Native American

  • February 21, 2024

    FCC Considers Adding Missing Persons To Emergency Alerts

    The Federal Communications Commission plans to introduce a new code to the Emergency Alert System to allow information about missing or endangered persons to be widely disseminated.

  • February 20, 2024

    Fond Du Lac Tribe Seeks Sanctions In Mining Land Suit

    The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians has asked a Minnesota federal judge to sanction PolyMet Mining Inc. in the tribe's suit over a land swap for a copper and nickel mine, arguing that the company and its lawyers are obstructing the discovery process.

  • February 20, 2024

    Groups, Scholars Back Tribes In High Court Healthcare Bid

    A coalition of Native American and Alaskan Native healthcare boards and nonprofits are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold rulings that ordered the federal government to reimburse two tribes millions in administrative healthcare costs, arguing that the obligation is deeply rooted in the trust relationship between the United States and its Indigenous nations.

  • February 20, 2024

    Calif. Tribe Looks To Undo Tobacco Noncompliance Listing

    The Twenty-Nine Palms of Mission Indians is suing the U.S. government in California federal court over its decision to place the tribe on a "non-compliant list" under a law that targets illegal tobacco trafficking, arguing that its operations comply with all applicable state laws.

  • February 20, 2024

    Fla. Gaming Pact Not Allowed Under Federal Law, Expert Says

    A Miami law school adjunct professor supporting a pair of casinos seeking to undo the Seminole Tribe of Florida's gaming agreement authorizing online sports betting has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the establishments' case or reverse a lower court decision, saying the pact violates the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

  • February 20, 2024

    Tribes, Enviro Orgs Can Join Fight Over Tongass Protections

    An Alaska federal judge said a coalition of tribes, conservation groups, fishers and tourism businesses can join litigation to help defend a challenged Biden administration rule that reinstated roadless area protections for some 9 million acres of the vast Tongass National Forest.

  • February 16, 2024

    DOI Announces Final Rule On Class III Indian Gaming

    The U.S. Department of the Interior on Friday announced its final rule on changes to Class III Indian gaming compacts, updating the federal regulation to provide better guidance and transparency for tribes and states to negotiate those agreements under the Indian Gaming and Regulatory Act.

  • February 16, 2024

    Hydro Co. Must Alter, Not Remove, Dam That's Killing Salmon

    A Washington federal judge on Friday said a hydroelectric company must remove part of a rock dam structure killing endangered wild salmon, but the judge declined to order complete removal, saying it went beyond a narrowly tailored remedy zeroing in on what is harming fish.

  • February 16, 2024

    FCC Offers Incentives So Small Carriers Can Use Spectrum

    The Federal Communications Commission's new program to encourage spectrum licensees to divvy up their unused airwaves for sublease to smaller and more rural carriers is now up and running and accepting applications.

  • February 16, 2024

    FERC Rejects Hydro Project Permits Amid Tribal Opposition

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has denied preliminary permits for three proposed hydropower projects on Navajo Nation land in Arizona, saying a recently revised policy clarifying Indigenous rights in the agency's decision-making process and the tribe's overwhelming opposition to the applications swayed the decision.

  • February 16, 2024

    Gov't Wants More Alaskan Native Reps On Subsistence Board

    The U.S. government has plans to strengthen Alaskan Native tribal representation on its Federal Subsistence Board, saying the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have proposed a new rule to add board members with personal experience of subsistence living in rural Alaska.

  • February 15, 2024

    America First Legal Says Disney Favors Women, Minorities

    A group founded by former Trump adviser Stephen Miller accused the Walt Disney Co. of discriminating against white men in its hiring and promotion decisions and on Wednesday asked the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to investigate.

  • February 15, 2024

    New York Says Thruway Doesn't Cut Through Cayuga Land

    New York state officials are asking a federal district court to dismiss litigation by the Cayuga Nation that seeks a cut of the tolls collected on the New York State Thruway, arguing that the tribe can't prove it had possession of the land over which the highway was being built.

