MAIER PFEFFER KIM GEARY & COHEN - Key Persons
Attorney John Maier is a founding partner of Maier Pfeffer Kim Geary & Cohen LLP, where he serves as general and special counsel to Native American tribes on a broad range of issues affecting Indian country. John's practice includes work on Ind… Read More
Attorney John Maier is a founding partner of Maier Pfeffer Kim Geary & Cohen LLP, where he serves as general and special counsel to Native American tribes on a broad range of issues affecting Indian country. John's practice includes work on Indian gaming and other forms of business and economic development, tribal laws and policies, dispute resolution, and other matters of tribal self-governance. His representation of tribal clients before federal, state, and local agencies, forums, and courts has resulted in the successful negotiation of numerous tribal-state compacts and intergovernmental agreements, as well as the acquisition of hundreds of acres of new land into trust on behalf of tribes for gaming and other purposes.
Bethany Sullivan is a partner with Maier Pfeffer Kim Geary & Cohen LLP. Bethany advises broadly on tribal governance, economic development, fee-to-trust land acquisitions, gaming and business transactions, taxation, natural resources and environmental compliance, and other matters involving tribal, federal, and state law. Prior to joining the firm in 2019, Bethany was a Visiting Associate Professor of Law and the founding Director of the Natural Resource Use & Management Clinic at the University of Arizona College of Law. She worked with a variety of clients, including tribal governments, and taught courses on natural resource and administrative law. Bethany began her legal career as an attorney-advisor with the Department of the Interior. In this capacity, she advised the Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Indian Affairs on policy, regulation, and litigation concerning tribal lands and natural resources. Throughout her career, Bethany has authored articles and presented on tribal lands, taxation, and federal regulation in Indian country.
Bethany obtained her Juris Doctor from the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law, graduating Order of the Coif and with a certificate in Indigenous Peoples Law & Policy.
Education
University of Arizona, James E. Rogers College of Law, J.D., 2011
College of William & Mary, B.A., 2006
Bethany Sullivan is a partner with Maier Pfeffer Kim Geary & Cohen LLP. Bethany advises broadly on tribal governance, economic development, fee-to-trust land acquisitions, gaming and business transactions, taxation, natural resources and environm… Read More
Job Titles:
- Senior Attorney
- Senior Associate With
Brian McClatchey is a senior associate with Maier Pfeffer Kim Geary & Cohen LLP. Brian's practice involves tribal governance, economic development, gaming and business transactions, and other matters involving tribal, federal, and state law. Pr… Read More
Brian McClatchey is a senior associate with Maier Pfeffer Kim Geary & Cohen LLP. Brian's practice involves tribal governance, economic development, gaming and business transactions, and other matters involving tribal, federal, and state law. Prior to joining the firm in 2022, Brian was Policy Director for the Spokane City Council after serving as in-house gaming counsel for the Coeur d'Alene Tribe and later as an associate at a large national law firm's Indian law practice, where he worked on treaty rights litigation and tribal finance matters.
Some of Brian's published work has appeared in the American Indian Law Review, the University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform, and the University of Idaho Law Review, and he has given presentations at conferences such as the Northwest Gaming Law Summit.
Public service has always been a part of Brian's professional life, and in pursuing that obligation, Brian has served on the City of Spokane's Plan Commission and the Spokane County Redistricting Committee, and is past president of the Idaho State Bar's and Spokane County Bar Association's Indian Law Sections.
Brian earned his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School, and an undergraduate degree in English Literature from the University of Washington. Prior to his undergraduate studies, Brian served in the U.S. Navy.
Education
University of Michigan Law School, J.D., 2005
University of Washington, B.A., 2002
Before joining Maier Pfeffer Kim Geary & Cohen LLP in July 2013, attorney Jim Cohen served for over eight years as Deputy General Counsel for the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians. He is an honors graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School and served as law clerk to Judge James A. Parker of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico. Jim's Indian law career began at D.N.A. People's Legal Services on the Navajo Reservation, where he litigated a range of issues for indigent Navajo clients. Jim worked at California Indian Legal Services from 1993 through 2005, serving as directing attorney, first of the Escondido office and later of the Oakland office.
