Brie Coyle Jones

Representative Experience

• Gaming Compacts & Ordinances Plus

  • Successfully negotiated tribal-state gaming compacts and amendments thereto, including negotiation of an amendment to Washington State’s Appendix X2.

  • Co-authored Washington State House Bill 2638 (2019-2020) to legalize sports wagering in tribal casinos.

  • Authored Washington State Senate Bill 6137 (2026) to authorize intertribal cooperation and wagering on in-state collegiate sports.

  • Regularly advises on gaming compact compliance and represents clients in consultations with the Washington State Gambling Commission.

  • Prepared and revised gaming ordinances and successfully obtained federal approval.

  • Advised tribe in connection with the acquisition of their existing sports wagering vendor. Work included negotiating a settlement with the outgoing vendor and leading the drafting and negotiation of new agreements with the incoming operator. Also finalized the retail sportsbook agreement and advised on the development of mobile sports wagering agreements.

  • Advised tribal gaming authority in drafting and negotiating a complex gaming management agreement, including securing approval from the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC). The agreement featured a novel structure that gradually reduced management fees over several years through a sliding scale, ultimately returning full operational control to the tribe.

  • Advised tribal gaming enterprise on the regulatory implications of recent federal developments affecting long-standing tribal-state gaming compacts. The representation included assisting the client in becoming the first tribe to amend its compact under new federal guidance issued regarding Part 293 Class III compacts.

  • Represented association of 22 tribes to prepare comments and suggest language for the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Indian Gaming federal regulations. The Department of the Interior updated federal regulations per our comments and codified our proposed language. 25 CFR Part 293 regulations.

  • Led a complete overhaul of a tribe’s gaming laws and compact, modernizing and streamlining the framework to improve implementation. Through strategic and thoughtful drafting, reduced compact by hundreds of pages. The updated compact is the first in Washington to eliminate state oversight of a tribe’s charitable giving and community impact payments.

  • Negotiated and drafted management agreement between a tribe and vendor, and successfully guided the transaction through the NIGC approval process.

  • Advise tribal gaming regulatory commissions on maintaining compliance. Prepare regulations and policies and procedures on behalf of such commissions.

  • Advise on Washington’s “terminal allocation plan” which provides for intertribal agreements that ensure all tribes in Washington benefit from gaming, even those that do not have brick and mortar facilities.

  • Regularly engage with Office of Indian Gaming and the NIGC on federal gaming matters.

  • Assist numerous gaming vendors with licensing matters under state law and tribal law.

  • Represented a tribal gaming enterprise in a significant tribal-state gaming compact amendment that expanded gaming opportunities and increased operational flexibility. The amendment transferred authority over table-game wagering limits from the state to the tribe, reinforcing tribal sovereignty and self-governance in gaming operations.

  • Represented a tribal gaming regulatory authority in connection with gaming compliance and regulatory strategy.

• Tribal Financings Plus

  • Counseled a tribe on a $625 million revolving and term credit facility, secured with gaming revenue, for expansion of a gaming and hotel property.

  • Counseled a tribe on a $39 million construction loan facility for expansion of a gaming and hotel property secured with specific tax revenue.

  • Counseled a tribe on a $500 million revolving credit facility for the construction of gaming facility secured with gaming revenue.

  • Counseled a tribe on a $500 million refinance, including structuring, negotiation, and preparing all documentation necessary for the complex transaction. The refinancing proceeds were used to retire existing debt, fund new construction related to casino expansion, and support its continued growth and modernization.

  • Counseled a tribe on a $300 million financing transaction to support broad business expansion. The transaction was secured primarily by the tribe’s casino operations, which served as the key collateral and revenue driver, and required careful structuring to align with tribal regulatory frameworks and long-term strategic goals.

  • Counseled a tribe on a $165 million financing transaction supporting gaming operations and the development of community facilities, including healthcare, public safety, recreational, and housing-related projects. The transaction includes the potential to convert portions of the debt into tax-exempt notes, offering additional financing flexibility.

  • Counseled a tribe on an $8.5 million construction loan facility for a sewer system secured with specific tax revenues and pledged revenues.

  • Counseled a bank on a $13 million loan to a tribal enterprise secured by specific tax revenues.

  • Counseled a bank on a $10 million reducing revolving loan secured by specific tax revenue.

  • In connection with tribal financings secured with gaming revenue, secured NIGC declination letters and worked with WSGC to secure licensing exemptions for lenders.

  • Represented a tribal enterprise in a $10 million financing transaction for a Native-owned logistics and infrastructure company serving remote Alaska communities. Structured and negotiated the loan and related maritime collateral arrangements on an accelerated timeline, helping ensure the continued delivery of essential goods, services, and infrastructure to isolated villages throughout the state.

