Constitution Day 2013 – Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader?
Each year in September, the Young Lawyers Division of the State Bar of New Mexico visits classrooms statewide, teaching 5th graders about the importance of the Constitution. Spencer Edelman, a firm associate and member of the Board of YLD, helped to coordinate…
New Mexico Court of Appeals Split Opinion Rules Tribal Sovereign Immunity Does Not Apply in Action to Declare Road Status on Tribal Fee Land
In a 2-1 opinion, the New Mexico Court of Appeals in Hamaatsa, Inc. v. Pueblo of San Felipe, 2013-NMCA- ___, No. 31,297 (July 23, 2013), took a very narrow view of tribal sovereign immunity and concluded equitable considerations of a non-tribal entity’s…
Susan Stockstill (1951-2013)
The firm announces with great sadness the passing of Susan Stockstill, our partner for several decades, who died in Santa Fe on Monday, September 2. Susan, a graduate…
Native American Law Watch – Fall 2013
View as PDF The Fall 2013 edition of Modrall Sperling’s Native American Law Watch includes: Tribal Sovereign Immunity Application: New Mexico Court of Appeals Split Opinion Rules Tribal Sovereign Immunity Does Not Apply in Action to Declare Road Status on Tribal Fee…
Dahlia Dorman Appointed to ABA’s Young Lawyer Leadership Program
Dahlia R. Dorman of Modrall Sperling was one of four lawyers nationwide selected to serve as a member of the Leadership Program of the American Bar Association’s Section of Litigation. The ABA’s Young Lawyer Leadership Program is designed to provide opportunities for young lawyers…
Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Proposed Changes to Fee-to-Trust Procedures
On May 24, 2013, Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn issued a proposed rule to modify the process for challenging the Secretary’s decision to take fee lands into trust,[1. Press Release, U.S. Dep’t of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Washburn Proposes Changes to…
Eight Modrall Sperling Lawyers Named Best Lawyers® 2014 Lawyer of the Year
Best Lawyers in America® has recognized eight Modrall Sperling attorneys as 2014 Lawyers of the Year in nine practice areas. Only a single lawyer in each practice area in each community is…
35 Modrall Sperling Lawyers Listed In Best Lawyers In America®
Thirty-five lawyers from Modrall Sperling were selected by their peers for inclusion in the Best Lawyers in America® 2014. Best Lawyers was first published in 1983 and is highly regarded as…
New Mexico’s Domestic Well Statute is Ruled Constitutional
The New Mexico Supreme Court issued its opinion today in Bounds v. State of New Mexico ex rel. State Engineer, Nos. 32,713 & 32,717 (July 25, 2013), holding that the New Mexico Domestic Well Statute does not violate the New Mexico Constitution’s doctrine…
French Court Allows Auction of Sacred Hopi Artifacts to Proceed
A controversial auction of sacred Hopi artifacts went forward on April 12, 2013, after a Paris municipal court judge ruled that a Paris auction house could hold an action of tribal masks considered sacred by the Hopi and other tribes located in…