K.K. DuVivier

University of Denver Sturm College of Law

K.K. DuVivier graduated cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from Williams College with a double major in English and Geology. She interned in the mineral departments of the Smithsonian Institution and the Hudson River Museum and then joined the American subsidiary of the French company COGEMA (currently Areva NC) as an exploration geologist. For three and a half years, she mapped, logged core, and coordinated field operations in Colorado, Texas, and New Mexico, before leaving to attend law school at the University of Denver. She received the Order of St. Ives when she graduated in 1982 and immediately started practice in natural resources law, first at Sherman & Howard and then at Arnold & Porter.

While her children were young, Prof. DuVivier worked as an Assistant City Attorney for the City and County of Denver and as the Reporter of Decisions for the Colorado Court of Appeals. She started full-time teaching at the University of Colorado School of Law in 1990, and she joined the faculty at DU in 2000. Her awards include AALS DU Teacher of the Year 2015, Mentorship Award 2013-2014, Hughes-Ruud Research Professor 2015, and the 2013 Sturm Faculty Excellence Award for “Best Professor.”

Prof. DuVivier has taught a variety of subjects over the years, including Energy Law, Renewable Energy Law, Civil Procedure, Mining Law, Legal Research & Writing, Local Government, Wills & Trusts, and Environmental Law. Using her science background Professor DuVivier, has taught interdisciplinary courses and received a National Science Foundation award to partner with an atmospheric scientist and an economist to address wind farm impacts.

She served as Director of DU’s Lawyering Process Program from 2000 to 2007 and hosted the 2007 Association of Legal Writing Director’s Conference. In 2008, she returned to natural resources, teaching both Energy Law and Mining Law. From 2009-2010, she was designated Director of DU Law’s Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program. She also has taught energy and renewable energy courses as a visiting professor at Lewis & Clark Law School and at the University of Houston Law Center.