Kaitlyn Pieper

UCLI was honored to present at the 17th annual Governor’s Native American Summit at the Sorensen Student Center at Utah Valley University on Friday, June 23, 2023. The event was hosted by the Utah Division of Indian Affairs and is the only event in the state where State and Tribal leaders, community stakeholders, educators, and community members converge to learn more about the issues and concerns impacting Utah’s American Indian population. This year’s theme was Connecting Our Communities: Reverence for Our Elders, Our Youth, Ourselves, and Each Other. 

Cliff Parkinson, Chair of Community Outreach, and Kaitlyn Pieper, Executive Director, presented the UCLI breakout session. Cliff led off with a discussion of recent national tribal cases and highlighted the importance of having legal advocates fighting for Native American rights at the state and federal level. Kaitlyn then introduced UCLI’s purpose and programs, highlighting initiatives at the K-12, Pre-Law, and Law School levels. The UCLI First Generation outreach video was then displayed, which many attendees found very relatable. The last twenty minutes of the session was devoted to listening to feedback and suggestions from attendees about what their communities could benefit from and how UCLI could improve its outreach. We were honored to have among the audience members multiple individuals who plan to attend law school, as well as Larry Echo Hawk, a member of the Pawnee nation and a celebrated attorney. 

UCLI was grateful for the opportunity to attend such an incredible event and to learn from the many other presenters and sessions. Thank you to James Toledo and Dustin Jansen at the Utah Division of Indian Affairs for the chance to present. If anyone has additional suggestions for collaboration efforts between UCLI and Tribal communities, we welcome your feedback and introductions at .

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This month the Utah Center for Legal Inclusion had the opportunity to host a group of ten international visitors from Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Palestinian Territories, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. These visitors were invited to the United States under the auspices of the Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program as a Regional Project for the Near East and North Africa. While in the United States the program participants explored the topics of the Rule of Law and the U.S. Judicial System. Their program was arranged by CRDF Global. Nicholas Merrill and his colleagues at the Utah Global Diplomacy generously invited UCLI to host the group for an afternoon. 

On June 26, 2023, Mary Anne Davies and her colleagues at the Disability Law Center welcomed us into their beautiful facility and provided a tour of the building and a brief presentation about the Disability Law Center’s mission. We then met back in the boardroom and Kaitlyn Pieper, UCLI Executive Director, provided a demographic overview of Utah and Utah’s legal profession. Following this, we heard from a panel of experts including Jon Wayas, Associate Director at the Utah Center for Legal Inclusion; Michelle Oldroyd, Director of Professional Education & Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer at the Utah State Bar; and Jon Puente, Director of the Office of Fairness, Equity, and Accountability at the Administrative Office of the Courts. The panel was interactive and responded to many audience questions, including questions about bias and discrimination in the court systems and racial dynamics in the United States. 

UCLI was honored to host such a distinguished group of legal professionals who are doing such incredible work to move justice forward in their home countries (names and home countries of participants listed below). Thank you to Nicholas Merrill and his colleagues at Utah Global Diplomacy for making this connection and to Mary Anne Davies and the Disability Law Center for hosting us at their lovely venue.

Egypt, Mr. Mohanad Mohamed Rasheed Elkholy

Egypt, Ms. Fatma Serageldin Khalil Mohamed

Israel, Ms. Nareman Shehadeh Zoabi 

Lebanon, Mr. Youssef Diab

Lebanon, Mr. Roland El Chartouni

Palestinian Territories, Mr. Kanan Alsourani

Palestinian Territories, Mr. Majdi Rabei

Qatar, Mr. Ahmed Mohammed Al Sulaiti

Saudi Arabia, Mr. Abdulrahman Rafea Alamary 

Saudi Arabia, Mr. Abdullah Mohammed Algar

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UCLI is honored to partner with Women of the World this summer to host a six-part series of free legal workshops open to all members of the community. The workshop topics thus far have included navigating the law in daily life, divorce and custody, and immigration. We welcome anyone who has an interest in expanding their knowledge regarding the law, particularly those with a refugee or immigrant background, and invite participation for the remaining topics, which include: workplace discrimination, general housing issues, as well as housing and rent discrimination.

