Law Students Champion Rural Justice Through Research
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In fall 2020 the Blewett School of Law launched the Rural Justice Initiative (RJI) at the University of Montana with the goal of bringing to light largely overlooked aspects of criminal justice reform found among rural and Indigenous populations. The program offers interdisciplinary research and technical support to local, state and Tribal stakeholders engaged in evidence-based criminal justice policy and legislative reform. Read more |
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MPA/Law Student Alexander Dreussi Selected as Bertha Morton Scholar
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Alex Dreussi, a student in the Master of Public Administration program and second-year law student in the Alexander Blewett III School of Law, was awarded the Bertha Morton Scholarship for the 2021-2022 academic year. This scholarship award places Dreussi among the top 5% of the University’s graduate students in academic performance, research and creative activities. Dreussi was nominated for the award by the Department of Public Administration and Policy. “Not only is he passionate about service, but Alex also serves as a leader for our students in his research and writing skills,” said MPA director Dr. Sara Rinfret. “He was selected as a research assistant for a grant-funded project in our department. This is a rare opportunity only reserved for top students.” Alongside public administration faculty, Dreussi researched ethics codes in tribal governments, looking into whether they were primarily reactive statements forbidding things or contained certain activities. He presented a paper on his findings at the 2020 Pacific Northwest Political Science Association meeting. Read more |
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Cliff Edwards to Speak at Combined 2020-2021 Law School Graduation Ceremony
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The Blewett School of Law is honored to announce that UM School of Law alum and President of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers (IATL) Cliff Edwards will give the commencement address to the combined 2020-2021 Class at the Graduation Ceremony on Saturday, May 8. A 1974 graduate of the School of Law, Edwards took what he had learned and launched a successful career representing Montanans and Montana businesses. His trial practice has resulted in two of the top five jury verdicts entered in Montana as well as what is believed to be Montana’s largest single injury settlement. “My moot court experiences solidified my idea that I wanted to be a courtroom lawyer,” Edwards said. “My education in Montana gave me hands-on advocacy to go with the theory.” To ensure that future generations of law students would have those same opportunities, he gave what was then the law school’s largest-ever gift to endow the A. Clifford Edwards Advocacy Center, which provides funding for the law school’s competition teams. Read more |
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New Director of Student Services Joins Law School
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This spring the Blewett School of Law welcomed Charity Atteberry as the new director of student services. In her career at UM, Atteberry has served as director of undergraduate advising in the Phyllis J. Washington College of Education, athletic academic advisor and life skills coordinator in Athletic Academic Services, academic success coach in TRIO Student Support Services and adjunct faculty at UM. Before working in higher education, Atteberry was an elementary teacher and reading specialist for Chicago Public Schools. In addition to her role in student support, Atteberry is actively engaged in Staff Senate, the Women's Leadership Initiative, Priority for Action 3: Mission First, People Always as well as Critical Advising Practices for Equity (CAPE), in addition to other committees and working groups on campus. Read more |
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Alumni Spotlight: Danna Jackson
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I am senior counselor to the Bureau of Land Management director at the Department of Interior as an appointee in the Biden-Harris administration. It is a policy position, so I have had to reframe my approach to solving problems. Every day, I work on initiatives that will stem climate change, which is interesting and important. I was extremely young when I graduated from law school and did not have a true appreciation regarding what one can accomplish with a law degree, but I knew I wanted to work in the area |
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of natural resource and Indian law. In my career path since law school I have reinvented myself many times as a lawyer, but most of the positions I’ve held have been in that area of the law. In the past nearly 25 years, I’ve been in both private practice and public service. I am a unique lawyer in that I have both litigated – federal, state, tribal, and for the Ninth Circuit – and have served in policy positions. I have practiced in Montana and Washington, D.C. Read more |
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2021 Summer Indian Law Program
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The Blewett School of Law will host the 14th annual Summer Indian Law Program June 7 - July 31. The program’s courses are taught by a faculty of expert Indian law scholars and practitioners from around the country. Participants may choose from any of the courses or take them all. Pending approval by the Montana CLE Commission, each course will yield 13.75 continuing legal education credits for practicing attorneys. Names of those attending for CLE credit will be submitted to the State Bar of Montana. Attendance at all sessions of the week's course is required for full CLE credit. There is a flat fee of $650 for each course except the new field course. Register on Eventbrite |
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The Regulatory Review Shares Monte Mills' Essay on the Legacy of Federal Control in Indian Country
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Professor Monte Mills was one of a number of scholars and practitioners publishing essays in The Regulatory Review that explores some of the most pressing regulatory issues affecting how Native American communities experience government and law, as well as how existing systems of power ignore and exclude Native peoples and governments. Read the essay |
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Jordan Gross Examines Federal Displacement of Indigenous Justice in Article for Kentucky Law Journal |
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Professor Jordan Gross recently published an article, Incorporation by any other Name? Comparing Congress’ Federalization of Tribal Court Criminal Procedure with the Supreme Court’s Regulation of State Courts, in the Kentucky Law Journal. The article examines the different experience of states and tribes with uniform national standards of criminal procedure imposed by the federal government. |
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Michelle Bryan Co-Authors Book on Montana Water Law
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Professor Michelle Bryan served as co-author and editor on Montana Water Law, a new book from the Rocky Mountain Mineral Foundation that provides a comprehensive, contemporary summary of major water law topics in Montana. This essential treatise belongs in the library of practitioners, consultants, and policy-makers working in the Montana water, real estate, energy, natural resources and environmental sectors. Learn more and order your copy |
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Updates from the Baucus Institute and Department of Public Administration and Policy
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Third Annual Public Service Academy Set for Summer
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The Max S. Baucus Institute's Department of Public Administration and Policy is hosting its third annual Public Service Academy on Aug. 5 and 6. The Public Service Academy is open to any public or nonprofit sector employee. Participants will learn from leading experts in the field while advancing skills for their current professions. The 2021 theme is Resiliency and Leadership for Public and Nonprofit Sector Professionals. For more information, including a detailed schedule and speaker bios, visit www.umt.edu/publicserviceacademy. Register on Eventbrite |
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UM Student Places Second in International Simulation Competition |
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A University of Montana graduate student led her team to a second-place finish recently during an international, public-policy simulation contest involving students from 30 countries around the world trying to combat a fictional pandemic. Kaitlin Pugh is a Master of Public Administration student in UM’s Baucus Institute, which houses the Department of Public Administration and Policy. Her team competed in the virtual competition against 400 students from 120 universities at four global sites. The event was the 2021 NASPAA-Batten Student Simulation Competition. (NASPAA stands for Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration.) “The teams were organized so that I was paired with students from all over the Western Hemisphere,” said Pugh, who is from Pittsburgh. “I had never worked with such a diverse group, but our team was able to have such a fun time while working on policy decisions.” Read more |
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Alexander Blewett III School of Law University of Montan - 32 Campus Drive Missoula, MT 59812 406-243-4311 | www.umt.edu/law |
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