Haub Law alumna Sara Price grew up in Larchmont, fifteen minutes from the Elisabeth Haub School of Law Campus. Coupled with the fact that her mother, Elaine Price, attended Haub Law, she was familiar with the law school long before becoming a student there. “As an undergraduate student at the University of New Hampshire, I fell in love with environmental policy and sustainable urban development. After taking an Environmental Law and Policy class in college, I decided I wanted to study environmental law and one day head the Environmental Protection Agency. That’s how I ended up at Pace. I knew about the environmental law program initially because of my mother, but the more I researched the breadth of it, the more I knew it was a perfect fit for me,” said Sara.

Once she was at Pace, Sara had a very positive experience. “I really liked all my professors, and I could talk a lot about them. Professor Cassuto was incredible; his Animal Law class really opened my eyes to issues I had never previously thought about. Professor Crawford deserves a medal for making tax law interesting, accessible, and fun. Thanks to Professor Gershman I developed a love for criminal law, and I can’t think of prison reform without thinking of Professor Mushlin.”

After graduating from law school, Sara had spent over 20 years in Westchester and wanted a change. “I had spent some time visiting friends in Colorado and felt that it would be a good fit for me. I moved to Denver right after graduation, studied for the bar and struggled through the recession like the rest of us new lawyers at that time. I began an internship with a Judge which turned into a clerkship. As soon as I started my internship at the court, something clicked and I knew my place was in the courtroom. It was then I knew my path was to the bench.”

Today, Sara is a Magistrate Judge for the 17th Judicial District in Colorado. “One thing I love about my job is that the day to day is always changing. Primarily I have a probate docket so I’m conducting hearings related to estates, trusts, guardianships and conservatorships. I also conduct protection order hearings and non-contested divorces. I rule on all the motions filed in the probate cases, I also get to review, and sign arrest warrants. Finally, we have a really great team of Magistrates in the 17th Judicial District so we’re always training in other divisions so that we can cover for each other.”

While Sara learned early in her career that her place was in the courtroom, she did not necessarily know that it would be in her current capacity as a Magistrate Judge, but she felt very prepared for it based on the variety of experiences she opened herself up to prior to that point. “My advice for current students would be to not pigeonhole yourself to a certain area or practice and to learn with an open mind. If you start studying something that piques your interest, lean into it. Everyone has a different path and what you learn along the way is going to be helpful in ways that you could never anticipate. Pace helped shape my career path because it opened my eyes to all the possibilities that come with a law degree. The law is such a big field and as an attorney your opportunities are endless."

"Pace helped shape my career path because it opened my eyes to all the possibilities that come with a law degree. The law is such a big field and as an attorney your opportunities are endless.”

When Sara is not behind the bench, you can find her running, paddle boarding, playing tennis, traveling, and enjoying all that Colorado has to offer.

University’s Primary Building to Include New Academic Spaces, Modernized Residence Hall, and State-of-the-Art Performing Arts Center

New York, N.Y. (December 9, 2022) – Pace University is pleased to announce the transformation of One Pace Plaza, its central building in lower Manhattan, to include new academic spaces, a modernized residence hall, and a new state-of-the-art Performing Arts Center that will serve its performing and creative arts programs and act as a central gathering space for our community and our neighborhood.

The Board of Trustees approved moving forward with the project at its meeting Wednesday. Once complete, Pace will have a modernized building that reduces carbon emissions and improves energy efficiency while providing faculty, students, and staff with the facilities they need.

“Our Campus Planning and Facilities team has spent many months meeting and consulting with stakeholders while conceptualizing this project,” said Pace President Marvin Krislov. “This project is a major step forward for Pace University. I am excited for this next chapter, and I look forward to continued discussion in the coming days, weeks, and months.”

While the final details of the renovation are still in development, here is the broad outline of the work:

• Reconstruction of the lower floors of One Pace Plaza East, creating an inviting and modern building with classroom and creative arts spaces, collaboration spaces, and a Performing Arts Center that will include a proscenium theater to replace the Schimmel Center plus other theater and support spaces. This provides the up-to-date instructional, creative, and performance spaces we need, and it keeps our large gathering space—used by the entire University and the broader community— at the center of our campus.
• Renovations and upgrades to Maria’s Tower, providing additional, desirable residential spaces for students. This added capacity, when combined with the addition of 15 Beekman, will allow Pace to exit its leased residence hall at 55 John Street.
• When complete, One Pace Plaza will be fully modernized, including its outdated central plant, reducing carbon emissions. All code issues—present and upcoming—will be addressed for the entirety of One Pace Plaza.

