused on gathering information from the Law School community about food needs, as well as investigating best practices about operating a no-cost food pantry. The students created an online survey open to all students and staff. They interviewed administrators at other law schools that had established similar pantries, received helpful guidance from BFR staff, and sought input from the Student Bar Association and key Law School administrators.

As JJ Carl shared, the survey results were critical as it “gathered information on various aspects of the food pantry such as where it should be located and what items should be offered.” Carl further described: “During the second semester, we focused on creating a detailed proposal to submit to the Law School administration, which involved more research and collaboration among all the members of the clinic group. We took a lot of the research we gathered as well as estimates of the cost of the food pantry and provided recommendations for how the pantry should be run.”

The student attorneys presented their proposal to senior administrators during the spring semester, and it was warmly received. Based on feedback from the presentation, the student attorneys have determined that the best path forward will be to organize a new student group that can take the lead on operating the no-cost pantry. Those organizing efforts will be picked up by the incoming CCLL student attorneys.

“This project was not within the typical boundaries of what many probably consider to be legal work,” Stearns said. “The project allowed me to learn and apply many skills that will be useful in my legal career, particularly in the ability to assess needs and develop creative solutions to address those needs. It was very rewarding to be part of a project focused on serving the needs of our Law School community.”

Overall, the student attorneys shared that they valued their time in the CCLL, and particularly, the community-centered framework of the clinic.

“The Community Collaboration Law Lab allowed us to work with organizations that are having a direct impact on the communities around us,” Stearns said. “It was an incredible experience learning to navigate the needs of various organizations and how we could offer support from a legal standpoint. I was also able to grow my practical legal skills in contract drafting and legal research, as well as develop my personal approach to legal practice.”

Student attorneys in the CCLL have been working on a project to establish a no-cost food pantry in the law school. Spearheaded by students JJ Carl ‘25, Aidan Stearns ‘25, and Charlotte Goodenow ‘24, the project was inspired by no-cost community grocery stores operated by a local nonprofit, ��«��Ƶ Food Rescue, and by efforts across the way from the Law School at CU’s School of Education.

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Professors Colene Robinson and Violeta Chapin to Lead Clinical Program

Anonymous — Mon, 27 Jun 2022 18:58:12 +0000

Professors Colene Robinson and Violeta Chapin to Lead Clinical Program Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 06/27/2022 - 12:58

The Colorado Law Clinical Program is welcoming new leadership for the 2022-23 academic year—Professors Colene Robinson and Violeta Chapin will serve as co-directors.

Professor Robinson currently teaches the Juvenile & Family Law Clinic and co-directs the Juvenile and Family Law Program (JFLP). She has been on the faculty of the law school since 2005 after nearly a decade of representing children and families throughout Colorado and in New York City.

Professor Chapin teaches the Criminal & Immigration Defense Clinic, having joined the faculty in 2009. Prior to joining Colorado Law, she served for seven years as a trial attorney with the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia. She has represented both adult and juvenile indigent defendants with serious felony offenses at all stages of trial.

“We are both feeling very excited to lead the Clinical Program at a time when experiential education is in high demand from students, alums, and employers seeking to hire graduating law students with real client experience,” remarks Professor Robinson. “There is truly no replacement for this kind of hands-on participation in the legal system when it comes to connecting theory with practice.”

The Colorado Law Clinical Program, founded in 1948, has long played a crucial role in providing free legal services to a diverse array of community members. The Program spans a wide range of legal areas including wage theft, wrongful convictions, fair and just access to technology, affordable housing, new entrepreneurship, environmental justice and domestic and international indigenous rights.

“The Clinical Program is very grateful to Professor Deborah Cantrell, our previous director, who excelled at managing the myriad practice and logistical issues of running nine Clinics,” says Professor Chapin. “She wisely and consistently emphasized the importance of clinical teaching and education for our students, advocating for the program as zealously as she advocates for her clients.”

