Colorado Law is proud to have a student body that comes from a variety of backgrounds, bringing their own professional and lived experience to the university鈥檚 diverse, collaborative community.听听For Lizzie Bird 鈥�23, her running career flourished during her time in law school. In addition to graduating this past December and passing the bar exam in February, Bird qualified for her second Olympic games, where she will represent Great Britain in the 3000-meter steeplechase.听
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Bird made her Olympic debut in Tokyo, where she placed ninth in the 3000-meter steeplechase final and set a national record. Not only an Olympic athlete,听Bird was also a stellar student during her time at Colorado Law.听听
鈥淟izzie was a standout student in both my Contracts and Corporations classes (where I called her Ms. Bird, of course),鈥� said . 鈥淚n class, I use the Socratic Method and call on students at random. And in both classes, whenever I called on Ms. Bird, she was always very quick on her feet!鈥澨�
Colorado Law鈥檚 Emily Battaglia sat down with Bird to learn more about her running and legal career, as well as her hopes for this year鈥檚 Olympic games.听
EB: Can you share more about what it was like balancing law school while pursuing your running career? What were some of the biggest challenges?听
LB: It was much easier at Colorado Law than I think it would be anywhere else, partly because of the location鈥攅ndless running trails and high altitude鈥攁nd partly because of the culture鈥攅veryone does something outside of school, usually something more exciting like skiing. I was lucky that I found a classmate to train with (thanks, Paul!) who kept me accountable when we met for morning workouts before class. 听
Exams were probably the hardest time to maintain a balance. After rolling my ankle on a run the morning before my 1L Torts exam (and taking the exam with an ice pack on my foot!), I decided I should take training a bit easier during exams. Biking up the Folsom Street hill to class after training was also hard鈥擨 usually showed up to class with about 10 seconds to spare and a little out of breath!听
EB: Seeing that this is your second Olympic Games, what have you learned since 2020 and what do you hope to accomplish in Paris this year?听
LB: I鈥檓 going into this Olympics with more experience and confidence than last time, and not much pressure鈥擨鈥檓 lucky that my career doesn鈥檛 depend on the outcome. So it鈥檚 really just a fun opportunity to see how fast I can run on my sport鈥檚 biggest stage. I hope to qualify for the final and then run the best race I can on August 6.听
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EB: What inspired you to pursue a legal career?听
LB: A law professor I met in San Francisco, Bill Hing, opened my eyes to the injustices in the U.S. immigration system and the ways that lawyers and advocates can defend and advance immigrants鈥� rights. I decided I wanted to do that kind of work, and the first step was law school. 听
EB: What are some of your future plans, both as a runner and a lawyer?听
LB: I will be starting a clerkship with the Honorable Anne R. Traum at the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada at the end of August. I鈥檝e been focusing primarily on training and competing for the past few months, so I鈥檒l be ready to shift my focus back to my legal career after Paris. 听
EB: What has been one of your proudest moments as an athlete?听
LB: Probably my race at the Tokyo Olympics鈥攊n my first global championship final, and with the stress of competing during a global pandemic, I ran the fastest I ever had and scraped into the top 10.听
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