On 22 June 2023, the third legal workshop in the series was hosted at the Women of the World office and presented by one of the UCLI board members, Geidy Achecar. Geidy owns her own law practice which focuses on personal injury cases, immigration law, and divorce/family law matters. She was able to share her in-depth knowledge on immigration matters to a large audience in Spanish, thanks to her native fluency in the language. The workshop attendees were very engaged and asked many questions, which Geidy helped answer as well as providing them with resources that allowed them to answer their own questions. There were also two recent college graduates in the audience who plan to attend law school. Geidy was able to share information with them about the upcoming Pre-Law Symposium and Pre-Law Fellowship.  

Geidy describes her own experience presenting at the event as follows:

“The demands of practicing make it hard to find time to serve our communities, this event was such a good reminder that especially for those who don’t have access to attorneys and may not know how to navigate the law, just a small amount of our time and training can make a huge difference in people’s lives. I loved being in community with the women who attended and the organizers who do the work daily.”

We would like to thank Geidy Achecar for sharing her expertise. We would also like to extend a thank you to Ghinwa Hneide, WoW’s case manager, for facilitating the event. Thank you also to Wings on Wheels, a Spice Kitchen Entrepreneur, for the fantastic catering.

Please also help us spread the word to your friends and neighbors with refugee and immigrant backgrounds; see the flyer below.

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On April 27, 2023, the Utah Center for Legal Inclusion held its Second Annual Fundraiser Luncheon “Stronger Together” at the Salt Lake Marriott Downtown at City Creek. We were grateful to be joined by 250 guests, representing large and small law firms across the state, Utah’s courts, and other organizations. We were especially grateful to be joined by this year’s Event Sponsor, Kirton McConkie, and the four Scholarship Sponsors: Kirkland & Ellis, Parsons Behle & Latimer, Ray Quinney & Nebeker, and Foley & Lardner. It was wonderful to be together in person as members of the legal community and to hear from the keynote speaker Dean Elizabeth Kronk Warner, dean of the S. J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah, and from Justice Christine M. Durham, former Justice and Chief Justice of the Utah Supreme Court and former co-chair of the Utah Center for Legal Inclusion, as well as from many other excellent speakers.

Program hosts Melinda Bowen and Kristen Olsen welcomed participants to the event, and introduced the speakers. First we heard from Tyler Buswell, who was representing the Event Sponsor, Kirton McConkie. Then we heard from Valeria Jimenez, a 2022 recipient of UCLI’s LSAT Preparation Scholarship and the former Public Outreach Coordinator at the Utah State Courts’ Office of Fairness and Accountability. Next we heard from KC Decker, a 2L at Brigham Young University J. Reuben Clark Law School and a recipient of the 2022 Utah Legal Inclusion Fellowship – an opportunity sponsored by Intermountain Health and Kirton McConkie. After KC, we heard from Breeze Parker, a 2L at Brigham Young University J. Reuben Clark Law School and a 2022-23 Justice Christine M. Durham Fellow. This Fellowship was announced at last year’s luncheon and funded through the generosity of attendees. Finally we hear from Zachary Scott Roemer, an associate at Kirkland & Ellis, and the co-chair of UCLI’s Tracking Progress Committee and K-12 Outreach Committee. Each of them shared personal experiences about their unique backgrounds and journeys to and through law school. 

Next, attendees were present for the debut of the newly published UCLI First Generation Outreach Video, featuring incredible first-generation students who are now a part of the legal community in Utah. You may view it here. 

Guests then heard from the keynote speaker, Dean Elizabeth Kronk Warner– the Jefferson B. & Rita E. Fordham Presidential Dean and Professor of Law at the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah. She presented an incisive address on the way that Utah attorneys can aid in combating racism in our state. You may view a recording of her keynote address or find the slides here. 

Justice Christine Durham, who served as a justice of the Utah Supreme Court from 1982 to 2017 and as Chief Justice from 2002 to 2012, gave a brief address after this – sharing her perspective about why UCLI’s efforts matter and encouraging attendees to give generously. For anyone who was unable to donate at the event, you may donate here now. 

The Luncheon also featured a silent auction with twenty five items, including Tuacahn tickets, a private art class by Leslie Debry, and a private dinner by Chef Arturo Thompson. Many people took home these special offerings and we are very grateful for the kind support of everyone who donated items and all those who bid on them. 

