Kaighn Smith, Jr.
Attorney
Kaighn Smith, Jr.
Attorney
Phone: 207.253.0559 Fax: 207.772.3627 Email: ksmith@dwmlaw.com
84 Marginal Way, Suite 600 Portland, ME 04101-2480
Assistant: Jennifer Leonard Email: jleonard@dwmlaw.com
About
Kaighn “has an outstanding reputation. He is a nationally prominent practitioner
in [the field of Native American law].”
Chambers USA
Kaighn Smith Jr. has been fighting for Tribal Nations and their enterprises in the tribal, federal, and state courts and before federal administrative agencies across the country for over 30 years. He has garnered a national reputation for his committed advocacy for tribal sovereignty, winning cases in a wide range of areas, including jurisdiction disputes, gaming matters, labor and employment relations, and land-in-trust and environmental matters. He regularly teaches federal Indian law as an adjunct professor, publishes articles in peer-reviewed law journals, and speaks at national conferences.
Kaighn’s recent cases include representing the National Congress of American Indians and ten other inter-tribal organizations before the Supreme Court as amici curiae in Yellin v. Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation, to fight for the allocation of COVID-19 relief funds to tribal governments. He represented the Penobscot Nation for 12 years in protracted federal court litigation over the Nation’s reservation hunting and fishing rights in the Penobscot River.
Kaighn is particularly well-known for his advocacy of tribal sovereignty in the area of labor and employment regulation. He is the author of the leading treatise, Labor and Employment Law in Indian Country (2022), jointly published with the Native American Rights Fund, the new edition of which has just been released.
Kaighn is listed in national independent peer-based attorney guides, including Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers. Chambers USA has awarded Kaighn its highest national ranking for his Native American Law practice, listing him among the top practitioners (Band 1) in the United States.
Kaighn is an elected member of the American Law Institute, and from 2012 to 2021 served as Associate Reporter (with Professors Matthew Fletcher and Wenona Singel) in drafting the ALI’s recently approved Restatement of the Law of American Indians.
In 2021, Cornell Law School awarded Kaighn its Distinguished Practitioner in Residence Fellowship. While at Cornell, he designed and taught The Law and Colonization in Indian Country and supervised students on research and conference programming on Indigenous nations and climate change.
Education
University of Maine School of Law, J.D., 1986
University of Sussex, M. Phil., with honors, 1983
University of California Berkeley, B.S., phi beta kappa, 1979
Judicial Clerkships
Hon. Frank M. Coffin, U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
Hon. Louis Scolnik, Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Representative Clients & Matters
- Yellin v. Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation, 141 S. Ct. 2434 (2021) (whether Alaska Native Corporations entitled to CARES Act Funds targeted for tribal governments; representing the National Congress of American Indians and ten other inter-tribal organizations)
- Penobscot Nation and United States v. Maine Attorney General, et als, 3 F.4th 484 (1st Cir. 2021) (hunting and fishing rights; reservation boundaries)
- Moyant v. Petit, 2021 ME 13, 247 A.3d 326 (securing exclusive tribal court jurisdiction over contract and tort claims)
- Rassi v. Federal Program Integrators, 69 F.Supp.3d 288 (D. Me. 2014) (securing tribal court exhaustion)
- Francis v. Dana-Cummings, 962 A.2d 944 (Me. 2008) (securing exclusive tribal court jurisdiction over tort claims)
- Taxpayers of Michigan Against Casinos v. State of Michigan, 732 N.W.2d 487 (Mich. 2007) (securing compact validity)
- TOMAC v. Norton, 433 F.3d 852 (D.C. Cir. 2006) (securing land into trust)
- Inyo County, California, et al. v. Paiute-Shoshone Indians of the Bishop Community, 538 U.S. 701 (2003) (amicus brief team)
- Penobscot Nation v. Fellencer, 164 F.3d 706 (1st Cir. 1999), cert. denied, 527 U.S. 1022 (1999) (securing exclusive tribal jurisdiction over civil rights dispute; freedom from application of state law)
