Hispanic Business Magazine has named José Roberto (Beto) Juárez Jr. to its annual list of the “100 Most Influential Hispanics.” Juárez is the first Hispanic dean of the University of Denver Sturm College of Law.
After earning an AB in history from Stanford University in 1977 and a JD from the University of Texas School of Law in 1981, Juárez began his career as a scholar, lawyer and administrator.
He started out as a staff attorney for the Gulf Coast Legal Foundation in Galveston, Texas, where he practiced poverty law. From 1983–87, Juárez was a staff attorney for the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Educational Fund in San Antonio. He relocated to Los Angeles when he became the fund’s regional counsel and director of its employment program in 1987. During his tenure there, he litigated class actions in employment, education and voting rights.
In 1990, Juárez joined the School of Law at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, where he served as an associate professor of law, professor of law and assistant dean for academic and student affairs. Additionally, he taught at the University of Oregon School of Law and University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law. His expertise includes employment discrimination, language rights, legal history, race, religion and the law.
Juarez joined the University of Denver July 1. He chairs the board of directors of the Journal of Law and Religion andhas served on that board since 2002. He also serves on the board of directors of the Society of American Law Teachers and served as co-resident from 2004–06.