Professor Deborah Cantrell—who will continue her work teaching the Sustainable Community Development Clinic—joined the Colorado Law faculty in 2007. Before coming to the Centennial State, Professor Cantrell served as a Senior Lecturer of Law, Research Scholar, and Director of the Arthur Liman Public Interest Program at Yale Law School, ran a regional anti-poverty law program in California, and supervised a statewide direct legal aid program for the rural elderly in New Mexico.

Professor Cantrell led the Clinical Program with great dedication for 16 years. During her tenure, the Clinical Program’s capacity to serve our Colorado communities markedly grew, including supporting the launch of the Samuelson-Glushko Technology Law & Policy Clinic, and envisioning and creating the Sustainable Community Development Clinic. Under Cantrell's leadership, the Program organized and facilitated an ongoing learning community among faculty who teach clinical courses to explore issues related to pedagogy, social justice and diversity and inclusion. It also fostered collaborations among faculty—both those who teach clinical course and those who lead experiential offerings outside of the Clinical Program.

In 2013, Professor Cantrell received the Clifford J. Calhoun Public Service award—the Law School’s highest service-related honor. Then, in 2020, Professor Cantrell received the ��«��Ƶ County Public Health’s Heathy Community Award in recognition of her work through the Sustainable Community Development Clinic.

“It has been an honor to lead the Clinical Program, and to be a part of Colorado Law’s ongoing and sustained commitment to public service,” reflects Professor Cantrell. “The Clinical Program is a true place of collaboration and innovation. I’m grateful to my faculty and staff colleagues for their steady engagement, and to the hundreds of student attorneys who participated in the Clinical Program during my tenure and provided thousands of hours of free legal services across our communities.”

The Colorado Law Clinical Program is welcoming new leadership for the 2022-23 academic year—Professors Colene Robinson and Violeta Chapin will serve as co-directors.

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Deborah Cantrell: A New Colorado Law Gave Them an Opportunity To Buy Their Mobile Home Park. They Took It. | The Colorado Sun

Anonymous — Wed, 23 Jun 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Deborah Cantrell: A New Colorado Law Gave Them an Opportunity To Buy Their Mobile Home Park. They Took It. | The Colorado Sun Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 06/23/2021 - 00:00

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Deborah Cantrell: As Some Colorado Mobile Home Parks Mull Selling, Resident Co-Ops Seek To Become Their Own Landlords | The Colorado Sun

Anonymous — Tue, 19 Jan 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Deborah Cantrell: As Some Colorado Mobile Home Parks Mull Selling, Resident Co-Ops Seek To Become Their Own Landlords | The Colorado Sun Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 01/19/2021 - 00:00

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Professor Deborah Cantrell Recognized for Clinic's Work Advocating for Mobile Homeowners Across Colorado

Anonymous — Mon, 24 Aug 2020 16:57:26 +0000

Professor Deborah Cantrell Recognized for Clinic's Work Advocating for Mobile Homeowners Across Colorado Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 08/24/2020 - 10:57

University of Colorado Law School Professor and Director of Clinical Programs Deborah Cantrell is a recipient of ��«��Ƶ County Public Health’s 2020 Healthy Community Award. The award recognizes her supervision of Colorado Law's Sustainable Community Development Clinic, which played a leading role in developing recently passed legislation that supports mobile homeowners in Colorado.

In June, Gov. Jared Polis signed Mobile Home Park Residents Opportunity to Purchase (HB20-1201) and Mobile Home Park Act Updates (HB20-1196) into law, which provide critical support for mobile homeowners across the state.

The team of student attorneys in the Sustainable Community Development Clinic crafted the legislation on behalf of a coalition that included mobile homeowners, public health offices, and housing and anti-poverty advocates. The team drafted new statutory provisions that provide mobile homeowners protections related to utilities billing, created new anti-retaliation measures, and put in place restrictions on the kinds of rules and regulations that a park owner can require of mobile homeowners.

