WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today lauded the announcement by President Obama that he intends to nominate Hilary Tompkins as the Interior Department’s solicitor.
“Hilary Tompkins will provide long experience and much-needed leadership as we address the many pressing legal issues the Department of the Interior faces in fulfilling a broad mandate that ranges from managing federal lands to conserving endangered species to helping build a better future for Native American communities,” Salazar said. “She has served in tribal, state and federal governments, giving her an invaluable perspective that will help us better serve the American people during these challenging times.”
The solicitor is the general counsel for the Department of the Interior and represents the Department in administrative and judicial litigation, and in meetings, negotiations and other contracts with Congress, federal agencies, states, tribes and the public.
Thompkins currently is an adjunct professor at the University of New Mexico School of Law for the spring semester. She most recently served as chief counsel to New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. She advised the governor on legal and policy issues including legislation, judicial appointments, executive orders, constitutional authority, civil litigation, statutory interpretation, and intergovernmental affairs. She also managed the legal staff in the Governor's office, supervised the general counsels in more than 20 state executive agencies, and advised the governor on Native American affairs.
Before joining Governor Richardson’s staff, Tompkins was an attorney with Sonoksy, Chambers Sachse, Endreson & Perry, a national law firm devoted to representing Native American interests. Prior to that, she served as a special assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of New York.
During the Clinton administration, Tompkins served as an honors program trial lawyer in the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. She also served as a law clerk for the Navajo Nation Supreme Court in Window Rock, Arizona.
Tompkins, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, received a B.A. degree from Dartmouth College and a J.D. from Stanford University, where she was associate editor of the Stanford Law Review.
President Obama is submitting Tompkins nomination to the U.S. Senate for confirmation.