Kaighn Smith, Jr.

Practice Areas

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 25 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, land-in-trust and environmental matters, and fishing and water rights. He also 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 has represented the Penobscot Nation for over 12 years in protracted federal court litigation to secure 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 (2011), published by the Native American Rights Fund, the next edition of which is forthcoming.

Kaighn is listed in national independent peer-based attorney guides, including Best Lawyers in America. 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 since 2012 has 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 programing on Indigenous nations and climate change.

Professional 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

Publications

-Labor and Employment Law in Indian Country (Native American Rights Fund 2022)

-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)

-Tribal Self-Determination and Judicial Restraint: The Problem of Labor and Employment Relations within the Reservation, Michigan State Law Review (2008)

-Ethical Obligations and Affirmative Tribal Sovereignty: Some Considerations for Tribal Attorneys, in 31st Annual Federal Bar Association Indian Law Conference – Active Sovereignty in the 21st Century Course Materials (2006)

-Federal Courts, State Power, and Indian Tribes: Confronting the Well Pleaded Complaint Rule, New Mexico Law Review (2005)

-Fighting for a Federal Forum in Indian Sovereignty Cases, The Federal Lawyer (2002)

Expert in these Jurisdictions

-Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Tribal Court

-Little River Band of Ottawa Indians Tribal Court

-Mohegan Tribe Gaming Disputes Court

-Passamaquoddy Tribal Court

-Penobscot Nation Tribal Court

-Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians Tribal Court

-Pueblo of Laguna Tribal Court

-Pueblo of Zia Tribal Court

-Shoshone and Arapahoe Tribal Court

-Snoqualmie Tribal Court

-Suquamish Tribal Court

-U.S. Supreme Court

-U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

-U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit

-U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

-U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

-U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

-U.S. District Court for the District of Maine

-U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan

Education