Our Work
PLSI (Pre-Law Summer Institute)
Pre-Law Summer Institute for American Indians and Alaska Natives
PLSI is an intensive two-month program which prepares American Indian and Alaska Native individuals for the rigors of law school by essentially replicating the first semester of law school. Likened to boot camp by many former participants, the PLSI concentrates its content into eight weeks of instruction, research and study, teaching students the unique methods of law school research, analysis, and writing.
PLSI Judicial Clerkship Program
Four to six former PLSI students will be selected annually to attend to the American Bar Association’s Judicial Clerkship Program (JCP), sponsored by the ABA Council for Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Educational Pipeline and the ABA Judicial Division. The JCP brings together students, judges, and former judicial clerks nationwide to enhance the judicial clerkship applications of the students and increase the likelihood of their being selected to be judicial clerks after law school.
Policy and Legal Analysis
AILC’s legal and policy analysis provides important and timely information to tribal governments and communities to make informed legal or policy decisions on numerous critical issues such as: judicial systems, federal and state administrative regulations and legislation, Indian social and health services, infrastructure development, and intergovernmental relationship building, to name a few.
Southwest Intertribal Court of Appeals (SWITCA)
AILC’s Southwest Intertribal Court of Appeals (SWITCA) Program provides an appellate court forum for tribes located in New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona and West Texas. Since its inception in 1989, SWITCA has allowed tribal courts to bring cases before a panel of experienced judges to render decisions at the appellate level for those tribes that do not have the financial means or governmental infrastructure to administer a court of appeals for tribal court decisions. Appellate services are available without cost to member tribes.
Domestic Violence Virtual Courtroom
AILC developed the Domestic Violence Virtual Courtroom for tribal court judges and tribal court staff. The DVVC is an introductory level training about facially valid protection orders against domestic violence. It offers resources to utilize when issuing protection orders against domestic violence and when such orders are violated. This training presents a hypothetical case with filmed tribal courtroom scenes to provide interactive learning for the trainee.
Tribal Court Practice: Intimate Partner Sexual Abuse (IPSA)
Pre-Law Summer Institute for American Indians and Alaska Natives
AILC developed the Tribal Court Practice: Intimate Partner Sexual Abuse (IPSA) for tribal court judges. The Tribal Court Practice: IPSA provides basic information on topics of intimate partner sexual abuse in Indian Country and references to material to utilize in handling such issues in the tribal courtroom.