- Akins v. Penobscot Nation, 130 F.3d 482 (1st Cir. 1997) (securing exclusive tribal jurisdiction over civil rights dispute; freedom from application of federal and state law)
Recognition
Best Lawyers USA, Native American Law 2008-2025
New England Super Lawyers, Native American Law, Employment & Labor 2011-2022
Chambers & Partners, USA Guide, Nationwide, Native American Law, Band 2
Martindale Hubbell, BV Distinguished
Publications
Books
Labor and Employment Law in Indian Country (Native American Rights Fund 2022)
Articles
When Congress Forgets: Breaking Through Congress’s Failure to Mention Indian Tribes in Federal Employment Laws, The Federal Lawyer (2021)
Nuances and Challenges of Protecting Tribal Sovereignty, in Inside the Minds: Best Practices for Protecting Natural Resources on Tribal Lands, Aspatore Books, Thompson Reuters (2016)
The Next Century of Federal Indian Law: A Moderator’s Perspective, The Federal Lawyer (April 2011)
Fighting for a Federal Forum in Indian Sovereignty Cases, The Federal Lawyer (2002)
Memberships
American Law Institute, 2007-present
Maine Bar Foundation, 2005-present
Maine Bar Journal
Editorial Advisory Committee, 1989-2001/ Chief Editor, 1999-2001
Edward T. Ginoux Inns of Court
Senior Attorney, 1999-2001
Maine State Bar Association
Community/Public Service
University of Michigan School of Law, Legal Issues in Tribal Economic Development
Adjunct Professor
Cornell School of Law, The Law and Colonization in Indian Country
Distinguished Practitioner in Residence Fellow
University of Maine School of Law, American Indian Law
Adjunct Professor
National Ski Patrol, Sugarloaf Mountain; Stub Taylor, Pat Murphy Award (2008)
Alpine Patroller (1998-2010)
Portland Public Library Board of Trustees
Member (2003-2010)
Portland Public Library Executive Director Search Committee
Chair (2005)
Past Presentations
From September 29, 2023 9:00 am
USET: Restoring the Path of Healing to Wellness Conference
From March 7, 2023 8:00 am
The Tribal Human Resources Professional (THRP) Certification Summit – March (CA)
NNAHRA and Drummond Woodsum have joined forces to provide Tribal Human Resources Professional (THRP) training to HR Professionals in Indian Country
From September 26, 2022 9:00 am
2022 NNAHRA 26th Annual Conference (San Antonio) September 26-28th
From November 5, 2021 9:00 am
“Comments on The Restatement of the Law of American Indians,” 2021 Wisconsin Law Review Symposium: The Restatement of The Law of American Indians, University of Wisconsin Law School
From October 15, 2021 9:00 am
“Yellen v. Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation,” Federal Bar Association (Minnesota and New Mexico Chapters), 2021 Indian Law Seminar: Reconnecting Our Sovereign Nations, Mystic Lake, WI
From October 5, 2021 12:00 pm
“The Restatement of the Law of American Indians,” State Bar Association of Michigan, American Indian Law Section (Ails), 2021 Alis Annual Meeting, Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi, MI
From June 3, 2021 12:00 pm
“The Sovereign Immunity (or not) of Tribal Officials,” Federal Bar Association, Indian Law Conference (Virtual)
From October 9, 2019 12:00 pm
Tribal Employment and #MeToo, TICA Indigenous Law Conference
From April 24, 2019 9:00 am
Tribal In-House Counsel Association, Sovereign Immunity and Tribal Enterprises, The Fundamentals
From April 24, 2019 9:00 am
Tribal In-House Counsel Association, Sovereign Immunity and Tribal Enterprises, The Fundamentals
From November 15, 2018 9:00 am
Professional Responsibility & Ethical Obligations, 15th Annual ILPC/TICA Indigenous Law Conference
From November 2, 2018 1:00 pm
Litigating Indian Law Issues on Appeal in the Federal and State Courts, Conference Materials: “Unique Considerations at Play,” Federal Bar Association, Indian Law Conference
From October 21, 2018 9:00 am
NCAI Annual Convention Panelist on Economic Success and Tribal Employment Laws
From August 21, 2017 8:00 am
The Tribal Human Resources Professionals Certification (THRP) Summit
From May 3, 2017 12:00 am
Tribal Nation Employee Liability and Sovereign Immunity
From March 17, 2017 9:00 am