About Jeffrey Holth

Jeff joined the Firm in 2015 after serving as law clerk for Judge Myron H. Bright of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Prior to his Eighth Circuit clerkship, Jeff clerked for Associate Justice Alan C. Page of the Minnesota Supreme Court. Throughout his tenure as a law clerk, Jeff analyzed and provided recommendations on complex legal issues spanning almost every major substantive area of federal and state law, including federal Indian law.

At the firm, Jeff represents tribes and tribal entities and in variety of matters, with particular focus on litigation and tribal governance.  In his litigation practice, Jeff utilizes his clerking experience at the federal, state and tribal level to gain strategic advantage for tribal clients and yield favorable results in the courtroom.  Jeff has successfully represented tribal clients in a broad array of lawsuits in federal, state, and tribal courts, including jurisdictional challenges, land disputes, consumer finance actions, and contract matters.  Jeff has raised tribal sovereign immunity on behalf of tribes and tribal economic arms to secure dismissal from lawsuits on multiple occasions.  Additionally, Jeff’s litigation practice includes advocacy in federal administrative forums, having represented tribes before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the NAGPRA Review Committee.

Jeff also actively advises tribal governments, agencies, and businesses on a broad array of legal matters.  Jeff has drafted and revised numerous tribal laws, negotiated financing transactions and other agreements on behalf of tribes, advised tribes on the applicability of federal and state law, and assisted tribes in negotiating and resolving right-of-way violations within their territories.  Jeff also maintains a practice in cultural resources protection, advising tribes on application of the NAGPRA and their rights under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and the National Environmental Protection Act.

Prior to law school, Jeff taught special education at Todd County High School in Mission, South Dakota, on the Rosebud Indian Reservation. As a teacher at TCHS, Jeff implemented a job skills program that enabled students with disabilities to gain critical employment skills at various businesses and organizations on the reservation. Jeff continues to hold a teaching license for K-12 special education in South Dakota.

In his spare time, Jeff enjoys traveling, being a new dad, and teaching Federal Indian Law as an adjunct professor at Mitchell Hamline School of law.