"I am incredibly proud of the sustained, detailed, and creative work of student attorneys McKenzie Brandon ('21), Diana Jenkins ('21), James Kadolph ('21), and Cam Netherland ('20)," Cantrell said. "They kept up their work full steam even when the pandemic closed down the state capitol. They exemplify Colorado Law’s commitment to change for our communities."

The student attorneys also drafted legislation to create a mandatory framework that provides mobile homeowners with a path to purchasing their mobile home park if a park owner decides to sell or transfer ownership of the park. Colorado joins only 18 states with such legislation.

Mobile home communities are one of the most important sources of affordable housing in the state, Cantrell explained. They are particularly critical sources of housing for people who do not qualify for subsidized housing because of the range of restrictions placed on housing subsidies, such as citizenship status.

The Sustainable Community Development Clinic is Colorado Law's newest legal clinic, formed in fall 2016. The clinic considers the role of sustainable development as reflecting commitments to social justice and to reducing poverty. Colorado Law offers nine legal clinics, all of which address critical community needs. In these courses, second- and third-year law students provide free legal services to clients on actual cases, which range from legal matters related to youth and families (Juvenile and Family Law Clinic) to the preservation of tribal sovereignty and Native lands (American Indian Law Clinic) to providing pro bono transactional legal services for entrepreneurs and small businesses (Entrepreneurial Law Clinic).

University of Colorado Law School Professor and Director of Clinical Programs Deborah Cantrell is a recipient of ��«��Ƶ County Public Health’s 2020 Healthy Community Award for her work supporting mobile homeowners in Colorado.

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Deborah Cantrell: New Owner Raising Rates At Local Mobile Home Park | The Daily Sentinel

Anonymous — Fri, 20 Dec 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Deborah Cantrell: New Owner Raising Rates At Local Mobile Home Park | The Daily Sentinel Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 12/20/2019 - 00:00

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Faculty in Focus: Deborah Cantrell

Anonymous — Fri, 25 Jan 2019 23:04:01 +0000

Faculty in Focus: Deborah Cantrell Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 01/25/2019 - 16:04

Deborah Cantrell almost didn’t become a lawyer. She originally planned to pursue postgraduate study in psychology or economics, but after finding the requisite long hours in a research lab isolating, she found her way to the law, where she has thrived by combining her passions for how people learn to work well together and pursuing social change.

As professor of law and director of clinical programs at Colorado Law, Cantrell teaches the Sustainable Community Development Clinic, which she helped establish in 2016; Legal Ethics and Professionalism; and Legislation and Regulation.

Before joining Colorado Law in 2007, Cantrell taught a legal ethics clinic at Yale Law School, ran a regional anti-poverty law program in California, and supervised a statewide direct legal aid program for the rural elderly in New Mexico. She also spent time in private practice as a litigator and trial attorney.

Cantrell’s research areas reflect her interest in issues related to lawyers and social change: investigating the ways in which lawyers rely on value systems to create and understand their roles, religion, mindfulness, and ethics. She is one of only a few scholars to examine Buddhist normative principles and practice. Her recent scholarship focuses on addressing conflict in a productive way and challenges the belief that that any kind of conflict is hard and to be avoided. To Cantrell, everyday moments of modest friction—what she calls "mundane" conflict—are learning opportunities that develop patience and empathy for moments of hard conflict.

How did you choose this career path and was there a person, event, or passion that influenced you?

When I graduated from college, the only thing I knew for certain is that I would never become a lawyer. I planned to go to graduate school and get my PhD either in psychology or economics. I ended up in psychology studying the development of social cognition. But, after spending time in my research lab, I realized that I felt isolated from the world and unsure that my research would benefit real people in their real lives. That lab experience made me reconsider the law, and I left my PhD program for law school. I have found my work in law—as a lawyer and as a legal scholar—has allowed me to integrate my passion for how people learn to work well together with my passion for pursuing social change.

