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Category Archives: Alumni
Pathways to the Bench: Honorable Diane J. Humetewa (’93)
As the first Native American federal judge, Honorable Diane J. Humetewa (’93) holds her Hopi tribal homelands close to her heart. Being in a position that serves a great purpose has allowed her to mentor and empower future Native American leaders. In Nov. 2022, she invited ASU Law students to visit her chambers and learn about her pathway to the bench.
Job opportunities: Judicial Branch of the Navajo Nation
Court Solicitor (244326) – Window Rock, AZ
District Court Clerk (909557) – Tuba City, AZ
District Court Clerk (909563) – Kayenta, AZ
District Court Clerk (240815) – Shiprock, NM
District Court Clerk (112557) – Window Rock, AZ
District Court Clerk (209528) – Window Rock, AZ
District Court Clerk (209534) – Window Rock, AZ
Staff Attorney (240874) – Aneth, UT
Staff Attorney (234987) – Kayenta, AZ
Staff Attorney (211848) – Tuba City, AZ
Associate Justice * (209546) – Window Rock, AZ
District Court Judge * (00000) – District Court, Navajo Nation Wide
For full list of job announcements, go to Judicial Branch of the Navajo Nation.
Tribal Court Trial Skills 2023
After a multi-year postponement due to pandemic-related safety concerns, the Indian Legal Clinic was very excited to once again present its bi-annual Tribal Court Trial Skills College for tribal court practitioners.
The Trial Skills College was an intensive, four-day session that provided practical, hands-on training for advocates to develop and refine the skills necessary to try cases in tribal court. The program culminated in a mock trial held on the last day.
Held in May, twelve tribal court advocates from Arizona, New Mexico, Wyoming and Montana participated.
Students praised the program for the guidance it provided them and the cameraderie experienced throughout the event. In addition to the classroom and simulated training received, the Trial Skills College provided the tribal court lay advocates with a rare opportunity to gather and share with others in similar positions at other tribal nations.
ASU Law alumni served as trial consultants for the students and presented as members of the faculty on topics ranging from ethics to closing arguments including Landon Antelman (’11), Fernando J. Anzaldua (’13), Derrick Beetso(’10), Helen Burtis (’07), Jennifer Giff (’95), Ed Hermes (’13) and Ben Rundall(’14). The Honorable Anthony Hill (’06), Honorable Kaniatarí:io Jesse Gilbert(’07) and Kevin Pooley (’15) served as judges during the simulated trial.
Other experienced litigators and judges who volunteered their service included Eric Dahlstrom, Louis Mallette, Sonia Martinez, Pilar Thomas, Jose Valles, and the Honorable Ida Wilber.
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Helen Burtis (’07)
Faculty Associate, Indian Legal Clinic, ASU Law
Indigenizing the legal profession
The ILP teamed up with its Native American Pathway to Law Initiative partners – University of California, Berkeley School of Law’s Admissions Office, Michigan State University College of Law’s Indigenous Law and Policy Center and Pre-Law Summer Institute, and American Indian Law Center, Inc. – and hosted its ninth annual Pathway to Law workshop at ASU Law. The program brought together 43 Native American students representing 30 tribes to learn about the law school admissions process, and tools and resources to support their law journey.
Stacy Leeds, Willard H. Pedrick Dean and Regents Professor of Law, gave a warm welcome to the class, discussed brief Indian Law history, and shared her wisdom and tips. Patty Ferguson-Bohnee, ILP Faculty Director, also extended a hearty welcome to the students.
Wenona Singel, Professor of Law and Associate Director of the Indigenous Law & Policy Center at Michigan State University (MSU Law) presented “Indigenizing the Legal Profession” and provided insight on Native American lawyers in the United States.
Kristen Theis-Alvarez, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at Berkeley Law, provided her expertise in several panels covering the law school admissions timeline and how to create a strong application packet.
To empower the students, Native law professionals Diandra Benally (’05), Torey Dolan (’19), Joseph Flies-Away (’04), Michelle Fox, Kiyoko Patterson (’03) and Denten Robinson presented on a panel “Why we need more Native attorneys.” Law students Gabe Dowell (2L), Keely Driscoll (2L), Shandiin Herrera (2L), Maryam Salazar (3L) and Berkeley Law 2L Robin Martinez shared their current experiences in law school during the panel presentation “Our journeys, in our own voices.” Both panel sessions were moderated by attorney Jeremy Aliason.
Simon Goldenberg (’17) and Cassondra Church discussed an overview of law school in their presentation “3 years in a Nut Shell.”
“One of the first courses you’re going to take in law school is Property Law,” said Professor Trevor Reed in his mock class. “It’s a complicated subject because it’s all about ownership.” Students were given cases to read and prepare for Professor Reed’s class and learned about briefing the case and best argument.
ILP Executive Director Kate Rosier and Theis-Alvarez co-presented “Choosing where to apply.”
During the Pathway to Law Workshop, Rosier joined Indian Country Today and talked about the history of the Native American Pathway to Law Initiative and positive outcomes of the program.
