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Following record enrollment this fall, the University of Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ Law School will offer a special spring session of Mini Law School that addresses various aspects of business law and its role in the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The seven-week virtual series taught by Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ Law’s renowned business and entrepreneurial law faculty begins Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021.

Mini Law School, launched in 2012, aims to educate non-lawyers on relevant legal topics and help develop the pipeline to law school.

More than 800 people enrolled in this fall’s Mini Law School, which focused on the impacts of the 2020 election. Participants came from across the state, country, and abroad, and represented a wide variety of professions, experiences, and educational backgrounds.

"We have seen an extraordinary level of interest from high school students and undergraduates throughout Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ, particularly from rural areas, as well as working professionals who want to learn more about the law," said Matthew Cushing, director of executive and community learning programs at Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ Law. "We also welcomed participants from around the world, including from as far away as Sri Lanka and France."

Mini Law School’s curriculum is updated annually to reflect timely topics of interest to the community. "This fall, we saw a huge demand for information and knowledge about the areas of law impacted by the election, including voting rights, health care, climate change, immigration, and civil rights. These issues affect all of our lives," Cushing said.

The spring lineup addresses critical issues related to the economy’s COVID-19 recovery efforts. Topics that will be covered include the CARES act and tax policy, COVID-19 and intellectual property, and the stakes for racial justice and community development in the COVID-era Federal Reserve.

"This spring’s curriculum continues the fall’s theme of timely issues impacting our community. Business law is always a popular request from participants, and its impact is going to be critical to our ability to recover from the pandemic," Cushing said.

In addition to providing an overview of various areas of the law, Mini Law School seeks to increase access to law school for students from underrepresented groups and low-income communities. Mini Law School partners with Law School . . . Yes We Can, the Southern Ute Tribe in southwestern Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ, pre-law advisors at high schools and colleges throughout the state, and mock trial teams to offer free and discounted registrations.

For students considering applying to law school, the program serves as an important step in their decision-making process. Many previous Mini Law School participants are now students at Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ Law.

With the economic impacts of COVID-19, the program has also issued more registration fee waivers than ever before to ensure that participation and access to Mini Law School are not limited by one’s ability to pay, Cushing said. 

"Mini Law School is an important part of Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ Law’s outreach efforts to build pipelines to law school for high school and undergraduate students from underrepresented groups," Cushing said. "We want to ensure that any student who wants to take advantage of this learning opportunity can do so."

Learn more and register for the spring session of Mini Law School.