HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER - Key Persons

Adam P. Bailey

Job Titles:
  • Partner
  • Member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
  • Partner / Sacramento, CA
Adam Bailey, an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, joined Hobbs Straus as an associate in February 2013. He is a 2011 graduate of the UCLA School of Law, where he received his J.D. with a specialization in Critical Race Studies. During law school, Adam was an active member and officer of NALSA. Adam worked on UCLA's Journal of Environmental Law and Policy and the Dukeminier Awards Journal on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and the Law. Adam was a term-time clerk for the Hualapai Court of Appeals and the Hopi Tribal Appeals Court. He was also a member of the UCLA Law Review, where he was selected to be a Senior Editor. He authored his student note entitled Threading the Needle: The Fort Peck Tribe's Associate Membership: A Modern Model for Tribal Affiliation. Adam has returned to Hobbs Straus, having worked for four years in the firm's Washington, D.C. office as a legislative specialist before enrolling in law school. Prior to his previous work at the firm he served as a legislative associate for the National Congress of American Indians. Immediately after graduation from the UCLA School of Law, Adam practiced labor and employment law for Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton. Adam graduated with honors from Harvard University. His thesis exploring President Clinton's executive order on tribal consultation received magna cum laude. Outside of the office, Adam enjoys fishing and hunting, hiking, cooking, traveling, keeping current on news and politics.

Akilah J. Kinnison

Job Titles:
  • Partner
  • Partner / Washington DC
Akilah Kinnison joined Hobbs Straus in October 2013. Akilah's practice areas include natural resource protection, cultural preservation and repatriation, telecommunications, health care and education, tribal gaming, and governmental relations. Akilah has significant experience drafting legislation, litigating in state and federal courts, advocating on Capitol Hill and in federal policy-making processes, and representing indigenous interests in international forums. After several years in Hobbs Straus' DC office, Akilah now works remotely from Tucson, Arizona. Prior to joining the firm, Akilah received a J.D., magna cum laude, and LL.M. in Indigenous Peoples Law & Policy from the University of Arizona's James E. Rogers College of Law. She was a member of the Arizona Law Review, from which she received the Best Note Award for her article Indigenous Consent: Rethinking U.S. Consultation Policies in Light of the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. In her spare time, Akilah enjoys spending time with her husband Jed and their daughters Mariama and Aya Ruth. She also teaches Critical Race Theory as a Professor of Practice at the University of Arizona.

Bree A. Evans

Job Titles:
  • Associate
  • Attorney
  • Associate Attorney / Washington, DC
Bree Evans is originally from Connecticut, and has spent her adult life based in the cities of the Northeast. Growing up she spent her summers sailing with her family between the historic ports of New England, and still loves being close to the ocean. As an undergraduate in Boston, Bree first fell in love with art history and the perspective-challenging aspects of cultural studies. Bree double-majored in Archaeology and Psychology, and minored in Architectural History. Following her undergraduate studies, Bree moved to New York where she worked and interned at a handful of museums and historic preservation organizations. Following her graduate degree, Bree worked for two years at The National Jazz Museum in Harlem, helping the museum transition between physical locations and learning about the realities of museum management. Bree then returned to school to pursue a law degree. While in school she interned with three federal agencies, each with a portfolio touching on matters of cultural heritage protection. She interned with the Department of Justice's Office of Tribal Justice, where she worked on issues including protection of resources, sovereignty, and criminal justice. In addition, she interned with the Office of the General Counsel at the Institute of Museum and Library Services-the federal government's largest grant maker for museums and libraries, as well as the International Section of the Office of the General Counsel of the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration. As a result of her work in public service during law school, Bree graduated as the Class of 2020 Pro Bono Scholar. In law school Bree served on the staff of the National Security Law Brief, and contributed four posts to the Brief's blog. Bree also published an article with the Sustainable Development Law & Policy Brief, advocating that the Food and Drug Administration adopt species and location-specific market labels for shrimp to help increase supply chain transparency for consumers and to help support domestic fisheries in the fight against international illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing practices. Bree wrote her Master's thesis on the use of daylight in new museum construction, and remains passionate about sustainable building design and green infrastructure initiatives. Bree considers it a great honor to work in service of Tribal Nations. She is passionate about advocating for tribal self-governance, ensuring that federal, state, and local governments recognize and respect the full extent of Tribal sovereign rights, and holding the United States accountable for its broken promises. Bree enjoys hiking, jogging, and exploring the outdoors. She also enjoys experimenting with various art forms, and visiting museums for inspiration. She loves caring for plants, sampling podcasts, and challenging herself to solve different types of puzzles. Bree's practice areas include tribal governance, cultural heritage, health care, opioid litigation, gaming, and administrative law. Bree joined Hobbs Straus in 2021.

Caleb J. Norris

Job Titles:
  • Associate
  • Attorney
  • Associate Attorney / Portland, or
Caleb Norris joined Hobbs Straus as an associate in April of 2022. Caleb advises clients on a number of issues, with a particular focus on tribal self-determination and self-governance. His works involves a range of topics including Section 105(l) leasing under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEAA), contract support costs, tribal housing, tribal healthcare, cultural repatriation, and transactional work related to employment and services. Prior to joining Hobbs Straus in the Portland Office, Caleb was a corporate intellectual property attorney in Chicago. Caleb is a 2020 graduate of the University of Oregon School of Law. During law school, he interned at the Tribal Law and Policy Institute and clerked at the Native American Rights Fund, where he worked on the Native American Voting Rights Project. He was also the co-director of Oregon's NALSA chapter and the treasurer of Oregon's environmental law society ("Land, Air, Water"). In his free time, he enjoys endurance cycling, reading travel memoirs (and travelling himself), and following his beloved Chicago Cubs. Education University of Oregon School of Law, J.D., 2020 Indiana University, B.A., 2017

Cari L. Baermann

Job Titles:
  • Associate
  • Attorney
  • Associate Attorney / Portland, or
Cari Baermann is an associate attorney in our Portland, Oregon office. Her practice areas focus on advising tribes on a variety of issues, with a particular concentration in tribal housing, tribal gaming, and education. In the housing area, she assists clients with a variety of issues, including drafting and implementing housing program policies and procedures, personnel issues, Low-Income Housing Tax Credit projects, landlord-tenant issues, evictions, and drafting contracts. She also assists tribal clients with gaming licensing matters and compliance with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and Tribal-State Gaming Compacts Cari joined Hobbs Straus in 2019, after receiving a Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Lewis & Clark Law School. While attending law school, Cari was an active officer of the Native American Law Students Association and was the Notes & Comments Editor of the Lewis & Clark Environmental Law Review. She received a certification in Public Interest Law, with a focus on Indian Law and Native American rights. She also co-authored The Belloni Decision and Its Legacy: United States v. Oregon and Its Far-Reaching Effects After a Half-Century. During law school, she clerked with the Department of Interior Office of the Solicitor, the Office of the Federal Public Defender, and the Oregon Justice Resource Center where she worked on tribal property rights, tribal criminal justice and jurisdictional issues, treaty fishing rights, tribal religious rights, and environmental law in both state and federal courts. Outside the office, Cari enjoys backpacking, snowboarding, white-water and sea kayaking, Ultimate Frisbee, and reading novels.

