Jenny Dumas, Attorney

Bar and Court Admissions:  Admitted to the New Mexico Bar in 2002; licensed to practice before the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Federal District Court for the District of New Mexico. 

Employment:  Ms. Dumas specializes in litigation and transactional work concerning federal and state water rights, tribal water projects, breach of trust duties, and sovereign immunity, as well as client support for projects involving land acquisition, tribal courts, and intergovernmental disputes. 

Education: University of New Mexico (B.U.S. 1998), University Studies (magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, Regents' Scholarship, Friends of Music Scholarship, Departmental Honors in General Honors); University of New Mexico School of Law (J.D. 2002)(summa cum laude, West Book Award for Outstanding Contribution to Scholarship, Lexis Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement, Clinical Honors, Order of the Coif).

Before joining the Firm, Ms. Dumas served as a law clerk for the Honorable Harris L. Hartz, United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.  In that position, Ms. Dumas worked on numerous cases on a variety of subjects including Indian law, taxation, and sovereign immunity. 

Ms. Dumas has been with the Firm since 2003.  While with the Firm, Ms. Dumas has assisted with the following cases:  National Labor Relations Board v. Pueblo of San Juan, 305 F. Supp. 2d 1229 (D.N.M. 2003), awarding attorneys fees under Equal Access to Justice Act with enhancement for expertise in federal Indian law; Kosiba v. Pueblo of San Juan, 139 N.M. 533 (Ct. App. 2006), affirming grant of tribe's motion to dismiss based on sovereign immunity; Jicarilla Apache Nation v. Rio Arriba County, 376 F.Supp.2d 1096 (D.N.M. 2004), aff'd 440 F.3d 1202 (10th Cir. 2006), concerning class-of-one equal protection claim for discriminatory tax treatment; Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians v. Superior Court of Lake County, 133 Cal. App. 4th 1185 (2005), issuing writ of mandate based on holding that arbitration clause in alleged employment contracts did not waive tribal sovereign immunity for breach of contract action; Pelt v. Utah, 539 F.3d 1271 (10th Cir. 2008) (rejecting trustee's res judicata defense on grounds that representation in prior cases was inadequate); Bales v. Chickasaw Nation Industries, No. 07-1024 (D.N.M. March 19, 2009) (holding that sovereign immunity precludes Title VII and ADEA claims against federally chartered tribal corporation).  Ms. Dumas also participates significantly in ongoing litigation of Pelt v. Utah, a breach of trust case, and State ex rel. Martinez v. Kerr-McGee Corp., an Indian water rights adjudication.

Ms. Dumas also serves as the attorney for, and a member of the Governing Council of, the Native American Community Academy, an Albuquerque public charter school committed to serving the unique educational needs of Native American students. 
         
Ms. Dumas is Abenaki.