Tribal Law and Litigation Associate Announcement (CLOSED)

Galanda Broadman, PLLC, an Indigenous rights firm with eight lawyers and offices in Seattle and Yakima, Washington, and Bend, Oregon, seeks to add an experienced Tribal law and federal court litigation associate.

(We are also hiring for a second, civil litigation associate to bring federal civil rights claims against state and local government defendants.)

The firm represents Tribal governments, businesses, and citizens in critical litigation, business and regulatory matters, especially in the areas of Treaty rights, Tribal sovereignty, land rights, cultural property protection, taxation, commerce, gaming, serious/catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death, and human/civil rights.

The firm seeks lawyers who are deeply committed to representing Tribal and Indigenous interests, who is state bar licensed, preferably in Washington State; and who have civil litigation or a judicial clerk experience. 

We prefer applicants with at least three years of experience but exceptions can be made for exceptional candidates.  Proven motion and civil rules practice, if not trial experience, and the ability to self-direct are critical. Impeccable writing and research skills; critical and audacious thinking; strong oral advocacy; tremendous work ethic; tenacity; and sound ethics are required. 

Salary DOE. 

Qualified applicants should submit a cover letter tailored to this announcement, as well as a résumé, writing sample, transcript, and list of at least three educational or professional references.  Submissions must be directed to Alice Hall, the firm’s Office Manager, at alice@galandabroadman.com. 

Applications directed elsewhere will not be considered.

Amber Penn-Roco Recognized by Washington Tribes

Galanda Broadman partner and Chehalis Tribal citizen Amber Penn-Roco is profiled in the September 2024 edition of “Washington Tribes,” a newsletter published by the Washington Indian Gaming Association. Through Q&A, Amber shares her inspiring journey to the legal profession, where she now represents Tribes and Indigenous communities. Her interview is also shown in the below YouTube video.

A couple excerpts:

Q: Please tell us about your work.
 
A: I am a partner at Galanda Broadman, an Indigenous rights law firm. I specialize in environmental protection and the preservation of cultural and natural resources. Being an attorney is a challenging career, and I find that the best way to navigate it is by finding work you are passionate about. My entire life, I knew I wanted to work on behalf of the Indigenous people, in order to give back to the communities that have given me so much. I think that the Tribes and Indigenous communities that I represent appreciate having an advocate who looks like them, who understands their communities, who understands the intricacies of what it is like to live on a reservation, to be a part of a Tribe, and to constantly fight for recognition as a government.

Q: What does your family think of where your education has taken you?
 
A: They are so proud. My mom was my biggest cheerleader. She loved that I went to law school. One of my favorite photos of us ever taken is a picture from my law school graduation. You can just feel how proud she is and how she feels like she made it too. And my daughters. They see me, a strong, female, person of color, an attorney owning my own law firm, and they have someone to look up to. I think they are very proud of me.

Amber Penn-Roco is a partner at Galanda Broadman. Her practice focuses on tribal sovereignty issues, including environmental issues, economic development, and complex Indian Country litigation. Her experience also includes work on transactional matters, including entity formation, environmental compliance and permitting. Amber is an enrolled member of the Chehalis Tribe.

Axios Features Gabe Galanda on Indigenous Peoples Day and Tribal Disenrollment

Axios an article about Indigenous Peoples Day, Axios highlights how many Native advocates, including Gabe Galanda, “see it as a symbolic gesture that still falls short of the progress needed.” Gabe explained how the exclusion of Tribal citizens from America’s most fundamental promises of freedom, results in endemic rates of Indigenous disenrollment, displacement, violence, and trafficking.

What they're saying: Gabriel Galanda, a member of the Round Valley Indian Tribes and an Indigenous rights attorney in Seattle, says Indigenous Peoples Day is a symbolic gesture.

• "It gives Americans a brief opportunity to reflect on our existence, but it doesn't address the legal and civil rights issues plaguing our communities."

• Galanda criticized the observance of Indigenous Peoples Day, along with related proclamations and land acknowledgments, recognizing Indigenous peoples as the original inhabitants of American land but failing to address the deeper systemic issues Native people face.

His concern centers on the 100th anniversary of the Indian Citizenship Act, which granted Native Americans citizenship through federal statute. It's not a constitutional guarantee — yet many of the same challenges persist today.

• Galanda said he's "fought against disenrollment and housing evictions within Indigenous communities" for 12 years.

• "The process of disenrollment—essentially de-citizenship—has stripped over 10,000 Native people of their tribal status, cutting them off from their homelands and safety nets," he said.

• "Without recourse or protections, many of those evicted end up displaced and vulnerable to violence or trafficking."

State of play: Galanda said neither major political party has fully addressed the core issues. While acknowledging Indigenous communities' structural challenges, he remains driven by the belief that change is possible — though difficult.

• Beyond his 2021 proclamation, Biden has taken further steps to support Native communities through policies focused on tribal sovereignty, federal funding reform and infrastructure investment.

• Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign spokesperson Jaidan Idarraga told Axios on Saturday Harris has "the largest ever national Tribal organizing program, with Tribal organizers in each of our key states who are communicating the stakes of this election directly with Tribal communities."

• The Trump campaign did not specify how it would serve Native Americans.

The bottom line: Galanda says that until Indigenous people are given civil rights protections like other Americans, conversations, proclamations and holiday observances will remain insufficient.

• "My hope, despite my cynicism, is that these dynamics can turn the other way... but every day I see more citizens [with] less hope given the forces at play."

Gabe Galanda is an Indigenous rights attorney and the managing lawyer at Galanda Broadman. He has been named to Best Lawyers in America in the fields of Native American Law and Gaming Law from 2007 to 2024, and dubbed a Super Lawyer by his peers from 2013 to 2024.