Construction is expected to start in the fall of 2023 and be completed in early 2026. Pace’s Campus Planning and Facilities team has spent many months meeting and consulting with stakeholders while conceptualizing this project.

Funding for this ambitious project is coming from a variety of sources, including money set aside in Pace’s construction fund, the ability to issue debt, and fundraising. New York State and the federal funding will also complement a targeted fundraising campaign.

About Pace University

Since 1906, Pace University has educated thinking professionals by providing high quality education for the professions on a firm base of liberal learning amid the advantages of the New York metropolitan area. A private university, Pace has campuses in New York City and Westchester County, New York, enrolling nearly 13,000 students in bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs in its Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, Lubin School of Business, College of Health Professions, School of Education, the Elisabeth Haub School of Law, and Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems.

Jillian Houle always had an interest in the law, but what really shifted her gears full-force towards a career in law was her undergraduate education where she studied structural racism, the feminist movement, indigenous rights, food insecurity, and most importantly to her, the climate crisis. “Learning the truths of these matters made me want to explore them further and deeper,” said Jillian. “The more I reflected, the more I came to realize that at the core of each of those subjects is this sense of (what I would consider to be) human rights: the right to not be discriminated against based on race, the right to have affordable access to healthy foods, and the right to live in a stable climate and environmentally just society. The law appeals to me in that it structures the society that plays home to these issues, so I want to spend my life in the realm of the laws, using them, changing them, arguing for and against them in the interests of people and the earth.”

Now a 2L, Jillian has enjoyed her time at Haub Law so far. “I find the Haub Law culture very communal; it is not just an ‘every person for themselves’ atmosphere.” Jillian also has found inspiration in her professors, in particular Professor Greenawalt and Professor Cassuto. “Professor Greenawalt inspired me to be more engaged with politics, SCOTUS, and news generally. I had Con Law with him, and he did a superb job of relating the cases back to present day by bringing in current iterations of issues and fostering thoughtful class discussion about all sorts of prevalent issues.” And, Professor Cassuto’s Environmental Law Survey course was her first “real taste” of environmental law. “The breadth of interesting subjects covered in the course combined with the passion Professor Cassuto imbues into each of his lectures reaffirmed my convictions towards being an environmental lawyer.”

I find the Haub Law culture very communal; it is not just an ‘every person for themselves’ atmosphere.

This past summer Jillian interned for the United States Department of Agriculture, Office of General Counsel. With a strong interest in administrative law, Jillian felt this opportunity was a great experience. “I learned so much: big and little picture,” said Jillian. “I learned more in-depth about how federal agencies operate and how to perform legal research on administrative appeals decisions while becoming exceedingly familiar with the Code of Federal Regulations (Title VII, specifically). Additionally, because I was virtually stationed in the Central Region out of the Department’s Little Rock, Arkansas Field Office, I learned that a lot of what the field offices do is based in risk weighing and making critical decisions both based in legal precedent and the CFR, but also in considering less tangible, more subjective factors.” Jillian is grateful for the guidance she received from Professor Elyse Diamond, “I initially found this position on Symplicity, and after receiving an immense amount of help and guidance from Professor Diamond, I was able to secure it.”

While at Haub Law, Jillian is pursuing the Advanced Certificate in Environmental Law. This fall she has worked as an extern with the EPA, Region 2, Office of Regional Counsel in their Criminal Enforcement Division. “My ultimate goal in life is to do whatever I can to help mitigate and reverse the effects of climate change.” Working for the EPA was a dream of hers, so to be able to combine her interests in administrative, public interest, environmental protection, and criminal law all into one experience was very gratifying for Jillian.

In her spare time, Jillian enjoys sunning anywhere she can place her beach chair, going to the beaches on the New Hampshire coast, going on runs and walks daily, exploring NYC, and baking with her roommate. She is also an avid singer – from performing in competitions through college, to now jamming out in her car and in the shower!