Indigenous Law Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Open Rank - Law and Indigenous Peoples Program
Posting Number
req37357
Employment Type
Faculty
Faculty Type
Open Rank
Hiring Department
School of Law (588A)
Academic Location
School of Law
Campus
Main - Albuquerque, NM
Benefits Eligible
The University of New Mexico provides a comprehensive package of benefits including medical, dental, vision, and life insurance. In addition, UNM offers educational benefits through the tuition remission and dependent education programs. See the Benefits home page for more information.
Position Summary
The University of New Mexico School of Law invites applications for faculty positions starting in fall 2027. The School of Law anticipates hiring a tenured or tenure-track faculty member to teach U.S. Federal Indian Law and other related courses. Both experienced and entry-level candidates are encouraged to apply. The Association of American Law Schools provides resources about the legal academic hiring process that may be useful, particularly to entry-level applicants: https://teach.aals.org/.
The successful candidate will teach a range of courses in the Indian Law curriculum. These may include foundational and advanced courses in U.S. Federal Indian Law, the legal systems of sovereign Tribal nations, international and comparative Indigenous law, and courses at the intersection of Indian Law and other substantive areas of legal practice. The faculty member may also contribute to the broader curriculum of the School of Law, depending on interest, expertise, and curricular need.
This position is a core part of UNM's Law and Indigenous Peoples Program (https://lawschool.unm.edu/indian/index.html), one of the most prominent and comprehensive Indian Law programs in the country. The successful candidate will actively participate in the Program, which includes: The Indian Law Certificate Program, which offers students a structured opportunity to specialize in Indian Law, preparing them for legal careers serving Native communities; The Southwest Indian Law Clinic, in which students provide legal representation to Native clients, Tribal governments, and organizations that serve Indigenous populations; and The Tribal Law Journal, a student-edited, online legal journal that advances scholarship on Indigenous law and governance in Tribal, national, and international contexts.
Depending on experience and interest, the successful candidate may also have the opportunity to assume leadership roles within the Program. These may include serving as Director of the Law and Indigenous Peoples Program, faculty advisor to the Tribal Law Journal, or faculty advisor to the UNM Chapter of the Native American Law Students Association (NALSA).
About the School of Law:
The UNM School of Law and its institutes and centers comprise a large, highly diverse academic unit of the University of New Mexico. With a student body of about 300 students, the School of Law offers a Juris Doctor degree, a Master of Legal Studies degree, and many cross-disciplinary dual degrees. The School of Law's program of legal education is nationally recognized for a required clinical legal education component (students undertake live client representation under law faculty supervision), innovative classes that combine law practice skills training with doctrinal instruction, and a 10:1 student-to-faculty ratio. All faculty-doctrinal, clinical, writing, and law library-are on a unified tenure track, with equal sabbatical and faculty governance rights, compensation, and research support.
The School of Law offers certificate programs in Indian Law and Natural Resources/Environmental Law and its scholarly publications include the New Mexico Law Review, the Natural Resources Journal, and the Tribal Law Journal. As the only law school in New Mexico, it has a large public service mission and enjoys close ties with New Mexico's bench and bar. It operates policy centers to address issues related to children's law and natural resources law. In partnership with the American Indian Law Center, Inc. (https://www.ailc-inc.org/), the School of Law hosts a nationally recognized annual Pre-Law Summer Institute for Native American students entering law schools throughout the country.
We value candidates from varied backgrounds and perspectives, including women, individuals with disabilities, people who attended law school later in their careers, people from rural origins, first-generation college graduates, veterans, and groups historically marginalized in American life. We also value a demonstrated commitment to cultivating an understanding of the rich and varied cultures of New Mexico and to the success of the University's mission to serve local and global communities.
For more information about the law school, please visit https://lawschool.unm.edu/about/index.html.
