Gloria Valencia-Weber, an Indian Law expert and professor with the University of New Mexico School of Law, has been elected to the American Law Institute – an organization of judges, lawyers and legal scholars.
Valencia-Weber was nominated by her colleagues across the U.S. for her professional achievements and her commitment to the law. Her greatest contribution to the American Legal System has been in the field of Indian Law where she's established the first two Indian Law certificate programs at American Bar Association-accredited universities – first at the University of Tulsa and then the UNM School of Law in 1994.
“I am gratified that people outside and inside the UNM School of Law appreciate my work as being of merit on a national level,” she said. “I look forward to contributing whatever I can to the institute.”
The American Law Institute was founded in 1923 by a group of judges, lawyers and legal educators who worked to address the complexities of early 20th century American law and promote better adaptation of the law to social needs, secure a stronger administration of justice and encourage legal scholarship.
Professor Valencia-Weber is also an extensively published author on the field of Indian Law and is regarded as a nationwide resource on Indian Law issues. Currently she is the chair of the Indian Law on State Bar Exams Committee of the Federal Bar Association.
She has recently published two Indian Law-related articles and is a regular speaker at forums around the world. Recently, Valencia-Weber was one of two UNM School of Law professors to speak at a conference at the Inns of Court in London. Prior to this – in the fall of 2006 – she presented a talk at Harvard Law School.
Valencia-Weber joins four other UNM School of Law faculty who are currently ALI members – Dean Suellyn Scarnecchia, Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, Alfred Mathewson, and Peter Winograd.
Media Contact: Benson Hendrix, (505) 277-1816; e-mail: bhendrix@unm.edu