Gavin M. Ratcliffe

Gavin Ratcliffe joined the Firm in 2023 as an associate attorney in its Sacramento office and relocated to the Firm's Washington, D.C., office in 2026. He earned his Juris Doctor and Master of Public Administration from Syracuse University in 2022.

During law school, he gained experience in constitutional, environmental, administrative, and appellate law. Following graduation, he completed a judicial clerkship to deepen his understanding of judicial decision-making. Mr. Ratcliffe's commitment to Indian law grew from a visit to the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe in northern Minnesota, where he learned how closely law and history shape the environmental, economic, and political conditions of tribal communities. That experience inspired him to dedicate his practice to Indian law.

Mr. Ratcliffe earned his Bachelor of Arts in History from Oberlin College, where he competed in cross country and track and field. Outside of work he enjoys reading about American history and cheering on the Syracuse Orange and Sacramento Kings.

**Admitted in California and Minnesota only. Practice limited exclusively to federal matters.**

Legal Authorship

• Co-Author, "Opportunities for Reconciliation: The Legal History of the Leech Lake Indian Reservation and the Chippewa National Forest." Mitchell Hamline Law Review (2024)