Carol L. Barbero

Job Titles:
  • of Counsel
  • of Counsel / Washington DC
Carol Barbero has been practicing law with Hobbs Straus since its founding in 1982, and was named partner in 1987. Focusing primarily on Indian health, education, and self-determination issues, Carol seeks to advance the quality of life in Indian communities and strengthen the right of tribes and tribal organizations to govern themselves. Her proudest achievements are policy advancements that secure lasting benefits for Indian tribes and tribal organizations. Carol served as a key team member in the historic 1995-1996 negotiated rule-making proceeding that produced regulations to implement the revised Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEAA). Carol is one of only a few U.S. attorneys whose practice focuses on Indian education law and policy. She has represented tribal schools and Indian education organizations throughout her tenure with Hobbs Straus, and served as a lead advocate for the Indian-related amendments to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in 1988, 1994 and the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001-2002. Carol also works in the legislative arena drafting legislation and actively advocating on a variety of Indian topics, particularly education, health, and appropriations issues. She was the lead Washington attorney in the coalition representing tribal health interests during congressional action on Medicaid Reform in 1995-1996, and continues to represent tribes on Medicare and Medicaid policy issues. Additionally, she leads the Firm's work on Indian Country efforts to reauthorize and update the Indian Health Care Improvement Act. Prior to joining Hobbs Straus, Carol worked for six years as a legislative assistant in the House of Representatives. She began her Indian law practice at the Washington, D.C., firm of Wilkinson, Cragun & Barker. A life-long (and often long-suffering) Pittsburgh Pirates fan, Carol also enjoys listening to the music of the Italian masters: Rossini, Pavarotti, and Sinatra.

Caroline P. Mayhew

Job Titles:
  • Associate
  • Partner
  • Partner / Washington DC
Caroline Mayhew began as an associate at Hobbs Straus in October, 2011, after graduating from UCLA School of Law with a specialization in Critical Race Studies. The same year, Caroline earned an M.A. in American Indian Studies from UCLA. Caroline became a partner in the firm in 2018. At Hobbs Straus, Caroline has worked in a wide variety of practice areas, but spends much of her time working with the firm's Health Care and Self-Determination and Self-Governance practice groups and assisting in the firm's litigation efforts. Early in her career, Caroline served as co-counsel for dozens of tribes and tribal organizations bringing contract support cost claims against the federal government under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEAA) and played an active role in the settlement of those claims. Caroline was also part of the firm's litigation team in two cases establishing the right of tribal contractors to enter into fully-funded facilities leases under the ISDEAA, Maniilaq Association v. Burwell, 72 F. Supp. 3d 227 (D.D.C. 2014) (Maniilaq I), and Maniilaq Association v. Burwell, No. 1:15-cv-00152, 2016 WL 1118256 (D.D.C. Mar. 22, 2016) (Maniilaq II). Caroline has also been involved as a primary author of several Supreme Court amicus curiae briefs filed by the firm on behalf of tribal clients in high-profile Indian law cases, including Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, Michigan v. Bay Mills Indian Community, Dollar General Corp. v. Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, and Lewis v. Clarke. Caroline also served as co-counsel in Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin v. United States, 577 U.S. __ (2016), at the petition and merits stages before the United States Supreme Court. Before law school, Caroline attended Simon's Rock College of Bard in western Massachusetts, where she was privileged to find a home among unique and creative individuals in a highly engaging campus community. Caroline elected a concentration in Native American Studies and graduated at 20 years old. She then returned home to Martha's Vineyard, worked for the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), and was selected for an internship in the Cultural Arts Department at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. before moving to California for law school. Caroline now lives in Massachusetts with her husband, Daniel, their two young children, and extended family. Caroline is happy to be back home in the Northeast, where she enjoys the natural beauty and variety of all four seasons. Caroline cherishes time with her family and community, and enjoys playing her violin and acoustic guitar.

Christopher T. Stearns

Job Titles:
  • of Counsel
  • Member of Seattle 's Native American
  • of Counsel / Portland, or
  • President of the Board of Directors of the Seattle Indian Health Board
Chris Stearns, Navajo, sought a career in Indian law as a way to help protect the legal and human rights of Native Americans. His practice focuses on the areas of campaign and elections law, political advocacy, government relations, self-governance, and energy law. After starting his career with Hobbs Straus, he left the firm to serve as Deputy Counsel for the U.S. House Subcommittee on Native American Affairs under Chairman Bill Richardson. He later served four years as Democratic Counsel for the Committee on Natural Resources under Chairman George Miller where he oversaw national legislation on tribal self-governance, health care, federal recognition, and gaming. In 1998, he was appointed by President Bill Clinton as the first-ever Director of Indian Affairs for the U.S. Department of Energy where he helped Energy Secretary Bill Richards craft Indian energy policy and build tribal relations. Chris is currently in his second term as Chairman of the Washington State Gambling Commission, the second oldest gambling regulatory agency in the nation. He was first appointed to the Commission by Governor Jay Inslee in 2013. In the past two years, the Commission has successfully renegotiated numerous tribal-state gaming compacts, including a major market-based class III machine increase. The Commission has been an international leader in the criminal investigation of unlawful internet gaming, and has taken on leading roles in policies surrounding fantasy sports, internet poker, and skill-based gaming. In 2000, Chris was selected to serve as the North Dakota State Presidential Campaign Director for Vice President Al Gore. He was the first-ever Native American appointed to such a senior position within a presidential campaign. Chris returned to Hobbs Straus in 2001. Chris later spent four years as the political advisor to the President of the National Congress of American Indians. Chris has also worked on Senator John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign in New Mexico, on Governor Bill Richardson's 2002 campaign in New Mexico, and on President Barack Obama's 2008 campaigns in Washington State. Chris is an active member of Seattle's Native American and social justice communities. Chris is the President of the Board of Directors of the Seattle Indian Health Board. He also served two terms as Chairman of the City of Seattle's Human Rights Commission where he led efforts on police accountability, on jobs assistance legislation for people with criminal records, and he also testified before the United Nations on indigenous rights. Chris helped establish Native Vote Washington, a nonpartisan, nonprofit corporation whose purpose is to increase Native American participation in elections. Education Cornell Law School, J.D., 1989 Williams College, B.A. (with honors), 1986 The Lawrenceville School, 1982

Craig A. Jacobson

Job Titles:
  • Associate
  • Partner
  • Partner / Portland, or
Craig Jacobson joined Hobbs Straus as an associate in 1998, and has extensive experience in the areas of environmental and natural resources law and real estate law. Craig began to focus on natural resources and environmental law while in law school, believing that these areas are vital to the well-being of tribes as sustainability has become a central value for many Native communities. While in law school, Craig began working in Indian country with the Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe in Washington State. He assisted the Tribe in the creation and management of an environmental department, development of an on-reservation health clinic, and negotiation of Title I and Title IV agreements with the federal government. This experience allowed him to witness and participate in community development first hand, and become involved with the issues of healthcare improvement, employment, the protection of natural and cultural resources, and economic development. Prior to joining Hobbs Straus, Craig was a sole practitioner focusing on environmental issues in Indian country, Title IV Self-governance (both BIA and non-BIA), and Indian Health Service related issues. He has experience in complex environmental issues, state and federal environmental regulatory analysis, as well as the development of tribal environmental codes and regulatory schemes. Craig also has a wide range of experience in BIA self-governance, cultural resources issues, real estate transactions, and housing issues. He has written a law review article, "Indian Tribes and the Base Re-alignment and Closure Act: Recommendations for Future Trust Land Acquisitions," co-authored with Geoffrey D. Strommer, in the North Dakota Law Review, September 1999. Craig is a volunteer board member for the Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center in Oregon. When not at work, he enjoys sports with his family and renovating their one hundred year old house.

Craig A. Nichols

Job Titles:
  • Associate
  • Attorney
  • Associate Attorney / Portland, or
Craig Nichols is a registered Oneida on the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario, Canada. He is originally from Rochester, New York and he routinely visits family in New York and on the Reserve. Craig is the first to go to college and law school in his family. During his undergraduate studies he worked extensively with the Multicultural Student Services Office by volunteering through student organizations and helping with on-campus pow wows. He majored in finance and minored in Latin American studies. Craig is fluent in Spanish and has lived in Argentina for two years and he occasionally returns to visit friends. He was president of a Native American students association during his undergraduate studies. Craig worked at a large tech company in San Jose, California for about two years prior to law school. In law school Craig served as the local chapter president of the National Native American Law Students Association (NNALSA), later becoming a national Area Representative of NNALSA. He has a passion for helping fellow indigenous people, which was a deciding factor in pursuing federal Indian law during law school. Craig enjoys traveling, reading, backpacking, hiking, and running. He also enjoys all things technology.

