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Former Deputy Solicitor for Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Joins Best & Flanagan’s Native American Law Practice Group

MINNEAPOLIS, May 2003—Minneapolis-based law firm Best & Flanagan LLP announced today that attorney Michael B. Wacker, former deputy solicitor for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, has joined the firm’s Native American Law Practice Group. Wacker will focus his practice in the areas of federal Indian law, gaming law, tribal financing and litigation.

“Our tribal clients will benefit from Michael Wacker’s rich expertise in Indian law, developed through his tribal in-house work and his private practice focus on tribal self-governance,” said James C. Diracles, managing partner at Best & Flanagan.

Before joining Best & Flanagan, Wacker was deputy solicitor for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, where he served as general counsel to the tribal government, was lead Indian Child Welfare attorney and represented the band in tribal and state courts. Previously, he was tribal attorney for the Ho-Chunk Nation Department of Justice in Black River Falls, Wis., and in Washington, D.C., he served as Minority Counsel on American Indian Affairs to the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Resources. Prior to this work, Wacker specialized in Indian law at Johnson Hamilton & Quigley in St. Paul, Minn.

“Mike brings invaluable knowledge, sensitivity, experience and awareness of issues that our tribal clients face,” said Lenor A. Scheffler, chair of Best & Flanagan’s Native American Law Practice Group. “Indian gaming can be a challenging area, so his regulatory experience will add not only depth to our team but also practical lessons learned.”

Born and raised in Milwaukee, Wacker is an enrolled member of the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes in Juneau, Alaska. He is also of the Cherokee Tribe in Oklahoma and the Blackfeet Tribe in Montana. Wacker received his B.A. from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, his Master of Education from Penn State University, and his J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School.

Best & Flanagan, founded in 1926, is a full-service Minneapolis law firm providing legal services in the areas of government relations, public finance, real estate, commercial lending, litigation, business law, and estate planning and trusts. The firm’s Native American Law Practice Group is experienced in representing tribal governments, tribal gaming enterprises, tribal gaming commissions and tribal members in a number of areas, including tax, finance, tribal trust fund development and reform, compensation and benefits for tribal members, tribal financing of construction and infrastructure, tribal gaming regulation, tribal economic development, as well as representation of tribal members in tribal membership and tribal election disputes. The firm has approximately 55 attorneys and is dedicated to providing practical and efficient solutions to its clients’ legal issues. For more information, visit www.bestlaw.com or phone (612) 339-7121.