BENJAMIN FENNER –Attorney at Law
Omaha, Nebraska
phone: 402.333.4053
fax: 402.333.4761
email: email me
Mr. Fenner joined the firm as an associate in 2007.
PRACTICE AREAS: Economic development; tribal elections; Indian law; federal acknowledgment; land-into-trust; taxation; gaming law.
ADMISSIONS: United States District Court for the Northern, Eastern and Southern Districts of New York; State of New York; State of Nebraska.
EDUCATION: Albany Law School of Union University (J.D., 2006); University of Wisconsin, Madison (B.A., 1997).
PRIOR LEGAL EXPERIENCE: Law Clerk, Fredericks & Peebles LLP (2006); Legal Aide, Claims Bureau of the New York State Office of the Attorney General (2005-06); Judicial Clerkship, the late Honorable Vincent G. Bradley, New York State Supreme Court (2004); Legal Intern, Child Protection Unit, Connecticut Attorney General’s Office (2004); Paralegal, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Wallace Law Registry (client: Seeger Weiss LLC, Corporate Department) (1999).
LEGAL AUTHORSHIP: “Indian country in Cyber Space: Bella Hess and Commerce Clause Constraints on Interstate, Mail-Order Transactions,” 71 Alb. L. Rev. 401-414 (2008); “Indian Country in Cyber Space: Tribal Tax and Regulatory Jurisdiction and Online Business,” 12 NO. 5 J. Internet L. 3 (2008).
REPRESENTATIVE CASES: Gristede’s Foods, Inc. v. Poospatuck (Unkechauge) Nation, No. 06-CV-1260, 2009 WL 4981905 (E.D.N.Y. December 10, 2009); Shinnecock Indian Nation v. Kempthorne, No. 06-CV-5013, 2008 WL 4455599 (E.D.N.Y. September 30, 2008).
TEACHING POSITIONS: Guest Lecturer, Creighton University School of Law, Spring 2010.
ASSOCIATIONS: Federal Bar Association; New York State Bar Association; Nebraksa State Bar Association; Omaha Bar Association; American Bar Association.
Mr. Fenner has worked with various tribes developing election laws and policies. He served as co-counsel on the Shinnecock Indian Nation’s lawsuit against the Department of Interior alleging, among other things, undue delay in making a determination on the Nation’s Petition for Federal Acknowledgement. He also served as lead counsel in defending the Shinnecock Indian Nation and various businesses located on the Nation’s lands in a contentious business dispute alleging damages in excess of $20 million.