Adam Massaro, Sturm College of Law 2010 JD Graduate, Wins "Excellence in Writing Award" From ABA Probate & Property Magazine for Solar Energy Article

Adam Massaro, University of Denver Sturm College of Law 2010 JD graduate, won an Excellence in Writing Award from the editors of ABA Probate & Property for his article, “Solar Power for Commercial Buildings,” that appeared in the January/February 2010 issue.

Adam walks a lawyer through issues he or she must understand when advising a client, building owner or tenant, who wishes to participate in a distributed solar energy opportunity by installing a solar generation system.

The article discusses Renewable Energy Credits (RECs); three methods for obtaining commercial solar (solar power purchase agreement with a third party developer, purchase and installation of a system, and a solar lease); and net metering (where the utility gives credits for surplus solar energy generated).

Adam writes that, “Commercial Solar presents an opportunity for building owners and tenants to achieve both sustainability and business goals.” He counsels that federal and state incentives determine the economics of commercial solar. In this growing market, Adam predicts, “more and more building owners and tenants will seek the advice of lawyers before obtaining Commercial Solar.”

Adam wrote this piece with faculty supervision in the summer of 2009. “The law school’s directed research program provided me the opportunity to work directly with a highly skilled advisor in Professor K.K. DuVivier,” he says. “She was a tremendous resource for a young law student who was seeking his first publication.”

Directed research at the Sturm College of Law is an opportunity for students to research and write on any area of law approved by a full-time faculty member who agrees to direct the project. It is one way to fulfill the law school’s upper level writing requirement.

Professor DuVivier, who is currently writing her own book on renewable energy law, reports that, “Adam took the initiative on this cutting-edge issue of renewable energy practice, and he well deserves this national recognition. I was delighted to supervise his work on this article as part of a directed research project. His accomplishment shows that an enterprising second-year law student can make a valuable contribution to the practice at the same time he is earning law school credit.”

Currently Adam Massaro is a judicial law clerk at the Colorado Court of Appeals for Judge Nancy Lichtenstein. He plans to practice law in Denver after his clerkship ends in August 2011.

Congratulations to Adam Massaro for winning the Excellence Award for “Best Technology/Law Practice Management Article,” bestowed by the editors of ABA Probate & Property.

To see the full text of the article, please click here.