Working from the firm’s Washington DC office, the Native American Law group at Dentons boasts a complete advisory and contentious offering and routinely works on the side of tribes across the nation, recently including those in Missouri, Arizona, and Hawaii. Core areas of focus for the group includes representing tribes in claims of tribal sovereignty, land claim settlement issues, and securing full recognition from the federal government. On the advisory front, the team’s capabilities include advising on tribal energy projects, issues involving healthcare and education on reservations, and gaming mandates. Heather Sibbison steers the practice and specializes in matters relating to Native lands, including water rights, non-gaming economic development, and housing. Additional key contacts include Suzanne Schaeffer and Samuel Daughety, who focus on complex Indian lands and environmental compliance issues.

WilmerHale is a strong choice for Native American legal issues, drawing on an extensive track record representing tribes at every stage of dispute resolution and routinely litigating before the Supreme Court, appellate, and trial courts. The group’s broad caseload features contentious, advisory and transactional mandates relating to energy resource development, land acquisitions, water rights, gaming, tribal sovereignty and self-determination. The handling of tribal internal investigations, including white-collar and criminal internal investigation cases, constitutes another pillar of the practice. Seasoned litigator Seth Waxman heads up the department from Washington DC and specializes in appellate work, litigation and advisory matters, with particular focus on complex challenges at the intersection of public policy, regulatory, criminal and commercial issues. Additional key names to note include Tom Strickland, who specializes in advising on tribal lending, Congressional and internal investigations, corporate governance, and high-stakes crisis management; Christopher Babbitt, who covers litigation and enforcement matters involving the federal government and rival tribes; and Daniel Volchok, whose practice has an emphasis on representing tribes and nations in trial and appellate litigation.

The Washington DC-based Native American law practice at Akin represents tribal governments and their economic enterprises on matters involving tribal political empowerment, sovereignty and economic development. The group is regularly involved in the negotiation of settlements regarding land and water rights, and additionally advises tribes on a range of non-contentious mandates such as non-gaming business opportunities, governmental contracting, renewable energy projects, and telecommunications. Practice head Donald R Pongrace specializes in complex private and government-to-government negotiations, regularly appearing before federal, state and tribal courts. Additional key figures include Jason Hauter, who previously acted as in-house counsel for the Gila River Indian Community and has focused his practice on the implementation of Indian water rights settlements and water resource management. Katie Brossy specializes in advocating before federal agencies on water, land, gaming and education matters. Allison Binney left the firm in March 2023.

The Michigan-based practice at Dykema Gossett PLLC specializes in assisting Native American tribes and business with all predevelopment and development aspects of establishing tribal gaming facilities. Typical activities for the group include advising on land-to-trust and gaming eligibility applications, the negotiation of development and financing agreements, as well as handling related litigation. Its expertise also extends to other matters affecting tribes and tribal land, including education, cannabis, and commerce with non-Indian businesses. The team is jointly directed by Lance Boldrey, who regularly handles transactional mandates including business agreements between developers, management companies, and tribes, as well as assisting state and local governments in navigating complex tribal gaming matters. Alongside him, Jason Hanselman routinely assists clients in highly-regulated industries with obtaining licenses. Courtney Kissel is a key contact for regulatory and legislative issues, and on the contentious side, Erin Sedmak is noted for her work on federal disputes involving tribes.

The team at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP routinely counsels tribal governments and enterprises across the country, as well as banks and financial institutions, on a range of corporate transactions. The group oversees the financing of crucial infrastructure for tribal communities, including the development of water systems, solar energy production and healthcare facilities, as well as infrastructure for commercial endeavors such as hotels and gaming facilities. Portland-based Townsend Hyatt steers the practice and has experience acting for tribes in multiple states on a variety of projects, such as financings for land acquisitions, cultural centers, and parks and recreation facilities. San Francisco-based David Lin is noted for his extensive experience in financings in the casino gaming and tech sectors. In New York, Richard Chirls has focused his practice on the tax aspects of public finance transactions.

Praised for their ‘excellent communication skills’, the Minneapolis-based lawyers at Robins Kaplan LLP specialize in representing tribes in complex contentious cases in federal, state, and tribal courts. Core areas of focus for the group include litigation relating to tribal sovereignty, energy extraction, tribal lending, cannabis, and gaming. A recent highlight saw the team represent 28 Tribal Nations based in the Great Plains, Upper Midwest, and the West Coast in litigation relating to the opioid crisis, successfully securing a $589m settlement from major pharmaceutical companies. The group is co-directed by ex-US Attorney for the District of South Dakota Brendan Johnson, who focuses on litigating cases of tribal sovereignty. Co-leading alongside him, ex-US Attorney for the District of North Dakota Tim Purdon majors on energy extraction and civils rights-related litigation. Additional key figures include litigators Tim Billion and associate Casey Matthiesen.

The Washington DC-based team at Van Ness Feldman LLP routinely represents tribal governments and businesses with a range of contentious, regulatory, and energy project development mandates. The group is jointly led by Andrew VanderJack, who specializes in the resolution of aboriginal land claims, Indigenous land management, and resource development projects, as well as the defense of Indigenous hunting and fishing rights, and of counsel Laura Jones, who handles economic development mandates, federal regulatory issues, federal-tribal consultation, and civil litigation. Experienced litigator Patrick Daugherty is well-versed in representing tribes and tribally-owned businesses before tribal, state, and federal courts, and has additional expertise advising companies doing business with tribes facing civil and administrative inquiries.