Native American

April 24, 2025
US Must Pay ND $28M Over Dakota Access Pipeline Protest

The United States must pay the state of North Dakota $28 million in damages for its failure to control Dakota Access pipeline protesters, a federal judge determined, saying the judgment is a reminder to the federal government of its role in the larger picture of ensuring peace.
April 23, 2025
Oil Giants Lose Bid To Shake DC 'Greenwashing' Suit

A D.C. Superior Court judge has refused to throw out a D.C. lawsuit accusing BP, Chevron, Exxon Mobil and Shell of long misleading consumers about climate change and the central role that their fossil fuel products have played in causing it.
April 23, 2025
Fed. Circ. Won't Revive Minority Farmer COVID Debt Relief Suit

The Federal Circuit declined to revive claims by socially disadvantaged farmers who said the government owes them millions of dollars after repealing a coronavirus pandemic-era debt relief program, ruling Tuesday the farmers failed to show the government had a mutual intent to enter a binding contract.
April 23, 2025
Judge Says Calif. Tribes Can't Intervene In $700M Casino Row

A District of Columbia federal judge refused on Wednesday to allow three California tribes and a company to intervene in another California tribe's suit accusing the federal government of wrongfully rescinding gambling eligibility for the tribe's $700 million casino project.
April 23, 2025
New Mexico Wildfire Sparks Suit Against Federal Government

The federal government is being hit with a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Forest Service's alleged failure to follow its own prescribed burn plan, saying the lapse eventually led to the destruction of nearly 46,000 acres in the Jemez Mountains in New Mexico.
April 23, 2025
6th Circ. Preserves Enbridge's Pipeline Suit Against Mich.

The Sixth Circuit on Wednesday said Enbridge Energy LP can pursue its lawsuit challenging Michigan's decision to revoke an easement for a natural gas and oil pipeline, rejecting the state's argument that it was protected by sovereign immunity.
April 22, 2025
Kan. Tribe Fights Sheriff's Authority In Tribal Jurisdiction Suit

The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation is disputing a county sheriff's bid in Kansas federal court to toss the Native American tribe's latest complaint in its suit claiming that he has repeatedly overstepped his authority by interfering with activities on reservation land.
April 22, 2025
Audit Finds Calif. Universities' Repatriation Efforts Still Slow

The University of California system, despite years of demands for compliance to a federal law designed to protect Indigenous burial sites, still lacks accountability and urgency to return to tribes the thousands of Indigenous remains and artifacts in its collections, according to a state audit on the process.
April 22, 2025
US Intends To Proceed With Ariz. Copper Mine, Justices Told

The U.S. government says there has been no doubt that it intends to proceed with a land exchange in Arizona for a planned multibillion-dollar copper mine, telling the U.S. Supreme Court that its recent notice of publication of a final environmental impact statement for the project does not constitute urgent review.
April 22, 2025
Montana Farmers Union Asks To Join Tribe's Anti-Tariff Suit

The Montana Farmers Union wants to be included in a suit filed by members of the Blackfeet Nation challenging President Trump's tariffs on imports from Canada and abroad, arguing that the duties under scrutiny hurt the state's farmers the same way they hurt tribal members.
April 22, 2025
At Least 10 Firms Assist On $1B Barrick Gold Alaska Deal

Barrick Gold Corp. said Tuesday it has agreed to sell its 50% interest in the Donlin Gold Project in Alaska to Paulson & Co. and Novagold Resources Inc. for $1 billion in cash, in a deal steered by at least 10 law firms.
April 21, 2025
NYS Thruway Gains $21M A Year On Seneca Land, Tribe Says

The Seneca Nation has opposed New York's attempt to prevail in the tribe's suit over a portion of thruway that runs through its reservation, telling a federal judge the state benefits to the tune of $21 million annually in its unfair use of tribal lands for the toll road system.
April 21, 2025
Wind Farm Co. Asks 10th Circ. To Undo Osage Teardown Order

