NLJ Profiles Akin Gump’s Jason Hauter and His Work with Gila River Indian Community
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Akin Gump American Indian practice partner Jason Hauter has been profiled by The National Law Journal in an article titled “Colorado River Emergency Highlights Need for Native American Representation in Washington.”
The article notes that the impact of the recently announced Colorado River water shortage on local Native American communities, such as the Gila River Indian Community in southern Arizona, would have been far greater but for the work of local and D.C.-based lawyers.
One such is Hauter, a Gila River Indian Community (GRIC) member. The article describes his work in the GRIC Law Office near the completion of decades-long negotiations with both federal and state governments over the GRIC’s use of the Colorado River, negotiations that became the most significant tribal water-rights settlement in the country’s history.
As the article notes, water rights were only one aspect of his job. Hauter says, “Sometimes you feel like you’re in-house at a development company because a lot of the law you deal with concerns property issues—real estate transactions, financing projects and even construction disputes.”
Among other topics, Hauter discusses the evolution of water rights for Native Americans and the importance of GRIC general counsel Rod Lewis on his own legal career.
The article also traces the genesis of Akin Gump’s American Indian practice through the influence of Rod Lewis on now-practice head Don Pongrace and discusses the importance of legal representation in the nation’s capital for indigenous communities.
As Hauter notes, “It’s important to have decent counsel for tribes in D.C. because so much of what tribes do is impacted by federal law and regulation. Frequently the solution to a particular issue, or the pathway to achieve a particular goal for a tribe, requires either a change in federal regulations or change in laws. To have access to expert public policy and legal representation in D.C. is vital for indigenous communities.”