Rodina Cave Parnall, Executive Director of the American Indian Law Center presented on “Extending the pipeline: an intro to PLSI.”
Joseph Lindsay, Director of Admissions and Operations at Berkeley Law, presented “Financial aid: resources and considerations for Native law students.”
We appreciate all of the partners, ILP faculty, staff and alumni, attorneys and law students for supporting these motivated Native American students and their bright future.
This was the largest workshop to date, congratulations to the Pathway to Law national team: Cassondra Church and Wenona Singel, Indigenous Law & Policy Center, Michigan State University College of Law; Joseph Lindsay and Kristin Theis-Alvarez, Berkeley Law; Rodina Cave Parnall (’01), American Indian Law Center, Inc.; and Kate Rosier, ILP at ASU Law.
Appellate Advocacy class
On May 8, the Appellate Advocacy class visited the Arizona Court of Appeals and the chambers of Judge David Gass (JD ’94). Students had the opportunity to speak with Judge Gass and Judge Andrew Jacobs about the law, their future aspirations, and working in the judiciary. While in Appellate Advocacy, the students had the opportunity to practice their oral arguments before Judge Gass. Judge Gass provided feedback to students based on his experiences on the bench and from having presided over many appellate oral arguments.
ASU Law students enrolled in the Appellate Advocacy class develop oral and written advocacy skills with the short-term goal of participating in the National Native American Law Students Association Moot Court Competition. The long-term goal is to familiarize students with appellate advocacy through the stages of legal research, writing, and oral argument with emphasis on appellate advocacy for Tribal clients on Federal Indian law or Tribal law issues.
This year’s class included Chad Edwards (2L), Ashleigh Fixicio (3L), Noah Goldenberg (3L), Samir Grover (2L), Clayton Kinsey (2L), Ryan Maxey (3L), Autumn Shone (3L) and Chanel Simon (3L).
Thank you to Judge Gass and Judge Jacobs for taking the time to work with our students, teach them about the Arizona court of Appeals, and show them around the court.
2023 Native Vote recap
The Arizona Native Vote Election Protection Project (the Project), as part of its work with ASU Law’s Indian Legal Clinic (ILC), focused on preparing for the 2022 midterm elections. ILC Director and Clinical Professor of Law Patty Ferguson-Bohnee and Native Vote Fellows Torey Dolan (’19), Blair Tarman-Toner (’21) and student attorneys worked on several issues: legislative tracking, community outreach, revisions to the Elections Procedures Manual, litigation and election protection.
Outreach
The ILC coordinated with Tribes, counties and voting rights organizations leading up to the 2022 elections. The Inter Tribal Council of Arizona (ITCA) hosted monthly strategy sessions bringing together these stakeholders to talk about ongoing democracy issues in Arizona. The Project regularly presented at these meetings on issues of proposed legislation, litigation, election results and data on voter engagement and access in Arizona Tribal communities.
Fellows Tarman-Toner and Dolan were active participants in other community coalitions including the Arizona Voting Rights Coalition, the Native American Voting Rights Coalition, the Arizona Election Advocacy Group, and Election Protection Arizona.
In March 2023, Ferguson-Bohnee was appointed by Governor Katie Hobbs to serve on the Governor’s Bipartisan Elections Task Force. The task force was created pursuant to Executive Order 2023-03 with the task of studying and making recommendations to strengthen election laws, policies, and procedures in the state of Arizona.
On April 17, Ferguson-Bohnee presented at the Federal Bar Association’s Indian Law Conference on the state of Native American Voting Rights. Ferguson-Bohnee spoke about the recent legislation passed in Arizona impacting voting rights, ongoing litigation and the Arizona Native Vote Election Protection Project’s 2022 program.
Litigation
ILC Director Patty Ferguson-Bohnee, Dolan, and Tarman-Toner responded to reports of a polling location in rural Pinal County that opened nearly four hours late on Election Day during the primaries. The ILC, along with the Lawyers’ Committee, filed a complaint and application for temporary restraining order on behalf of the Arizona Democracy Resource Center and Rural Arizona Engagement. The complaint sought declaratory and injunctive relief requesting that Pinal County extend the hours of operation in light of the delayed opening. Despite acknowledging the violation of law by failing to open for four hours thereby denying equal voting time for the voters in that precinct, the County failed to act. While the Court recognized that the harm was not de minimis, the Court failed to grant any relief. During the General Election, Arizona Native Vote Election Protection volunteers reported polling locations in Apache County that failed to open on time on Election Day. The ILC worked with the ACLU and Navajo Nation to file a complaint and application for temporary restraining order on behalf of the Navajo Nation, and the Court extended the time for the polling locations in Apache County to remain open.
Midterm Election
The Arizona Native Vote Election Protection Project – Ferguson-Bohnee, Dolan, Tarman-Toner and ILC student attorneys Chad Edwards (3L), Brittany Habbart (3L), Michael LaValley (3L), Mallory Moore (3L), and Ruben Zendejas (3L), Autumn Shone (3L) and its partners – operated its Native Vote Election Protection Hotline throughout the early voting period and on Election Day during the 2022 Primary and General elections. In addition to operating the hotline for the General Election, the Project had 66 Election Protection Volunteers stationed at multiple polling locations across 9 Tribal communities. Review more in the ILP blog post: Your vote, your voice.
