The Transaction Navigator
Senior Counsel Maurice Johnson has over 22 years’ experience in federal Indian and tribal law and was an Associate Judge of the Meskwaki Tribal Court. In addition, Maurice is a transaction navigator. He works to simplify your company’s complex transactional needs while protecting cash flow and turning your brewing business deals into reality. He represents CEOs, business owners, tribal councils and executives when they are buying, selling, employing and doing deals. With over 28 years of legal experience, Maurice has successfully represented clients in numerous settings including but not limited to; business, real estate, gaming employment, regulatory, municipal, telecom, arbitrations, mediations, tribal, state, and federal civil courts. Maurice’s passion and experience helping businesses and governmental entities land big deals means protected cash flow, more successful companies, and happier clients – worth it.
Prior to becoming an attorney at Goosmann, Maurice was the Attorney General for the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska, in which he and a team of attorneys successfully represented the Tribe before the U.S. Supreme Court in a case involving Reservation Diminishment. Maurice also served for several years as the Attorney General for the Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa (a/k/a Meskwaki Nation) representing the tribal government and its business including the Meskwaki Casino.
Maurice has abundant experience representing clients in business transactions. Over his 22 years advising tribal governments and their businesses, he has negotiated inter-governmental, construction, employment, engineering, entertainment, environmental, financial, leasing, gaming, software licensing, vendor, manufacturing, medical and employment agreements. He has established corporations and LLC’s and advised their boards. Maurice also has considerable experience representing tribes placing land into trust with the federal government and negotiating the myriad of related agreements.
Maurice is a military veteran, having served in the U.S. Navy on the USS Hawkins (DD873) and the USS Eisenhower (CVN69) as an Aviation Ordnance man. It’s only fitting that he helps his clients navigate and sail with ease through rough waters of complex transactions.
Maurice became an attorney so he could continue to evolve, learn, and help people while living a purpose-driven life, and he is doing just that. He is an active member of the American Bar Association’s Business Law Section, Nebraska State Bar Association’s Indian Law and Employment Law Sections, as well as the Iowa State Bar Association’s Real Estate and Title Section.
LICENSED IN: Iowa and Nebraska
Maurice’s “Why”
In Maurice’s free time you will find him with his wife of 38 years, Kathleen, and his two daughters, Katie and Lola. He enjoys traveling, reading, fishing, playing disc golf, exercising, listening intently to music (Maurice has been an audiophile since he was a kid) and collecting vinyl. Maurice has a vast collection of albums and CD’s! It’s safe to say you may lose against him in music trivia. Maurice is active in his church, serving as a youth group leader and volunteer instructor for prison fellowship.
Bar Admissions
Results
- Served as Tribal Judge
- Successfully represented the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska before the U.S. Supreme Court as co-counsel in Smith v. Parker, which solidified precedent the Supreme Court follows in reservation diminishment issues.
- Established successful government-owned Agricultural Business Corporation.
- Prepared new leasing policies and agricultural resource management plans resulting in increased revenue and more efficient use of land.
- Established business corporations and acted as Co-Counsel in a bank acquisition.
- Created In-House Legal Department, reducing client’s use of outside counsel resulting in substantial savings.
- Progressive, proactive approach to municipal code drafting resulting in enhanced protection of health, safety and welfare of communities.
- Counseled 17 Native American Tribes and the University of Nebraska on a culturally sensitive issue resulting in an unprecedented, unified historic agreement.
- Executed several complex “Fee-to-Trust” real estate transactions for Tribes resulting in land added to reservations for gaming and other purposes.
- Acted as Co-Counsel in lawsuits against the U.S. Government on behalf of 16 Tribes regarding mismanagement of funds held in trust by the U.S. Government, resulting in multi-million dollar settlements for the Tribes.
