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R. Lance Boldrey
Member
Regulated Industries
Casino Gaming
Elections and Campaign Finance Compliance

lboldrey@dykema.com

Lansing, Michigan
517-374-9162

Education
James Madison College and the Honors College at Michigan State University, B.A.
  with honors
Duke University, J.D.

Admitted to Practice
Michigan  1995
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan  1995
U.S. District Court, Western District of Michigan  1995
U.S. Court of Appeals, 6th Circuit  1996
U.S. Supreme Court  2004

Mr. Boldrey's practice focuses on Indian law with an emphasis on gaming, economic development, and state-tribal relations.  His practice also encompasses campaign and election law.  Mr. Boldrey has also been involved in drafting legislation, lobbying federal and state decision-makers in the legislature and executive branch, and litigating public policy and constitutional issues.

Prior to joining Dykema, Mr. Boldrey served as Deputy Legal Counsel to former Michigan Governor John Engler and was responsible for all aspects of the state of Michigan's relations with twelve federally recognized Indian tribes.  Mr. Boldrey also oversaw census and redistricting efforts, litigation concerning state constitutional issues, and homeland security and emergency management matters.  Mr. Boldrey has also previously served as an attorney and policy advisor to the Republican caucus of the Michigan House of Representatives, as a campaign coordinator, and as an associate in the Government and Commerce department of a Lansing, Michigan, law firm.

Experience

  • Indian gaming experience includes negotiating agreements between consultants, developers, management companies and tribes, negotiating tribal-state gaming compacts, negotiating agreements between tribes and local governments, and negotiating and litigating other gaming-related issues.
  • Indian gaming work also includes performing due diligence on tribal gaming projects and proposals for consultants, developers and gaming management companies.
  • Experienced in representing utilities, general contractors, hospitals and other businesses in doing business with Indian tribes.
  • Work with tribes has included research and development of tribal land claims, performing due diligence concerning the feasibility of multi-state distribution businesses, and assistance in accessing funding for tribal services.
  • Experience in negotiating solutions to complex tribal issues includes serving as lead staff for the state executive office in negotiations culminating in the nation’s first truly comprehensive state-tribal tax agreements and in the formulation of a consent decree governing state and tribal fishing activities in much of the Great Lakes.
  • Experience in state-tribal relations includes drafting an Executive Policy Statement on State-Tribal Relations, negotiating a state-tribal accord between the state of Michigan and federally recognized tribes, organizing the first two Michigan state-tribal summits between tribal and state leaders, and managing the passage of legislation providing for tribal participation in intergovernmental agreements.
  • Campaign and election law experience includes representing the Michigan Republican Party and other interests in relation to ballot integrity matters, including the use of provisional ballots in the 2004 presidential election. Also includes developing and maintaining campaign finance compliance systems for politically active clients.
  • Legislative experience includes assisting in successful efforts to obtain federal and state appropriations, managing a rewrite of Michigan’s Emergency Management Act and passage of bipartisan anti-terrorism legislation, testifying before the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and various state legislative committees, and advocating a land claim settlement and land-to-trust applications to federal officials.

Significant Decisions

  • Taxpayers of Michigan Against Casinos v. State of Michigan, 478 Mich. 99; 732 N.W.2d 487 (2007), (upholding validity of amendment process in tribal-state gaming compacts)

  • Taxpayers of Michigan Against Casinos v State of Michigan, 471 Mich. 306; 685 N.W.2d 221 (2004), cert. denied, 543 U.S. 1146 (2005), (upholding validity of Michigan tribal-state gaming compacts and process of enactment)

  • LeRoux v Miller, 465 Mich 594 (2002), (upholding validity of Michigan redistricting plans)

Seminars and Speeches

  • 8/2009  An Overview of Federal Indian Law & Policy, 2009 Morris K. Udall Foundation Scholar Orientation, Tucson, AZ
  • 5/2008  The Future of Tribal-State Compacting, Moderator, CASINOFEST6, Minneapolis, MN
  • 11/2007  Tribal Gaming: Beyond the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, Global Gaming Expo (G2E), Las Vegas, NV
  • 11/2006  Future of Indian Gaming: Will D.C. Stop the Growth?, Moderator, Global Gaming Expo (G2E), Las Vegas, NV
  • 8/2004  Tribal/State Relations and Negotiations, Moderator, Governors Interstate Indian Council Annual Meeting, Traverse City, MI
  • 8/2002  Legal Issues on Homeland Security, National Governors Association Legal Counsel Seminar, Seattle, WA
  • 3/2002  Michigan Tribal Issues: What Every Municipal Attorney Should Know, Michigan Association of Municipal Attorneys, Lansing, MI
  • 9/2001  Native American Tribal Issues, National Governors Association Legal Counsel Seminar, Kiawah Island, SC
  • 4/2001  Cigarette Taxation and State-Tribal Environmental Issues, National Governors Association Tribal Issues Briefing, Washington, DC
  • 11/2000  The Future of Indian Gaming, North American Gaming Summit, Detroit, MI
  • 6/1999  The Judicial Appointments Process, State Bar of Michigan New Presidents Meeting, Harbor Springs, MI
  • 1/1997  Native American Fishing Rights, James Madison College 30th Anniversary, East Lansing, MI

Publications

  • "The True Test of Tribal-State Cooperation: Resolving Issues of Taxation," Emerging Issues in Tribal-State Relations, Aspatore Books  (2010)
  • "Proceed with Prudence: Advising Clients Doing Business in Indian Country," Michigan Bar Journal (February 2010) (with Jason Hanselman)
  • "After Change in Control, Michigan Supreme Court Reverses Itself in Major Insurance Decision," State Court Docket Watch  (Fall 2009)
  • "Banking Indian Casinos: What Investors Need To Understand At The Outset," Global Gaming Business Magazine Vol.7 No.9  (September 2008)

Professional Associations

  • Federalist Society
  • Federal Bar Association
  • Ingham County Bar Association
  • Michigan Republican Lawyers Association
  • Republican National Lawyers Association

Civic and Cultural Involvements

  • Trustee of the Morris K. Udall Foundation (presidential appointee)

  • Past president of the James Madison College Alumni Association

Elections and Politics

  • State Chairman, Lawyers for Rudy (2007-2008)
  • Republican precinct delegate, and delegate to multiple state conventions

Awards

  • Listed in The Best Lawyers in America 2007-2011 in the specialty of Gaming Law

  • 2007 Distinguished Brief Award for Best Brief to Michigan Supreme Court, Thomas M. Cooley Law Review (for brief on behalf of Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians in Taxpayers of Michigan Against Casinos v. State of Michigan, 478 Mich. 99; 732 N.W.2d 487 (2007))

  • Named a 2009 Rising Star by publishers of Law & Politics and Super Lawyers