Christina Kazhe established Kazhe Law Group PC in March 2008 as an Indian woman owned business providing outstanding legal service with integrity. As an associate and equity partner with nationwide Indian law firm from 2001 to 2008, Ms. Kazhe successfully represented Native American tribes in state and federal civil litigation, restored land determinations, Indian Child Welfare advocacy, and fee-to-trust applications and federal recognition. More recently, she successfully represented Wilton Rancheria in their pursuit of restoration status as a federally recognized tribe. Through her representation, Wilton Rancheria was successfully restored in 2009. She has broad experience in issues related to tribal government, tribal sovereignty and self-determination, taxation, reservation economic development, gaming law, and environmental and cultural preservation.

While an associate with Morrison & Foerster LLP, from 1996 to 2001, Ms. Kazhe had a broad commercial litigation practice representing national and international clients in state and federal courts. Her cases included unfair competition, contractual disputes, fiduciary duty, malicious prosecution and insurance coverage actions. She was also a summer associate with Morrison & Foerster LLP during her first and second year of law school.

Christina Kazhe received her law degree from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1996 and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California, Davis, in 1993. She has received numerous honors from UCD including the 2004 Young Alumni Award and the 1993 Outstanding Woman Graduate Award. In 2010, she was named by the Sacramento Business Journal as "40 Under 40" for leadership, entrepreneurship, and community involvement.

Most recently, Christina has been appointed to the Board of Directors for the California Endowment, a private, statewide health foundation with the mission to expand access to affordable, quality health care for underserved individuals and communities, and to promote fundamental improvements in the health status of all Californians. Ms. Kazhe has been a member of the Board of Directors of the American Indian Child Resource Center in Oakland, California, and served a three-year term as the Board's chairperson. AICRC is a nonprofit social service and education agency founded in 1972 to preserve Indian families. She also serves as Chairperson of the Native American Alumni Association at UC Davis. She is a Senior Fellow of the American Leadership Forum, Mountain Valley Chapter Class XII. Ms. Kazhe also has been elected to the Parent Committee for the Elk Grove Unified School District, Indian Education Program each year since 2004 and is currently serving her third term as Chairperson for the Board. She also co-organized the Sacramento Native American Playgroup for native families.

She lives in Elk Grove, California, with her family and is a member of the Navajo Nation and affiliate to the Mescalero Apache Tribe.

Michelle Chi is a Senior Attorney at Kazhe Law Group with over a decade of experience advising tribes, tribal health, and urban Indian health organizations. Her work covers a broad spectrum of healthcare operations, federal compliance, and complex business transactions. She has a particular focus on healthcare regulatory matters, including Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, compliance with regulations such as HIPAA, HITECH, Stark Law, Anti-Kickback Statute, Civil Monetary Penalties, the Federal Tort Claims Act, and the Indian Health Care Improvement Act. Michelle frequently negotiates under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEAA) for Section 105(l) lease agreements and annual funding agreements for Title I contracts and Title V compacts, ensuring that tribal health systems receive necessary federal funding and remain compliant with regulatory requirements.

In addition to her healthcare practice, Michelle advises tribes and tribal organizations on incorporation, governance, contract development and negotiation, construction financing, tax-exempt bonds, licensure and certification, real estate and facility development, and compliance with both public and private funding sources. She also provides counsel on land use, environmental, and cultural resource protection. Her extensive experience supports tribal entities in structuring and managing complex legal transactions and operations across healthcare, economic development, and infrastructure projects.

Michelle holds a J.D. from the University of California, Law San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings College of the Law), and a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of California, Davis.

Bio of
Michelle N. Chi
Attorney at Law