XIV resort development in multiple states and successfully avoiding and resolving business and employee disputes in a range of forums. We have two attorneys who have personal experience serving on the boards of tribal enterprises, so we understand tribal business concerns from an insider's perspective. We also handle many uniquely governmental matters for our tribal clients, such as drafting, implementing, enforcing, and defending tribal laws, as well as working with federal, state, and local governments for our clients, including working to modify existing laws. We have successfully defended tribal authority in the United States Supreme Court and in many other federal, state, and tribal court systems. In addition, we have succeeded in implementing tribal regulatory regimes and encouraged compliance without litigation. Finally, we have assisted tribes in restoring hundreds of thousands of acres of tribal lands, developing and implementing plans for their ongoing protection and use. Nordhaus Law Firm LLP maintains offices in Spokane, Washington, and Washington, D.C., to well serve our clients throughout the United States. Albuquerque Office 7411 Jefferson St. NE Albuquerque, NM 87109-4488 (505) 243-4275 FAX: (505) 243-4464 Spokane Office 421W. RiversideAve. Suite 1004 Spokane, WA 99204 (509) 747-2502 Washington DC Office 1401 K Street NW Suite 801 Washington, DC 20005 (202) 530-1270 FAX: (202) 530-1920 Nordhaus Law Firm, LLP Dedicated to the Representation of Indian Nations Nordhaus Law Firm, LLP is one of the oldest law firms in the United States that is solely dedicated to the representation of American Indian tribes, their businesses and organizations. Our founder and namesake, Robert J. Nordhaus, started working for Indian tribes in the 1950s. The law firm as it is today was established in 1979, when our founding three partners, now all deceased or retired, decided to specialize solely in representing Indian tribes. Alan Taradash, who remains active at the firm as our senior partner, joined the firm shortly thereafter. Since then, Nordhaus Law Firm has sought to attract the best attorneys who share a common purpose-to seek justice for Indian tribes and their citizens and to protect, promote, and preserve tribal sovereignty, cultures, economies, and resources. This unwavering commitment to tribal sovereignty has helped the firm form long-term relationships and true friendships with its tribal clients. Mr. Nordhaus demonstrated how valuable such lasting relationships can be. He began representing the Jicarilla Apache Nation before the Indian Claims Commission in the 1950s. Those claims were successfully resolved in the early 1970s, after which Bob Nordhaus assisted the Nation in implementing and then defending one of the first tribal severance taxes. When 21 oil and gas companies sued to challenge the tax, Nordhaus worked tirelessly to establish that tribes have the right to tax non-member activities on tribal lands. In 1982 the Supreme Court ultimately affirmed tribal authority to tax nonmembers based on their inherent sovereignty to govern their lands. Merrion v. Jicarilla Apache Tribe stands as a major victory in the ongoing struggle for tribal sovereignty and as a testament to Bob's tenacity, dedication, and skill-traits which the Nordhaus Law Firm continues to emulate and value. After Merrion, the firm continued its innovative approach to helping build vibrant tribal governments and economies. This included advocating for enactment of the Indian Mineral Development Act and the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act, as well as continuing litigation to protect tribal rights. For example, the 1986 Supron decision by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals established that the United States has a duty as trustee to act in the best interests of tribes regarding Indian leases. Building on that decision and working closely with the tribe's employees, Alan Taradash and the firm were able to secure quite substantial additional royalty collections for the Jicarilla Apache Nation. The Nordhaus Law Firm continues to strive to fulfill the goals and standards established in the early years of the firm. In the 36 years since the firm's founding, our focus has been to develop a high level and wide range of experience and expertise in federal Indian law. We always have been, and will continue to be, dedicated exclusively to representing Indian tribes and tribally owned enterprises and entities. This provides an additional assurance of undivided loyalty to our sovereign clients. Because of our particular mission, dedication, and background in Indian law, we are well positioned to accomplish the goals of our tribal clients. Through our extensive experience, we have developed great depth and breadth of Indian law expertise. This includes administrative law, audits, business, complex transactions, contracts, code writing, cultural resources, economic development, environmental law, finance, forestry, gaming, governance, housing, ICWA, intergovernmental relations, jurisdiction, labor and employment, land acquisitions, litigation, lobbying, natural resources management, planning, resort development, self-governance, sovereign immunity, taxation, trust management, utilities, and water rights. We have worked for many Indian Nations throughout the United States, including in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. A primary focus of our firm has been trust responsibility enforcement and improvement, as well as related natural resource and financial management. Those efforts have resulted in recoveries of many millions of dollars in royalties and other sums properly due. We have also successfully litigated tribal and allottee class actions, including claims regarding coal, uranium, oil and gas, timber, and other natural resources, and related financial claims. We work tirelessly with our clients to achieve valuable court decisions and very significant settlements, including what is by far the largest trust mismanagement settlement for an Indian tribe, as well as the largest Indian Claims Commission settlement for a single tribe. On behalf of clients, we have advocated for enactment and implementation of, and compliance with, significant federal legislation and regulations. We advise and represent tribes regarding a wide range of economic development projects, including significant tribal financing, gaming, and
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDIzMTA=