California Indian Law Association

Board of Directors

Joanne Willis Newton (President) operates her own law practice, Law Offices of Joanne Willis Newton, APC, in San Diego, California. She specializes in Federal Indian law, with over thirteen years of experience serving the unique legal needs of Native American governments, organizations and individuals. She is also a panel attorney for Appellate Defenders, Inc., and represents indigent parents in juvenile dependency appeals before the California Court of Appeals, Fourth District. Before going out on her own in 2005, she was employed for seven years with California Indian Legal Services. Prior to that she worked for several years in Canada as a consultant on matters of Aboriginal law to a number of First Nations’ entities and federal agencies, such as the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and the Department of Justice. Ms. Willis Newton has an LL.M from the University of San Diego (1998) and an LL.B. from the University of Ottawa School of Law (1992). She is admitted to the following jurisdictions: California (1999), Quebec (1998) and Ontario (1995). Ms. Willis Newton and her two children are members of the Cree Nation of Chisasibi, located in northern Quebec. For more information see www.willisnewtonlaw.com.

Christine Williams (Vice President) is a member of the Yurok Tribe Chair of CILA’s Scholarship Committee. She received her law degree and Indian Law Certificate from Arizona State University College of Law in 2000 after completing her undergraduate studies at UCLA in 1996. Ms. Williams served the State of California for over 2 years as the lead attorney for the Indian Child Welfare Act Initiative at the Judicial Council of California’s Administrative Office of the Courts, Center for Families, Children and the Courts. In private practice Ms. Williams has had the opportunity to represent tribes in a variety of areas of Indian Law including: Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) issues, cultural resources protection, housing, gaming, California legislation, civil litigation, and the development and review of tribal codes and resolutions. Presently, Ms. Williams has returned to private practice focusing on Indian Law and is also a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Ethnic Studies Department at Mills College teaching a variety of courses pertaining to American Indian Studies. In November of 2007, she was appointed Acting Presiding Judge of the Yurok Tribe's Supreme Court.

Meredith Drent (Treasurer) is a member of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma and a descendant of the native Chamorro people of Guam. She is a graduate of Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law and an alumna of its nationally recognized Indian Legal Program. After years of practice with several California-based private law firms specializing exclusively in Indian law, Ms. Drent now serves as Staff Attorney with the San Manuel Band of Serrano Mission Indians in Highland, California, and as Associate Justice for the Supreme Court of the Osage Nation. Ms. Drent’s practice focuses on all issues related to tribal governance including child welfare, education, health, housing, tribal court development, public safety, personnel matters, policies and procedures, legislation, and intergovernmental relations.

Mark D. Myers (Secretary) is clerk to the Hon. Larry A. Burns, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. He has been a speaker on Indian law at the Sovereignty Symposium, and his articles on Indian law have been published as part of the Sovereignty Symposium's collected conference materials. He is the author of "Federal Recognition of Indian Tribes in the United States," published in Stanford Law & Policy Review (Spring, 2001). Mr. Myers has also clerked for the Hon. William J. Holloway, Jr. on the 10th Circuit,and for the Navajo Nation Supreme Court. He has worked in private practice in Dallas and San Diego. He is a 2001 graduate of Stanford Law School and is a member of both the Federal Bar Association and the National Native American Bar Association.

Michele Fahley has been a Staff Attorney in the Escondido Office of California Indian Legal Services since 2004. She has a joint degree in law and American Indian Studies from UCLA, and has worked with the UCLA American Indian Studies Center, the UCLA Tribal Legal Development Clinic, and the Tribal Law and Policy Institute. Since joining CILS Ms. Fahley's work has focused on ICWA, updating CILS' ICWA Benchguide for California Judges, estate planning and training under the American Indian Probate Reform Act, tribal court development, and gaming and economic development. UCLA (J.D. 2003; M.A. 2004); University of Washington, Seattle (B.A. 1998).

Angela Medrano is a member of the Cahuilla Band of Indians. She received her J.D. from the University of San Diego and B.A. degree in Sociology and Psychology from the University of Southern California. Ms. Medrano spent two years working for her tribe as the Lead Gaming Commissioner of the Cahuilla Tribal Gaming Agency. Where she managed the small regulatory agency and gained first hand experience in all facets of gaming regulation. Ms. Medrano is currently a staff attorney at California Indian Legal Services, a non-profit legal service program serving Indians and Indian tribes in California. Ms. Medrano is new to the CILA Board of Directors this year. She is serving as the Chair of Youth Outreach. This new committee was formed as a result of feedback from our membership at the 2007 conference.

Dan Rey-Bear is a board-certified specialist in Federal Indian Law and a partner for Nordhaus Law Firm, LLP, one of the oldest and largest law firms in the United States that is dedicated primarily to the representation of American Indian tribes and organizations. Dan specializes in litigation and transactional work concerning tribal sovereign immunity and jurisdiction, breaches of federal trust duties, fee and trust-land acquisitions, environmental permitting, and tax disputes, as well as intergovernmental issues and client support for projects involving economic development, environmental protection, assessments, and remediation. Before joining the Nordhaus Law Firm, Dan served as a staff attorney for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. More information on Dan and the Nordhaus Law Firm is available at www.nordhauslaw.com.

Tim Seward is a partner in the Sacramento office of Hobbs, Straus, Dean & Walker, LLP, a law firm founded in 1982 with specialized practice in the area of Indian law, which now represents over one hundred different tribes, tribal organizations, and tribal entities from across the United States. Tim’s practice involves both transactional work and litigation relating to a wide range of tribal issues, including those related to jurisdiction and Public Law 280, protection of sacred and cultural sites, land use laws, Tribal TANF and ICWA, development of tribal housing and economic development, intergovernmental agreements, and internal tribal governance. Prior to joining Hobbs, Straus, Dean and Walker, LLP, Tim served for many years as an in-house general counsel for a tribe located in California. More information about Tim is available at www.hsdwlaw.com.

David Clifford is a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and a 2002 graduate of Loyola Law School where he focused his studies on civil rights. Mr. Clifford was a member of the Saint Thomas More Honor Society as well as a member of the Native American Students Association. As a practicing attorney in California, Mr. Clifford represented Bing Crosby's beneficiaries in on going litigation against various record companies. He has worked on a variety of issues including real estate litigation, intellectual property litigation and receiverships. Since joining Karshmer & Associates, a law firm which primarily represents Indian tribes and tribal orgnanizations, Mr. Clifford has worked on a variety of tribal issues, including probate law, economic development, transactional work, development of tribal laws and tribal courts, Indian Child Welfare Act cases, cultural sites and artifacts, and torts. Mr. Clifford is new to the Board of Directors this year and is serving as the Chair of the Public Relations. More information about Mr. Clifford is available at www.karshmerindianlaw.com