Lippes Mathias LLP is pleased to announce that partners Hon. Carol E. Heckman (Ret.), Bryan C. Shade, and Ian A. Shavitz will serve as faculty for the Indigenous Law & Policy for Tribal Officials Seminar in Chandler, Arizona. The three-day intensive workshop, designed specifically for elected and appointed officials of federally recognized American Indian nations and tribes, will be held February 18-20 at the Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino. 

The seminar provides an in-depth exploration of the law and policy framework governing modern tribal governance, economic development, and relations with federal and state governments. Judge Heckman, Shade, and Shavitz join a faculty of presenters with extensive experience in tribal law, governance, and federal advocacy. 

Heckman will lead sessions on criminal jurisdiction in Indian country, elements of federal court litigation, and breach of trust actions against the federal government. Shade will present on civil jurisdiction, federal government structures, tribal land issues, and federal coverage of tribal operating expenses. Shavitz will lead a session on tribal environmental protection and regulatory authority. 

Organized by Odawi Law PLLC and Capitol Hill Policy Group LLC, the workshop uses traditional legal materials and real-world case studies to illustrate key concepts in tribal sovereignty and federal Indian law. 

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 Hon. Carol E. Heckman (Ret.) 

Hon. Carol E. Heckman (Ret.), team co-leader of the firm's Indian law practice team, has been representing tribal governments since 2004. Her experience representing tribal governments spans state, federal and tribal courts as well as arbitrations, and has involved state and federal taxation, land claims, sovereign immunity, tribally owned businesses, gaming compacts, IGRA, the Nonintercourse Act, insurance, the Indian Child Welfare Act, the Montana doctrine and tribal civil jurisdiction, property rights and land issues, trust land issues, constitutional claims, treaty issues and contract claims. She also works with tribal courts in procedural and substantive matters. She is highly respected for attention to detail, knowledge of the law, and as a strategist. Heckman is a former United States Magistrate Judge in the Western District of New York and puts her knowledge of federal court law and procedures to work on behalf of tribal governments. 

About Bryan C. Shade 

As a co-leader 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 230 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, family offices, 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.