Bolstering UCLA School of Law’s efforts to improve the lives of Native people throughout California and the country, the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians has awarded a $2.2 million grant to further support the ongoing work of the law school’s Tribal Legal Development Clinic.
The gift will fund the full-time, year-round operations of the clinic, including the work of the clinic director, clinic administrator and summer law clerks, and various program expenses, for five years. In doing so, it fuels UCLA Law’s work in producing new practitioners and scholars who work in Indian law or whose work intersects with issues involving tribal sovereignty. Added financial backing will allow UCLA Law to grow the clinic’s network of clients, create more public-facing research and publications that empower tribal communities, and offer training and career guidance to students.
“San Manuel views this investment in the Tribal Legal Development Clinic as critical to strengthening sovereignty for all tribal nations,” says Lynn Valbuena, chairwoman of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. “Students of the clinic are destined to become vital advocates for the sovereign rights, powers and authorities for tribal nations as they seek to determine their futures.”
Mica Llerandi has served as the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Tribal Legal Development Clinic Director since 2023. Under her leadership, the clinic fosters the next generation of tribal lawyers by connecting students directly with tribal leaders, officers and attorneys to support tribal sovereignty through the provision of free legal development services to Indian tribes. Often, students travel to Indian Country to meet with tribal clients to collaborate, deliver work products to governing bodies and participate in relevant meetings and hearings.
Clinic projects are tribal sovereignty–affirming and have included drafting statutes and other governing documents, building tribal court infrastructure and developing resources for tribal nations. For example, students in the clinic collaborated with the Yurok Tribe to develop the forward-looking “Tribal Broadband” publication, which enables tribes to explore the steps that they would need to take in deploying broadband service within their disproportionately under-connected communities.
“For decades, UCLA Law has been a proud leader in Indian law, scholarship and advocacy, including our on-the-ground initiatives that foster legal assistance and development programs across Indian Country,” says Michael Waterstone, dean of UCLA Law. “At each step, we have engaged in this important work alongside partners who share our commitment, and few are more instrumental than the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. We are hugely grateful for this grant and their recognition of the impact that our students and scholars make, and will continue to make, every day for Native people.”
The grant is the latest contribution from the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians to help expand UCLA Law’s reach and success in producing positive change. Following a 2004 grant of $4 million, a 2019 gift of more than $1.3 million created and funded the position of clinic director, increasing support for the clinic’s robust undertakings.
“The enormous generosity of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians has enabled UCLA Law to become one of the nation’s leading legal institutions in training future lawyers,” says Professor Angela R. Riley, who holds the Carole Goldberg Endowed Chair in Native American Law, serves as special advisor to UCLA’s chancellor on Native American and Indigenous affairs, and directs the law school’s Native Nations Law and Policy Center. “Thanks to this essential partnership, our students will have even more opportunities to work diligently on behalf of Indian country to advance tribal sovereignty and secure a promising future for Indigenous rights.”
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