The lead counsel in the Cobell trust fund lawsuit said his fellow attorneys informed the late Elouise Cobell before they started working on trust cases for four tribes.

Dennis Gingold, a solo practitioner, said attorneys at Kilpatrick Stockton addressed any potential conflicts of interest between their cases and the Cobell lawsuit. The Native American Rights Fund did not do the same despite representing 23 tribes, he said.

Kilpatrick Stockton represented the Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community of Arizona and the Passamaquoddy Tribe (Indian Township and Pleasant Point) of Maine. Their settlements with the Obama administration totaled almost $40 million.

Kilpatrick Stockton also represents the Ak-Chin Indian Community of Arizona. The tribe has not reached a settlement.

In some trust disputes, tribes have lobbied Congress or have gone to court to reduce or claim funds owed to individual Indians.

Get the Story:
Cobell Lawyers Slam NARF for Something They Did, Too (Indian Country Today 8/10)

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