Stitt hires law firm to advise state over gaming compact

Perkins Coie will also address tribes’ federal lawsuit

  • The State of Oklahoma has hired Perkins Coie, the largest law firm headquartered in the Pacific Northwest, to advise in its efforts to negotiate a revised gaming compact with American Indian tribes.
    The State of Oklahoma has hired Perkins Coie, the largest law firm headquartered in the Pacific Northwest, to advise in its efforts to negotiate a revised gaming compact with American Indian tribes.

    OKLAHOMA CITY - The State of Oklahoma has hired Perkins Coie, the largest law firm headquartered in the Pacific Northwest, to advise in its efforts to negotiate a revised gaming compact with American Indian tribes.

    “With Perkins Coie, the State of Oklahoma is well-positioned to work towards a compact that protects core public services and advances the future of our great state, its four million residents, and gaming tribes,” said Gov. Kevin Stitt. Perkins Coie will also respond to and address the Chickasaw, Cherokee, and Choctaw Nations’ federal lawsuit filed on New Year’s Eve, he said. The tribes’ lawsuit alleges that Stitt’s statements that the Model Gaming Compact would expire on January 1, 2020, violated federal law and that the compact automatically renews. Perkins Coie will assist in defending against that suit, in addition to providing counsel regarding compact negotiations. The legal experts at Perkins Coie have successfully represented other states in Indian law controversies, to include the State of New Mexico’s compact dispute in 2015, Stitt said. Perkins Coie is an international law firm headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and founded in 1912. It has offices across the United States and in China and Taiwan. In addition to corporate representation, the firm often represents political clients.