Ferguson-Bohnee selected for Equal Justice Works award

Patty Ferguson-BohneePatty Ferguson-Bohnee has been selected for the 2009 Equal Justice Works Outstanding Law School Faculty Award, which is given to young faculty of less than five years experience who are doing great work in public service.The award will be presented at the 2009 Equal Justice Works Awards Luncheon on Oct. 24 in Washington, D.C., at which Harold Koh, Legal Adviser of the U.S. Department of State and former Yale Law School Dean, will be the keynote speaker.

“This is a great honor and a tribute to Patty’s great work at the Clinic, as well as the dedication of the students who have participated in the Clinic over the past few years,” said Dean Paul Schiff Berman.

Rebecca Tsosie, Executive Director of the Indian Legal Program, praised Ferguson-Bohnee’s work.“Patty’s leadership of our Indian Legal Clinic has been absolutely exceptional,” Tsosie said.

Ferguson-Bohnee has substantial experience in Indian law, election law and policy matters, voting rights, and status clarification of tribes. She has testified before the United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and the Louisiana State Legislature regarding tribal recognition, and has successfully assisted four Louisiana tribes in obtaining state recognition.

Ferguson-Bohnee has represented tribal clients in administrative, state, federal, and tribal courts, as well as before state and local governing bodies and proposed revisions to the Real Estate Disclosure Reports to include tribal provisions. She has assisted in complex voting rights litigation on behalf of tribes, and she has drafted state legislative and congressional testimony on behalf of tribes with respect to voting rights’ issues.She is a member of the Pointe-au-Chien Indian tribe.