WASHINGTON, DC—Robert Odawi Porter has joined SNR Denton’s Washington, DC, office as a senior counsel in the Native American Law and Policy practice and the Public Policy and Regulation practice. He joins the firm following the completion of his term as the 67th President of the Seneca Nation of Indians.

A citizen (Heron Clan) of the Seneca Nation of Indians, Porter has held various positions with the Nation throughout his career, including as its chief legal counsel in the positions of attorney general and later as senior policy advisor and counsel. At SNR Denton, his practice will focus on complex legal and policy matters representing Indian nations, individual Indians, Indian-owned businesses and companies doing business in Indian Country. He will advise on protecting and asserting treaty rights, improving tribal self-governance and legal systems, and expanding tribal economic development and empowerment opportunities. Additionally, he will advise on protecting tribal wealth from unauthorized taxation, enforcing Indian gaming rights, tribal tobacco regulation and defense, and public advocacy before the US Congress and agencies, as well as serve as an expert witness before judicial bodies.

Before serving as Seneca Nation President, Porter served for more than 10 years as a tenured law professor at the University of Kansas, the University of Iowa and Syracuse University. Additionally, he is the founding director of the Tribal Law and Government Center at the University of Kansas and the Center for Indigenous Law, Governance & Citizenship at Syracuse University.