Commercial Law, Finance, and Economic Development

The firm has a substantial commercial practice. Our tribal clients—in part because of the funds generated from their resource development, taxation and gaming—are able to consider a wide variety of investment and business opportunities. The firm has assisted in the identification, organization, and development of these ventures.

The firm has organized over a dozen tribally-owned corporations under Section 17 of the Indian Reorganization Act, and has been instrumental in modernizing that corporate structure to meet the needs of the current business environment while preserving the unique jurisdictional status of the Section 17 corporation.

The firm has provided legal services to many tribal business entities as general counsel. Those entities have included golf courses, shopping centers, convenience stores and gasoline service stations, oil and gas production companies, restaurants, retail and wholesale gift shops, and smoke shops. This representation has included the negotiation and drafting of ground leases, commercial leases, construction contracts, employment contracts, build-to-suit leases, leasehold mortgages, business and/or asset acquisition agreements, and a broad range of other contracts arising from those business activities.

The firm was issuer's counsel in the first bond issuance under the Indian Tribal Governmental Tax Status Act, and we have represented tribal governments as issuer's counsel in subsequent bond issues. The firm assisted one of its tribal clients in establishing its own finance and lending institution, which leverages tribal revenues from other operations, and enables tribal enterprises to borrow at attractive rates. The firm has represented tribes in both tax exempt and taxable bond transactions, both through private and governmental agencies.