High Contrast Mode:

a sunset over a body of water
a man in a suit and tie

Patrick R. Bergin

Managing Partner

Patrick R. Bergin

Managing Partner

Patrick Bergin is a partner in the Sacramento office of Peebles Kidder. Mr. Bergin has been an advocate and advisor for tribal governments on a diverse range of legal matters, including in Indian gaming, economic development, agency negotiations, litigation, governmental affairs, and human resources.

Mr. Bergin has been actively engaged in the firm's Indian gaming practice, offering counsel on the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, casino development, Indian lands determinations, and Tribal-State gaming compact negotiations. He represents tribes before the National Indian Gaming Commission and the Department of the Interior. He has successfully litigated disputes in federal court related to management agreements and Tribal-State gaming compacts.

Additionally, Mr. Bergin has provided guidance to tribal government clients on resolving purported leadership disputes, as well as strategic defense planning and implementation. He has successfully represented tribal officials in disputes in Ex parte Young actions.

Before joining the firm's Sacramento office in 2010, Mr. Bergin was based in Washington, D.C. where he represented tribal governments before Congress and federal agencies.

Associations:

  • California Indian Law Association
  • Republican National Lawyers Association
  • Federal Bar Association

Legal Authorship:

  • Co-Author, Carcieri: One Year Later, Tribal Government Gaming (March 2010)
  • Author, Proposition 42 (2002): Turning Highway Robbery into Highway Relief, Cal. Init. Rev., (Spring 2002).

Honors:

  • The Best Lawyers in America Listing, Native American Law (2015-2021)
  • Witkin Award for Academic Excellence, Election Law (2001)

Admissions

  • California

  • New York

  • Utah and the District of Columbia

  • U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Second, Fourth, Eighth, Ninth and D.C. Circuits

  • U.S. District Courts for the Central, Eastern, Northern and Southern Districts of California, the District of Columbia, the Northern and Western Districts of New York, and the District of Utah. Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribal Court and the Intertribal Court of Southern California

Education

  • University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law (J.D., 2002)

  • California State University, Sacramento (B.A., 1996)

  • While in law school, Mr. Bergin was Chief Editor of the California Initiative Review

Prior Legal Experience

  • Partner, Anderson Tuell LLP (2007-2010)

  • Associate, Monteau & Peebles LLP (2005-2007)

  • Attorney, Bergin Law Firm (2003-2005)

  • Associate, Anderson & Holland. PC (2002-2003)

  • Legislative Consultant, California State Legislature (1997-2002)

a group of horses walk along a California beach

Representative 
Cases

Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians v. Dept. of the Interior, 2022 WL 4598687, (D.D.C. 2022) (Negative Indian Lands Opinion)

Brownstone LLC v. Big Sandy Rancheria of Western Mono Indians, 2018 WL 6697175 (C.D.C.A. 2018) (Gaming Consulting Agreement)

Bettor Racing, Inc. v. Nat'l Indian Gaming Commission, 812 F.3d 648 (8th Cir. 2016) (Gaming Management Contract Dispute)

Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe v. State of South Dakota, 2011 WL 2551379, (D.S.D. 2011) (Good Faith Gaming Compact Negotiations)

Big Sandy Band of Western Mono Indians v. Newsom, 22-cv-00844, Dkt. 33, (E.D. Cal. 2023) (Stipulated Judgment on Good Faith Gaming Compact Negotiations).

Alturas Indian Rancheria v. Newsom, 2:22-cv-01486, Dkt. 55, (E.D. Cal. 2024) (Summary Judgment on Good Faith Gaming Compact Negotiation)