Enel Green Power North American Inc. is asking the Tenth Circuit to reverse a lower court's $4.2 million judgment and order requiring it to remove 84 wind turbines from the Osage Nation reservation, arguing that its conclusion of continuing trespass for the retention of backfill rocks is unprecedented and illogical.
April 21, 2025
Offshore Leasing Withdrawal Ruling Not Moot, Court Told

Environmental groups on Friday insisted an Alaska federal judge can reinstate her decision barring the Trump administration from undoing former President Barack Obama's withdrawal of offshore waters from oil and gas leasing, blasting the government's contention that the ruling remains moot.
April 21, 2025
Unions Demand Halt To DOGE's Info Access At DOL, HHS

A D.C. federal judge must block Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency from accessing sensitive systems in the U.S. Department of Labor and Department of Health and Human Services, unions argued in a preliminary injunction bid, saying the government's search for "waste, fraud and abuse" doesn't warrant access.
April 21, 2025
Unions Score Block On Orders To Fire Probationary Workers

A California federal judge blocked the Office of Personnel Management from ordering federal agencies to fire probationary employees and stopped several agencies from heeding its directives, but he declined to order them to rehire the workers they've already let go.
April 21, 2025
Supreme Court Won't Hear Neb. Tribe's Tobacco Sales Dispute

The U.S. Supreme Court won't hear two Nebraska tribal companies' bid to undo an Eighth Circuit ruling that held the state can regulate a tribally owned manufacturer's sales of cigarettes to Indigenous-owned distributors after officials attempted to apply a settlement with major tobacco companies on the Winnebago reservation.
April 18, 2025
Apache Ask High Court For Quick Ruling In Oak Flat Land Row

An Apache nonprofit behind the effort to save an ancient worship site from destruction in Arizona is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to quickly rule on its petition after the federal government announced it is moving forward with plans to transfer the site to Resolution Copper for mining.
April 18, 2025
Tribal 'Window' For New Spectrum Licenses Defended At FCC

A pair of public interest groups asked Democrats on the Federal Communications Commission to support a tribal "window" allowing Native American bidders a chance to reserve licenses in a commercial spectrum band that's poised for FCC auction.
April 18, 2025
Unions Score Injunction To Stop DOGE's Access To SSA Data

The Social Security Administration cannot give Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency access to personal data within the agency's system, a Maryland federal judge ruled, saying the government "cannot flout" federal privacy law while granting an injunction to unions and a retiree advocacy group.
April 18, 2025
Trump Admin Pushes Ahead With New Offshore Oil Leases

The U.S. Department of the Interior on Friday said it's "unlocking the full potential" of offshore oil and gas lease sales on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf, a rebuke to the Biden administration's conservative approach to development.
April 18, 2025
Federal Cannabis Law Reform Eyed In Bipartisan Push

A bipartisan group of representatives has introduced legislation to reconcile the conflicts between the federal prohibition on cannabis and state laws that legalize it, and to prepare the country for federal legalization.
April 17, 2025
9th Circ. Signals Support For Tribes' Cultural Loss Claims

A Ninth Circuit panel was skeptical Thursday that a Teck Resources unit could dodge the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation's claims for tribal service losses stemming from a smelter's Columbia River pollution, with one judge saying Teck's argument was "splitting hairs."
April 17, 2025
RI Judge Wants To Know Who's Behind $11B Health Grant Cuts

A Rhode Island federal judge on Thursday pressed the Trump administration for details about the decision-makers behind the cancellation of billions in grants supporting state public health programs.
April 17, 2025
Tribal Members Fight Bid To Transfer Canadian Tariff Dispute

Four members of Montana's Blackfeet Nation are fighting a motion by the federal government to transfer their bid to block several Trump administration orders and proclamations imposing tariffs on Canadian goods, arguing there's no legal basis for the move to the U.S. Court of International Trade.