Before joining Maier Pfeffer Kim Geary & Cohen LLP in July 2013, attorney Jim Cohen served for over eight years as Deputy General Counsel for the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians. He is an honors graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School… Read More
Jenny Y. Kim has over 20 years of experience in federal Indian law advising clients in a wide range of areas including employment, business, and housing law, as well as, policy and law development. In 2006, attorney Jenny became a partner at Maier Pf… Read More
Jenny Y. Kim has over 20 years of experience in federal Indian law advising clients in a wide range of areas including employment, business, and housing law, as well as, policy and law development. In 2006, attorney Jenny became a partner at Maier Pfeffer Kim Geary & Cohen LLP, representing California tribes and tribal entities in a wide range of government and business law areas including policy making, statutory drafting, and transactional law. She is also a trained mediator and regularly mediates in several court-approved programs in Alameda County.
Throughout her career, Jenny has been active in the areas of tribal governance and Indian housing, Indian Child Welfare Act, and federal recognition at the local, state, and federal levels through both litigation and legislative/policy advocacy. She has conducted numerous trainings and workshops throughout the state and nationally on a wide range of Indian law and other topics including tribal planning and development, Indian housing, ICWA, tribal court development, and nonprofit corporate boards. As a certified mediator , Jenny has mediated hundreds of hours in commercial and residential landlord tenant cases, civil harassment, and other civil disputes. Jenny serves as a co-chair of the ADR Executive Committee of the Alameda County Bar Association and was recently appointed to serve on the Board of The Mediation Society. Jenny is also a volunteer mediator for the Superior Court of Alameda County and mediates regularly with and serves as a trainer for SEEDS Community Resolution Center.
Jenny obtained her B.A. in International Relations from Rhodes College and is a 1997 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School. In 1996, she clerked on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation where she helped launch the Oglala Lakota CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) Program for the Oglala Sioux Tribal Court, one of the first tribal CASA programs in the country. In 1997, she became a staff attorney in the Bishop Office of California Indian Legal Services, serving the Paiute-Shoshone communities and Indian tribes of the Owens Valley and Eastern Sierras. After transferring to the CILS headquarters office in Oakland, California in 1999, she served as the Chair of the Indian Housing Practice Group and as the Lead Attorney of the Tribal Courts and Governance Project, which focused on developing tribal courts and strengthening tribal legal systems.
Education
University of Pennsylvania Law School, J.D., 1997
Rhodes College, B.A., 1993
Attorney John Maier is a founding partner of Maier Pfeffer Kim Geary & Cohen LLP, where he serves as general and special counsel to Native American tribes on a broad range of issues affecting Indian country. John's practice includes work on Ind… Read More
John received his J.D. from the University of California, Davis, School of Law and a B.S. in Finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. As a law student, he clerked for the Honorable Judge Lawrence Karlton, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California. He also worked as a summer intern and then later served as a staff attorney for nine years at California Indian Legal Services. Prior to attending law school, John worked as the executive director of the Tibet Justice Center, focusing on a peoples' right to self-determination and other fundamental human rights, and as a management executive in the computer industry.
Education
University of California, Davis School of Law, J.D., 1997
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, B.S., 1980
Job Titles:
- Senior Associate
- Senior Attorney
Karl Foster is a senior associate attorney with Maier Pfeffer Kim Geary & Cohen LLP. Karl brings 20+ years of legal experience as a transactional attorney representing clients in real estate, real estate finance and corporate transactions. With e… Read More
Karl Foster is a senior associate attorney with Maier Pfeffer Kim Geary & Cohen LLP. Karl brings 20+ years of legal experience as a transactional attorney representing clients in real estate, real estate finance and corporate transactions. With experience as both outside and inhouse counsel, Karl is valued by clients for excellence in quickly understanding business objectives of a transaction, identifying related legal issues, facilitating a risk/benefit analysis and communicating legal concepts in a manner that can be easily understood.
