David Sandino

David Sandino serves as a Lecturer and Director of the Aoki Water Justice Clinic: Small Farmer Assistance Program at the University of California, Davis. Formerly, he held senior roles including Chief Counsel under Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and senior staff counsel at the California Department of Water Resources. His career spans 30 years in water, environmental, tribal, financial, and energy policy.

He holds a J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law, an LL.M. from King’s College London, and a B.A. from UC Davis. His academic career includes teaching at multiple institutions, focusing on natural resource law, water law, tribal law, and environmental law.

Research interests include Water Law, Environmental Law, Federal Indian Law, and Public Financing Law. He co-authored the groundwater quality chapter in *California Environmental Law and Land Use Practice* and has written extensively on water governance and tribal legal issues.

Awards include a 1999 Fulbright Fellowship and a distinguished teaching award from UC Davis Continuing Education. He lectures internationally, including at the 2019 Groundwater Resources Association’s Distinguished Lecture Series.

Active in professional and community roles, he serves on the UC Davis Native American Studies faculty, chairs the California Environmental Law Reporter’s editorial board, and participates in Davis City commissions.