We are deeply grateful to the many individuals who chose to donate at this event, and to the Florence J. Gillmor Foundation, who pledged to commit a matching grant to UCLI in the amount of the donations that were received at the Luncheon. Altogether, UCLI raised over $11,000 in individual donations, truly showing that we are stronger together and that our collective efforts can make a powerful difference. Attendees also had the opportunity to honor someone who has made a difference in their lives and to donate on their behalf; these names were submitted and displayed on screen and represented mentors, friends, loved ones, grandchildren, grandparents, or someone who helped them feel like they belonged in the legal profession. You can see the beautiful collection of inspirational people below. 

The silent auction proceeds, individual donations, and sponsorship proceeds will contribute to the UCLI programming that benefits current and future lawyers in our state. UCLI is grateful to all the guests that attended, spoke, and donated at this year’s luncheon, and looks forward to future events and the progress that will continue to be made toward change, justice, and equal representation within the legal profession in Utah.

Thank you to our Event Sponsor

Thank you to our Scholarship Sponsors: 

Kirkland & Ellis

Parsons Behle

Ray Quinney & Nebeker

Foley & Lardner

Thank you to our Table Sponsors:

Lowenstein Sandler

Keller Preece

Workman Nydegger

TraskBritt

Strong & Hanni

Greenberg Traurig

University of Utah S. J. Quinney College of Law

Parr Brown

Utah State Bar

Wilson Sonsini

Snell & Wilmer

Snow Christensen

Dorsey & Whitney

Holland & Hart

Fabian VanCott

Dentons

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This month the Utah Center for Legal Inclusion had the unique opportunity to host a group of ten international visitors from Austria, Denmark, India, Lebanon, the Maldives, Poland, the Republic of North Macedonia, Ukraine, and Venezuela. These visitors were invited to the United States under the auspices of the Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program. While in the United States the program participants explored the topics of the Rule of Law and the U.S. Judicial System. Their program was arranged by CRDF Global. Nicholas Merrill and his colleagues at the Utah Center for Citizen Diplomacy generously invited UCLI to host the group for an afternoon. 

On February 21, 2023, Mary Anne Davies and her colleagues at the Disability Law Center welcomed us into their beautiful facility and provided a tour of the building and a brief presentation about the Disability Law Center’s mission. We then met back in the boardroom and Kaitlyn Pieper, UCLI Executive Director, provided a demographic overview of Utah and Utah’s legal profession. Following this, we heard from a panel of experts including Jon Wayas, Associate Director at the Utah Center for Legal Inclusion; Michelle Oldroyd, Director of Professional Education & Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer at the Utah State Bar; and Jon Puente, Director of the Office of Fairness, Equity, and Accountability at the Administrative Office of the Courts. The panel was interactive and responded to many audience questions about affirmative action, gender issues in the legal profession, and racial dynamics in the United States. 

UCLI was honored to host such a distinguished group of legal professionals who are doing such incredible work to move justice forward in their home countries (names and home countries of participants listed below). Thank you to Nicholas Merrill and his colleagues at the Utah Center for Citizen Diplomacy for making this connection and to Mary Anne Davies and the Disability Law Center for hosting us at their lovely venue.

Denmark, Ms. Sine Cully

India, Mr. Jose Abraham

Lebanon, Ms. Rania Yahfouf

Maldives, Judge Hamid Rasheed

Poland, Ms. Malgorzata Leokadia Szuleka

Republic of N. Macedonia, Ms. Njomza Selimi Osmani

Ukraine, Ms. Halyna Chyzhyk

Ukraine, Ms. Iryna Levandovska

Venezuela, Mr. Alexis Algarra

International Visitor Liaisons: Mr. Gregory Burnside and Ms. Maren Mentor

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In 2022, Intermountain Health, Kirton McConkie, and the Utah Center for Legal Inclusion (UCLI) collaborated to create the Utah Legal Inclusion Fellowship. In its pilot year, the Fellowship provided a first-year law student with a scholarship and the unique opportunity for a paid summer position at Kirton McConkie and exposure to Intermountain Health’s in-house legal department. In 2022, the fellowship was granted to one law student, Keigo (KC) Decker at Brigham Young University’s J. Reuben Clark Law School. 

