Barnhouse Keegan Solimon & West LLP would like to acknowledge our 2024 Summer Law Clerk Amber Reano. Amber is Navajo and Santo Domingo Pueblo. She is Táchii’nii (Red Running Into Water Clan) and born for Tóhajilohnii (Santo Domingo Pueblo). Her maternal grandfather’s clan is Tó aheedlíínii (Water Flow Together Clan), and her paternal grandfather’s clan is Tóhajilohnii (Santo Domingo Pueblo).
Amber is entering her third year as a law student at the University of New Mexico School of Law (“UNMSOL”). Amber graduated from Navajo Preparatory School in Farmington, New Mexico, and obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Public Health, modified with Environmental Studies from Brown University in Rhode Island.
At the UNMSOL, Amber is Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Tribal Law Journal, a journal dedicated to promoting Indigenous self-determination, and is an Area 2 Representative of the National Native American Law Student Association. As a second year law student, Amber served as Student Liaison for the Indian Law Section of the State Bar of New Mexico, and earlier this year, Amber authored an article published in Volume 29 of the American Bar Association’s Human Rights Magazine titled It Is Time to Recognize Native American Lawyers. Amber is a 2022 graduate of the American Indian Law Center’s (“AILC”) Pre-Law Summer Institute, and works as a research assistant/staff writer for the AILC.
During her summer at BKSW, Amber’s work ranged from researching state and tribal tax laws, the American Indian Religious Freedom Act, tribal consultation policies, partial governmental takings under state law, drafting memorandums on leases on tribal lands, to assisting in a cross-cultural training for an employer located on tribal lands, providing updates to an employee policy and procedure manual, and presenting legal updates regarding tribal casino liability.
In Amber’s words, she states:
Upon reflection of my time as a summer clerk, I can say, without a doubt, that I’ve enjoyed learning about the unique needs of the clients BKSW serves. Overall, it has been a pleasure to work for and learn from such a talented pool of Indian law attorneys this summer. I am truly thankful for the opportunity everyone at BKSW gave me to continue improving my legal analysis and writing. The knowledge I gained this summer will be used for years to come!
We thank Amber for all her hard work and for spending her summer with BKSW. BKSW summer clerkships are an integral part of the firm’s practice as the mentoring and training of aspiring lawyers is critically important to the firm’s mission in addressing historic wrongs, advancing present progress, and protecting the future rights of our clients while maintaining harmonious relationships within the firm, the community, and our friends and families.