Skip to main content
Modrall Sperling Law Firm

Latest News and Information

Get Email Updates

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…

Susan Stockstill E1478184880383

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…

6797 Image

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…

6917 Image

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…

IRS Concludes Tribe May Pass on to Lessee Investment Credits Associated with Renewable Energy Asset

The Internal Revenue Service’s (“IRS”) recent non-binding decision that a Tribe could pass on investment credits associated with renewable energy assets to the Tribe’s lessee may encourage future development on tribal lands because the non-tribal developer can benefit from the Tribe’s investment…