Nicholas J. Mazanec has twenty years of experience in the field of Indian law, primarily serving tribes throughout California.  He has spent his legal career advising and representing tribes and individuals on issues of sovereignty, tribal justice systems, Indian child welfare, domestic violence, and environmental and cultural resource protection.

​

Along with serving as Chief Judge for the Intertribal Court of Southern California, Judge Mazanec serves as the Chief Judge for the Trinidad Rancheria Tribal Court and an Appellate Justice for the Wilton Rancheria, Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake, and the member tribes of the Northern California Tribal Court Coalition, and pro tem judge for several other tribes. Additionally, he is the director of the Shingle Springs Tribal Court Self Help Center.

​

Judge Mazanec earned a Juris Doctor degree from Northeastern University School of Law in Boston and his Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Linguistics and Anthropology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.  Judge Mazanec is admitted to practice law in California and Massachusetts, and has practiced in numerous tribal courts.  He is a certified appellate specialist by the State Bar of California.