Barrister Dan O'Gorman, who is not involved in the matter, said although the fees did not seem "exorbitant", the lack of disclosure to the broader W&J group instead of just the native title lawyers was "of concern".
Wangan and Jagalingou (W&J) representatives who swung the balance in favour of reviving a deal with the mining giant pocketed "sitting fees" that their native title lawyers said should be held in trust for the entire group.
The other five anti-Adani representatives have boycotted the meetings and refused offers of sitting fees they suspected came from Adani but complained to the group's native title lawyers.
There is currently a shortage of native English lawyers working at European and international institutions, according to Brian Porro, principal translator at the Directorate-General for Translation at the European Commission.
After the five anti-Adani applicants complained about the undisclosed payments, the seven paid by Adani reported the payments to to the group's native title lawyers, who were satisfied with the disclosure.
Asked whether the money would be repaid into a trust in line with W&J rules as flagged by the native title lawyers, Malone said there were "other legal opinions around too about exactly what happens with sitting fees".
"I just got off the phone from New York 1," said Mr. Sommer, 52, a Brooklyn native and lawyer, referring to the cable TV news station.
Pigs in Heaven (1993), a sequel to The Bean Trees, centres on a custody battle, as a Native American lawyer tries to wrest the adopted girl back to the Cherokee nation.
Vickie Ramirez's "Glenburn 12 WP," named for an expensive Scotch quaffed by its commiserating characters, has a premise like a joke in poor taste: a Native American lawyer and an African-American physicist walk into a bar during a protest.
This was no small triumph for Paterson; for its congressman and former mayor, Bill Pascrell Jr.; and for one Leonard Zax, a Paterson native and lawyer who a few years back took on the role of designated pain in the butt to push this thing forward.