Edmund Clay Goodman

Job Titles:
  • Partner
  • Partner / Portland, or
Ed Goodman has been involved with Indian issues for more than 35 years, beginning with graduate-school volunteer work on Indian land-rights protection. Moved by the commitment of tribal leaders and their causes, Ed entered law school to help Indian communities. He began his Indian law practice in 1989 and served as a staff attorney, and later as director of litigation for the Native American Program of Oregon Legal Services. Ed joined Hobbs Straus in 2001 and became partner in 2003. In December 2011 he was named the first "Lawyer of the Year" by the National American Indian Housing Council, a national organization with 271 members representing 463 tribes and housing organizations across the United States. Ed's practice focuses on three key areas: (1) rectifying inadequate housing issues in Indian Country; (2) protecting and asserting tribal water rights; and (3) assisting tribes with the exercise of jurisdiction and self-governance. Ed's housing work includes matters under the Native American Housing and Self-Determination Act (NAHASDA), landlord-tenant issues, and personnel and administrative situations. He represents tribal housing departments and Tribally Designated Housing Entities (TDHEs), and participated in negotiated rule-making for the NAHASDA. Ed helped tribes and TDHEs address methamphetamine use and manufacturing on their properties. Ed's water law work involves representing tribes in negotiations, administrative contested cases, and litigation. Ed has advised clients on treaty rights protection and water marketing. Ed's jurisdiction and self-governance work covers a number of areas including: tribal gaming regulation, natural resources and environmental law, tribal court development, and the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). Ed has litigated on behalf of tribes in state, federal and tribal courts, as well as in various administrative forums. He successfully litigated Klamath Tribes v. United States of America, to protect fish and game habitat as part of tribal treaty rights to hunt and fish. Ed helped draft constitutions, ordinances, by-laws, and administrative regulations for tribal governments. He also assisted two restored Oregon tribes in re-establishing their tribal court systems and exercising jurisdiction over tribal lands and members. He is currently a part-time judge for the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians. Ed served as an adjunct professor at the Northwestern School of Law of Lewis & Clark College. He enjoys books on politics and history, playing guitar, and canoeing and hiking with his family.

Elliott A. Milhollin

Job Titles:
  • Partner Washington, DC

F. Michael Willis

Job Titles:
  • Partner
  • Partner / Washington DC
Michael Willis first joined Hobbs Straus as a law clerk in 1997. After spending 2003-2004 as a democracy officer with the U.S. Agency for International Development in La Paz, Bolivia, Michael returned to Hobbs Straus in 2004 and became partner in 2006. Drawing from his work with indigenous communities and organizations in Bolivia - and nearly a decade of human rights work in Guatemala - Michael helped launch the Firm's international indigenous rights practice area. Representing Americans for Indian Opportunity (AIO), Michael designed activities and drafted funding proposals to enable AIO to work with indigenous Bolivians. This strengthened their ability to promote inclusive, democratic processes for indigenous culture and identity. Michael practices in the areas of tribal transportation, trust reform, and the federal-administrative process for tribal recognition. He has extensive experience in tribal risk management and the application of the Federal Tort Claims Act to Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act agreements. He testified on that subject before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs (July 2000), and published, with S. Bobo Dean, "Tort Liability under the Indian Self-Determination Act," in the Oklahoma Supreme Court's Sovereignty Symposium XIV (2001). Michael was the primary drafter of the amicus curiae brief submitted by the Intertribal Transportation Association in the Wagnon v. Prairie of Potawatomi Nation, 546 U.S. 95 (2005) fuel tax case before the Supreme Court. In the trust reform area, Michael worked with the United South and Eastern Tribes to encourage a legislative settlement of the Cobell v. Norton, 240 F.3d 1081 (D.C. Cir. 2001) lawsuit and promote greater tribal involvement in and oversight of the government's management of trust assets. He was the primary drafter of the first amicus curiae brief submitted by the National Congress of American Indians in the Cobell v. Norton litigation. Michael along with Tim Seward authored, "Protecting and Preserving Indigenous Communities in the Americas," Human Rights, publication of The American Bar Association (August 2006). He served as a moot court judge for American University's Inter-American Human Rights Moot Court, and taught the human rights course, Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, at American University's Washington College of Law. Michael is a musician whose 2003 CD was awarded a "Wammie" by the Washington Area Music Association for best urban-contemporary release. Education Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., 1998 College of William & Mary, B.A. (with high honors), 1987

Geoffrey D. Strommer

Job Titles:
  • Partner
  • Co - Lead Counsel for a Number
  • Partner / Portland, or
Geoff Strommer joined Hobbs Straus in 1992 and is the managing partner of the Portland, Oregon office. Geoff works with tribes on a wide range of issues, primarily self-determination and self-governance. He is dedicated to working with tribal clients to help them develop stable and strong tribal governments that are able to deliver a range of high-quality services to tribal members. Geoff is nationally recognized for his knowledge of and experience working with the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEAA). An active participant in the ISDEAA's developments and implementation since 1992, Geoff worked on efforts to draft and lobby for amendments to the ISDEAA. He was involved with the development of regulations to implement Titles IV and V of the Act as well as for the Indian Reservation Roads program. His work under the ISDEAA also includes negotiating contracts, compacts, and funding agreements with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Indian Health Service, and other federal agencies, including the first funding agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (2003). Over the years, Geoff has also worked with a number of our tribal clients to interpret and revise constitutions, bylaws and ordinances. In addition, he has significant experience assisting our tribal clients with acquiring and placing land into trust, and was involved in the first-ever transfer of land to a tribe under the ISDEAA and the Base Realignment and Closure Act. For decades Geoff has successfully litigated a number of ISDEAA-related disputes in administrative forums and federal court. He has represented a number of the Firm's tribal clients as they have pursued Contract Support Cost (CSC) claims against the Indian Health Service and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The CSC cases litigated by attorneys at Hobbs Straus to date have established important legal precedents, and resulted in negotiating settlements with the Government that total over $150 million dollars for the Firm's tribal clients. In 2023, in the case of Northern Arapaho Tribe v. Becerra, et al., No. 21-8046, (10 th Cir. 2023), Geoff served as lead counsel in a case in which the court agreed that IHS must pay the Tribe CSC on third-party revenues, such as Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance payments, generated by the Tribe. In 2022 the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a similar IHS petition for rehearing in San Carlos Apache Tribe vs. Becerra, 53 F.4th 1236 (9th Cir. 2022). Because of a previous contrary ruling by the D.C. Circuit in Swinomish Indian Tribal Cmty. v. Becerra, 993 F.3d 917 (D.C. Cir. 2021), the federal appeals courts remain divided on this issue. Given this split in the federal courts of appeals and the amount of federal funds at stake, these cases might ultimately be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. Geoff was lead counsel in the two cases that established the right of tribal contractors to enter into fully-funded facility leases under section 105(l) of the ISDEAA: Maniilaq Association v. Burwell, 72 F. Supp. 3d 227 (D.D.C. 2014), and Maniilaq Association v. Burwell, No. 1:15-cv-00152, 2016 WL 1118256 (D.D.C. Mar. 22, 2016) (Maniilaq II). The 2016 court decision in Maniilaq II confirmed that tribal contactors are entitled to fully funded section 105(l) leases for facilities that they use to carry out responsibilities under ISDEAA agreements. Since the Maniilaq decisions were issued Geoff has assisted dozens of tribes and tribal organizations negotiate numerous fully funded leases with IHS and BIA, and he has worked with lenders and capital finance professionals on issues related to the valuation of these leases as part of loans and other financing to tribes and tribal organizations for facility construction loans. For a number of years, Geoff has served as a member of and as Chairman for the Advisory Committee for the National Museum of the American Indian. Geoff is a veteran and served an active tour of duty in the United States Marine Corps. He grew up in Geneva, Switzerland, and enjoys traveling the world with his family. He was an avid mountain climber for many years and climbed a number of peaks in the U.S. and abroad.

