Chris King is a former Attorney Advisor with the U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of the Solicitor, where he spent more than a decade handling complex matters involving federal Indian law, tribal trust responsibilities, and high-stakes litigation against the United States.
At Interior, Chris worked extensively on breach of trust claims and tribal trust fund issues, coordinating closely with the U.S. Department of Justice on litigation involving the federal government’s fiduciary obligations to tribal nations and individual Indians. His experience includes matters involving trust accounting, resource management, and claims arising from the government’s administration of tribal assets, including large-scale historical land and accounting disputes.
Through this work, Chris developed a deep understanding of how the Department of the Interior and the Department of Justice evaluate and defend significant tribal claims and how those matters can evolve from litigation into negotiated resolutions. He brings that insight to advising on government engagement strategies, helping clients navigate agency decision-making processes and position complex claims for meaningful outcomes.
Notable Representative Matters:
Cherokee Nation v. United States (D.D.C.)
Represented the Department of the Interior in litigation involving claims for a historical accounting of tribal trust funds, ultimately resolved through a significant negotiated settlement following contested litigation.
Ute Indian Tribe v. United States (Fed. Cl./Fed. Cir.; D.D.C./D.C. Cir.; D. Utah)
Counseled Interior political leadership and assisted in defending parallel claims across multiple fora involving historical land claims and water rights of the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation.
Western Shoshone Identifiable Group v. United States (Fed. Cl.)
Led the case team through damages trial and settlement of claims involving historical mismanagement of tribal trust funds.
Birdbear et al. v. United States (Fed. Cl.)
Assisted DOJ in prevailing at trial in complex claims involving oil and gas development on individual Indian lands.