About UNM and Albuquerque:
Founded in 1889, The University of New Mexico, New Mexico's flagship university, occupies 600 acres along old Route 66 in the heart of the Albuquerque metropolitan area of nearly 1,000,000 people. From the magnificent mesas to the west, past the banks of the historic Rio Grande to the Sandia Mountains to the east, Albuquerque is a blend of culture, people, and panoramas.
For more information about the University of New Mexico, please visit: https://www.unm.edu/welcome/index.html
For the University's adopted Land, Labor, and Immigrant Acknowledgements, please visit https://dei-dev.unm.edu/about-dice-at-unm/land-labor-acknowledgement.html.
For more information about Albuquerque, please visit: https://www.cabq.gov/
For more information about New Mexico, please visit: https://www.newmexico.org/
Qualifications
Minimum Qualification:
• J.D. from an accredited U.S. law school or an equivalent foreign legal degree.
Preferred Qualifications:
• Excellence or the strong promise of excellence in teaching courses like U.S. federal Indian law; U.S. tribal law; tribal courts; and comparative, international, or foreign Indigenous law as it relates to the United States.
• Excellence or the strong promise of excellence in academic scholarship in subjects like U.S. federal Indian law; U.S. tribal law; tribal courts; and comparative, international, or foreign Indigenous law as it relates to the United States.
• Practice experience of at least two years representing tribal communities and nations or tribally-enrolled individuals in federal, state, or tribal courts.
• Pre- or post-J.D. professional experience or training, which can include teaching, other graduate-level study, fellowships, or judicial clerkships.
• Ability to collaborate and communicate effectively with professional colleagues.
• A demonstrated commitment to cultivate an understanding of the rich and varied cultures of New Mexico and to the success of the University's mission to serve local and global communities.
Application Instructions
Only applications submitted through the official UNMJobs site will be accepted. If you are viewing this job advertisement on a 3rd party site, please visit UNMJobs to submit an application.
All applicants must submit:• A cover letter, which should address the minimum and preferred qualifications;• A curriculum vitae; • A statement of research agenda of not more than three pages; and• A list of at least three but no more than five professional references, including contact information.Applications are incomplete without all of these materials. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.Only applications submitted through the official UNMJobs site (https://unmjobs.unm.edu/) will be accepted. Applications not submitted through the official UNMJobs site will not be reviewed. If you are viewing this job advertisement on a third-party site, please visit UNMJobs; this position is listed as REQ# 37357.For best consideration, please submit a complete application by September 18, 2026. Complete applications will be reviewed for minimum and preferred qualifications on a rolling basis as they are received. Based on this evaluation, some applicants will be invited to participate in an initial screening interview by Zoom. Some initial screening interviews may be scheduled prior to the best consideration date. All completed applications received by the best consideration date will be reviewed.Following the completion of initial screening interviews and after the best consideration date, some applicants may be invited to campus for a day of in-person finalist interviews with law school leadership, faculty, and students. As part of the on-campus finalist interviews, finalists will be expected give a job talk of approximately 25 minutes, followed by a question-and-answer session of approximately 25 minutes, the purpose of which is to provide an introduction to their current or anticipated scholarly work and demonstrate their teaching potential. Finalists will be asked to provide a writing sample, which will be made available to faculty and students. This can be a draft of the job talk paper. Writing samples drawn from practice (such as an appellate brief) should be entirely or at least primarily the work of the applicant and care should be taken to protect any client-sensitive information contained in the writing sample.This position will remain open until filled.Applicants who are appointed to a UNM faculty position will be required to provide an official certification of successful completion of all degree requirements prior to their initial employment with UNM.
Applicants who are appointed to a UNM faculty position are required to provide an official certification of successful completion of all degree requirements prior to their initial employment with UNM.
For Best Consideration
For best consideration, please apply by 9/18/2026. This position will remain open until filled.
The University of New Mexico is committed to hiring and retaining a diverse workforce. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer, making decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected class.
HEJ Inclusive Workplace Upgrade