Gregory A. Smith

Job Titles:
  • Partner
  • Partner / Washington DC
Gregory Smith is a partner with Hobbs Straus. Greg has represented Indian tribes and tribal organizations as an attorney and as a government affairs specialist for nearly twenty years.

Jennifer P. Hughes

Job Titles:
  • Partner
  • Partner / Washington DC
Jennifer Hughes grew up in Central New York in the heart of Iroquois Country where she developed a lifelong interest in the history and workings of the Iroquois Confederacy. Post-college volunteering at the Paschal Sherman Indian School on the Colville Reservation and working for the United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs solidified her pursuit of a career in Indian law. During law school, she clerked for the committee and the Seneca Nation of Indians' Department of Justice. Hence, began her focus on strengthening tribal sovereignty and improving quality of life on reservations and in Indian communities countrywide. Jennifer joined Hobbs Straus in 2002. Her experience led to involvement in matters affecting tribal governance and governmental relations. These included negotiating intergovernmental agreements with local governments, working on self-determination contracting and self-governance issues, advocating for proper trust management of tribal resources, and advising tribes on their gaming operations. Currently, Jennifer is lead counsel in litigation for the validity of the secretary of the Interior's Class III gaming regulations. She also participates in the development of federal legislation and executive action beneficial to tribes and tribal projects, and provides legal analysis for reservation infrastructure improvement projects. She has long served as counsel for the Mni Wiconi Project, one of the largest U.S. water projects, serving the Pine Ridge, Lower Brule, and Rosebud Reservations as well as non-Indian counties in West Central South Dakota. Jennifer was a founding partner of the law firm of Ayer and Hughes and, before that, practiced at Morisset, Schlosser, Ayer & Jozwiak. There, she served as an associate and government-relations specialist for Indian affairs. She conducted legal analyses of federal legislative and executive actions affecting Indian tribes. This led to development and implementation of strategies for advocating client tribes' positions on Capitol Hill, in relevant agencies, and at the White House. Jennifer worked to advance agendas for tribal governments on appropriations, gaming, taxation, and sovereignty matters. Additionally, she represented tribes in administrative proceedings on federal recognition and environmental regulation. Jennifer is an avid golfer, skier, and plays recreational hockey. She also enjoys travel, reading, movies, family and friends and working on political campaigns when time permits.

Jens W. Camp

Job Titles:
  • Associate
  • Attorney
  • Associate Attorney / Washington DC
Jens Wesley Camp is a recognized descendant of the Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma. Jens is closely connected to his family in Indian country and has been deeply inspired by their fight for environmental protection and the civil rights of Tribal Nations and their communities. He hopes to continue his family's legacy by serving Indian country as an attorney. Jens has dedicated himself to serving Tribal communities with his legal career since starting law school at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University (ASU Law). Over his three years at ASU Law, he worked with several local tribal nations, such as the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, and national organizations dedicated to serving tribal communities-primarily, through a summer clerkship with the Native American Rights Fund. During his last year of law school, he exhibited this dedication to working with Tribal communities at the Indian Legal Clinic at ASU Law, where he logged over 500 hours on top of his other studies. His commitment to the Indian Legal Clinic and the Tribal communities it served led to him winning the International Academy of Trial Lawyers Award, recognizing an outstanding student in trial advocacy and clinical work. After graduating law school, Jens served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable David B. Gass at the Arizona Court of Appeals for a one-year term, where he worked on issues affecting tribal communities in Arizona. In June of 2022, Jens joined Hobbs Straus, where he continues to serve Indian country. In his free time, Jens enjoys hiking, camping, fishing, and practicing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Jerry C. Straus

Job Titles:
  • Partner
  • Partner / Washington DC
Jerry Straus has worked in Washington representing Indian Tribes for more than 50 years. In 1963, after serving two years with the Department of Justice, he was hired by Wilkinson, Cragun and Barker, one of the few firms that practiced Indian law at that time. In 1982 he joined Charlie Hobbs in and Bobo Dean in co-founding Hobbs, Straus. In 2012 he was named Lawyer of the Year in Native American Law by Best Lawyers. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the D.C. chapter of the Native American Bar Association in 2017. Jerry's accomplishments include leading the successful legislative effort to have Congress return the 48,000-acre sacred Blue Lake lands to the Taos Pueblo of New Mexico in 1970 - the first large-scale action by Congress to restore ownership of tribal land taken by the United States to a tribe. In 1984 Jerry had a similar assignment involving the legislative restoration of the 24,000-acre Santa Cruz Spring Tract to the Pueblo de Cochiti of New Mexico. He then helped that pueblo secure a federal law that prevented an energy company's desecration of a natural religious shrine that was sacred to Cochiti and other pueblos in New Mexico. Jerry assisted the Seminole Tribe of Florida in negotiating a landmark water rights compact with the state in 1987, which was the first recognition of Winters Doctrine rights in an Eastern state. He then worked to help the Tribe secure necessary legislative approval. This led to assisting the Seminoles in challenging the two largest corporate landowners in the state whose activities threatened to flood tribal lands and degrade water quality. In 1999, he directed the Firm's legislative efforts to secure congressional approval of a $32 million award to the Menominee Tribe of Wisconsin for damages suffered from the termination of its federal trust status in 1961. In recent years he has represented the Lytton Rancheria in its continuing efforts to resist proposed legislation that would curtail that tribe's rights under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) and in having Congress take land into trust for the Tribe in Sonoma County, California. Much of Jerry's work in recent years has focused on protecting the rights of tribes conducting high-stakes gaming under the IGRA and helping them get financing for the expansion of their gaming operations. In 1988, he provided a legal opinion that upheld the right of the Seminole Tribe to operate electronic Class II games under the IGRA and spent many years assisting that tribe and other tribes in their efforts to protect and validate these games. He represented the Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut in its successful 1995 effort to obtain federal recognition as a tribe, have a gaming compact with the state and establish a major casino through the first issuance of commercial bonds to finance construction of an Indian casino. In 2007, he was lead counsel in the negotiation of a gaming compact under the IGRA between the Seminole Tribe and the State of Florida and continued to represent that tribe in its successful effort to obtain a successor compact in 2010. He remains a key participant in joint tribal efforts to oppose federal legislation and regulations curtailing Indian gaming rights. When not at work, Jerry enjoys traveling, reading, and games of chess and Scrabble, often played at his beach house in Chincoteague, Virginia.

Jessica M. Wiles

Job Titles:
  • of Counsel
  • of Counsel / Portland, or
Jessie Wiles began her legal career as an associate attorney with Hobbs Straus in 2010, after graduating from Lewis and Clark Law School with a Certificate in Environmental and Natural Resources Law. In law school she served as president of the Native American Law Student Association (NALSA) and participated in the school's summer Indian Law Program. In 2013, Jessie began work as an Attorney-Advisory for the Department of Interior, Office of the Solicitor in Billings, Montana. At the Solicitor's Office, Jessie advised the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and other client agencies on topics including, but not limited to, grazing, oil and gas, mineral title and trespass, torts, administrative law, and water law. She also represented BLM in litigation before relevant administrative boards, including the Interior Board of Land Appeals. Upon moving to Helena, Montana, in 2016, Jessie worked as a Special Assistant Attorney General for the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) providing legal advice and representation to the DNRC Trust Land Management Division on a wide variety of issues including natural gas royalties, wind and solar contracting, public access, and state land leasing. In 2018, Jessie started a solo practice in Helena focusing on environmental, natural resources, and water law. She is proud to be a former 2019 Montana Legal Services, Rural Incubator Project for Lawyers (RIPL) Fellow, a program designed to support practices that increase access to justice in rural and underserved communities in Montana. Jessie reconnected with Hobbs Straus as a contract attorney in 2019 and joined the firm as of an counsel attorney in 2023. She proudly hails from Lander, Wyoming. In her spare time, she enjoys getting outside to adventure with her husband and two small children.

