Partner
Padraic I. McCoy
General Background
Padraic is an experienced business, transactional, and finance attorney and has worked for large law firms in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and Denver, including Sonosky Chambers Sachse Endreson & Perry, LLP, Holland & Knight, LLP, and Faegre & Benson, LLP (now Faegre Drinker). Padraic served as an extern to a U.S. District Court and 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge, completed his Juris Doctor and Master’s Degree at UCLA, and has authored several published articles. Padraic graduated magna cum laude from the University of California, Irvine, with a B.A. in Criminology, Law & Society. From 2012 to 2019, Padraic served on the law faculty at the University of Denver, Sturm College of Law. He has served as outside counsel to the City and County of Denver, Colorado, where he has worked on municipal finance matters. In 2013, Padraic received a Distinguished Alumnus Award from the UCLA School of Law.
Padraic’s primary areas of focus are federal-Indian law, real estate & construction, and employment counseling.
Federal-Indian Law and Tribal Representation
Padraic, a descendant of the Fort Yuma Quechan (Kwatsáan: those who descended) Indian Tribe, represents Indian tribes, tribal enterprises, and others in Indian country on a variety of federal-Indian law topics, with an emphasis on business, transactional, finance, and regulatory matters, tribal gaming, Indian lands, and tribal healthcare. Padraic began his legal career in Washington, D.C., and has several years of experience with the Department of the Interior, the National Indian Gaming Commission, and the U.S. Indian Health Service. Padraic has been nationally recognized for his work, including from Super Lawyers, Native American Law, and Chambers USA, America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, and Native American Law (National). In 2013, Padraic received the Native Nations Distinguished Alumnus Award from the UCLA School of Law’s Native Nations Law & Policy Center, “In recognition of his distinguished contributions as a teacher, practitioner, and visionary thinker in the field of Indian Law.”
Padraic has several years of experience as outside General Counsel to Indian tribes, including legal oversight of a large casino operation with nearly 450 employees. He is a co-founder and former General Counsel to OneTogether Solutions, LLC, a healthcare management services organization with operations in California and Washington that assist in providing treatment to over one-thousand patients per day. Padraic’s Indian law practice also involves tribal land matters (land-into-trust, Indian land determinations, leases, etc.), management and development agreements, gaming compacts, energy transactions, environmental law, tribal healthcare and IHS/638 matters, and nearly $2.0 billion in tribal financings, including work on New Markets Tax Credits transactions and the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program. His publications include:
Sovereign Immunity and Tribal Commercial Activity, The Federal Lawyer, March/April 2010
The Land Must Hold The People: Native Modes of Territoriality and Contemporary Tribal Justifications for Placing Land Into Trust Through 25 C.F.R. Part 151, 27 Am. Indian L. Rev. 421 (2003)
The End of “Existing Indian Family” Jurisprudence: Holyfield at 20, In the Matter of A.J.S., and the Last Gasps of a Dying Doctrine, Dan Lewerenz and Padraic McCoy, 36 Will. Mitch. L. Rev. 684 (2010)
Padraic is former President (now Secretary) of the Colorado Indian Bar Association, and is admitted to practice before several federal, state, and tribal courts.
Real Estate & Construction Matters
Padraic advises clients on a broad range of real estate, development, and construction matters. He represents businesses, developers, tribal governments, nonprofit organizations, and property owners in the acquisition, development, financing, construction, and disposition of real property. He has worked on the development, financing, and construction of several large infrastructure, energy (solar and wind), hospitality, healthcare, government, casino gaming, and other public and private projects and buildings.
Padraic’s real estate practice includes the following:
Purchase of vacant and improved properties, including large forest tracts, ranch properties, airports, and industrial sites
Real estate due diligence
Purchase and Sale Agreements
Leases, easements, rights-of-way, licenses, permits, access agreements
Development Agreements
Title and survey review and general real estate matters
Padraic works with clients throughout the life cycle of a project—from the initial evaluation and acquisition of property, through development, construction, operation, and long-term ownership.
Padraic’s construction practice includes the following:
Drafting and negotiation of construction agreements, including architect agreements engineering, owner-contractor, and design-build documents
Owner’s Rep and Construction Management agreements
Preparation and negotiation of professional services agreements
Negotiation of change orders, project modifications, and contract amendments
Review and negotiation of indemnity, insurance, warranty, and limitation of liability provisions
Counseling regarding payment provisions, retainage, substantial completion, and other construction issues
Padraic has served as outside General Counsel to a Southern California construction company and as outside counsel to a Southern California utility company.
Employment Counseling & Executive Advisory Services
Padraic provides practical, strategic employment counseling for employers, executives, professionals, and business owners, with a focus on helping clients structure employment relationships, negotiate favorable agreements, manage legal risk, and resolve employment issues.
Services for Executives and Employees
Representation of executives, physicians, professionals, managers, and other employees in connection with:
Employment agreements
Executive employment contracts
Offer letters and compensation packages
Executive compensation arrangements
Bonus and incentive compensation plans
Retention agreements
Change-in-control and transaction-related employment issues
Equity compensation and ownership interests
Restrictive covenant analysis, including confidentiality, non-solicitation, and non-compete provisions, where permitted by law
Independent contractor and consulting agreements
Separation and severance agreements
Negotiation of employment terms before and after hiring
Services for Employers
Representation of businesses on the legal and practical aspects of developing and managing employment relationships, including:
Drafting and negotiating employment agreements
Executive employment arrangements
Executive compensation planning
Incentive compensation and bonus structures
Retention and transition agreements
Separation and severance agreements
Independent contractor and consulting relationships
Confidentiality, proprietary information, and intellectual property agreements
Employment-related risk management
Other
Padraic enjoys hiking, swimming, cycling, golf, fiction writing, food, straight-ahead jazz, and especially spending time with family and friends in the Colorado mountains.
Education
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES SCHOOL OF LAW
Juris Doctor
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES
M.A., American Indian Studies
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE
B.A.,magna cum laude
Bar Admissions
United States Supreme Court, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, and various U.S. District Courts and state courts in Colorado and California
Specialties
Padraic is an experienced business, transactional, and finance attorney, with over 25 years of experience representing Indian tribes and tribally owned businesses (casinos, resorts, fuel stations, etc.) and other companies, municipal governments, developers, lenders, investors, and others in the fields of project finance and development, government and regulatory matters, public finance, and environmental law. Padraic’s practice also includes executive advisory work.