I’m sure you all have read about the incident in March involving Judge Kyle Duncan’s visit to campus. My comments on the event have been widely disseminated, so I won’t repeat them here. (If you missed them, they can be found at https://law.stanford.edu/documents/dean-martinez-next-steps-on-protests-and-free-speech/#slsnav-i.)

In this issue of the magazine, we share many of the positive things going on at SLS and the achievements of our alumni. As you’ll learn in the cover story, our robust American Indian and Indigenous Law program, co-led by Professor Greg Ablavsky and Assistant Professor Elizabeth Reese, draws many students to Stanford Law. Our offerings in this field are unmatched among peer law schools. Professors Ablavsky and Reese are at the top of the field, both engaged professionally with the key issues in this area.

But Professors Ablavsky and Reese do more than teach—they’re building community here at the law school through their dedication to mentoring students. And students are eager to dive into the timely issues the program addresses. In just the last year, two critically important cases in this field have been at the Supreme Court, and our faculty and students have been involved in both of them. Learning tribal law and how our federal legal system interacts with the sovereign tribal nations with which we share the geography of the U.S. is essential to a broader understanding of law generally. Professor Elizabeth Reese puts it well: “The law has always been tied up with conquest. But it’s also tied up with our sovereignty. The law has done some of the most harmful things to tribes and also ensured some of the most important protections. It is a vital tool, and it is my job to train people in this profession to wield that tool effectively and powerfully.” I hope you’ll read the feature to get just a taste of what’s going on in this area of the law here on campus.

In this issue, we also share how several of our alumni have been putting the excellent training they received at SLS to good use as leaders across private and public sectors. In an interview conducted by corporate law expert Professor Colleen Honigsberg, we hear from GC and SVP of The Coca-Cola Company Monica Howard Douglas, JD ’97, who shares her insights into the many challenges that come with running the legal department of an international top 10 corporation—and the importance of finding balance in life and staying true to one’s values. Monica also offers advice to new attorneys: “Make sure you’re working on your soft skills and not just your IQ. If you’re not able to navigate circumstances where you’re uncomfortable, then you’re probably not learning. Try to seek out those opportunities to get as uncomfortable as you can so you can build those muscles and be ready for what you’re sure to face.” I couldn’t agree more.

We also look at the inspiring careers of five relatively young alumni leading in government service across the country, including Congressman Daniel Goldman, JD ’05, U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina Adair Ford Boroughs, JD ’07, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez, JD ’05, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Martin Estrada, JD ’02, and New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin, JD ‘14 (BA ’09).

These are just a few highlights of what this issue contains. I hope you’ll begin your summer season by reading about some of the great things our faculty, students, and alumni have been doing in the past six months. SL