Jonathan W. Sutton

Job Titles:
  • Associate
  • Attorney
  • Associate Attorney / Oklahoma City, OK
Jonathan Sutton joined Hobbs Straus as an associate in February 2020. His practice areas include litigation, gaming, and tribal governance. Mr. Sutton, a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, received his Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from the University of California, Irvine School of Law in 2018. During law school, he worked in UCI Law's Community and Economic Development Clinic, earning the Dean's Award for excellence in clinical work. Mr. Sutton was also a founding member of UC Irvine's Native American Law Student Association and an Executive Editor of the UC Irvine Law Review. Mr. Sutton received a Bachelor's degree from Oklahoma State University in News and Editorial Journalism. He served as Editor-in-Chief of The Daily O'Collegian, Oklahoma State's student newspaper. Before attending law school, Mr. Sutton worked as a breaking news reporter for The Oklahoman, covering crime, courts, and severe weather. Education University of California, Irvine School of Law, J.D. 2018 Oklahoma State University, B.A. 2013

Jordan Romero-Villanueva

Job Titles:
  • Associate
  • Attorney
  • Associate Attorney / Washington DC
Jordan Romero-Villanueva joined Hobbs Straus as an associate in August 2021. He is originally from a small town in southeastern Arizona. He received his Juris Doctor, with Distinction, from the University of Iowa College of Law. During law school, he served as a Managing Editor of the Journal of Corporation Law. Jordan previously interned with the Office of the Attorney General for the State of Nevada in the Special Prosecutions Division. In addition, he volunteered with the ACLU of Iowa working on projects investigating policing in public schools as well as sentences imposed for the non-payment of court costs. As an undergraduate, Jordan majored in Finance and minored in History. During this time, he interned as a College Financial Representative at a national life insurance company and at a health clinic serving his hometown community. Jordan's interest in working with Tribal Nations stems from his Federal Indian Law course in law school where he received the Jurisprudence Award for Academic Excellence for Spring 2021. Outside of the office, Jordan enjoys baseball, tennis, and traveling. Education University of Iowa College of Law, J.D. 2021 University of Arizona, B.S. 2018

Joseph H. Webster

Job Titles:
  • Partner
  • Partner / Washington DC
Joe Webster's long standing interest in Indian issues and policy motivated him to practice Indian law. He joined Hobbs Straus in 1993 and became a partner in 2002. He focuses on Indian gaming, economic development, self-determination, and taxation. Joe also serves as the firm's managing partner. Joe is recognized for his knowledge of and experience in tribal rights under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, and is a member of the International Masters of Gaming Law. He represents tribes before the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) and the Department of the Interior (DOI), as well as in federal court. He has represented a number of tribes in successful compact negotiations. For example, he was the primary drafter of the 2004 Oklahoma Tribal-State Gaming Compact. Later, he represented the Seminole Tribe of Florida in the negotiation of the landmark 2010 Gaming Compact with the State of Florida and in subsequent successful litigation over the Tribe's right to continue offering banked card games. In 2021 he represented the Seminole Tribe in the negotiation of a new ground-breaking compact with the State. In 2016, Joe represented the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians in its successful effort to negotiate an amended gaming compact with the State of California. Most recently, in 2022, Joe represented the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Wisconsin in the Tribe's successful negotiations to amend its compact to allow sports wagering. Joe also has represented tribes in the Class III secretarial procedures process before the DOI. Joe represents tribes on issues related to various state and federal internet gaming proposals including issues related to sports betting and daily fantasy sports. He has focused on helping to ensure that proposed internet gaming legislation protects existing tribal gaming operations and respects tribal sovereignty. Joe has worked on several multimillion-dollar tribal gaming development and financing projects. His clients include Hard Rock International, which is owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida. Additionally, he helped a number of institutional investors navigate the complexities of federal and tribal law in multimillion-dollar transactions. In the area of Class II gaming, Joe advises tribes on the scope of permitted games, especially those using technologic aids. He helped to obtain groundbreaking Class II advisory opinions from the NIGC Office of General Counsel on linked electronic bingo games and works with tribal and industry representatives to defend against regulatory and legislative efforts to restrict tribal Class II gaming rights. Joe negotiates contracts and compacts under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEAA) and has defended tribal rights under the ISDEAA before federal courts, the Interior Board of Indian Appeals and the Departmental Appeals Board of the Department of Health and Human Services. Of note, he successfully represented the Norton Sound Health Corporation against the Indian Health Service for unpaid contract-support costs and has lobbied Congress and the administration on contract-support issues, including funding needs. Joe served for over 15 years in the Army Reserve as a member of the Judge Advocate General's Corps. He is a veteran of the Gulf War (1990-1991) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (2006-2007).

Karen J. Funk

Job Titles:
  • a Senior Government Relations Advisor
  • Senior Government Relations Advisor
  • Senior Government Relations Advisor / Washington DC
Karen Funk joined Hobbs Straus as a Senior Government Relations Advisor in 1987, following employment with Senator James Abourezk, then Representative Tom Daschle, and the National Congress of American Indians. She worked extensively for Daschle on what became the Indian Alcohol and Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (P.L. 99-570) and for NCAI on what became the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (P.L. 101-185). On behalf of the Firm's tribal clients, Karen monitors, reviews, analyzes and writes about legislation, and provides lobbying on legislative and appropriations issues. She has extensive experience in the appropriations process on issues including education, health, child welfare, and historic preservation issues. Karen represented the National Indian Education Association and assisted on the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1994, the Vocational Education Act, and the Educational Research and Development Act. Working with United Tribes Technical College, the Tribal Colleges and Universities Act was amended to include a new title specific to UTTC and Navajo Technical College (P.L. 110-315). Karen has worked on a number of social service issues for tribes and tribal organizations, including efforts on the 1996 Welfare Reform Act (P.L. 104-193), which resulted in the doubling of tribal child care monies and authorizing for the first time tribal assumption of the federal Child Support Enforcement and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families programs. Most recently she worked on legislation that expanded tribal opportunities and tripled funding for tribes under the Promoting Safe and Stable Families Act (P.L. 109-288) and on legislation which authorizes, for the first time, tribal administration of the federal entitlement program for foster care and adoption assistance (P.L. 110-351).

