Jennifer H. Weddle is the Co-Chair of the firm's American Indian Law Practice and has wide-ranging experience in Indian law, handling a variety of matters for tribal and non-tribal clients. She has a dynamic, inter-disciplinary practice that centers on providing solutions for complex inter-jurisdictional problems. Much of her practice focuses in the areas of tribal jurisdiction, tribal economic development and natural resources development on tribal lands. Jennifer also has U.S. Supreme Court experience, serving as one of the attorneys for the respondent in the important Indian Law case of Nevada v. Hicks (2001) and representing the petitioners in Ute Mountain Ute Tribe v. Padilla (2012) and Grand Canyon Skywalk Development, LLC v. Grand Canyon Resort Corporation (2013).
Jennifer's work has included negotiations for mineral leasing on tribal lands, tribal employment matters and representation of tribes before federal agencies. She has also been involved in civil litigation, working on numerous complex federal, state and tribal litigation matters, including class action tort litigation and large commercial disputes. Jennifer also has securities litigation experience and products liability litigation experience, and her transactional experience includes oil and gas renewables projects throughout the west.
Jennifer has broad trial and appellate litigation experience (more than 40 trials), and frequently litigates tribal jurisdictional issues. She is also experienced in tribal financial/sovereign models for consumer lending and energy development. Jennifer frequently assists tribes, banks and non-bank entities with financing matters with Indian law components.
Jennifer has significant project siting experience, including the application of NEPA, NHPA, and other environmental laws on tribal and public lands. Notably, she served as lead counsel on tribal issues to Kinder Morgan's Ruby Pipeline, a 677-mile natural gas pipeline running from Opal, Wyoming to Malin, Oregon, which entered into service in July 2011.
In the Indian law context and beyond, Jennifer is a proven problem-solver with significant transactional, regulatory and litigation experience involving very complex high-profile matters with both legal and policy components.
