Please register to join us virtually for the 18th Annual ILPC/TICA Indigenous Law Conference!

For information about the agenda, sponsorships, and registration, please visit the event site.

Egregious Misconduct

November 5th, 2021 | 2:15pm-3:30pm ET | 1.25 Ethics CLE

Indian Country lawyering is mostly unregulated. Tribes and tribal courts can regulate attorney conduct, but usually do not until there is egregious misconduct. This session explores how tribes could prevent and remedy misconduct. Tribal governments can and should adopt tribally specific rules of professional conduct.

Speakers include:

Matthew L.M. Fletcher: Director of the Indigenous Law and Policy Center, Michigan State University College of Law

Moderator – Doreen Nanibaa McPaul: TICA President, Attorney General for the Navajo Nation

Please register to join us virtually for the 18th Annual ILPC/TICA Indigenous Law Conference!

For information about the agenda, sponsorships, and registration, please visit the event site.

Advocacy Strategies: The Law Clerk Perspective

November 5th, 2021 | 12:45pm-2:00pm ET | 1.25 CLE

Get the scoop from current and former law clerks who share practical advice to enhance written and oral advocacy. The panel will instruct on justiciability, writing techniques, briefing organization, court protocols, and oral argument approaches. Panelists spotlight a framework for building a coherent case for clients, opposing parties, and the courts.

Speakers include:

Lydia Locklear: (Lumbee) Deputy Tribal Attorney for the Catawba Nation

Joaquin Ray Gallegos: (Jicarilla Apache and Santa Ana Pueblo) Judicial Clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

Alexander Mallory: (Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska) Attorney Advisor through the United States Department of Justice Honors Program

Roshanna Toya: (Pueblo of Isleta) Judicial Clerk for the New Mexico Court of Appeals

Moderator – Rodina Cave Parnell: Pre-Law Summer Institute Director, American Indian Law Center, Inc.

Please register to join us virtually for the 18th Annual ILPC/TICA Indigenous Law Conference!

For information about the agenda, sponsorships, and registration, please visit the event site.

Party or Amicus? Deciding When Your Tribal Nation Should Participate in Litigation

November 5th, 2021 | 10:30am-11:45am ET | 1.25 CLE

This presentation is designed for In-House counsel who advise tribal leadership on whether to intervene or be amicus in litigation affecting their tribal nation. We will discuss the pros and cons of becoming a direct party, whether to directly participate in the case or seek to have it dismissed, types of intervention, reasons for filing an amicus brief, and the reasons why such a brief may or may not be a good idea in specific cases.

Speakers include:

Paul Spruhan: Assistant Attorney General, Navajo Nation DOJ

Chrissi Nimmo: Cherokee Nation, Deputy Attorney General for Cherokee Nation

Megan Topkok: Iñupiaq, Staff Attorney for Kawerak, Inc.

Moderator – Jamie Williams: Student, Michigan State University College of Law

Please register to join us virtually for the 18th Annual ILPC/TICA Indigenous Law Conference!

For information about the agenda, sponsorships, and registration, please visit the event site.

Shifting the Balance of Power: Self Governance and Consultation

November 5th, 2021 | 9:00am-10:15am ET | 1.25 CLE

Self governance is an exercise of tribal sovereignty and self-determination. Tribal self governance is, at its core, a framework for tribal progress because it empowers tribes. This panel will explore the history and key milestones of the tribal self governance movement, with an emphasis on recent developments and upcoming challenges for the expansion of self governance in agencies outside of the BIA and IHS.

Speakers include:

Rob Roy Smith: Managing Partner, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP

Geoff Strommer: Partner, Hobbs, Straus, Dean & Walker, LLP

Debrah Gee: Navajo Nation and Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Chief Counsel for the Chickasaw Nation Office of Tribal Justice Administration

Moderator – Valerie Shuette: Student, Michigan State University College of Law

Please register to join us virtually for the 18th Annual ILPC/TICA Indigenous Law Conference!

For information about the agenda, sponsorships, and registration, please visit the event site.

Beyond Brackeen: Ongoing Protections for Indian Children

November 4th, 2021 | 2:15pm-3:30pm ET | 1.25 CLE

Although the 5th Circuit decision in Brackeen v. Haaland has consumed the ICWA conversation for the last few years, the decision has limited impact. This panel will focus on continuing protections for Indian children. Panelists will discuss other legal methods to protect Indian children, such as state Indian child welfare legislation, and amendments to the federal ICWA.

Speakers include:

April Olson: Attorney, Rothstein Donatelli LLP

Kate Fort: Director of Clinics, Michigan State University College of Law

Austin Moore: Attorney, Native American Disability Law Center

Moderator – Cassondra Church: Legal Counselor, Indigenous Law & Policy Center, Michigan State University College of Law

Please register to join us virtually for the 18th Annual ILPC/TICA Indigenous Law Conference!

For information about the agenda, sponsorships, and registration, please visit the event site.

Consultation Practices

November 4th, 2021 | 12:45pm-2:00pm ET | 1.25 CLE

Tribal consultation laws, whether at the federal, state, or county level, allow Indigenous people to directly participate in decisions that impact their daily lives from health to education and beyond. The presentation explains the variety of tribal consultation laws across US jurisdictions and policies that tribes can use to best suit their communities.

Speakers include:

Joe Sarcinella: Attorney, Drummond Woodsum

Wenona Singel: Associate Director & Professor, Indigenous Law & Policy Center, Michigan State University College of Law

Tehani M. Louis-Perkins: University of Hawai’i

Moderator – Ian F. Tapu: Law Clerk, Hawaii State Judiciary

Please register to join us virtually for the 18th Annual ILPC/TICA Indigenous Law Conference!

For information about the agenda, sponsorships, and registration, please visit the event site.

Tribal Traditional Law in Practice

November 4th, 2021 | 10:30am-11:45am ET | 1.25 CLE

This presentation unravels the difficulties and reliabilities of incorporating traditional law into modern practices in the context of Diné Fundamental Law statute, oral testimony of the Jemez Pueblo’s elders, and Anishinaabe law and jurisprudence.

Speakers include:

Rodgerick Begay: Assistant Attorney General, DOJ Chapter Unit, Navajo National

Matthew L.M. Fletcher: Director & Professor, Indigenous Law & Policy Center, Michigan State University College of Law

Robert Alan Hershey: Clinical Professor of Law Emeritus, Indigenous Law & Policy Program, University of Arizona College of Law

Moderator – Alyana Jimerson: Student, Michigan State University College of Law