Expert Analysis

Opinion

How Trump Admin Should Address Indian Country Priorities

The incoming Trump administration should consider four high-level policy recommendations if it wants to succeed at improving the quality of life for Native Americans throughout the U.S., says Mike Andrews at McGuireWoods.
What 2024 Trends In Marketing, Comms Hiring Mean For 2025

The state of hiring in legal industry marketing, business development and communications over the past 12 months was marked by a number of trends — from changes in the C-suite to lateral move challenges — providing clues for what’s to come in the year ahead, says Ben Curle at Ambition.
5 Notable Anti-Money Laundering Actions From 2024

Regulators' renewed interest in anti-money laundering programs in 2024 led to numerous enforcement actions and individual prosecutions in industries like banking, cryptocurrency and gaming, including the blockbuster TD Bank settlement and investigations of casinos in Nevada, says Michael Beckwith at Dickinson Wright.
Series

Group Running Makes Me A Better Lawyer

The combination of physical fitness and community connection derived from running with a group of business leaders has, among other things, helped me to stay grounded, improve my communication skills, and develop a deeper empathy for clients and colleagues, says Jessica Shpall Rosen at Greenwald Doherty.
Opinion

6 Changes I Would Make If I Ran A Law School

Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner identifies several key issues plaguing law schools and discusses potential solutions, such as opting out of the rankings game and mandating courses in basic writing skills.
Firms Still Have The Edge In Lateral Hiring, But Buyer Beware

Partner mobility data suggests that the third quarter of this year continued to be a buyer’s market, with the average candidate demanding less compensation for a larger book of business — but moving into the fourth quarter, firms should slow down their hiring process to minimize risks, say officers at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.
Think Like A Lawyer: 1 Type Of Case Complexity Stands Out

In contrast to some cases that appear complex due to voluminous evidence or esoteric subject matter, a different kind of complexity involves tangled legal and factual questions, each with a range of possible outcomes, which require a “sliding scale” approach instead of syllogistic reasoning, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
How Litigation, Supply Chains Buffeted Offshore Wind In 2024

U.S. offshore wind developers continue to face a range of challenges — including litigation brought by local communities and interest groups, ongoing supply chain issues, and a lack of interconnection and transmission infrastructure — in addition to uncertainty surrounding federal energy policy under the second Trump administration, say attorneys at Liskow & Lewis.
Think Like A Lawyer: Note 3 Simple Types Of Legal Complexity

Cases can appear complex for several reasons — due to the number of issues, the volume of factual and evidentiary sources, and the sophistication of those sources — but the same basic technique can help lawyers tame their arguments into a simple and persuasive message, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
Permitting, Offtake Among Offshore Wind Challenges In 2024

Although federal offshore wind development started to pick up this year, many challenges to the industry became apparent as well — including slow federal permitting, the pitfalls of restarting permits after changes in project status, and the difficulties of negotiating economically viable offtake agreements, say attorneys at Liskow & Lewis.
Series

Gardening Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Beyond its practical and therapeutic benefits, gardening has bolstered important attributes that also apply to my litigation practice, including persistence, patience, grit and authenticity, says Christopher Viceconte at Gibbons.
Litigation Inspiration: Reframing Document Review

For attorneys — new ones especially — there is much fulfillment to find in document review by reflecting on how important, interesting and pleasant it can be, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.
Series

Flying Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Achieving my childhood dream of flying airplanes made me a better lawyer — and a better person — because it taught me I can conquer difficult goals when I leave my comfort zone, focus on the demands of the moment and commit to honing my skills, says Ivy Cadle at Baker Donelson.
Series

Circus Arts Make Me A Better Lawyer

Performing circus arts has strengthened my ability to be more thoughtful, confident and grounded, all of which has enhanced my legal practice and allowed me to serve clients in a more meaningful way, says Bailey McGowan at Stinson.
3 Ways To Train Junior Lawyers In 30 Minutes Or Less

Today’s junior lawyers are experiencing a skills gap due to pandemic-era disruptions, but firms can help bring them up to speed by offering high-impact skill building content in bite-sized, interactive training sessions, say Stacey Schwartz at Katten, Diane Costigan at Winston & Strawn and Lauren Tierney at Freshfields.