Native American

February 01, 2024
Ariz. Tribes Push To Halt Work On SunZia Line

Two tribes and conservation groups are urging an Arizona federal judge to pause construction on a 550-mile power transmission line approved by the U.S. Department of the Interior before the work damages historic and cultural resources they claim the government failed to properly assess and safeguard.
February 01, 2024
Native Microcap Co. Seeks Stay In $3.4M Stock Scam Suit

The chief executive officer of a penny stock company with Native American ties has asked a New York federal magistrate judge to pause a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission suit, saying a trial may not be needed because a share buyback deal is underway.
February 01, 2024
Alaska Tribes Seek Canada Recognition To Consult On Mines

A group of tribal governments in southeast Alaska is asking Canadian regulators to acknowledge its historic presence along the boundary-crossing Unuk River, in order to protect the watershed from open-pit gold and silver mining Skeena Resources Ltd. is proposing in British Columbia.
February 01, 2024
Energy Co. Seeks Final $12.6M Award For Tribal Equipment

Merit Energy Operations is asking a federal district court to enter judgment after an arbitration panel determined that two Wyoming Native American tribes must pay $12.6 million to purchase equipment from the company after a lease agreement to operate on reservation land expired.
January 31, 2024
8th Circ. Won't Revisit VRA Ruling Nixing Private Right To Sue

A split Eighth Circuit panel has declined to rehear arguments in a voting rights case in which civil rights groups accuse Arkansas officials of crafting a redistricting plan that dilutes minority voting strength, in turn upholding its prior ruling that private parties can't sue for alleged violations under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
January 31, 2024
ND Tribes' Bid For District Is Gerrymandering, 8th Circ. Told

The basis for two Native American tribes' dilution allegations in a Voting Rights Act case constitutes a preference for racial gerrymandering in seeking to join their reservations into one elongated district, North Dakota Secretary of State Micheal Howe told the Eighth Circuit.
January 31, 2024
MAGA Hat Teen Asks Justices To Hear Suit Against Media Cos.

A man suing news organizations for defamation over their coverage of an encounter he had with a Native American activist while he was a teenager wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to revive his claims, saying the Sixth Circuit was wrong to decide that descriptions of his actions during the confrontation were protected opinion.
January 31, 2024
Tribes, Enviro Orgs. Try To Join Tongass Roadless Rule Fight

A coalition of tribes, conservation groups, fishers and tourism businesses is pushing to help defend a 2023 rule that reinstated roadless area protections for about 9 million acres in Tongass National Forest and is now being challenged by Alaska, power companies and business and industry groups.
January 30, 2024
EEOC's Kotagal Touts New Effort To Bolster Worker Outreach

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has launched a new initiative led by Commissioner Kalpana Kotagal aimed at making the agency more accessible to workers from marginalized communities, especially in remote parts of the country where the agency's physical presence is limited.
January 30, 2024
Feds Say Talks Preferred In Wis. Tribal Roads Trespass Suit

The federal government has said it prefers a negotiated resolution with a northern Wisconsin town that allows it to remain part of a tribal road system, but if an agreement can't be reached, it will continue to pursue trespassing claims and past damages against the municipality.
January 30, 2024
Pipeline Cos. To Pay $7.4M For Oil Spill On Tribal Land

U.S. officials are proposing an agreement for two companies to pay $7.4 million in penalties to settle Clean Water Act claims stemming from a July 2022 pipeline rupture in Oklahoma that spilled several hundred thousand gallons of crude oil into a creek on land owned by the Sac and Fox Nation.
January 30, 2024
Tribe's Repeat Default Bids Disrespect Court, Blue Cross Says

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan says a Native American tribe's third request for a default win in its suit alleging the insurer overcharged for tribe members' care is disrespectful and constitutes a continued violation of a court order for the tribe to identify members involved in the insurance plan.
January 30, 2024
Feds, Tesoro Question Landowners' Bid To Join Pipeline Fight

The U.S. government has told a North Dakota federal judge that tribal landowners' push to join a pipeline fight with Tesoro High Plains Pipeline Co. LLC may be premature, while the company said it threatens to turn its litigation against the government "into a circus."
January 29, 2024
Green Groups Oppose Extension Of Mont. Coal Mine Analysis