Katie E. Klass

Job Titles:
  • Partner
  • Partner / Washington DC
Katie KIass is a citizen of the Wyandotte Nation and a partner in our Washington DC office. Her practice is dedicated to advancing Tribal Nations' exercise of their inherent sovereign authorities and ensuring the United States is held accountable for its trust, treaty, and statutory obligations. Although Katie practices in a wide array of areas, she has significant experience in protection of Tribal Nations' cultural heritage items and sacred landscapes. Additionally, Katie represents our tribal clients on gaming and other economic development activities. She has been involved in Indian Gaming Regulatory Act compact negotiations and litigation, classifying games, drafting tribal gaming codes, and review of management contracts. She has also reviewed funding and other commercial agreements associated with economic development activities. Katie serves as General Counsel to several clients, including the Wyandotte Nation. Katie has a robust government relations practice, advocating on behalf of our tribal clients before Congress and federal agencies. She worked alongside our clients to achieve enactment of the Safeguard Tribal Objects of Patrimony Act, legislation aimed at preventing the export and facilitating the international repatriation of tribal cultural heritage items. For this advocacy, she received the Native American Bar Association of DC's Significant Contribution in Indian Law Award. She has also secured congressional appropriations that increase federal funding for prosecution of trafficking in sacred items and provide monies for tribally-led cultural resource studies. In addition, she has worked on behalf of our tribal clients to secure a 20-year administrative withdrawal of federal lands from new oil and gas development in the sacred landscape within the Greater Chaco Region as well as appropriation moratoriums that have provided temporary protections. Katie was also involved in securing an amendment to and oversight over the PL 477 program, which creates flexibility and reduces administrative burdens for Tribal Nations utilizing federal funding for employment, training, and related services. Katie works closely with our tribal clients to prepare congressional testimony and engage with congressional offices, and she prepares tribal comments on federal actions and represents our tribal clients in interactions with multiple federal agencies. Katie also advocates on behalf of our tribal clients in federal and state litigation. She participated in the Seminole Tribe of Florida's case before the D.C. Circuit upholding the Tribe's Indian Gaming Regulatory Act compact under which the Tribe is able to engage in online sports betting. She also participated in the Tribe's successful federal litigation regarding its banked card game and exclusivity rights under its compact. Katie has also represented Tribal Nations in Indian Child Welfare Act cases. Additionally, she has drafted and otherwise contributed to amicus briefs pertaining to foundational Indian law matters, such as upholding tribal sovereign immunity, jurisdiction, and land rights, and Native peoples' political status under federal law. Katie joined Hobbs Straus in 2014 and became a partner in 2019. She received her Juris Doctor in 2011 from the University of Arizona. While there, she gained a certification from the Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Program, worked for the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and participated in the Indigenous Peoples' Law Clinic. Katie began her legal career in the Department of the Interior, Office of the Solicitor's Honors Attorney Program. She rotated throughout the Solicitor's Office before permanently joining the Division of Indian Affairs. While there, she specialized in gaming eligibility and federal recognition. She worked on the Michigan v. Bay Mills Indian Community Supreme Court litigation upholding tribal sovereign immunity in the gaming context. Katie enjoys spending her free time with her husband, Kyle, and their daughters, Collette and Evelyn. She loves to travel, including home to Michigan to visit her family and to Oklahoma to spend time with her tribal community. She also enjoys hiking, reading, yoga, and dancing. Mentoring young attorneys is important to Katie, and she received the Native American Bar Association of DC's Excellence in Mentoring Award.

Kirke Kickingbird

Job Titles:
  • of Counsel

Michael D. McMahan

Job Titles:
  • Partner
  • Partner / Oklahoma City, OK
Mr. McMahan joined the Firm in 2014, bringing with him a wealth of both tribal and non-tribal litigation and transactional experience. For Native American Tribal governments and their related business entities, Mr. McMahan has served as a prosecuting attorney, assisted in the implementation of drug courts, developed Tribal codes and court procedures, assisted with Tribal elections, represented Tribes in difficult and complex Indian child welfare matters, and worked with Tribal governments, agencies and businesses with day-to-day administrative matters. Mr. McMahan has represented Tribes at all levels of Tribal, state and federal courts. Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. McMahan's practice included representation of oil and gas companies, banks, commercial real estate companies and other commercial clients in transactional matters, bankruptcy and litigation. Mr. McMahan's of extensive experience includes all aspects of complex civil litigation and bankruptcy/creditors' rights and a history of representing local and multinational companies in courts nationwide. In addition, Mr. McMahan represented adoptive families, helping them through the process of finalizing adoptions conducted through agencies, and in 2009 was appointed by the Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives to the Oklahoma State Legislature's Adoption Review Task Force in 2009, which proposed numerous revisions to Oklahoma's adoption laws, all of which were subsequently enacted. Education The University of Oklahoma (B.A. in News Communication, 1994) University of Oklahoma College of Law (J.D., 1996)

Michael L. Roy

Job Titles:
  • Partner
  • Partner / Washington DC
A partner since 1994, Michael Roy first joined Hobbs Straus upon graduation from law school in 1985. After leaving for a brief time to practice commercial litigation with a national law firm, he returned to Hobbs Straus in 1992. Since then, he has concentrated in the areas of litigation, gaming, administrative law, employment, and organizational issues. His interest in Indian law was sparked at Dartmouth College, where he received his undergraduate degree in anthropology and Native American studies. Mike successfully argued Reservation Telephone Cooperative v. Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, 76 F.3d 181 (8th Cir. 1996), which required a utility company challenging a tribal tax to exhaust tribal remedies. He also helped write several Supreme Court briefs, including Seminole Tribe of Florida v. State of Florida, 517 U.S. 44 (1996). He has represented tribes in federal and tribal courts in suits involving land claims, employment and labor, tribal taxes, and gaming. In addition, he has appeared before numerous federal agencies. With extensive experience in the field of Indian gaming, Mike helps tribes comply with the federal laws regulating Indian gaming. He also provides counsel in tribal regulation of Indian gaming and pursuing economic development through gaming. Mike represents clients before the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) and the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Indian Gaming in various areas including approval of management contracts, tribal-state compacts and other gaming agreements, as well as approval of off-reservation trust acquisitions for gaming. He also represents clients in the areas of gaming ordinance approval and rule-makings. Mike negotiates management, development, and other gaming-related agreements. He was part of the team that represented the Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut in its successful 1995 effort to establish a major casino through the first issuance of commercial bonds to finance construction of an Indian casino. Mike and his wife have three sons who keep them very busy. Additionally, Mike is a big fan of Irish and Celtic music, as well as folk, Latin jazz, and rockabilly.

Moriah K. O'Brien

Job Titles:
  • Senior Government Relations Advisor
  • Senior Government Relations Advisor / Washington DC
Moriah O'Brien joined Hobbs Straus in August 2009 as a Legislative Analyst. She is now a Senior Government Relations Advisor. Since joining the firm, Moriah has worked collaboratively with others in the firm to achieve important legislative objectives for the firm's Tribal clients. Her work has been instrumental in achieving the following: Expanding Self-Governance to the Department of Transportation as the Tribal Transportation Self-Governance Program (TTSGP) (Section 1121 of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act, P.L. 114-94); Ensuring that Tribal Grant Support Costs for Bureau of Indian Education-funded schools operated pursuant to the Tribally Controlled Schools Act (P.L. 100-298) are fully funded (from FY 2016 forward); Substantially increasing appropriations for School Replacement Construction for Bureau of Indian Education-funded schools (from FY 2016 forward); and Expanding eligibility for Bureau of Indian Education-funded schools operated pursuant to the Tribally Controlled Schools Act to participate in the Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) and Federal Employee Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) programs (Section 1114 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, P.L. 116-260). Moriah is well-versed at the federal legislative and appropriations processes, including analyzing legislation and drafting summaries, reports, testimony, and talking points. Moriah is a 2008 graduate of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), where she received her Bachelor of Science in Industrial Design from the College of Architecture, Arts, and Design and her Minor in Business Leadership and Entrepreneurship from the Pamplin College of Business.

Nicole T. Russell

Job Titles:
  • Associate
  • Attorney
  • Associate Attorney / Portland, or
Nicole Russell joined the Portland office of Hobbs Straus as an associate in February of 2022 after three years practicing at the intersection of litigation, natural resources law, and Native American law for an Albuquerque firm. She is honored to now advocate on behalf of tribal interests. Nicole is a member of Navajo Nation Bar and the New Mexico Bar, and currently works remotely from New Mexico. Nicole graduated from Georgetown University Law Center, where she participated in the full-year Harrison Institute Public Policy Clinic, served as Articles Editor for the Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics, and wrote for Georgetown Law Weekly. During law school, Nicole externed at the Department of the Interior for the Office of the Solicitor, in the Division of Land Resources. Nicole also interned at the Alaska Department of Law in the Opinions, Appeals & Ethics Section, where she was exposed to Alaska Native Corporations and questions of tribal jurisdiction. Nicole enjoys running, reading, road trips, and reality television.

