Best Lawyers in America for Native American Law
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State
Bill is a member of the Financial Services Practice Group and has significant experience in public financing, commercial and investment real estate lending and bankruptcy law. He represents financial institutions in a variety of commercial loans with Native American borrowers and has experience with related commercial lending issues such as waivers of sovereign immunity, submission to jurisdiction, governing law and trust lands.
Edward Ayoob is a partner and the co-chair of the Federal Relations Group in Barnes & Thornburg's Washington, D.C., office. His work on behalf of clients includes areas such as taxation, appropriations, Native American, small business, foreign affairs, and various regulatory concerns, among numerous other issues. Edward is the former legislative counsel, tax counsel, appropriations manager, and foreign affairs adviser to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). He was also the senat...
Kaighn Smith Jr. has been fighting for Tribal Nations and their enterprises in the tribal, federal, and state courts and before federal administrative agencies across the country for over 30 years. He has garnered a national reputation for his committed advocacy for tribal sovereignty, winning cases in a wide range of areas, including jurisdiction disputes, gaming matters, labor and employment relations, and land-in-trust and environmental matters. He regularly teaches federal Indian law as a...
Sarah Stevenson is a shareholder in the Natural Resources Department and a litigator representing public entities and private businesses. Her natural resources experience focuses on water law, including water adjudications and interstate water compacts, and Native American law, including natural resource development projects on Native American land. She has advised clients developing projects on Native American land on issues regarding indigenous rights, jurisdiction, and contract formation. ...
Philip Baker-Shenk is a partner in our firm's Indian Law Practice Group and our Entertainment Law Practice Group. He provides legal and policy representation to dozens of Native American Indian Tribal governments as well as Tribal organizations and companies doing business with Indian Tribes. Mr. Baker-Shenk began working on behalf of Indian Tribes in our Nation's capital in 1976. For half a decade, he served as staff in the U.S. Senate, including two years as Majority General Counsel to Indi...
Affie Ellis is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Native American Law. Affie, who practices law in Cheyenne, Wyoming, has been recognized since 2024. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Affie is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Daniel Volchok's practice focuses on appellate litigation involving various areas of federal and state law, including arbitration, bankruptcy, civil rights, contracts, criminal law, due process, free speech, intellectual property, military law, Native American issues, preemption and tax. Mr. Volchok has filed numerous merits and amicus briefs in the US Supreme Court as well as state and federal appellate courts, and also participated in successful efforts to obtain or oppose certiorari.
Walter brings more than thirty-five years of experience providing representation, advice and counsel to businesses and individuals in their dealings with Indian tribes and public land management agencies, like the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service and New Mexico State Land Office. Walter’s practice is focused on natural resources, energy and environmental law. Clients throughout the west and across the country seek Walter’s advice in matters involving transac...
Lynn Slade serves clients’ needs addressing Federal Indian law and Native American law, energy, natural resources, environmental law, project development, complex litigation and transactions for over 30 years. In his Indian law practice, Lynn advises and counsels natural resource and energy developers, financial institutions, utilities, and other businesses in transactions and project development, including extensive involvement with renewable energy projects. He also leads litigation t...
Jerry C. Straus is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Gaming Law and Native American Law. Jerry C., who practices law in Washington, District of Columbia, has been recognized since 2006. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Jerry C. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Jill Grant, the principal member of Jill Grant & Associates, LLC, has extensive background in environmental, administrative, and federal Indian law. Before starting her own law firm, Ms. Grant was a partner in private practice, representing Indian tribes on environmental and federal Indian law issues. Previously Ms. Grant wasan attorney at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of General Counsel, where she was on the team that drafted the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 and wo...
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.