Patterson, Real Bird & Wilson is pleased to announce that Derril B. Jordan, a Partner in its Washington, D.C. office, will be a keynote speaker for Cornell Law School’s 14th Annual Professional Development Bootcamp (“Bootcamp”) in March of this year. It is hosted by the Black Law Student Association (“BLSA”), Latin American Law School Student Association (“LALSA”), and Native American Law Student Association (“NALSA”) for their members. This event connects students with Cornell alumni to foster professional development skills, provide an opportunity for networking, and a venue for students to learn about a variety of practice areas and settings. Mr. Jordan is a 1987 Cornell Law School graduate. During his time at Cornell, he served as the NALSA (known as AILSA at the time) president from 1984-86.
Mr. Jordan is an enrolled member of the Mattaponi Indian Tribe with over 36 years of experience as an Indian law attorney, representing tribes as in-house counsel and in private practice. Previously, Mr. Jordan served for several years as a presidential appointee in the Department of Interior’s Office of the Solicitor, where he was the top lawyer for the Division of Indian Affairs. In his role as Associate Solicitor, he authored some of the earliest Solicitor’s Office opinions regarding whether lands qualify for Indian gaming. Mr. Jordan has dedicated his career to representing tribes and strengthening tribal sovereignty. He concentrates his practice on land and jurisdiction issues, strengthening tribal governance, developing tribal enterprises, and improving government-to-government relationships between Indian tribes and the federal government. Mr. Jordan has worked on a wide variety of Indian law issues, including the negotiation of class III gaming compacts, tribal jurisdictional matters, tribal treaty rights, land claim litigation, trust land acquisitions, historic and cultural preservation issues, federal recognition and enrollment issues, and constitutional law and tribal code drafting. He remains dedicated to supporting and empowering the future leaders of the field. In addition to tribal advocacy, Mr. Jordan has experience teaching Federal Indian Law to aspiring attorneys. He previously taught the course at Cornell Law School in 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2012, and at State University of New York at Buffalo in 1995.