Richard J. Frye

Job Titles:
  • Associate
  • Attorney
  • Associate Attorney / Sacramento, CA
  • Member of the Navajo Nation
Rick Frye, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, joined Hobbs Straus as an associate in September 2020. He is a 2020 graduate of the UCLA School of Law, where he received his J.D. During law school, Rick was an active member of NALSA. Rick was Co-Editor-in-Chief of UCLA's Indigenous Peoples' Journal of Law, Culture and Resistance for its sixth volume, and served as a Managing Editor for its fifth volume. Rick was a part-time research assistant at the UCLA Law Library. Prior to law school, Rick was a research assistant for Prof. Donald R. Laub, Sr., M.D., and a teaching assistant for Stanford's Department of Surgery for a course, offered to undergraduate students, on humanitarian medicine and surgery. For one year before law school, one year after graduation from undergraduate, as well as during summers in high school, Rick worked for his father, Paul Frye, at his law firm in Albuquerque, N.M., where Rick gained early experience and insight into the field of Indian law. Rick graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in Psychology. Outside of the office, Rick enjoys playing basketball and golf, reading, and finding new music.

Starla K. Roels

Job Titles:
  • Partner
  • Partner / Portland, or
Starla Roels has been working on Indian law issues for over 20 years. She joined Hobbs Straus in 1999 and advises tribal clients on a wide range of health-care issues, including patient privacy and security of medical records, patient eligibility, health care fraud and abuse, third-party billing practices, and entering innovative partnerships for increased access to health services in Indian communities. She has extensive experience negotiating contracts, compacts, and funding agreement with the Indian Health Service and other federal agencies under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEAA). She also helps tribal clients with employment policies and procedures, personnel matters, personal services contracts, governmental approaches to labor, and natural and treaty-reserved resources. She currently serves on Hobbs Straus' health care practice group and environmental and natural resources law practice group. Starla has made numerous presentations on matters relating to health-care, such as on the Indian Health Care Improvement Act and innovative ways to finance tribal health facilities. She has also presented on environmental issues such as tribal rights relative to the Endangered Species Act and water marketing options. She co-wrote "Tribal Sovereign Authority and Self-Regulation of Health Care Services: The Legal Framework and the Swinomish Tribe's Dental Health Program," 21 J. Health Care L. & Policy 115 (2019), as well as wrote a number of other articles such as "HIPAA and Patient Privacy: Tribal Policies As Added Means For Addressing Indian Health Disparities," 31 American Indian Law Rev. 1 (2006-2007); and "Borrowing Instead of Taking: How the Seemingly Opposite Threads of Indian Treaty Rights and Property Rights Activism Could Intertwine to Restore Salmon to the Rivers," 28 Environmental Law 375(1998). Prior to joining Hobbs Straus, Starla was a policy analyst with the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, where she focused on treaty-reserved fishing rights and the impacts on those rights caused by hydroelectric dams. She worked with the Commission's treaty tribes on hydroelectric relicensing and other matters before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and on negotiations for the Mid-Columbia Habitat Conservation Plan. Starla's interests include bird watching, sea kayaking, nature photography, reading historical fiction and Shakespeare, as well as traveling and learning about new languages and cultures.

Stephen V. Quesenberry

Job Titles:
  • of Counsel
  • of Counsel / Sacramento, CA
Stephen Quesenberry began his career in Indian law in 1975 as an attorney with the Small Tribes Organization of Western Washington (STOWW) after spending a year as a VISTA attorney with the former Seattle Legal Services Center. From his early experience working with Washington tribes, which were asserting their treaty fishing rights in the face of fierce resistance by the State of Washington, Stephen developed a deep commitment to tribal sovereignty and the federally protected rights inherent in that status. Since then, he has represented numerous tribes and individual Indians on a wide range of issues in a practice that has spanned four decades and involved work on Indian reservations in the States of Washington and California. After a long career in Indian legal services, including 15 years as the Director of Litigation for California Indian Legal Services (1985-2000), Stephen entered private practice with the law firm of Karshmer & Associates in 2003, where he continued his representation of tribes. He joined Hobbs Straus in 2011. Stephen has represented Indian tribal governments and individual Indians in federal agency proceedings and at federal and state trial and appellate court levels. He has briefed and argued cases before the United States Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, numerous federal district courts, and the California appellate courts. His advocacy has encompassed a broad range of Indian law issues, including tribal licensing and regulatory authority, protection of Native American cultural and sacred sites, eligibility for and allocation of Indian education grant funds, tribal sovereign immunity, tribal and individual Indian immunity from state taxation, restoration of terminated tribes, and protection of federally reserved water and fishing rights. He has extensive experience in the area of legislative advocacy, having drafted and successfully advocated for passage of federal legislation providing for transfer of Bureau of Land Management lands to eight California tribes and for restoration of two terminated California tribes. His experience regarding issues of federal acknowledgment and individual Indian status spans four decades, including serving as legal consultant to the Advisory Council on California Indian Policy in submitting its 1997 reports and recommendations to the United States Congress on the unique status problems of the California tribes. He has served as an adjunct professor at Santa Clara University School of Law and the University of San Francisco School of Law, teaching courses and seminars in Federal Indian Law and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. He has also represented indigenous interests at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva and completed the summer course in human rights law at the International Institute of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France. Stephen enjoys international travel with his family, jogging, and poetry of all genres and cultures.

Steve D. Osborne

Job Titles:
  • Partner
  • Partner / Portland, or
Steve Osborne joined Hobbs Straus in 2002 as a law clerk, and became an associate in 2003. He works primarily on issues arising from the negotiation, performance, and enforcement of tribal contracts and compacts under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEAA). He also practices in fields as diverse as leasing, taxation, and litigation. Steve has provided technical support to national tribal-federal work groups addressing contract support costs, data management, and transportation issues, and currently assists the Self-Governance PROGRESS Act Negotiated Rulemaking Committee. Steve's accomplishments include work on a $300 million tribal bond issue that resulted in the financing of a Seneca Nation hotel-casino expansion in Niagara Falls. He assisted in the Firm's successful litigation and settlement of hundreds of claims for unpaid contract support costs from the federal government, recovering over $200 million for the Firm's clients. Steve also helped secure several court rulings interpreting the ISDEAA favorably to tribes, including the Maniilaq cases that established tribal rights to full payment of lease compensation under section 105(l), which has resulted in many millions of dollars in facilities funding for tribal clients. Steve's published writings include The History, Status, and Future of Tribal Self-Governance Under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, 39 American Indian Law Review 1 (2015) (with Geoffrey D. Strommer); "Indian Country and the Nature and Scope of Tribal Self-Government in Alaska," 22 Alaska Law Review 1 (2005) (with Geoffrey D. Strommer); Placing Land Into Trust in Alaska: Issues and Opportunities, 3 American Indian Law Journal 508 (2015) (with Geoffrey D. Strommer & Craig A. Jacobson); Protecting Tribal Stories: The Perils of Propertization, 28 American Indian Law Review 203 (2003-2004), which won first place in the American Indian Law Review Writing Competition; and Tribal Self-Governance Extended to U.S. Department of Transportation, The Advocate: Official Publication of the Idaho State Bar, Vol. 59, No. 10, pp. 29-31 (Oct. 2016). Prior to law school, Steve taught literature and writing courses at UCLA, Boise State University, The College of Idaho, and the University of Washington. He also served as the technical editor for the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality. Steve and his family enjoy sports, music, literature, and dance. Steve is a guitarist and runner who coached his daughters' soccer and basketball teams.

