Tribal Affairs and Gaming
Tribal Affairs
Lewis and Roca’s Tribal Affairs and Gaming Practice Group regularly provides legal and strategic advice to its Tribal Government and Tribal Enterprise clients. Our practice is based nationally, and our team is experienced in assisting Tribes on a wide variety of issues, including Indian Gaming, State and Federal Legislative and Administrative Practice, Licensing Matters, Real Estate and Project Development, Intellectual Property issues, Litigation, General Business Law Matters, and Financial Transactions. In addition to the lawyers and policy professionals in the Tribal Affairs and Gaming Practice Group, Lewis and Roca can call a team of over 200 lawyers in six offices in four states.
Relevant Practice Areas:
Indian Gaming
Our Tribal Affairs and Gaming Practice Group includes the former head of the Arizona Department of Gaming and the former chief negotiator for the Governor of Arizona during the 2000 compact negotiations. These individuals and others in the group regularly assist Tribal clients in both securing tribal-state gaming compacts and in renegotiating existing compacts. Additionally, our lawyers and policy professionals have also aided Tribal clients in working to secure the right to game and in taking land into trust for gaming purposes.
State and Federal Legislative and Administrative Practice
Our attorneys and policy professionals have experience in dealing with both Congress and State Legislatures, as well as both federal and state agencies that regularly interact with our Tribal clients. In particular, members of the Tribal Affairs and Gaming Practice Group regularly interact with the United Senate Indian Affairs Committee, select members of Congress and their staffs, state legislators in Arizona, California and Washington, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the National Indian Gaming Commission.
Licensing Matters/State/Tribal Certification
The Tribal Affairs and Gaming Practice Group regularly represents both gaming agencies and individuals appearing before gaming agencies. When representing a gaming agency, our lawyers have supervised licensing investigations, provided advice to gaming agencies on the suitability of prospective licensees, and represented agencies before gaming boards and administrative law judges. When representing individuals, our lawyers have helped applicants prepare gaming applications, assisted applications during licensing investigations, and represented applications appealing adverse licensing and certification determinations.
Real Estate and Project Development
Lewis and Roca has one of the premier real estate sections in the Southwest. The Tribal Affairs and Gaming Practice Group works closely with the firm’s real estate section to assist Tribal clients with real estate and project development matters. Moreover, the Tribal Affairs and Gaming Practice Group also represents developers who enter into joint ventures with Tribal business partners.
Intellectual Property Issues
As with real estate matters, Lewis and Roca has an extensive and well respected intellectual property department. The Tribal Affairs and Gaming Practice Group calls on the firm’s intellectual property lawyers to help Tribal clients who need to protect their trademarks, copyrights and publicity rights. Moreover, as Tribal clients begin to use the financial resources earned from gaming, there will be a need for Tribal clients to seek help with patent matters. Lewis and Roca can provide that service as well.
Litigation
The Tribal Affairs and Gaming Practice Group has several experienced litigators with not only general litigation experience but, more importantly, experience in litigating on behalf of Tribal clients. This particular experience ensures that lawyers in the Tribal Affairs and Gaming Practice Group can handle any litigation matter Tribal clients bring to the firm. Moreover, our lawyers’ unique experience in representing Tribal clients ensures that they understand the subtle contours of Indian law, thereby producing excellent results for our Tribal clients.
General Business Law Matters
Lewis and Roca assists its clients in most legal matters related to business, including labor and employment, corporate governance, insurance, and finance. The Tribal Affairs and Gaming Practice Group can leverage all of these resources to assist our Tribal Government and Tribal Enterprise clients with achieving gaming, business development, and enterprise operation goals.
Representative Clients
The Tribal Affairs and Gaming Practice Group represents Tribal clients in Arizona, California, Idaho, Oregon, Texas and Washington. In addition, the Group works with a select group of gaming vendors, licensees, and developers. Given the width and breadth of experience in the Group, Lewis and Roca truly believes that its Tribal Affairs and Gaming Practice Group is one of the best in the United States.