Eli J. Langley

Eli Langley is a member of Lippes Mathias’ Indian Law Practice Team in Washington, D.C. His work will focus on administrative and regulatory issues, cultural and environmental protection of tribal lands, gaming, legal and policy research and support, and federal lobbying efforts. 

During law school, Eli served as a summer law clerk in the Office of Tribal Justice in the Department of Justice where he was exposed to government work, and he clerked with two boutique Indian law firms in D.C. where he gained experience with client advocacy and lobbying on Capitol Hill before joining Lippes. 

Eli was raised as a traditional storyteller in the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana and volunteered to help preserve the Koasati language in the Coushatta Heritage Department throughout his life. These formative experiences motivated him to petition Harvard University to allow students to receive credit for knowledge of American Indian languages during his studies there. This initiative was successful, and in 2021, Eli graduated as the first Native American undergraduate in Harvard’s history to receive academic credit for speaking a Native American tribal language. After attending the Pre-Law Summer Institute for American Indians and Alaska Natives (PLSI) in 2023, he served as the president of Georgetown Law’s Native American Law Students Association (NALSA) and used his position to advocate for the expansion of the Indian law curriculum at the school. Eli looks forward to using his background and experiences to effectively serve tribes around the country.