Taylour A. Boboltz

Job Titles:
  • Associate Attorney Washington, DC

Telly J. Meier

Job Titles:
  • of Counsel
  • of Counsel / Washington DC
Originally from Fargo, ND, Telly Meier has practiced law for nearly 20 years. He moved to the DC area in 2006 after obtaining a Masters in Taxation from the University of Florida. Since then, Telly has had the honor of serving Indian Country in several capacities. He spent five years at a major law firm representing Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and nonprofits before the Internal Revenue Service, Congress, and the courts. In 2011, Telly joined the IRS's Office of Indian Tribal Governments. Telly held various roles during his time at the IRS, culminating with his directing the Office of Indian Tribal Governments. Telly joined Hobbs Straus in 2023. Telly's legal practice focuses on federal and state tax matters, employee benefit issues, business structuring activities, and Bank Secrecy Act audits of Indian gaming facilities. He regularly represents tribes and their enterprises on a wide array of complex transactions and compliance matters aimed at optimizing tax outcomes. Telly advises nonprofit organizations on a variety of issues relating to obtaining and maintaining tax exempt status. Telly serves on the Board of the National Intertribal Tax Alliance. He is also a member of both the pension and dual taxation subcommittees that advise the Treasury Tribal Advisory Committee. Telly lives in the Washington, DC area with his wife and three children. Education University of Florida Levin College of Law, LL.M. in Taxation, 2003 University of North Dakota School of Law, J.D., 2002 North Dakota State University, B.S. (Economics and Business Administration), 1999

Timothy C. Seward

Job Titles:
  • Partner
  • Partner / Sacramento, CA
Tim Seward joined Hobbs Straus as partner in 2005 and opened the Firm's newest office in Sacramento, California. Prior to joining Hobbs Straus, he served as general counsel for the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California for seven years. Tim assists Indian tribes in their efforts to enhance, preserve, and protect their nationhood and to provide for the health, safety, and well-being of tribal citizens. He is devoted to developing strong tribal government institutions and economies. Through his experiences as in-house counsel, he has a thorough understanding of the challenges confronting tribal governments and has developed and implemented strategies to resolve these matters and advance the priorities of the tribal government. Tim is recognized for his knowledge of and experience in Public Law 280 Jurisdiction, tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), and protection of tribal sacred sites. His extensive experience, particularly in California, includes the successful defense of tribal jurisdiction law enforcement authority and reassumed exclusive ICWA jurisdiction. Tim negotiated intergovernmental agreements with the California attorney general, Department of Social Services, and several counties. He negotiated and drafted numerous commercial contracts and a gaming compact. Additionally, he assisted tribes with real estate transactions, drafting and securing federal and state laws, and has testified before the California legislature on several occasions. Tim also worked with tribal clients to draft and implement a range of tribal laws, regulations, policies, and bylaws in the areas of environmental regulation, land use, housing, elections, child protection, and procurement. Among his many accomplishments, Tim played a central role in developing a successful tribal TANF program that provides services in 13 counties located in two states. This included funding negotiations, state and county agreements, and drafting of governing policies. In the area of cultural preservation, he secured federal protection of tribal cultural sites, including Cave Rock, filed an amicus brief with the 9th Circuit supporting this decision, and secured tribal acquisition of several sites. Tim enjoys being out on the open land and water with his wife, two daughters, and their Newfoundland.

Vincent P. Redhouse

Job Titles:
  • Associate
  • Attorney
  • Associate Attorney / Washington DC
  • Member of the Navajo Nation
Vince is a member of the Navajo Nation. He was born in California but mostly grew up in the Southwest. On his Navajo side, his family is from Teec Nos Pos. Vince is an avid backpacker and enjoys spending time with his dog, Chester.

Wendy S. Pearson

Job Titles:
  • of Counsel
  • of Counsel / Portland, or
Wendy Pearson has been practicing tax law for more than 30 years. After obtaining a Masters in Tax from the University of Florida in 1987, she began her career as an attorney for the Internal Revenue Service in the Office of Chief Counsel, Seattle, Washington. At the IRS, she handled cases involving a multitude of complex tax issues, including natural resource and timber taxation, corporate and partnership tax, tax shelter litigation, and Alaska Native Corporation cases. Since leaving the IRS in 1993, Wendy's legal practice has focused primarily on resolution of federal tax controversies, such as defense of clients in IRS tax audits and litigation, as well as Bank Secrecy Act audits of Indian gaming facilities. Ms. Pearson has extensive background in IRS policy and practice involving Tribal Governments and nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations. She regularly represents Tribal Governments and their enterprises on a wide range of complex transactional and compliance matters, including tax planning to optimize opportunities for providing tax-favored benefits to tribal members. Wendy has achieved positive outcomes for her clients on numerous federal tax audit matters, including obtaining favorable IRS rulings for the tax-exempt status of trust per capita payments, tax-deferred treatment of IGRA trusts for minors, and exclusion from income of tribal general welfare benefits. Ms. Pearson was appointed to the Federal Advisory Committee on Taxation (ACT) for the Indian Tribal Governments division of the IRS in 2010 and was instrumental in developing the ACT recommendations which led to IRS changes to the General Welfare Exclusion as applied to Tribal government programs. She was recently chosen to serve on the Tribal General Welfare Exclusion subcommittee of the Treasury Tribal Advisory Committee. Ms. Pearson is the immediate Past-Chair of the ABA Committee on Indian Tribal Tax and presently serves on the Board of the National Intertribal Tax Alliance. Wendy also works with tribal organizations such as NCAI and NAFOA to advance tribal tax policy issues. In her spare time, Wendy volunteers regularly to charitable organizations in her local community. And, when not doing that, she loves to hike, golf, kayak and cook. Education University of Florida School of Law, LL.M in Taxation, 1987 Gonzaga School of Law, J.D., 1986 University of Nevada Reno, B.S., 1982

William R. Norman

Job Titles:
  • Partner
  • Partner / Oklahoma City, OK
A partner since January 2000, William Norman joined Hobbs Straus in 1994, following a two-year clerkship with the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia, PA. In 1996, he opened the Firm's Oklahoma office. William, of Muscogee (Creek) descent, has had a lifelong desire to be involved in the pursuit of justice. His personal background, studies in Indian Law, participation on the American Indian Law Review, and significant involvement in the Native American Law Students Association at the University of Oklahoma, focused his legal interests on protecting and promoting the interests of tribal governments. William's varied practice exclusively includes advocating for tribal interests in tribal, state, and federal governmental and judicial forums. William's representation of tribes and tribal organizations over the past 25 years, includes a vast array of experience assisting tribes with governmental and business matters such as: constitutional revision, interpretation, and defense; development of legal infrastructure for governmental and economic development matter;; counsel for various tribal agencies and business interests, including, among others, tax commissions, gaming commissions, gaming operations boards, and liquor control boards; tribal business infrastructure development and representation, such as creating and advising federally-chartered, state-chartered, and tribally-chartered entities. Much of William's work involves working closely with elected and appointed tribal officials to counsel and advise them on substantive legal matters and important policy issues related to their fulfillment of the responsibilities of public office. As part of his efforts, William served as a lead negotiator on the Model Tribal Gaming Compact in Oklahoma and several successful efforts to defend tribal rights preserved thereunder for tribes, their operations, and regulators. William negotiated a groundbreaking tobacco tax compact for several of the Firm's clients and assisted a number of them in obtaining federal authorization to approve leases on their trust lands. He has also led numerous successful litigation efforts for tribal clients in disputes involving tax, gaming, self-determination, complex jurisdictional issues, sacred-site protection, leasing and property, and served as attorney general to a number of tribes. A central focus of William's efforts is always the protection of tribal sovereignty. William is a regular presenter on a range of Indian law topics and served on the Board of the Oklahoma Indian Legal Services from 2004 to 2008. He was a primary author, along with Charles Hobbs, of Chapter Two of Empowerment of Tribal Governments: Final Workgroup Report, developed by the Tribal Workgroup on Tribal Needs Assessments in May 1999. The chapter details the legal, historic, and moral obligations of the United States to tribes and the manner in which these responsibilities are fulfilled through today's tribal priority allocation programs. He also received the Salem Civil Rights Award for the note entitled "Native American Inmates and Prison Grooming Regulations: Today's Justified Scalps," 18 American Indian Law Review 191 (1993). Since then, William has regularly published articles and spoken on timely and important tribal legal issues. William spends as much of his free time as possible with his wife and two daughters and is involved in the activities of his church.