ILC student attorneys Moore and Shone led and conducted two training sessions for volunteers. After completing her final semester, Moore enjoyed working with the Project. “It was honestly one of the most difficult, time consuming, and rewarding things I have done in law school,” said she said. “I am so grateful to have had this opportunity because I feel like it was a great way to learn and grow as a person.”
“Thank you to Torey Dolan and Blair Tarman-Toner for answering every silly question I had about Native Vote and NNALSA Moot Court,” said Shone.
2023 Elections Procedures Manual
The Arizona Native Vote Election Protection Project joined its voting partners to prepare comments, analysis and recommendations to the Secretary of State’s office on the proposed Election Procedures Manual (EPM). The EPM is a comprehensive source of law on the administration of state and federal elections in Arizona. The Project commented on the 2021 proposed EPM drafted by then Secretary of State Katie Hobbs and is similarly preparing comments for now Secretary of State Adrian Fontes.
Planning for 2024
During the Spring 2023 Semester, the ILC, including Student Attorney Kristina Major (2L) began to focus on planning for the 2024 Election Cycle. The Clinic will continue to work with its partners throughout the summer to plan for the next election cycle.
Legal Futures at the Navajo Nation Tuba City Court
Indian Legal Clinic Director Patty Ferguson-Bohnee serves as a member of the Arizona Supreme Court Commission on Diversity, Equality and Justice. For the past few years, the Committee has hosted Legal Futures for high school students with an interest in the law to provide an opportunity for young students to interact with judges, attorneys, and other legal professionals and learn about the legal profession and pathways to the bench.
This year, it was the first collaboration between the Arizona Supreme Court and a Tribal Nation’s Court to host a “Legal Futures: Setting the Stage for Your Legal Career” in Indian Country. Ferguson-Bohnee with ILP alumni — Michael Bennett (’16), attorney for the Navajo Nation, Kris Beecher (’20), attorney at Dickinson Wright PLLC, Verrin Kewenvoyouma (’04), majority owner and managing partner of Kewenvoyouma Law, PLLC, — traveled to the Navajo Nation and shared their journey to law. Students learned that about different areas of law: government workers to court staff, private business to law firms, and quasi to utilities, water and universities.
From the American Bar Association, 2022
Native Americans are underrepresented within the law but the most affected by the law. Learning opportunities like these events empower, expose and engage Native American high school students. Young adults, whose minds are at a developmental stage in their life, can learn from current Native American professionals, who are also every day relatives and grew up on tribal lands.
Collaborations like these are important and we look forward to hosting more events. We extend our appreciation to the Navajo Nation District Court in Tuba City. Thank you to our awesome ILP alumni crew – Verrin, Kris, and Michael – for spending time with the students.
Job Opportunity: Civil Rights Attorney
The Albuquerque, NM office of Rothstein Donatelli LLP is seeking an associate attorney for its civil rights practice group. The Firm is looking for a New Mexico licensed attorney with at least 2 years or more of litigation experience. The candidate should possess a demonstrated commitment to the welfare of individual clients and maintain the highest quality of legal practice, especially legal research and writing skills. The ideal candidate will have experience litigating civil rights cases and/or representing survivors of sexual abuse. The associate must be skilled in managing complex litigation and providing staff direction.
Rothstein Donatelli has offices in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico, as well as in Tempe, Arizona. The Rothstein Donatelli LLP practice areas include civil rights and discrimination law, representation of survivors of sexual abuse, criminal defense, complex civil litigation, appeals and post-conviction work, and Indian law. Rothstein Donatelli is committed to social justice and vigorously protecting the rights of its clients.
Rothstein Donatelli LLP provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, religion, age, disability, sex or gender identity, results of genetic testing, or service in the military. Equal employment opportunity applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leave of absence, compensation, and training. The Firm expressly prohibits any form of unlawful employee harassment or discrimination based on any of the characteristics mentioned above. Improper interference with the ability of other employees to perform their expected job duties is absolutely not tolerated. The Firm is committed to achieving a diverse workforce and an inclusive environment.
Interested candidates should send a resume, references, and writing sample to Manya Snyder at info@rothsteinlaw.com.
Job Opportunities
DOJ Indian Country Assistant US Attorney
- Tulsa, OK – Application Deadline: May 24, 2023 for priority consideration
FCC Office of Native Affairs – Attorney
- Washington, DC – Application Deadline: June 8, 2023
- USAJOBS – Job Announcement
FCC Office of Native Affairs – Policy Advisor
- Washington, DC – Application Deadline: June 8, 2023
- USAJOBS – Job Announcement
DOJ Office on Violence Against Women Tribal Consultation
- Tulsa, OK – August 8-10, 2023
- Register | OVW Consultation
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) – Impact Report