DesiRae Deschine's practice is focused on tribal self-governance, federal Indian law, and governmental relations — and will be expanding her practice area into civil litigation.

DesiRae Deschine is Navajo and Standing Rock Sioux and was raised in Window Rock, Arizona.  DesiRae graduated from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University in 2019 with her Juris Doctorate and a certificate in Federal Indian Law.  DesiRae also holds a master’s degree in social work and a bachelor’s of arts in psychology.

DesiRae most recently was an Assistant General Counsel with the Gila River Indian Community, and she represented the Community in tribal court on various civil matters and provided legal advice on compliance and legislative issues.  DesiRae’s legal experience includes employment with the Navajo Nation Department of Justice as an attorney, the Navajo Nation Washington Office as a Government & Legislative Affairs Associate, and Cochise County Attorney’s Office.

Experience

In law school, DesiRae was awarded the 2019 International Academy of Trial Lawyers Award for outstanding student in trial advocacy and clinical work, the CALI Excellence for the Future Award for her work as a student attorney with the Indian Legal Clinic, the Williard H. Pedrick Scholar Award in the Spring 2018 semester, the 2018 Josiah N. Moore Memorial Scholarship Award, and she received distinction for her pro bono service.

As a first-year law student, DesiRae was selected as a Native American Congressional Intern with the Udall Foundation and interned at the U.S. Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C. In the summer of her second year, DesiRae also clerked with the Native American Rights Fund in Boulder, Colorado. During her third-year, DesiRae interned with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Tribal Justice in Washington, D.C., and was a judicial extern with a U.S. District Court Judge.

Prior to law school, DesiRae also worked in the field of social work for ten years prior to changing careers where she held roles in state government, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, and non-profits in Maricopa County as a crisis counsel.  DesiRae also gained valuable international experience working in Northern Japan teaching English.