Lawyer of the Year

A big shout out to my sister Joanne Foster who was named Lawyer of the Year by the North American Indian Housing Council (NAIHC) at their 2013 Legal Symposium, held in Las Vegas last December. Three and one-half decades ago Joanne responded to a post on the University of Washington Law School job board looking for a student who could serve as a lower court prosecutor for the Quinault Indian Nation on the Olympic Peninsula, pending the tribe's efforts to train and develop legal talent internally. Joanne responded, was hired and, to make a long story short, over the decades had a distinguished career representing Indian tribes throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Award presentation to Joanne Foster.

LEGAL SYMPOSIUM 2013 WELL ATTENDED

With registration of almost 500, Legal Symposium 2013 in Las Vegas was successful. Training sessions on workplace conflict, mold remediation, effective communication and other topics recommended by NAIHC membership proved popular among attendees. The additional of Roundtables generated lively discussion on current topics.

The Lawyer of the Year Award was given to attorney Joanne Foster by Region 6 board member John Williamson for her years of work with tribes in the Northwest. Her dedication to housing issues in that area led to her nomination by members of Region 6, who wished to recognize her devotion to the community following her recent retirement.

As an example of her work, Joanne co-led the following session during the 2007 NAIHC Legal Symposium.

A Model: Tribal Mortgage Leaseholds and Promissory Notes

Presenters: Joanne Foster, Esq. and Eugena Hobucket, Quinault Nation

The Quinault Nation presented their Model tribal leasehold mortgage documents for federal, tribal, state and private guaranteed, insured and direct residential loan programs which are in use in conjunction with a tribal leasehold mortgage ordinance, and approved for use with Section 184 mortgages by the ONAP Office of Loan Guarantee. They are also available for use as second mortgages to satisfy the requirement that NAHASDA recipients enter into binding commitments to
assure that dwelling units assisted with NAHASDA funding remain affordable for the useful life of the property. Sharing electronic documents will increase capacity and introduce “best practices” concepts for tribal housing authorities.

Congratulation Joanne!