Total Credits: 1 CLE
The seminar explores the legal theories of standing for tribal governments in federal court. It will examine:
• Key cases,
• Jurisdictional challenges, and
• The evolving legal landscape that determines when and how tribal nations can bring claims.
Attendees will gain insights into sovereignty, procedural hurdles, and strategic considerations for litigation.
Faculty:
Paul Spruhan, Visiting Assistant Professor, University of New Mexico School of Law
Chairpersons
Doreen N. McPaul, President, Tribal In-House Counsel Association
Harrison Rice, Assistant Attorney General, Tohono O'odham Nation
is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation. She is a 1995 graduate of Princeton University and earned her Juris Doctorate in 2001 from the Arizona State University College of Law, where she also received a Certificate in Federal Indian Law and served as a staff writer for the ASU Law Journal. After law school, Ms. McPaul clerked at the Arizona Court of Appeals for the Honorable Jefferson L. Lankford (retired). She has diverse experience serving as a tribal court staff attorney, as an associate attorney at the Nordhaus Law Firm in Albuquerque, and as a visiting clinical law professor and Interim Director of the Indian Legal Clinic at ASU. Since 2008, Ms. McPaul has worked as an in-house tribal attorney for several Arizona tribes, including a 4-year appointment as the Navajo Nation Attorney General. She currently serves as the Deputy Attorney General for the White Mountain Apache Tribe. Ms. McPaul has over 20 years of experience practicing Indian law, and is admitted to practice law in Arizona and New Mexico, as well as before several tribal and federal courts. Ms. McPaul is active in the State Bar and Indian legal community. She serves on the State Bar of Arizona Board of Governors and is currently the Vice President of the State Bar. Ms. McPaul is a founding board member of the Tribal In-House Counsel Association and served as TICA’s President for a decade. She also serves on the Board of the American Indian Law Center and was elected to membership in The American Law Institute in 2021. Most importantly, Ms. McPaul is a proud military spouse and mom. She is married to SFC Mark McPaul (retired) and they have three sons.
is Assistant Attorney General of the Litigation and Employment Unit at the Navajo Nation Department of Justice in Window Rock, Arizona. He received his A.B. in 1995 and his A.M. in 1996 from the University of Chicago. He received his J.D. in 2000 from the University of New Mexico. He has several Indian law articles published in law reviews, including A Legal History of Blood Quantum in Federal Indian Law to 1935, 51 South Dakota Law Review 1 (2006). His latest article, CDIB: The Role of the Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood in Defining Native American Identity, will be published by the American Indian Law Journal in May, 2018. He also teaches Indian law topics for Barbri, Inc. and the Tulsa Law School Masters of Jurisprudence in Indian Law Program. He and his wife have two children and live in Fort Defiance on the Navajo Nation. 04/18