Stephen Greetham

Greetham began his career supporting Tribal governments with the Nordhaus Law Firm in Albuquerque, New Mexico. There, he worked primarily with Tribal leaderships of the Taos and Laguna Pueblos and the Jicarilla Apache Nation to successfully manage complex legal matters as general and subject matter counsel. His work at Nordhaus focused on the development, litigation, and negotiation of water rights claims but also included the management of intergovernmental disputes involving criminal justice, wildlife and environmental protection matters, and taxation.

Leaving firm practice, Greetham accepted an in-house position with the Chickasaw Nation and has been directly involved in all of the Nation’s major legal initiatives. These included the protection of the Nation’s sovereignty against efforts of the National Labor Relations Board to intrude on matters of Tribal self-government, the litigation and negotiation of the Nation’s water rights settlement and the passage of federal legislation to ensure its implementation, and the Chickasaw Nation’s longstanding involvement in matters relating to the reaffirmation of its reservation and implementation of its expanded criminal justice and other sovereign responsibilities.

In 2022, Greetham stepped away from his in-house position with the Chickasaw Nation to found Greetham Law, P.L.L.C. With Stephen’s extensive experience and knowledge, Greetham Law is equipped to support its clients with–

Complex litigation and intergovernmental relations and negotiations,
Liaising with community groups and non-Tribal interests,
Tribal policy and code development,
Advocacy in federal and state legislative work, and
Strategic media engagement.

He similarly enjoys strong and collaborative relationships with federal Indian law practitioners and litigators throughout the country and takes great pleasure from effective professional team work on behalf of clients. In addition to Greetham Law, Greetham also serves as consulting attorney to Sonosky, Chambers, Sachse, Endreson, and Perry, LLP—one of the oldest and longest serving law firms in the country practicing exclusively in the area of federal Indian law. Greetham is a regular speaker, teacher, and scholar on Federal Indian law matters, focusing particularly on intergovernmental disputes and their management. He is also an avid photographer, backpacker, and periodic cyclist and runner. Greetham and his wife, Dr. Amanda Cobb-Greetham (Chickasaw), a professor of Native American Studies at the University of Oklahoma, live with their two dogs in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.