Conservation groups are fighting the U.S. government's bid for more time to correct a faulty environmental analysis of a coal strip mine expansion near the city of Colstrip, Montana, arguing that a federal court already said it would halt mining if changes weren't made within 19 months.
January 29, 2024
No Need To Stop Salmon Fishing To Help Orcas, 9th Circ. Told

Alaska, the U.S. government and a fishing trade group are all urging the Ninth Circuit to reverse a lower court ruling vacating an incidental take statement underpinning a Chinook salmon troll fishery in southeast Alaska, arguing the district court inflated questionable benefits to prey availability for endangered killer whales and failed to consider harms to Alaska communities.
January 29, 2024
Justices Set March Arguments In Tribal Healthcare Dispute

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in March on two federal government petitions seeking to overturn orders that have the potential to cost $2 billion a year to support Native American tribes that provide insurer-funded services to their members.
January 29, 2024
ND Assembly Can't Intervene In VRA Appeal, 8th Circ. Says

The North Dakota Legislative Assembly can't intervene in an appeal by Secretary of State Micheal Howe seeking to overturn a lower court's ruling that found the government body's redrawing of districts violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, the Eighth Circuit said.
January 26, 2024
Museums Cover Native Exhibits In Renewed Repatriation Push

Museums and other institutions throughout the country are covering exhibits that display Indigenous artifacts as updates to a federal law governing the repatriation of remains and culturally affiliated objects has gone into effect.
January 26, 2024
Biden Stokes LNG Uncertainty With Export Review Pause

The Biden administration's pause of its approvals of liquefied natural gas exports to countries that don't have free-trade agreements with the U.S. will delay several projects and have potential customers question whether their supply agreements can ultimately be honored.
January 26, 2024
Oglala Sioux File Suit For More Law Enforcement Funding

The Oglala Sioux Tribe has accused the U.S. government of failing to help it hire enough law enforcement officers on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, saying in a South Dakota federal lawsuit that the U.S. Department of the Interior must adhere to its treaty and trust responsibilities.
January 26, 2024
Judge OKs Consent Decree In Nebraska Tribe's VRA Dispute

A federal judge will allow a consent decree that will resolve Voting Rights Act violation claims brought by two Native American tribes against Thurston County, Nebraska, officials to go forward, saying the settlement reasonably resolves difficult voting rights issues in a manner that is fair to all parties.
January 26, 2024
Feds Lodge Decree, CWA Claims Against Idaho Sawmill

A PotlatchDeltic Corp. unit will pay $225,000 to resolve a dozen Clean Water Act claims stemming from permit violations at an Idaho sawmill and lumberyard, involving discharges of stormwater pollutants into designated bull trout habitat and waters of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, according to a federal complaint and proposed consent decree.
January 26, 2024
Enviro Org., Feds Seek Wins In Mid-Atlantic Fishery Reg Fight

The Natural Resources Defense Council and U.S. government are squaring off over summer flounder, black sea bass and scup fishing regulations for mid-Atlantic states, with the former telling a D.C. federal judge they unlawfully allow overfishing while the latter claims they are appropriate changes to address recreational fishing management challenges.
February 08, 2024
Law360 Seeks Members For Its 2024 Editorial Boards

Law360 is looking for avid readers of its publications to serve as members of its 2024 editorial advisory boards.
January 26, 2024
Don't Tax Broadband Deployment Money, Telecom Groups Say

A group of telecommunications trade associations are asking Congress to grant their members tax breaks for broadband deployment costs, saying that without the proposed legislation, money intended to help bring broadband to currently out-of-reach households would return to the government in tax payments.

