Category Archives: Alumni

Diandra Benally – Newspaper Article

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Young lawyer makes her mark as a leader
Staff Writer
Farmington Daily Times

Diandra Benally is a leader who takes action.

The Shiprock resident has been involved with everything from American Indian health care and diabetes programs to emergency preparedness and the reform of Medicare and Medicaid.
And that’s just the tip of what this 29-year-old has taken on since graduating from college.
She’s also quite the attorney.

After just two years on the job at the Navajo Nation Department of Justice, Benally recently was named the Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year by the State Bar of New Mexico.
“Our board looked well beyond Albuquerque and Santa Fe to find this degree of excellence and professionalism in other areas of the state, and we are pleased to have found it on the Nation,” said Joe Conte, the state bar executive director.

Benally was one of only 10 of the state’s 1,600 young layers to be nominated. To qualify, a lawyer must be younger than 36 and must have practiced law for fewer than five years.
San Juan County, and especially the Navajo Nation, should be proud.

Benally holds degrees from Dartmouth College and Arizona State University and is just the kind of role model our youth need to see making news.

Benally set her goal to become a lawyer long before she even entered middle school. She has stuck to her dream so that she can make a difference for those who follow.

What may be most impressive about Benally is that not only has she found success, but she’s giving back to her community. She has immersed herself in the issues when it would have been easier to take her success and run.

“Benally is conversant with the native population both on and off the reservation. She’s very in tune with what their needs are,” said Rebecca Tsosie, a law professor.

Benally doesn’t stop there. She realizes she is an example for youth and that they can learn from her experience.

“I hope I can provide guidance, support and mentorship to any student I meet,” Benally said.
That’s where the winds of change start.

Things only can get better for youth of the Nation and of the entire county when we have such leaders willing to take the hands of our youth and lead them to great opportunities.

We hope that many more on the Navajo Nation and in San Juan County will follow Benally’s lead.
And we hope there will be much more recognition to come her way in the future.

2nd Annual NALSA Golf Tournament

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Announcing the
2nd Annual ASU NALSA Golf Tournament
Sponsored by the
Native American Law Students Association
Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law
Arizona State University

Date: Saturday, November 3rd, 2007
Time: 7:30 AM Shotgun Start
Place: The Foothills Golf Club, Awahtukee (Phx), AZ
Course info: http://www.thefoothillsgc.com/
Entry Fee: $100 per player
Fee includes: Lunch, green fees, cart, range balls and 1 raffle ticket

Format: Men, Women, and Coed (Scramble format). Teams consist of 4 players but all golfers are welcomed and entries with less than 4 players will be consolidated into teams of 4.

Contests: Longest drive, closest to the pin, putting contest, raffle, and skins (side bets).

Prizes: Championship and runner up prizes to Men’s, Women’s, and Co-ed divisions.

Deadline: Entries will be limited to the first paid 100 golfers. Paid entries must be recieved on or before Wednesday, October 24th, 2007 (No exceptions). ASU NALSA will adhere to this strict deadline in order to facilitate scheduling with the golf course. Please see attached sign up form for payment.

For more info, contact: JC at clarkEjerome32@yahoo.com

In addition, NALSA recognizes there could be non-golfers who would like to contribute. There is an opportunity for hole sponsorship. Golf hole sponsorships are $100 per hole or if you’d like to sponsor current NALSA members who play golf, please contact JC at the e-mail address above.

Helen Burtis (’07) wins writing competition

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Helen E. Burtis, a 2007 graduate of the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, has won a writing competition held by the Indian Law Section of the State Bar of Arizona. She will receive the award and a $1,000 scholarship at the Bar’s annual convention, June 27-29, at the Westin Kierland Resort and Spa in Scottsdale. In her paper, “Sovereignty Struggles: When the Federal Government Deals the Hand,” Burtis predicts how the U.S. Supreme Court would decide the jurisdiction held by the National Labor Relations Board over Indian tribes, and provides advice for tribes about proceeding under those circumstances. Burtis, who plans to clerk for Arizona Court of Appeals Judge Patrick Irvine for a year, ultimately would like to practice law in Indian Country.

Burtis worked in the financial services and insurance industry for 23 years before enrolling in law school in 2004 at the age of 45. “I made myself a promise that I would have a second career in my life,” she said. “I’d heard a motivational speaker talk about the fact that people work 50 or more years after they graduate, and that’s plenty of time for two satisfying, rewarding careers. I thought there was a lot of merit to that, and I promised myself that, no matter how comfortable I was, I would do something new when I was 45 or 50.” Burtis said she felt studying the law would be challenging and eventually provide her with a career where she could help clients understand and achieve their objectives.

She chose the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law because of its internationally renowned Indian Legal Program (ILP). “The ILP faculty is the best in the field,” Burtis said. “They have been helpful and supportive, giving me extra time and helping me with difficult endeavors, such as externships and the challenging curricula. But they also have pushed and encouraged me to do my best.” This was Burtis’s first entry in a writing competition at the College of Law, and she said the award is both surprising and gratifying.

Rebecca Tsosie, the ILP’s executive director and a College of Law professor, said the program’s faculty, staff and students benefited from having Burtis on campus. “She distinguished herself with her commitment to study and gain practical experience in many aspects of Federal Indian law,” Tsosie said. “Helen’s excellent written work demonstrates her mastery of the subject and her willingness to engage in a creative and thoughtful analysis of the many tough issues within Federal Indian law. “We are so pleased and honored to join the State Bar of Arizona in congratulating Helen for her winning essay in the writing competition, and we look forward to celebrating her future accomplishments in the field of Federal Indian law.” To read Burtis’s paper, go here.

Tim Harjo (’03)

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Congratulations to Tim Harjo. He will graduate this month with a Masters in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. While working on his Masters Degree he was appointed Special Counsel to the Fort Sill-Chiricahua Apache Tribe, worked with the Harvard project on Native Economic Development, and had some of his work showcased in the Honoring Nations Journal.