Kostan R. Lathouris, JD, BA
Tribal Affiliation
and Ethnic/Racial Background:
Enrolled member of the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe and of
Greek descent
Current Position:
Sole practitioner with my own professional limited liability company
Degree(s):
Juris Doctor - William S. Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
B.A. - Political Science (Minor in Criminal Justice) from the Honors College at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Area of Focus:
Federal Indian Law
Tribal law
What motivated you to obtain your educational/career goals?
After working for my tribe, and attending meetings involving other tribes, I decided that I wanted to see more Native representation in the legal profession. In other words, I wanted Indian country to have an increased opportunity to be represented by its own people.
What steps did you take to achieve those goals?
I decided to go to law school in order to be able to practice in federal Indian law and tribal law.
Describe any obstacles or barriers that you encountered along your path.
I encountered a couple of obstacles or barriers along my path.
The first one is that law school isn’t cheap. My tribe didn’t provide any financial assistance for my education, so, in order to overcome the expense of law school, I made sure that I scored highly on the law school admissions test—and earned a full academic scholarship by doing so. I also applied for and received scholarships, awards, and fellowships during law school, including the State Bar of Nevada Diversity Scholarship, the Public Interest Law Association Full Grant, and the Professional Development Fellowship.
The second obstacle or barrier is that most law schools do not have programs dedicated to training Natives in the practice of federal Indian law and tribal law. So, I decided to forgo conventional wisdom in succeeding in law school and to forge my own path dedicated to addressing legal concerns in Indian country. I took the only federal Indian law course offered, completed a tribal law practicum, took courses that had a cross-over or some kind of effect on Indian county (e.g., U.S. Federal Gaming, Resort Hotel Casino Law, Gaming Transactions, Federal Courts, Environmental Quality Law, Water Law, Public Lands and Natural Resources, Health Law, Public Health Law, and Modern American Statutory and Administrative Interpretation), and was approved for a directed research course in which I drafted an extensive and critical article on the origins and limitations of the Practicable Irrigable Acreage standard used to quantify Indian water rights. I also applied and was selected for clerkships and internships with law firms and governmental agencies offering federal Indian law or tribal law work, including, but not limited to the Department of the Interior, Office of the Solicitor, Division of Indian Affairs in Washington, D.C.
I also wanted to make sure that I did what I could to make it easier for other natives to feel understood, accepted, and appreciated at my law school. I was the first enrolled member of a tribe to serve as chairman of my law school’s Native American Law Students Association (“NALSA”) and was also the organizer and a member of my school’s first team to compete in the National NALSA Moot Court Competition. After graduation, I went back to help coach and prepare the next team to compete.
How has mentorship impacted your education/career?
Mentorship had such a tremendous impact on me. Even though I felt isolated at law school because of the field of law that I was interested in (and also being the only enrolled member of a tribe in my class), my federal Indian law professor had grown up on an Indian reservation and had extensive experience in serving Indian country. She encouraged me and pushed me. It meant so much to have someone who could relate and also understand the unique nature of the practice that I wanted to pursue, and her advice was tailored to it. In addition, her husband worked at the university level and was a liaison of native affairs. He successfully unified native students from various groups as part of a larger native student coalition, which acted as a cross-disciplinary support system. To this day, even post-graduation, members of that coalition still unite to address local native issues in the urban community. Finally, I was able to clerk with my tribe’s attorney after my first year of law school, and his mentorship provided me with an opportunity to be exposed to the actual type of practice that I wanted. It was incredible, and reaffirmed that not only did I want to keep pursuing my dream, but that I was also capable of doing so.
What advice do you have for college students?
Find people who share your passion and stick together. Realize that it’s more than just grades: You need to network and should do as many internship/clerkship work that you can in addition to your classroom education. Most importantly, keep going.
Is there anything else you want to say?
I hope that whoever I mentor also becomes a mentor one day.
Current Position:
Sole practitioner with my own professional limited liability company
Degree(s):
Juris Doctor - William S. Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
B.A. - Political Science (Minor in Criminal Justice) from the Honors College at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Area of Focus:
Federal Indian Law
Tribal law
What motivated you to obtain your educational/career goals?
After working for my tribe, and attending meetings involving other tribes, I decided that I wanted to see more Native representation in the legal profession. In other words, I wanted Indian country to have an increased opportunity to be represented by its own people.
What steps did you take to achieve those goals?
I decided to go to law school in order to be able to practice in federal Indian law and tribal law.
Describe any obstacles or barriers that you encountered along your path.
I encountered a couple of obstacles or barriers along my path.
The first one is that law school isn’t cheap. My tribe didn’t provide any financial assistance for my education, so, in order to overcome the expense of law school, I made sure that I scored highly on the law school admissions test—and earned a full academic scholarship by doing so. I also applied for and received scholarships, awards, and fellowships during law school, including the State Bar of Nevada Diversity Scholarship, the Public Interest Law Association Full Grant, and the Professional Development Fellowship.
The second obstacle or barrier is that most law schools do not have programs dedicated to training Natives in the practice of federal Indian law and tribal law. So, I decided to forgo conventional wisdom in succeeding in law school and to forge my own path dedicated to addressing legal concerns in Indian country. I took the only federal Indian law course offered, completed a tribal law practicum, took courses that had a cross-over or some kind of effect on Indian county (e.g., U.S. Federal Gaming, Resort Hotel Casino Law, Gaming Transactions, Federal Courts, Environmental Quality Law, Water Law, Public Lands and Natural Resources, Health Law, Public Health Law, and Modern American Statutory and Administrative Interpretation), and was approved for a directed research course in which I drafted an extensive and critical article on the origins and limitations of the Practicable Irrigable Acreage standard used to quantify Indian water rights. I also applied and was selected for clerkships and internships with law firms and governmental agencies offering federal Indian law or tribal law work, including, but not limited to the Department of the Interior, Office of the Solicitor, Division of Indian Affairs in Washington, D.C.
I also wanted to make sure that I did what I could to make it easier for other natives to feel understood, accepted, and appreciated at my law school. I was the first enrolled member of a tribe to serve as chairman of my law school’s Native American Law Students Association (“NALSA”) and was also the organizer and a member of my school’s first team to compete in the National NALSA Moot Court Competition. After graduation, I went back to help coach and prepare the next team to compete.
How has mentorship impacted your education/career?
Mentorship had such a tremendous impact on me. Even though I felt isolated at law school because of the field of law that I was interested in (and also being the only enrolled member of a tribe in my class), my federal Indian law professor had grown up on an Indian reservation and had extensive experience in serving Indian country. She encouraged me and pushed me. It meant so much to have someone who could relate and also understand the unique nature of the practice that I wanted to pursue, and her advice was tailored to it. In addition, her husband worked at the university level and was a liaison of native affairs. He successfully unified native students from various groups as part of a larger native student coalition, which acted as a cross-disciplinary support system. To this day, even post-graduation, members of that coalition still unite to address local native issues in the urban community. Finally, I was able to clerk with my tribe’s attorney after my first year of law school, and his mentorship provided me with an opportunity to be exposed to the actual type of practice that I wanted. It was incredible, and reaffirmed that not only did I want to keep pursuing my dream, but that I was also capable of doing so.
What advice do you have for college students?
Find people who share your passion and stick together. Realize that it’s more than just grades: You need to network and should do as many internship/clerkship work that you can in addition to your classroom education. Most importantly, keep going.
Is there anything else you want to say?
I hope that whoever I mentor also becomes a mentor one day.
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