My teaching philosophy centers on fostering intellectual curiosity and servant leadership. I create an inclusive learning environment where students feel empowered to succeed, emphasizing respect and diverse perspectives. My goal is to prepare students to become ethical practitioners who contribute positively to society, extending beyond financial success to encompass professionalism and service. I’m committed to continuous improvement, regularly seeking feedback to refine my methods. Beyond the classroom, I dedicate myself to mentorship, aiming to instill in students an appreciation for the privilege and responsibility of studying and practicing law.
Courses
Contracts
Balances doctrinal teaching with real-world application, emphasizing historical context and the importance of the right to contract while introducing drafting skills.
Secured Transactions
Focuses on practical legal skills and problem-solving, using real-world examples to contextualize complex financial transactions and security interests.
Introduction to Islamic Law
Explores Islamic jurisprudence, interpretive methodologies, and contemporary debates, encouraging critical thinking and comparative analysis with other legal systems.
Introduction to Jewish Law
Examines the structure, process, and substance of Jewish law, promoting comparative analysis with American law and addressing contemporary legal challenges.
What Students Say
Professor Benhalim was one of the best teachers I’ve had across any level of schooling. She made what could’ve been rather dry materially very fun and engaging while connecting it to real-life relevancy.
Contracts course
Professor Benhalim is incredible. While talking to my Dad a few days ago, I remarked that Contracts was probably my favorite course and it had nothing to do with the course material—it is entirely because Prof Benhalim is an excellent professor who can distill complicated and sometimes “mushy” ideas into accessible concepts. Her pace kept me engaged and she has great command of the classroom so that we don’t get bogged down by unnecessary tangents.
Contracts course
Professor Benhalim was absolutely one of my favorite professors I have had during my time at CU. I think that her passion, excitement, and connection to the material absolutely contribute to that, however, I believe that Professor Benhalim could make a class on watching paint dry into a class that everyone was excited to attend and wanted to learn more about. Her respect for students was something that really fostered an environment conducive to learning because everyone felt comfortable to share ideas.
Introduction to Islamic Law course
Professor Benhalim is generous with her time and energy, and brings a scholarly and well-researched perspective on a commonly misunderstood subject. Thank you for doing this decolonizing work, Professor! We need more classes like this at CU Boulder.
Introduction to Islamic Law course
This was a fantastic and engaging seminar. I loved the free form discussion of it, and I thought Professor Benhalim synthesized a lot of fascinating topics and made the course material digestible.
Introduction to Islamic Law course
I really expected a class about secured transactions to be very dry, lecture-heavy, and not exciting, but Professor Benhalim made this course end up being one of my favorites of law school. I thought that everything about it was so perfectly curated to enhance our learning. The assignments with the required problem sets actually made me apply what I had just learned before I went to class on the subject. The break-out rooms were awesome and allowed me to discuss in a smaller group where everyone had an opportunity to speak up and learn from my peers. The slideshows were great and very helpful, I loved that Professor Benhalim posted them before class. Additionally, Professor Benhalim was reactive and understanding of our struggles this semester, and even put us into break-out rooms to feel a sense of community when something awful happened in the country. I have not had another professor who did so much to make zoom feel like an environment of human beings.
Secured Transactions course
Getting to take this class was a unique and rewarding opportunity to talk about religious beliefs and different world views in a law school setting. Professor Benhalim was very passionate about the subject and it showed in the plethora of resources on Jewish law and culture that she shared with us every class. The student presentations helped to keep the class engaging. I appreciated that Professor Benhalim sent out a feedback survey approximately half way through the semester, and then made an effort to implement some of the suggestions from it during our remaining weeks.
Introduction to Jewish Law course
I just wanted to say you’ve been my favorite professor in law school & I wish you were teaching something next semester!
Introduction to Jewish Law course
Fellowships and Awards
Colorado Law School Excellence in Teaching Award
Hazel Barnes Flat Research Award
National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity – Faculty Success Program Grant
Colorado Law School Outstanding New Faculty Award
Law and Society Graduate Fellow, University of Wisconsin Law School
William H. Hastie Fellow, University of Wisconsin Law School
Kathryn Davis Fellow, Middlebury College Arabic Language School
Legal Fellow, University of Texas Center for Women in Law
Democracy Program Fellow, The Carter Center
Fellow, Institute for International Public Policy
Archer Fellow, United Nations Information Center (UNIC)
Academic Excellence Scholarship, University of Texas at Dallas