  • February 15, 2024

    What Rescheduling Pot Would Mean For Criminal Justice Reform

    While federal drug enforcers mull a recommendation from health regulators to loosen restrictions on marijuana, criminal justice reformers are warning that rescheduling the drug would not realize President Joe Biden's campaign promise to decriminalize marijuana.

  • February 15, 2024

    NC Tribe Seeks To Restore Mountain Peak's Cherokee Name

    The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is asking the federal government to change the name of the highest point in the Smoky Mountains back to its original Indigenous title, saying the tribe has received overwhelming support from local and regional organizations for the process that began two years ago.

  • February 15, 2024

    DOI Inks Klamath Basin Agreement With Tribes, Water Users

    The U.S. Department of the Interior said it has struck an agreement that will see water users and tribes work together in a push to improve the environment and water supplies in the drought-prone Klamath River Basin of southern Oregon and northern California, pledging $72 million for projects.

  • February 15, 2024

    Wash. Judge Says Tribes Can Seek River Pollution Damages

    A Washington federal judge denied a Teck Resources Ltd. unit's bid for summary judgment on natural resource damages claims that the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation and state of Washington lodged over decades of Upper Columbia River pollution from a smelter in Trail, British Columbia, setting up the matter for a possible trial.

  • February 14, 2024

    USDA Says $20M Will Help Tribes Access Climate Market

    Federally recognized tribes and Alaska Native corporations and villages are getting a $20 million bump to broaden their access to emerging climate markets as a way to address ongoing climate change, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Wednesday.

  • February 14, 2024

    Energy Co. Says Tribal Court Being Used To Duck $12M Award

    Merit Energy Operations is asking a federal district court to block two Wyoming tribes from using the tribal judicial system to vacate a $12.6 million arbitration award against them, saying the move is a blatant attempt to escape the ultimate result in the case.

  • February 14, 2024

    Feds, Power Line Developer Decry Tribes' Suit As 'Too Late'

    The federal government and SunZia Transmission LLC, the developer of a 550-mile power line, urged an Arizona federal judge Tuesday to deny a request from tribes and conservations groups for a preliminary injunction halting the project's construction, saying they waited too long to make their challenge.

  • February 14, 2024

    Navajo Say Hopi Tribe Bid To Join Land Trust Suit Is Untimely

    The Navajo Nation has said the Hopi Tribe's attempt to intervene in its lawsuit against the U.S. government over a land trust and casino road easement dispute is untimely, coming after nearly four years of litigation.

  • February 14, 2024

    Patterson Earnhart Names Equity Partners, Opens Wis. Office

    Native American law firm Patterson Earnhart Real Bird & Wilson LLP has announced two new equity partners, one of whom will lead a new office in Wisconsin.

  • February 13, 2024

    Feds Want 'Free Pass' Out Of Climate Suit Trial, Youths Say

    Twenty-one plaintiffs suing to force the U.S. government to curb fossil fuel use and cut carbon emissions told the Ninth Circuit on Monday that the government's latest attempt to pause their lawsuit amounts to its shunning procedural rules and asking for "a free pass out of trial" not available to other people.

  • February 13, 2024

    CMS Must Rethink $4M Training Contract Award, GAO Rules

    The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will have to reconsider a contract it awarded to a public relations firm after the U.S. Government Accountability Office sustained all four aspects of a competitor's protest over how their bids were evaluated.

  • February 13, 2024

    Fla. Casinos Ask Justices To Undo Seminole Gaming Compact

    Two Florida casino operators are asking the Supreme Court to reverse a lower federal court's decision that said a compact allowing online sports betting off tribal lands between the Sunshine State and the Seminole Tribe is lawful, arguing that the outcome of the case could set a nationwide precedent as an end-run around state and federal limitations in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

Expert Analysis

  • Maximizing Law Firm Profitability In Uncertain Times

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    As threats of an economic downturn loom, firms can boost profits by embracing the power of bottom-line management and creating an ecosystem where strategic financial oversight and robust timekeeping practices meet evolved client relations, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Strategic Consulting.