For 2023, the Fellowship has been expanded to two students: one at Brigham Young University J. Reuben Clark Law School and one at the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law. The fellowship plays a significant role in UCLI’s efforts to empower students from historically underrepresented groups to thrive in the legal profession by developing professional skills, exploring career options, and receiving financial support.

This year, after a rigorous application process, the following two Legal Inclusion Fellows have been selected:

Gabrielle (“Gaby”) Anguiano, a first-year law student at the University of Utah’s S. J. Quinney College of Law

Kricia Tauiliili, a first-year law student at Brigham Young University’s J. Reuben Clark Law School

Please read more about Gaby and Kricia below.  

Gaby Anguiano

Gabrielle (“Gaby”) Anguiano is a native of the Intermountain West and a proud member of a boisterous Mexican-American family from rural Eastern Washington. At the age of eighteen, she earned her associate degree and high school diploma concurrently while also working part-time. Gaby was selected to be a member of the inaugural Diversity, Collaboration, and Inclusion Research Academy at her undergraduate college, Brigham Young University, where she majored in sociology. Currently, Gaby is a 1L at the University of Utah, S.J. Quinney College of Law. She aspires to be at the intersection of law and social justice, and is eager to continue building long-lasting ties to the state of Utah and its people.

Gaby Anguiano

Kricia Tauiliili

Kricia was raised in Samoa, where she loved spending time with her family at the beach and listening to her dad and uncle jam out together on the guitar and ukulele. She is a 1L at the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University and currently serves as the 1L representative for the Minority Law Student Association and the Council for Diversity, Equity, and Belonging. In June 2022, Kricia earned a bachelor’s degree in English, with a focus in professional writing, from Brigham Young University. She decided to pursue law so that she could be a voice for minority communities, especially women and people of color. Her biggest goal is to serve Pacific Islanders both in the United States and overseas. When she isn’t studying, she enjoys listening to music (mostly Taylor Swift and musicals), painting, and watching movies.

Kricia Tauiliili

We would like to offer a special thank you to the 2023 Legal Inclusion Fellowship sponsors: 

On March 24, 2022, the Utah Center for Legal Inclusion held its First Annual Fundraising Luncheon at the Salt Lake Marriott Downtown at City Creek. At this event, UCLI announced a new fellowship in Justice Durham’s honor: the Justice Christine M. Durham Fellowship. This fellowship is intended to facilitate the legal education of an individual who shows a demonstrated commitment to and great potential for pushing forward the cause of justice, equity, and inclusiveness in Utah’s legal profession. Someone who, like Justice Durham, will make the legal field a better place for all who follow.

Through the Durham Fellowship, UCLI aims to support two law students (one from the S. J. Quinney College of Law and one from J. Reuben Clark Law School) with an annual stipend that can be put towards tuition, housing, food, or any other living expenses while they pursue their legal degree. Funding of up to $1,500 will be awarded to support each law student fellow, who will partner with UCLI Leadership Council and staff on law student programming.

This fall, after a competitive application process, two Durham Fellows were selected. We are pleased to announce the Durham Fellows for the 2022-2023 academic year:

Amy Nichole Briceno, a 2L at the University of Utah’s S. J. Quinney College of Law

Breeze Kauakokoipohaiapuninamoku Waipa Parker, a 2L at Brigham Young University’s J. Reuben Clark Law School

Please read more about Nichole and Breeze in these news articles. 

We would like to offer a special thank you to our 2022-2023 Durham Fellowship Sponsors: 

Utah State Bar Construction Law Section

Justice Christine M. Durham Family

Justice Paige Petersen

Justice John Pearce

Larissa Lee

Casey Jones

Susan Eisenman

Amy Nichole Briceno

Breeze K. W. Parker

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Amy Nichole Briceno is a 2L at S. J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah, and the 2022-2023 Durham Fellow for the Utah Center for Legal Inclusion. Nichole’s life reality as an immigrant, though challenging, has instilled in her a desire to lead, serve, and work in tandem with her colleagues to improve the unstable environment for minorities in Utah.

