Lawrence M. Kasen - Profile

Raised in Newark, New Jersey, I observed firsthand the unequal treatment of individuals based on their national origin, ethnicity, and social status. Even prior to entering the legal profession, my passion was to uphold the constitutional rights guaranteed to both individuals and businesses in the United States. To pursue this goal, I attended Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ, where I delved into the history, languages, religions, and cultures of various Native American communities across North America, as well as cultural anthropology. Recognizing that a legal education would further my mission, I enrolled at Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C., the heart of our nation's capital, in 1976. During my time at Howard, I had the privilege of studying constitutional law under the guidance of Herbert Reid, a distinguished constitutional law expert and scholar who played a role in the landmark civil rights case Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, which challenged the doctrine of "separate but equal" and paved the way for desegregation in schools for African Americans. This coursework, along with other civil rights-focused classes, equipped me for a summer clerkship in 1978 at the Solicitor's Office - Division of Indian Affairs within the United States Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C. Upon recommendation from the Deputy Solicitor for Indian Affairs, I pursued a specialized fellowship during my third year of law school in Indian Law and Natural Resources Law at the National Indian Law Center and Natural Resources Law Center at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Armed with this educational foundation and experience, I spent the next two and a half years advocating for Indian tribes and individual Native Americans in Nebraska and Arizona. Visit the website for the rest of my professional journey.