Expert Analysis

7 Tips To Increase Your Law Firm's DEI Efforts In 2023

Law firms looking to advance their diversity, equity and inclusion efforts should consider implementing new practices and initiatives this year, including some that require nominal additional effort or expense, say Janet Falk at Falk Communications and Gina Rubel at Furia Rubel.
Series

Keys To A 9-0 High Court Win: Get Back To Home Base

When I argued for the petitioner in Morgan v. Sundance before the U.S. Supreme Court last year, I made the idea of consistency the cornerstone of my case and built a road map for my argument to ensure I could always return to that home-base theme, says Karla Gilbride at Public Justice.
New US Waters Definition May Rock The Boat

Federal agencies' latest attempt to define "waters of the United States" attempts to avoid previous rules' failings, though it will potentially increase administrative difficulties for regulated entities and also leaves ample ground for litigation, say Christopher Thomas and Andrea Driggs at Perkins Coie.
What's At Stake In High Court's Tribal Bankruptcy Ruling

By accepting Lac du Flambeau v. Coughlin, the U.S. Supreme Court has an opportunity to revisit tribal sovereign immunity by way of interpreting the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, with significant repercussions when tribes are eligible to file as debtors, says Wilda Wahpepah at Sheppard Mullin.
Atty-Client Privilege Arguments Give Justices A Moving Target

Recent oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in a case regarding the scope of the attorney-client privilege appeared to raise more questions about multipurpose counsel communications than they answered, as the parties presented shifting iterations of a predictable, easily applied test for evaluating the communications' purpose, say Trey Bourn and Thomas DiStanislao at Butler Snow.
5 Gen X Characteristics That Can Boost Legal Leadership

As Generation X attorneys rise to fill top roles in law firms and corporations left by retiring baby boomers, they should embrace generational characteristics that will allow them to become better legal leaders, says Meredith Kahan at Whiteford Taylor.
6 Questions For Boutique Firms Considering Mergers

To prepare for discussions with potential merger partners, boutique law firms should first consider the challenges they hope to address with a merger and the qualities they prioritize in possible partner firms, say Howard Cohl and Ron Nye at Major Lindsey.
5 Tips For Adding Value To Legal Clients' Experience In 2023

Faced with a potential economic downturn this year, attorneys should look to strengthen client relationships now by focusing on key ways to improve the client experience, starting with a check-in call to discuss client needs and priorities for the coming year, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
6 Ways To Avoid Compounding Errors When Practicing Law

For lawyers and law firms, inevitable human error can lead to claims of malpractice or ethical violations, but the key is to avoid exacerbating mistakes by adding communication failures, conflicts of interest or insurance coverage losses, says Mark Hinderks at Stinson.
What Will Keep Legal Talent Professionals Up At Night In 2023

Hybrid work environments, high demand for lateral hires and a potential slowdown of the economy defined 2022 in the always-busy marketplace for legal talent, and as BigLaw looks at the year ahead, there are five major sources of concern for the teams charged with securing and retaining that talent, say advisers at Baretz+Brunelle.
The Most-Read Legal Industry Law360 Guest Articles Of 2022

A range of legal industry topics drew readers' attention in Law360's Expert Analysis section this year, from the "great resignation" to potential expansion of attorney-client privilege.
Will BLM's 2nd Attempt At Natural Gas Waste Rule Succeed?

The Bureau of Land Management's new natural gas waste reduction proposal revamps a 2016 rule struck down for trying to regulate air emissions — and while the proposal's focus is reducing operator costs and raising taxpayer revenue, it may still face court challenges, say Andrew Glenn and Katie Andersen at Husch Blackwell.
What 3 Legal Industry Trends From 2022 Mean For Next Year

Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey & Africa looks back on the year in legal recruiting, including practice areas that saw the most movement, which regions seemed most ripe for new office openings and who was promoted to partner, and makes some look-ahead predictions for 2023.
Learning From This Year's Legal Industry Discrimination Suits

To limit the risk of lawsuits and make the workplace a more welcoming environment for female attorneys, it is important to reflect on lawyers' recent discrimination and sexual harassment claims against law firms and public employers, says Hope Comisky at Griesing Law.
Series

The Future Of Legal Ops: AI Has Important Role To Play

Though the debut of OpenAI's ChatGPT has prompted some fears about negative impact on lawyers, artificial intelligence technology can be a powerful tool for legal operations professionals if used effectively to augment their work, say Justin Ben-Asher and Gwendolyn Renigar at Steptoe, and Elizabeth Matthews at TotalEnergies.