Wednesday, September 4, 12–1:15 p.m.
James E. Rogers College of Law, Room 156
Join the Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy (IPLP) Program for our Fall 2019 Speaker Series to learn from leading legal advocates.
IPLP alumna Virjinya Torrez (JD, ’06) will lead a discussion on the day-to-day roles and responsibilities of being an assistant attorney general, including internal conflict resolution and distinguishing between policy and law, and the different areas of law that an assistant attorney general is called to practice in.
*All IPLP speaker series events are free and open to the public and take place at the James E. Rogers College of Law. If you would like to attend, please RSVP to law-iplp@email.arizona.edu.
Speaker Bio
Virjinya R. A. Torrez is Assistant Attorney General for the Pascua Yaqui Tribe. Virjinya earned both her J.D. and her M.A. in American Indian Studies at the University of Arizona, and she earned her B.A. in Political Science (specializing in International Relations) and East Asian Studies at the University of Iowa, with certificates in International Business and American Indian and Native Studies. She is admitted to practice in both the federal and state courts of Arizona, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Tohono O’odham Judicial Court, and the Pascua Yaqui Tribal Court. She is also an accredited Veteran Affairs attorney.
Virjinya started her legal career as an associate at Vingelli & Errico, a small general practice firm in Tucson, Arizona; became a solo practitioner; and then served five years as Assistant Attorney General for the Tohono O’odham Nation.
Virjinya currently serves as the State Bar of Arizona’s representative on the Arizona State, Tribal & Federal Court Forum, and as one of the State Bar of Arizona’s representatives on the DNA - People’s Legal Services, Inc. Board of Directors. She is a former Chair of the State Bar of Arizona’s Indian Law Section, and she is a 2016 graduate of the State Bar of Arizona's Bar Leadership Institute. Virjinya is a member of the Indian Law Section, NABA-AZ, the Arizona Minority Bar Association, and the Tribal In-House Counsel Association.
Virjinya is also very active in the community and serves as the Vice-President of TUSD’s Native American Education Advisory Committee, and serves on the Board of Directors for the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona where she is Vice-Chair of the Community Investment Team and Chair of the Governance Committee.
Virjinya is Cherokee/Seminole/Muscogee Creek and is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.