Michael-Corey (Corey) F. Hinton earned his law degree from the Arizona State University Sandra Day College of Law in 2011 with a special certificate in Federal Indian law. In 2008, Corey received a Bachelor of Arts in Native American Studies and Political Science from Colgate University. Prior to joining Drummond Woodsum, Corey worked in Washington, D.C. where he primarily advised tribal governments and tribally-owned entities on a wide range of matters, including water and natural resource management issues, economic development, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, environmental regulatory issues, the protection of treaty fishing rights, and the fee-to-trust process. A primary focus of Corey’s practice is natural resource-based economic development, including the establishment of Improved Forest Management Projects in the State of California cap-and-trade program. Corey has also focused his time working with tribal clients on a range of education issues, such as Bureau of Indian Education school construction, tribally controlled college establishment and administration, and self-determination in tribal education. 

In 2016, Corey assisted the Joint Tribal Council of the Passamaquoddy Tribe with the successful establishment of an Improved Forest Management Project, which was recognized in the State of California for the successful removal of approximately 3.8 million tons of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere in furtherance of the California cap-and-trade program. In addition, Corey spent time as a legal fellow working for former Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) at the United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, with the National Indian Gaming Commission, and with the Arizona State University Indian Legal Clinic where he advised clients on intellectual property and Indian Child Welfare Act-related issues.

 

Corey is an enrolled member of the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Pleasant Point. He is a former member of the Iroquois Nationals Lacrosse team and the former president of the Native American Bar Association of Washington, D.C.