Nichole’s personal and professional experiences have given her first-hand knowledge about the challenges racial and ethnic communities face when searching for legal representation. She has interned with the District Attorney’s Office, where she associated with Spanish-speaking families who were experiencing abuse. Throughout this internship, she saw the need for more Spanish-speaking prosecutors as she translated for attorneys. She worked with undocumented families who feared deportation because they could not afford legal representation. At Utah Homicide Survivors, she worked with Hispanic families of homicide victims. She saw how difficult it was for Hispanic individuals to find affordable and quality legal advice in this state. She translated legal documents to ensure Spanish-speaking families understood the legal procedures of their case.

During her undergraduate experience, Nichole was the first Latinx President of the Student Alumni Board of the University of Utah. As President, she made it a priority to diversify a board that historically only consisted of white students. Under her leadership, they diversified their alumni engagement and expanded student outreach. After graduating, she spent the year mentoring first-generation college students from immigrant backgrounds. Feeling passionate about giving back to the school that gave her so much, Nichole founded the Briceno Leadership Scholarship, which is awarded yearly to an undocumented/DACA-recipient student who epitomizes leadership and service.

Earlier in 2022, Nichole was elected Treasurer of the Minority Law Caucus (MLC) at the S.J. Quinney College of Law. As Treasurer, one of her goals for this year has been to establish an MLC Scholarship specifically for members that have devoted their time to MLC and show commitment to helping minority communities in their law career. Additionally, she has undergone the Pro Bono Initiative training to assist in Immigration Clinics. 

In the future, Nichole intends to support marginalized communities throughout her career as an attorney. As she says, “quality representation begins with a diversified legal community. To diversify our attorneys, we must first diversify law schools in Utah.” Nichole is focused on providing mentorship to increase minority student applications and retention in schools. She will continue to be devoted to supporting marginalized communities after graduation. 

UCLI looks forward to working with Nichole this academic year as the 2022-2023 Durham Fellow and thanks the many donors who made this opportunity possible. 

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Breeze Kauakokoipohaiapuninamoku Waipa Parker is a 2L at J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University, and the 2022-2023 Durham Fellow for the Utah Center for Legal Inclusion. Breeze is a Native Hawaiian woman whose life experiences have been a beacon to her ‘lāhui,’ or Hawaiian community, in her legal career.

Breeze was born and raised in Kalihi, Oahu. Although Oahu may sound like a paradisiacal dreamscape, Breeze shares that “money was always scarce, and I remember cleaning houses with my mom after school every day so that I could help them keep up with our family’s bills. As I looked around me growing up, I noticed that it was minorities like me who struggled the most. It was families like mine who had to deal with a combination of poverty, underfunded school systems, and racial bias. I wanted better for myself. I wanted better for my lāhui.” Breeze realized that the way she could make it better was by pursuing higher education. 

Breeze graduated from Brigham Young University as a co-valedictorian of the anthropology department in April 2021. During law school, Breeze has been volunteering at the Timpanogos Legal Center on a weekly basis. She has assisted attorneys in immigration, divorce, and custody consultations with members of the Provo community. This past summer she also had the opportunity to serve the Hawaiian community through a six-week in-person legal internship at the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation deals exclusively with Native land disputes, ancestral trusts, and water rights. During the internship, Breeze worked closely with attorneys who specialized in each of these areas to meet with clients, do legal research, and prepare cases for trial. After this internship, Breeze returned to Utah to serve as a judicial intern for Justice Diana Hagen in the Utah Supreme Court – learning more about how the judicial system works in Utah. 

This past fall semester, Breeze has continued to serve Utah’s community this semester by working with Dean Michalyn Steele as one of her research assistants in her Federal Indian Law casework. Breeze shares that “working on indigent research for indigenous communities has been rewarding because it has deepened my purpose to support other minority communities. I look at my law degree as not something for myself but as a tool for the betterment of every community around me. I carry my lāhui and ancestors with me, and with each boundary I trespass, each stereotype I break, and each limit I exceed, I make a statement to the world. I show them that we young Polynesians are capable; we are more than our demographic and socio-economic status; we are more than our gender and the color of our skin; we matter and like those who feel our pain, our voices matter.” As a lawyer, Breeze hopes to close racial gaps in each community she serves in, and to promote fairness and a just system for all. 

UCLI looks forward to working with Breeze this academic year as the 2022-2023 Durham Fellow and thanks the many donors who made this opportunity possible. 

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