• Real Estate Plus

  • Represented tribe in the acquisition of approximately 500 acres across three parcels of forestland located in their traditional territory. For decades, this land was used for timber harvesting and it will now benefit the Tribe. Since 2020, Miller Nash has worked with the Tribe on two similar transactions, resulting in over 2,600 acres of ancestral homelands reacquired by the Tribe. The expansion of the Tribe’s territory protects cultural sites located on the Tribe’s recently acquired homelands.

  • Represented a tribal economic development authority in a strategic initiative to diversify and expand the tribe’s economy through a series of real estate acquisitions totaling more than $100 million. Advised on acquisition, development, and transactional matters across a growing portfolio of housing, retail, commercial, entertainment, and community development projects designed to promote long-term economic self-sufficiency and support the tribe’s long-term development goals.

  • Represented a commercial real estate developer in the development of approximately 180 acres of tribal land, including the negotiation and federal approval of a 99-year ground lease supporting a large-scale, multi-tenant commercial project. Advised on development agreements, leasing, tribal and local law considerations, and federal approval requirements to facilitate long-term economic development on tribal land.

  • Represented a regional restaurant chain in the development of its first location on tribal trust land, advising on ground lease negotiations, tribal law, federal regulatory requirements, and key considerations for doing business in Indian Country. Structured a unique jurisdictional arrangement under which the non-tribal tenant agreed to submit to tribal court jurisdiction, advancing a significant economic development project while reinforcing tribal sovereignty and self-governance.

• Tribal Governance and Support of In-House Counsel Plus

  • Drafted numerous tribal code provisions and resolutions for more than half a dozen tribes.

  • Briefed and presented before, tribal councils and boards.

  • Advised on compliance with Tribal constitutions, bylaws, codes, and policies.

  • Completed three secondments for two tribal enterprises, serving as in-house attorney both on-site and remotely. Secondments ranged from three to twelve months.

  • Reviewed hundreds of contracts and advised on day-to-day operations of enterprises, including on issues related to advertising, procurement, property damage, employment, patron exclusion, and compliance with codes and policies.

  • Prepared communications to local and state government agencies on behalf of tribes and tribal enterprises.

  • Briefed enterprise management and elected tribal leadership.

• Tribal Cannabis Plus

  • Co-authored Washington State House Bill 2000, which authorized the state to enter into cannabis compacts with Washington tribes. Lobbied for passage of the bill, worked on drafts and amendments of the bill with tribal and state staff. Bill passed 46-0 in the Senate and 79-17 in the House.

  • Co-authored Washington’s inaugural tribal-state cannabis compact between the Suquamish Tribe and the State of Washington, and subsequently co-authored several other cannabis compacts in Washington. Prepared tribal member outreach communications, tribal code revisions, compliance documents and policies, operating plans, and other necessary documents for implementation.

  • Co-authored and negotiated one of the first tribal-state intergovernmental cannabis agreements in New Mexico. Prepared code amendments, vendor agreements, internal policies and procedures, and advised on all aspects of opening a retail cannabis store.

  • Counseled a Michigan tribe on entering lease with a commercial cannabis tenant on the tribe’s lands, including handling negotiations with the state, revisions to tribal code, lease review, and other compliance issues.

  • Counseled numerous tribal clients on cannabis compacts and implementation of tribal regulatory structure, drafted tribal commercial cannabis code, prepared formation documents for commercial cannabis entities, prepared vendor contracts, and advised on other regulatory and transactional issues related to tribal cannabis activities.

• Taxation in Indian Country Plus

  • Analyzed various state taxes, including sales, excise, property, and business and occupations taxes, and their application to tribes and non-tribal enterprises doing business in Indian country in order to advise on optimal structures for tribal and non-tribal enterprises in Indian country.

  • Prepared property tax exemption applications on behalf of tribes.

  • Drafted an amicus curiae brief on behalf of a non-profit tribal organization in Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians v. Riverside County.

• Liquor Agreements & Code Plus

  • Helped negotiate and draft memoranda of agreements (MOA) between Washington tribes and the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board related to liquor licensing in Indian country and related tax issues.

  • Drafted liquor ordinances and advised on submittal for federal approval.

  • Regularly advise on compliance with MOAs and tribal liquor ordinances.

• Fuel Tax Compacts Plus

  • Negotiated tribal fuel tax compacts between Washington tribes and the State of Washington.

  • Drafted related fuel tax ordinances and advised on implementation.

  • Played a leading role in drafting the amicus curiae brief submitted on behalf of 15 tribes in Automotive United Trades Organization v. State of Washington (2015). In a 9-0 decision, the Supreme Court of Washington upheld the constitutionality of tribal-state fuel tax compacts.

• Litigation Plus

  • Successfully resolved a dram shop action against a tribe and tribal enterprise.

  • Successfully briefed and argued cross-motions for summary judgment on behalf of a governmental agency in a real estate case involving more than 50 property owners.

  • Represented a governmental agency in a condemnation case and helped arrive at a settlement amount that was $3.3 million less than purported in the property owner’s just compensation evidence.