Graduate Program Students Glauce Santesso Coelho and Matt Wagner Honored at University of Denver Sturm College of Law Awards Ceremony

Earning a graduate degree is no easy task under any circumstances. But earning a graduate degree as well as finishing first in your program in terms of grade point average is an especially impressive achievement.

Today at an all school honors award ceremony, two of our program's students were recognized for finishing first among their peers in terms of grade point average within their respective programs.

Glauce Santesso Coelho, a native of Brazil, was recognized as the LLM student who earned the highest grade point average. Matt Wagner (with me in the first picture), most recently of Washington, D.C., earned the award as the Master's of Resource Law Studies top grade earner. It was my pleasure to present these two awards.

For a graduate program, there can be no finer sense of achievement than to watch the development of students as they gain knowledge and a greater confidence in their field of study. This was certainly the case with Ms. Coelho and Mr. Wagner, both of whom I met early in their studies here and talked with regularly.

To be sure, their paths to DU were different. Ms. Coelho is a Brazilian attorney, who has worked for some of the finest firms in the country. Mr. Wagner came to DU with a degree in journalism and an accomplished career in government relations. They both worked hard, took their studies seriously, and had a range of experiences while they were at DU. Each in his or her own way will make significant contributions in their future professional careers. Moreover, their sense of fairness and curiosity will serve them well.

The event also highlighted the interconnections that all of us who are involved with this program share as members of a fairly close-knit community. I was reminded of this when Cristiana Hess (in the second picture, which is from graduation day, on the right), wife of December 2009 graduate Tuukka Hess, joined Ms. Coelho (on the left) at the ceremony. Their link? They are both from Brazil (although they actually met in Denver)! It constantly amazes me how our community includes so many fine individuals who are sometimes linked in the most unusual ways.

Parabéns to Ms. Coelho and congratulations to Mr. Wagner. Each of you has much to be proud of.

--Don Smith

Brazilian LLM Student Glauce Santesso Coelho Wins "2010 Outstanding LLM Student of the Year"

Glauce Santesso Coelho, an LLM student from São Paulo, Brazil, has earned the "Outstanding LLM Student of the Year" for 2010. The award is presented on an annual basis to the student with the highest grade point average in the LLM program.

Ms. Coelho, a graduate from the prestigious Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo, is a licensed member of the Brazilian Bar. Her professional career began at two of the most well-known and well-respected law firms in Brazil, Demarest & Almeida and Mattos Filho Advogados. At these firms she gained knowledge and expertise about civil and business law.

In 2008, Ms. Coelho moved to the U.S. with her husband, Eber Coelho, to pursue an international career. In August 2008 she began her studies at the Sturm College of Law where she has gained significant expertise in the key areas of environmental and natural resources law and policy.

Don Smith, Director of the LLM program said, "Glauce Santesso Coelho is one of the finest LLM students ever to study in the University of Denver graduate program. It has been a pleasure for all of us at the law school to have her as a student and soon as a graduate of the program. Ms. Coelho has a very promising career ahead of her. She will be a leader in Brazil as her home country becomes one of the most important and influential economic powers in the world."

LLM Students Glauce Santesso Coelho and Taciana Marques Play Key Roles as DU Hosts Brazilian Federal Judges Association Conference

Recently the DU Sturm College of Law hosted a visit of more than 30 members of the Association of Federal Judges of Brazil. The Brazilian judges visited the college of law and Denver to learn more about the U.S. legal system as well as to visit several courts located in Denver.

The week-long event was organized by Prof. Rock Pring and his wife Catherine Pring as well as the former president of Brazil's Federal Court of Appeals of the 4th Region Judge Vladimir Passos de Freitas. Prof. Pring and Judge Freitas met several years ago when the Prings were visiting Brazil while working on their Environmental Courts and Tribunals study.

Two Brazilian LLM students were centrally involved in helping the college of law host the members of Brazil's federal judiciary. According to Prof. Pring, "One of the really innovative aspects of the conference was engaging Glauce Coelho [who has practiced as an associate attorney at Demarest & Almeida Advogados and Mattos Filho Advogados, both in Sao Paulo], an impressive Brazilian lawyer who is here getting her LLM in our world-famous Graduate Program in Environmental and Natural Resources Law. Glauce and her team provided the professors with background papers on the Brazilian law of their subjects, inserted Portuguese translations onto the professors' PowerPoints, and assisted the Judges with their questions throughout the morning lectures and afternoon field trips. She was ably supported by two other students of ours: Taciana Marques, [senior associate attorney at Souza Cescon Barrieu & Flesch Advogados in Sao Paulo] another Brazilian lawyer in our LLM Program, and Sierra Russell, a U.S. student in our JD Program who is fluent in Portuguese. The Judges told me they were highlights of the program."

Pictured in the photograph above are Judge Claudia Cristina Cristofani, Prof. Don Smith, attorney Taciana Marques, attorney Glauce Santesso Coelho, U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Carlos Lucero, Judge Nino Oliveira Toldo, Judge Marcelo Navarro Ribeiro Dantas, U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Neil Gorsuch, and Judge Jose Henrique Guaracy Rebelo. The photograph was taken in the Denver Federal Courthouse where the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals is located.