Lippes Mathias LLP today announced that partners Ian A. Shavitz, leader of the firm’s environment and energy team, and Bryan C. Shade, co-leader of the firm’s Indian law practice team, will present during a BARBRI program titled Energy and Utility Projects on Tribal Lands: Regulations, Financing, and Transaction Considerations. The virtual program will be held Wednesday, Oct. 1. 

This continuing legal education course will provide guidance to counsel on developing, financing, and operating energy projects on tribal lands. The panel will address ownership structures, leases, rights-of-way, financing, permitting, contractual frameworks, and available incentives. They will also discuss key jurisdictional considerations and strategies for navigating federal and tribal regulatory frameworks. 

Shavitz and Shade will be joined by Christopher J. Lord, managing director of Caplron, Inc. 

About Ian A. Shavitz 

Ian A. Shavitz is the team leader of the firm’s environment and energy practice team, and has more than 20 years of experience counseling and advocating for clients on environmental and land use issues associated with developing large-scale infrastructure, energy, and commercial projects; securing federal, state, and local governmental permits and approvals; advising sellers, purchasers, lenders, and investors on environmental issues associated with corporate, real estate, and energy transactions; and advocating for favorable policy decisions and legislation before Congress. His clients have included corporations, municipalities, developers, investors, state and local governments, private equity funds, and Indian tribes. 

While Shavitz’s practice is national in scope, he has particular experience advising clients on projects, transactions, and legal issues in New York State, where he has practiced for his entire career, and on federal issues in Washington, D.C. Prior to joining Lippes Mathias, he practiced law at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP in Washington, D.C., in the environmental and public law and policy practice groups. 

About Bryan C. Shade 

As a member of the Lippes Mathias Indian law practice team, Bryan C. Shade concentrates his practice on advising tribal clients on issues ranging from gaming and economic development to self-governance and self-determination, and claims settlement and litigation. Shade is an experienced federal Indian law attorney who has represented tribes and Indian Country in a variety of roles on both sides of the federal-tribal table. He is currently with the Washington, D.C. office of Lippes Mathias LLP, and formerly served as an attorney-advisor for Indian Affairs at the Department of the Interior where he advised the Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs, the Deputy Assistant Secretaries for Indian Affairs for Management, Policy, and Economic Development, Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Office of Tribal Self-Governance on various issues relating to the federal trust responsibility to Tribal Nations. 

In 2021, Shade was appointed by Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland to represent the Department on the PROGRESS Act Negotiated Rulemaking Committee. Prior to serving in the Department of the Interior, he previously served as self-governance general counsel for one of the largest federally recognized tribes in the U.S., as well as executive director of tribal operations and federal programs director for his tribe. He has a demonstrated history of serving Indian Country and is a frontline authority on the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEAA) and other critical areas of federal Indian law. 

Shade advised the Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs during the COVID-19 pandemic regarding the impacts of the TGWEA on funds distributed by tribes to their members under the CARES and ARP Acts. He has also advised tribal governments on TGWEA’s benefits related to the distribution of recovery payments made under those acts and from general revenue resources. 

The Oklahoma Bar Association’s Indian Law Section presented Shade with the inaugural G. William Rice Award in recognition of his commitment to and excellence in the field of federal Indian law. He is an enrolled member of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma and resides in Alexandria, Va., with his wife and two daughters who are citizens of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and who are of Chickasaw and Mississippi Band of Choctaw descent. He currently serves on the board of Unikusda, an organization dedicated to mentoring Keetoowah youth, and also hosts his own podcast, Rez Judicata: The Federal Indian Law Podcast. 

About Lippes Mathias LLP 

Lippes Mathias is a full-service law firm with 220-plus attorneys serving clients regionally, nationally, and internationally. With offices in Buffalo, Clarence, Albany, Long Island, New York, Rochester, Syracuse, and Saratoga Springs, N.Y.; Greater Toronto Area; Chicago, Ill.; Jacksonville, Tampa Bay, and West Palm Beach, Fla.; Cleveland, Ohio; San Antonio, Texas; Oklahoma City, Okla.; and Washington, D.C., the firm represents publicly and privately owned companies, private equity and venture capital firms, independent sponsors, real estate developers, financial institutions, municipalities, governmental entities, and individuals. 

Ranked No. 204 on The National Law Journal’s NLJ 500 list of the largest law firms in the United States by attorney headcount, Lippes Mathias is proud to be recognized year after year by The Best Lawyers in America®, U.S. News – Best Lawyers®, Super Lawyers, and Chambers USA. For more information, visit www.lippes.com.