Liddy Patterson ’26 didn't have to look far for inspiration when it came to choosing a career in law. The Tulsa, Oklahoma, native recalls being in a challenging family situation as a child, and a family lawyer’s guidance helped keep her family safe and set them back on the right track. “If it wasn’t for Cathy and her using the law as a tool to keep us safe, I know for a fact I would not be where I am today,” says Patterson about the family lawyer. “She did amazing, incredible work, and I think of her every single day.”
Patterson, a third-year law student, is committed to putting “more good into this world than I take out,” and she’s been doing just that through her externship with Anishinabe Legal Services and as student director of Minnesota Law’s Racial Justice Clinic, president of the Native Law Student Association, co-president of the student chapter of the Minnesota Justice Foundation (MJF) at Minnesota Law, and note and comment editor for the Minnesota Journal of Law & Inequity.
This year, Patterson was honored with an MJF Outstanding Service Award for her volunteer work. Sophia Antonio, 3L and fellow MJF student chapter co-president, nominated her.
“Liddy helped support our MJF mentorship program, planned events focused on public interest lawyering, and led our Public Interest Clerkship committee to select our candidate for summer funding,” says Antonio. “She has worked to protect the rights of Native people and the interests of Native law students. She has been a joy to work with and cares deeply about making public interest legal careers accessible to her classmates.”
A Commitment to Racial Justice
As a psychology and sociology major at Oklahoma State University, much of Patterson’s work was centered on racial justice. She remembers being particularly angered with how the public schools in the state were changing the way they taught about the Tulsa Race Massacre. In the tragic 1921 event, a white mob decimated the prominent Black Greenwood neighborhood of Tulsa.
“In my junior and senior years of college, the Oklahoma Department of Education promulgated new rules that created a chilling effect on teaching about the racist motivations behind the Tulsa Race Massacre,” says Patterson, who is a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. “That was really a huge moment for me. If we’re not talking about Black history, about the horrible way so many racial minorities have been treated in America, then what are we doing?”
Patterson was drawn to Minnesota Law because of the opportunities offered by the Racial Justice Law Clinic. She credits the clinic’s director, Professor Liliana Zaragoza, for creating a supportive community and teaching client-centered practices.
“Being part of the Racial Justice Law Clinic has been one of the most meaningful parts of my Law School experience,” she says. “It allows me another avenue to do the work that matters and stand alongside communities in the fight for justice. It means using the authority that the legal system grants me, just because I’m privileged enough to be in law school, to make room and make change.”
During her recent externship with Anishinabe Legal Services, Patterson worked on a range of cases, including family law and federal Indian law, with a notable outcome being a settlement for a tribal member whose canoe was improperly seized.
“The Racial Justice Law Clinic and my work with ALS tie in together because treaty rights are racial justice for Native populations,” she says. “It’s a political designation, yes, but it is also a racialized group. It’s understanding both of those things are true at the same time, then figuring out how to hold the United States government to their promises through these treaties.”
A Family Focus on Law
Ultimately, Patterson’s goal is to be there for clients like her family lawyer was back when she was growing up. That, along with her mother’s support and watching her prioritize her family, inspires Patterson to keep going even when things get hard.
“There are some days when I’m working really late into the night, and I’d rather be doing anything else,” she says. “But then I think about giving someone else back their entire life, and that means absolutely everything to me. It feels amazing that I’m in this position, and it feels like such a privilege.”
When she’s not busy with law school and volunteering, Patterson likes to hang out with her cat, Cornbread (“he’s a menace, but fantastic”), crochet, and watch Oklahoma State football games.
During her time at Minnesota Law, she’s discovered what type of lawyer she wants to be.
“I’ve learned my limits go further than I ever would have thought possible,” she says. “I've also learned that my compassion and my empathy are at the heart of how I want to be as a practitioner, the type of lawyer I want to be. That is how I want to give back.”