Your scholarship over the years has focused on lawyers and social change, religion, mindfulness, legal ethics, and examining Buddhist principles and practices. What do you find appealing about these topics as opposed to other areas of the law?

I strongly believe in the human spirit, and in every person’s ability to improve their capacities to live a flourishing life and to support others in flourishing as well. I think most faith traditions contain that aspiration, and I think the law can contain that aspiration. That said, there also can be profound disagreements between faith traditions themselves and between faith traditions and secular legal systems. I have found it really engaging to investigate and think through what conditions or contexts need to be in place for people to find common ground across important differences. Personally, Buddhism, including its wide range of mindfulness practices, have helped me cultivate empathy, compassion, and a wider ability to see multiple perspectives. That serves me well as a lawyer, scholar, teacher, and colleague.

In your latest article, "Celebrating Mundane Conflict," you challenge the narrative that conflict is difficult and painful to engage. What were your conclusions around how to embrace conflict?

Some kinds of conflict are difficult and painful. Those kinds of conflict also often are the kinds of conflict that we wish we could handle better. We tend to remember those hard, difficult conflicts more readily and more thoroughly. We try to avoid those hard conflicts, but we also mistakenly start to think that any kind of conflict is hard and to be avoided. That mistaken assumption means that we miss opportunities to learn better ways to respond to conflict. We don’t think about the daily moments of modest friction—what I call "mundane" conflict—as the perfect practice setting. For example, if I walk into my work place and a colleague responds curtly to my question, I could use that small moment of conflict as a moment of practice. Instead of immediately letting a story form in my head about how my rude colleague wronged me, which then makes me angry, I could take some breaths and consider what might be going on for my colleague that has put her on edge. I think that kind of daily practice in responding well to conflict means we develop tools to respond better in those moments of hard conflict.

In 2016, you helped establish the Sustainable Community Development Clinic, Colorado Law’s newest legal clinic, which you currently teach. How does the SCD Clinic align with your work?

One of the primary goals of the SCD Clinic is to help be a catalyst for collaboration, especially collaboration on issues that involve groups with different levels of expertise or political power. If the SCD Clinic can facilitate bringing different and diverse voices into conversations about sustainability and economic development, I would be very satisfied. The SCD Clinic’s willingness to step into difficult conversations and embrace the generative potential of modest levels of conflict aligns with my own work on the kinds of conditions that help foster social change.

Tell us about some of the clinic’s latest projects.

My student attorneys and I are really interested in a range of local food issues. We’ve done a project that was designed to help lower income folks better access the terrific fresh produce available at local farmers’ markets. We are working on a project that we hope will help local beekeepers better protect their honeybees from pesticide exposure.

We’re also very engaged in helping smaller businesses structure themselves in ways that foster collaborative and socially conscious practices. For example, we’re helping a new nonprofit figure out how its board members can equally share governance duties through a non-hierarchical structure and with consensus-based decision making.

What do you enjoy outside of your legal work?

I am an avid mountain biker. For the last few years, I have focused on longer distance rides and races—50 miles or more. I’ve also set myself a goal of through-biking the 550 miles of the Colorado Trail in summer 2021. I love to garden, and I try to experiment with at least one new crop in my home garden every year. This year I’m going to try growing popcorn.

Professor Deborah Cantrell almost didn’t become a lawyer. She originally planned to pursue postgraduate study in psychology or economics, but after finding the requisite long hours in a research lab isolating, she found her way to the law, where she has thrived by combining her passions for how people learn to work well together and pursuing social change.

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Deborah Cantrell: Lobbying Firms Under Microscope for Saudi Work (Law Week Colorado)

Anonymous — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 07:00:00 +0000

Deborah Cantrell: Lobbying Firms Under Microscope for Saudi Work (Law Week Colorado) Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 11/05/2018 - 00:00

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