Most recently Karl served as general counsel for a real estate development company where he advised senior management on legal implications of business activities, protection and enforcement of legal rights, and minimization of liability exposure.
Karl Foster earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley and his Juris Doctor degree from Santa Clara University School of Law where he graduated with a High-Tech Law Certificate.
Practice Areas
Tribal Gaming Commissions
Christine Siojo is an associate attorney with Maier Pfeffer Kim Geary & Cohen LLP. Her practice includes advising our firm's tribal clients on a variety of topics including employment law, housing, development of tribal law and policy, dispute resolution, and other matters of tribal self-governance.
From the Santa Rosa office of Maier Pfeffer Kim Geary & Cohen LLP, attorney Maureen Geary joined the firm in 2008 and serves as general counsel to Indian tribes, Indian health clinics, and Indian non-profit organizations. Maureen's practice includes employment law, environmental law, fee-to-trust acquisitions, economic development, governmental relations, housing, land use and trust resources protection, development of tribal codes and ordinances, tribal TANF and Indian Child Welfare Act cases among other areas of federal Indian law.
Maureen is a graduate of the Northwestern School of Law of Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. While in law school, Maureen served as a law clerk with the United States Department of Justice, Indian Resources Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division. Prior to attending law school, Maureen received her Master's Degree in Indian Policy/Political Science from the University of Arizona and earned her Bachelor's Degree in Indian Studies from the University of North Dakota.
Before joining MPKGC as a Partner, Maureen was a Senior Staff Attorney with California Indian Legal Services for 18 years. She practiced in the former Ukiah office, beginning in 1991, and in the Oakland office before opening the Santa Rosa office of CILS. Maureen has a long history of providing legal services to tribes and Indian clients. Early in her career, Maureen worked largely on the untermination litigation involving many of the tribes in the Ukiah service area. Maureen served as the Chair of the CILS ICWA Project and was responsible for the 2006 passage of California Senate Bill 678, a bill which codified the Indian Child Welfare Act in California. She continues to provide trainings on ICWA and Tribal Customary Adoption as well as present at conferences in California and other states on these topics.
Education
Northwestern School of Law of Lewis and Clark College, J.D., 1988
University of Arizona, M.A., 1985
University of North Dakota, B.A., 1983
From the Santa Rosa office of Maier Pfeffer Kim Geary & Cohen LLP, attorney Maureen Geary joined the firm in 2008 and serves as general counsel to Indian tribes, Indian health clinics, and Indian non-profit organizations. Maureen's practice… Read More
Michael S. Pfeffer is easily one of California's preeminent Indian law attorneys and advocates. Having served California tribal communities for over 35 years, Michael is one of the "forefathers" of California Indian law and jurisprudence and he has dedicated his life's work to defending the rights of California Indians and the sovereignty of California tribes.
Michael is not only a devoted advocate, he has been an incredibly effective one at tribal, local, state and federal levels. In his 35 years of practicing law and directing a cadre of Indian law attorneys, the tools of legal advocacy that Michael has successfully utilized to benefit California Indians are unparalleled. Michael has utilized litigation, grass-roots mobilization efforts for the most vulnerable California Indian populations, and lobbying and legislative advocacy at the State and federal levels to highlight and address the special needs of California Indians and tribes, as well as providing advice and expertise to tribal governments on governance issues. Michael's success as an advocate is not only evident in the results of his long-term legal advocacy, but also in the long line of lawyers that he has tirelessly mentored and inspired. Many of the attorneys he supervised and managed during his 23-year tenure as Executive Director of California Indian Legal Services (CILS) continue to serve as advocates in Indian country and elsewhere.
