John Sledd is Of Counsel to the firm, working in the Seattle office. John received his B.S., with Honors, in Natural Resources Conservation from the University of Montana School of Forestry. He took his J.D. in 1982 from the University of California , Berkeley (Boalt Hall), where he was Notes and Comments Editor of the Ecology Law Review and interned with the Natural Resources Defense Council.
He served as a staff attorney at DNA-People's Legal Services on the Navajo Reservation, where his caseload emphasized land, natural resources, consumer and welfare law for low-income tribal members. He was DNA's Director of Litigation from 1986 through 1989, supervising twenty attorneys in eight offices, and serving as program General Counsel.
From 1989 to 1999 Mr. Sledd was Tribal Attorney for the Suquamish Tribe of Washington, where he supervised the Legal Department and handled land and natural resource issues, treaty rights, gaming, government relations, employment matters and tribal court prosecutions.
From 1999 to 2004 Mr. Sledd was Director of the Native American Project of Columbia Legal Services in Seattle , supervising two attorneys and coordinating advocacy for low-income Indian clients by legal services and volunteer attorneys throughout Washington . From 2004 through 2005 Mr. Sledd performed a similar role as Senior Attorney for the Native American Unit of Northwest Justice Project. His work at Columbia emphasized trust land, federal trust responsibility, education and tribal government services. At Northwest Justice, he handled education, childrens', and allotted land issues, including development of a tribal court juvenile defender program and a federally-funded Indian estate planning pilot project.
Mr. Sledd is admitted to practice before state courts in Washington, Arizona (inactive) and New Mexico (inactive), federal courts in Arizona, New Mexico, and Washington, the Court of Federal Claims, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, United States Supreme Court, and numerous tribal courts. He is an Associate Justice on the Court of Appeals of the Tulalip Tribes. He is a frequent speaker at professional conferences on a variety of topics in Indian and Tribal law. He is a former Trustee and Chair of the Indian Law Section of the Washington State Bar Association. He was the 2004 recipient of the Pierce-Hickerson award from the National Legal Aid and Defenders Association, recognizing outstanding contributions to the advancement and protection of Native American rights.
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