  • 5th Circ. Ruling Reminds Attys That CBP Can Search Devices

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    The Fifth Circuit’s recent Malik v. Department of Homeland Security decision adds to the chorus of federal courts holding that border agents don’t need a warrant to search travelers’ electronic devices, so attorneys should consider certain special precautions to secure privileged information when reentering the U.S., says Jennifer Freel at Jackson Walker.

  • Avoiding The Ethical Pitfalls Of Crowdfunded Legal Fees

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    The crowdfunding of legal fees has become increasingly common, providing a new way for people to afford legal services, but attorneys who accept crowdsourced funds must remember several key ethical obligations to mitigate their risks, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.

  • What Large Language Models Mean For Document Review

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    Courts often subject parties using technology assisted review to greater scrutiny than parties conducting linear, manual document review, so parties using large language models for document review should expect even more attention, along with a corresponding need for quality control and validation, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Series

    Participating In Living History Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My role as a baron in a living history group, and my work as volunteer corporate counsel for a book series fan association, has provided me several opportunities to practice in unexpected areas of law — opening doors to experiences that have nurtured invaluable personal and professional skills, says Matthew Parker at the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

  • Opinion

    Private Equity Owners Can Remedy Law Firms' Agency Issues

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    Nonlawyer, private-equity ownership of law firms can benefit shareholders and others vulnerable to governance issues such as disparate interests, and can in turn help resolve agency problems, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.

  • How To Protect Atty-Client Privilege While Using Generative AI

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    When using generative artificial intelligence tools, attorneys should consider several safeguards to avoid breaches or complications in attorney-client privilege, say Antonious Sadek and Christopher Campbell at DLA Piper.

  • Futility Exception To Remanding Rule Could Be On Last Legs

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    A recent Fifth Circuit decision squarely confronting the futility exception to remanding cases with insufficient subject matter jurisdiction leaves the Ninth Circuit alone on one side of a circuit split, portending a tenuous future for the exception, say Brett Venn and Davis Williams at Jones Walker.

  • How New Lawyers Can Leverage Feedback For Growth

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    Embracing constructive criticism as a tool for success can help new lawyers accelerate their professional growth and law firms build a culture of continuous improvement, says Katie Aldrich at Fringe Professional Development.

  • What New EPA Enforcement Initiatives Mean For Industry

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    With the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent announcement that climate change, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, and coal ash will be major investigation and enforcement targets in the coming years, the oil and gas, chemical, and waste management sectors should anticipate increased scrutiny, say Jonathan Brightbill and Madalyn Feiger at Winston & Strawn.

  • Bat's Newly Endangered Status Likely To Slow Development

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    A recent change in the classification of the northern long-eared bat from "threatened" to "endangered" could have significant effects on development in large portions of the Eastern and Southeastern U.S. — and in the absence of straightforward guidelines, developers will have to assess each project individually, says Peter McGrath at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Twitter Legal Fees Suit Offers Crash Course In Billing Ethics

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    X Corp.'s suit alleging that Wachtell grossly inflated its fees in the final days of Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition provides a case study in how firms should protect their reputations by hewing to ethical billing practices and the high standards for professional conduct that govern attorney-client relationships, says Lourdes Fuentes at Karta Legal.

  • Offshore Wind Auction Results Portend Difficulties In Gulf

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    Results of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's recent auction of the Gulf of Mexico lease areas tell different stories about the future of offshore wind in the U.S., with the Gulf’s low interest suggesting uncertainty and the Mid-Atlantic’s strong interest suggesting a promising market, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • ABA's Money-Laundering Resolution Is A Balancing Act

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    While the American Bar Association’s recently passed resolution recognizes a lawyer's duty to discontinue representation that could facilitate money laundering and other fraudulent activity, it preserves, at least for now, the delicate balance of judicial, state-based regulation of the legal profession and the sanctity of the attorney-client relationship, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

  • Law Firm Professional Development Steps To Thrive In AI Era

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    As generative artificial intelligence tools rapidly evolve, professional development leaders are instrumental in preparing law firms for the paradigm shifts ahead, and should consider three strategies to help empower legal talent with the skills required to succeed in an increasingly complex technological landscape, say Steve Gluckman and Anusia Gillespie at SkillBurst Interactive.

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