Joseph H. Webster
Partner

Mr. Webster began his Indian law career with the Firm in 1993 and has been a partner since 2002.  He has substantial experience in the areas of Indian gaming and economic development, Indian Self-Determination issues and Indian tax issues.

Mr. Webster received his J.D. (with honors) from the National Law Center of the George Washington University in 1995, and his B.A. degree (Phi Beta Kappa) from Purdue University in 1991. He is a veteran of the Gulf War (1990-1991) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (2006-2007) and currently holds the rank of Captain in the Army Reserve as a member of the Judge Advocate General’s Corps. He is a member of the District of Columbia bar. 

Indian Gaming/Economic Development
Mr. Webster is a nationally recognized expert on tribal rights under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. He has represented Indian tribes before the National Indian Gaming Commission and the Interior Department, as well as in federal court. He also was one of the lead negotiators on behalf of the Absentee Shawnee Tribe of the new Oklahoma Model Gaming Compact. More recently, he was part of the team that developed the historic gaming compact between the Seminole Tribe and the State of Florida. Further, he has represented the Seminole Tribe and the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas in the Class III secretarial procedures process before the Interior Department.

Mr. Webster has been involved with several multi-million dollar gaming development and financing projects. In addition to assisting tribal clients, he has helped a number of institutional investors navigate the complexities of federal and tribal law in transactions involving tens of millions of dollars, including Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc., Och-Ziff Real Estate Acquisitions LP, Alpine Investors, LP and Gaming Capital Group. 

In the area of Class II gaming, Mr. Webster has advised both tribes and vendors concerning the scope of permitted games, especially those that make use of technologic aids. He represented both Sierra Design Group (now part of Bally Technologies) and the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma Business Development Authority (Rocket Gaming Systems) in their successful efforts to obtain groundbreaking Class II advisory opinions from the NIGC on linked electronic bingo games. For the past several years, Mr. Webster has worked extensively with other tribal and industry representatives to defend against regulatory and legislative efforts to restrict tribal Class II gaming rights.

Indian Self-Determination
Mr. Webster has negotiated contracts and compacts under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEAA). In addition, he has defended tribal rights under the ISDEAA before federal courts, the Interior Board of Indian Appeals and the Departmental Appeals Board of the Department of Health and Human Services. Of note, he successfully represented the Norton Sound Health Corporation in a suit against the Indian Health Service for unpaid contract support costs. After convincing the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse an adverse district court decision, he represented Norton Sound in successful settlement negotiations with the Indian Health Service, which resulted in a significant financial recovery by Norton Sound.

He is nationally recognized as an authority on contract support costs required to be paid under the ISDEAA. He has lobbied Congress and the Administration on contract support issues (including the need for more funding). In 2000, he co-authored with S. Bobo Dean, Contract Support Funding and the Federal Policy of Indian Tribal Self-Determination, 36 Tulsa Law Journal 349 (Winter 2000).

Indian Tax/Other Litigation
In the tax area, he has advised both tribes and individual Indians on federal tax issues. He has successfully represented both in negotiations with the Internal Revenue Service.

Mr. Webster helped to litigate Menominee Tribe v. United States, a case before the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, which successfully sought over $30 million in damages for the wrongful termination of the Tribe and mismanagement of tribal timber resources by the federal government.

E-mail: jwebster@hsdwdc.com

Phone: (202) 822-8282

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