Throughout his many years in legal services, Michael oversaw and supervised many of the seminal federal court cases impacting the rights of Indians and tribes in California, including Hammond v. Cnty. of Madera, 859 F.2d 797 (9th Cir. 1988), Sample v. Borg, 675 F. Supp. 574 (E.D. Cal. 1987) vacated, 870 F.2d 563 (9th Cir. 1989), and Mattz v. Superior Court, 46 Cal. 3d 355 (1988), and many others. At a time before the advent of Indian gaming when most California tribes were struggling to simply survive, Michael also made it a top priority to reach out to both tribes and tribal members, as well as other Indians, to provide the highest quality legal representation regardless of their ability to pay for a lawyer. It was largely Michael's perseverance, diligence, creativity and persuasiveness that enabled CILS to survive the devastating funding cuts to legal services programs in the 1990s. Michael worked tirelessly to ensure that Indians in California would have a place to turn to for trusted referrals, legal information, legal advice, and brief services. Michael instituted innovative legal service programs that made it easier for low-income Indians to access legal help and information in many areas relevant to their lives, such as unsealing birth certificates for enrollment purposes, free tax assistance for Indians under the Earned Income Tax Credit program (EITC), Indian child and family protection, and Indian allotment land questions or disputes, to name but a few areas.
Michael has always maintained his focus on stimulating long-term improvements in Indian law and policy - resulting in improving the lives of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Indian people and strengthening tribal governments throughout California. For example, Michael has long been the leading expert in California Tribal TANF (Temporary Aid to Needy Families). His efforts in developing and lobbying for TANF legislation not only made an enormous impact nationally, it also made it possible for California tribes - which have continually received the short end of an already short stick in terms of federal assistance - to make important strides through special legislative language geared specifically toward their unique circumstances.
In December 2005, Michael stepped down as Executive Director of CILS, and shortly thereafter entered private practice. This did not deter him from continuing his social justice work in Indian Country. As a founding partner of Maier Pfeffer Geary Kim & Cohen LLP, Michael continues to work with other former CILS attorneys in advocating for Indians and working to strengthen tribal governments for future generations to come.
Read more here about Michael's other recent work. The examples provided are just some of Michael's many achievements in his career as an Indian law advocate. Michael's practice both at CILS and in private practice is a testament to how his many years of hard work, brilliance, and unparalleled dedication to California Indians and tribes can quietly bear fruit.
Education
University of California, Berkeley, Boalt School of Law, J.D., 1979
Cornell University, B.S., 1971
Michael is a powerful advocate before Congress on probate reform, seeking to address serious problems in the area of Indian and tribal lands. He opened a Washington D.C. branch office for CILS to ensure a California tribal presence so that the special circumstances and unique problems faced by California Indians and tribes were not overlooked in the preparation and passage of the American Indian Probate Reform Act (AIPRA) in 2004, which helped consolidate Indian land ownership across the country, including California, in order to ensure greater economic viability of Indian assets.
Michael S. Pfeffer is easily one of California's preeminent Indian law attorneys and advocates. Having served California tribal communities for over 35 years, Michael is one of the "forefathers" of California Indian law and jurisprudence and he… Read More
Steve Kalogeras is a Senior Attorney with Maier Pfeffer Kim Geary & Cohen LLP. For over 15 years, Steve has represented clients in complex litigations as well as transactional and governmental policy matters. He has significant experience advising on a range of issues, including tribal governance and economic development, commercial contracts, and civil litigation. Steve is passionate about promoting tribal self-determination and serving indigenous communities. Prior to joining the firm, Steve served as Tribal Attorney for the federally-recognized Hoopa Valley Tribe in northern California. As Tribal Attorney, he collaborated closely with tribal leaders to support economic development projects, update the Tribal Code, litigate cases in Tribal Court, and negotiate a wide variety of commercial agreements. Earlier in his career, Steve worked for over a decade in private practice representing technology companies in major federal court litigations.
Steve obtained his J.D. from New York University School of Law and a B.A. in American Studies from Stanford University. More recently, Steve earned a Master of Laws degree in Indigenous Peoples Law from the University of Oklahoma College of Law.
Education
University of Oklahoma College of Law, LL.M., 2023
New York University School of Law, J.D., 2006
Stanford University, B.A., with Honors, 2002
Steve Kalogeras is a Senior Attorney with Maier Pfeffer Kim Geary & Cohen LLP. For over 15 years, Steve has represented clients in complex litigations as well as transactional and governmental policy matters. He has significant experience advisin… Read More