UCLA Law Receives a $2.2 Million Gift to Sustain Its Clinical Impact in Native Nations

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- 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 funds the full-time and year-round work of the clinic, including the clinic director, clinic administrator, 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 who are pursuing careers in Indian law.

"Our Tribe is honored to continue our longstanding partnership with the UCLA School of Law in advancing tribal sovereignty for all Native American communities," said Chairwoman Lynn Valbuena, San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. "The students of the Tribal Legal Development Clinic have been, and will remain, vital advocates for the rights and sovereignty of tribes and Native communities."

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 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 of the way, 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 generous contribution that the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians has made to UCLA Law to expand the law school's reach and success in producing positive change. Following a 2004 grant of $4 million, a gift of more than $1.3 million in 2019 created and funded the position of clinic director, thereby 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."

About the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians

The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians is a federally recognized Indian tribe located on the San Manuel Indian Reservation near Highland, California. San Manuel exercises its inherent sovereign right of self-governance and provides essential services for its citizens by building infrastructure, maintaining civil services, and promoting social, economic, and cultural development. As the Indigenous people of the San Bernardino highlands, passes, valleys, mountains, and high deserts, the Serrano people of San Manuel have called this area home since time immemorial and are committed to remaining a productive partner in the San Bernardino region. For more information, visit http://www.sanmanuel-nsn.gov. 

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SOURCE San Manuel Band of Mission Indians