Eric D. Eberhard
Eric D. Eberhard is a Professor from Practice and the Associate Director of the Native American Law Center at the University of Washington School of Law. His courses include American Indian Law, Indigenous Economic Development and the Law, Indigenous Governance, Water Law and Legislative Law. From 2009 to 2016, he was a Distinguished Indian Law Practitioner in Residence at the Law School at Seattle University, where he was a faculty co-founder of the American Indian Law Journal.
He was a partner in the Seattle office of Dorsey and Whitney LLP from 1995 to 2009. He received his B.A. degree from Western Reserve University in 1967, a J.D. degree from the University of Cincinnati in 1970, and an LL.M. from George Washington University in 1972. He has been actively engaged in the practice of Indian Affairs law since 1973, including employment in legal services, private practice and as the Deputy Attorney General of the Navajo Nation and Executive Director of the Navajo Nation Washington Office. His practice involves all aspects of the representation of Indian tribes, organizations, individuals and entities doing business with Indian tribes in federal, state and tribal judicial, legislative and administrative forums.
From 1989 to 1995, he served as the General Counsel and Staff Director on the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs for Senator John McCain of Arizona. In that capacity, he had direct responsibility for legislation relating to the protection of the environment on Indian lands, Indian cultural resources protection, gaming, water rights, self-determination and self-governance, tribal courts and economic development.
In December 2000, the U.S. Senate confirmed President Clinton's appointment of Mr. Eberhard to the Board of Trustees of the Udall Foundation. President Bush nominated Mr. Eberhard for a second term on the Board in 2005, and he was confirmed by the Senate in 2006. From 2001 to 2011, he chaired the Board’s Committee on the Native Nations Institute. In October 2011, he was elected as Chairman of the Board of Trustees. His term on the Board expired in 2015. He was re-nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the Senate in late 2015. He was re-elected as Chair of the Board in February 2016 and served in that capacity until April of 2021.
He is a Life Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America and Chambers. At Dorsey & Whitney, he was recognized as the Partner of the Year, the Diversity Partner of the Year and the Pro Bono Partner of the Year. He has been honored by the United South and Eastern Tribes, Navajo Nation and its courts, the National Indian Gaming Association, the National Association of Indian Legal Services Programs, the Intertribal Timber Council and the American Indian Religious Freedom Coalition for outstanding service and contributions. At the School of Law at the University of Washington, he has received the Dean’s award for exceptional service to the law school, recognition as professor of the year and for his work with the Washington Law Review.