Why Gibson Dunn’s ‘Best Interest of the Child’ Has a Dark Side

Gibson Dunn & Crutcher partner Matthew McGill wants you to know it’s all about the children.

“They are human beings,” McGill told US Supreme Court justices this week during arguments in the case of Brackeen v. Haaland. “They have liberty interests that tribes cannot override simply by unilaterally enrolling them.”

Specifically, McGill argued it’s high time to overturn the Indian Child Welfare Act, landmark legislation enacted in 1978 that gives preference to tribal members in custody matters involving American Indian children.

Not only does the law thwart the “best interest of the child” standard in custody matters, McGill told ...