On March 1 and 3, 2022, student attorneys in Colorado Law’s American Indian Law Clinic delivered remote will drafting legal services to tribal members of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe.
The Tribe is located on the Southern Indian Ute Reservation approximately 330 miles south of Boulder, Colorado. The Reservation spans roughly 1 million acres, and the Tribe’s population is nearly 1,400 members.
Because many of the Tribe’s members need legal advice on probate, including the drafting of wills, a two-day event was held by the Clinic to provide these services. Student attorneys studied the Tribe’s laws on probate and wills. For two days, the student attorneys conducted client-intake by meeting with individual tribal members to discuss their legal questions and concerns. They also drafted wills, medical power of attorney, and memorial forms and answered legal questions on existing wills.
2L's Emily McCrary and Cameron Abatti meeting with tribal members on Zoom to discuss their legal needs.
Second-year Colorado Law student, Emily McCrary, described her experience as “eye-opening and humbling.” McCrary remarked, “I was able to actually help people who were in immediate need of important services that impact not only their life, but the lives of their family.”
Benjamin Bonner, also a 2L, stated, “I was able to apply the skills and knowledge that I learned in Wills and Trusts from last semester. The fact that I was applying these skills was a huge confidence booster for me.”
“This is such a great learning experience for student attorneys because they are able to learn the fundamentals and patience required when interviewing clients,” reflected Visiting Clinical Professor and Interim American Indian Law Clinical Director, Chase Velasquez. Professor Velasquez elaborated, “Opportunities like this have allowed students to learn of the contemporary legal, health, social, and economic conditions that American Indians and indigenous peoples continue to encounter. I am thankful to the Southern Indian Ute Tribal Leaders for entrusting the American Indian Law Clinic to provide services to their members.”
The American Indian Law Clinic was established in 1992 by Colorado Law Professor Sarah Krakoff to represent individual tribal members, Indian tribes, and indigenous peoples on matters arising under federal Indian law, tribal law, and international human rights law.