Attorney Profiles

Mr. Jacobson began his work in Indian Country in 1973 with the United States Department of the Interior, Office of the Solicitor. In that capacity, he advised and represented the Department with respect to various Indian treaty rights and land claims questions throughout the Midwest. After 10 years with the Office of the Solicitor, John entered private practice in 1983.

Since then, John has continually represented Indian tribes, tribal entities, and other persons having an interest in Indian law matters. He has directed litigation and conducted negotiations that led to the development of Indian gaming in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Louisiana; and he represented the only Indian tribal government that, following the passage of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, has obtained Federal approval to operate gaming away from its reservation in a metropolitan area.

John also has extensive experience in on- and off-reservation financing. He served as principal adviser on Indian legal matters to two publicly-held corporations extensively involved in Indian gaming, and regularly serves as counsel to banks and institutions participating in financing development in Indian Country. In 1995, he acted as special counsel to the underwriters in a $125 million dollar bond issue used by the Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut to finance the construction of their casino.

John also represented tribes and tribal entities in, among other cases, Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community v. City of Prior Lake, 771 F. 2d 1153 (8th Cir. 1985), cert. denied 475 U.S. 1011 (1986) (established under Federal law the right of Indian tribes to receive municipal services from local units of government despite the fact that such tribes' lands were not taxable and that such tribes exercised governmental jurisdiction over their lands); and Lower Sioux Indian Community v. State of Minnesota , Civ. No. 4-89-936 (D. Minn., filed July, 1991) (by stipulated settlement affirmed the legal structure under which Minnesota Indian tribes were permitted to offer high-stakes Blackjack at their casinos).

John teaches Indian law at William Mitchell College of Law, and is a frequent lecturer throughout the United States to lawyers and business organizations on the subject of Indian law and Indian gaming. From 1988 to the present, he has served as a Judge on the Tribal Court of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux (Dakota) Community in Minnesota.