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Students work closely with program faculty during their three years of law school and build relationships that continue long after graduation. Our faculty members have substantial practice experience in natural resources and environmental law, and are eager to pass this experience on to their students. And importantly, from our faculty's diverse backgrounds, students cultivate an ability to look at issues from a variety of perspectives.
Each faculty member contributes his or her own unique talents beyond the classroom as well; they sponsor law reviews and student groups, coach competition teams, and work on environmental cases and causes. Our faculty also contributes important scholarship in the areas of environmental, natural resources, and Indian law, often working with student research assistants on these endeavors.
Beyond the classroom, students benefit from their work with clinical supervisors, who provide a wealth of expertise about natural resources and environmental law. Additionally, we have faculty who hold expertise in complementary areas such as agricultural law, environmental legal research, renewable energy transactions, and environmental crimes. In sum, our Program students are part of a strong community of faculty and mentors that support them as they undertake their legal studies and careers.
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irma.Russell@mso.umt.edu
406.243.2549
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Irma Russell became Dean of The University of Montana School of Law on July 1, 2009. Prior to coming to Montana, Dean Russell was the NELPI Professor and Director of the National Energy-Environment Law & Policy Institute at the University of Tulsa College of Law.
Among the courses she has taught are Environmental Law, International Environmental Law, Natural Resources Law, Professional Responsibility, Administrative Law, Contracts, Environmental Law Seminar, International Environmental Law Seminar, Environmental Justice Seminar, Appellate Practice and Procedure, Sales and Leasing, Commercial Transactions, Legal Research and Writing, Appellate Advocacy, International Human Rights, International Business Transactions, Agency & Partnership, and Remedies. Dean Russell is vice chair of the ABA Section of Environment, Energy and Resources. She is the chair of the Professionalism Committee of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admission to the Bar and a member of the ABA Standing Committee on Professionalism. She also currently serves as a member of the Executive Committee and Secretary of the AALS Natural Resources Section. Dean Russell has served as chair of the Executive Committee of the AALS Section on Professional Responsibility and as a member of the Publications Committee of the Center for Professional Responsibility. Dean Russell earned two undergraduate degrees (liberal arts and education), a master’s degree in English literature, and her law degree at the University of Kansas. She clerked for The Honorable James K. Logan, United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Russell engaged in private practice for several years.
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michelle.bryanmudd@mso.umt.edu
406.243.6753
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Professor Michelle Bryan Mudd teaches in the law school’s environmental program, including the Land Use Planning and Water Law courses. She is also Director of the Land Use Clinic, which works on behalf of Montana local governments and is among only a few such clinics nationwide. Prior to teaching in the environmental program, Professor Bryan Mudd taught in the school’s legal writing program and continues to emphasize writing and analytical skills in the clinic and classroom setting. She has been honored to receive the Garlington, Lohn & Robinson Faculty Teaching Award and the Margery Hunter Brown Faculty Merit Award for her professionalism in the classroom, in her research, and in her public service.
Professor Bryan Mudd was drawn to the fields of land use and water law because of her background growing up in ranching and farming communities in the West. Before joining the law school faculty, she was in private practice specializing in land use and water law in both the transactional and litigation contexts. She worked with a variety of clients including local governments, private landowners, non-profits, developers, and affected neighbors and community groups. She brings this diversity of perspective to her work with students and government clients.
Outside of teaching, Professor Bryan Mudd serves on the board of directors for the Montana Justice Foundation, the non-profit state entity that collects and distributes funds to promote access to legal services for Montana’s underprivileged. She enjoys poetry and photography, as well as hiking, fly fishing, and exploring Montana with her husband John Mudd, her daughter, and their dog Bradley.
Professor Bryan Mudd graduated from The University of Montana School of Law with high honors and served as an editor of the Montana Law Review. Prior to law school she was a policy specialist for the Water Resources Center in Bozeman, Montana.
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ray.cross@umontana.edu
406.243.4816
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Professor Raymond Cross teaches Federal Indian Law, Advanced Federal Indian Law, American Cultural and Religious Freedoms, Comparative Legal Status & Rights of the Indigenous Peoples of Canada, Australia, New Zealand and United States, and Public Land and Natural Resources Law. He also advises the Public Land & Resources Law Review, and he coaches the National Native American Law Students’ Moot Court team that placed second nationally in 2004. He works extensively with Indian tribes, Indian organizations, and federal agencies on issues of Indian education, tribal self-determination, and cultural and natural resources preservation.
Professor Raymond Cross’ legal career in Indian Country is chronicled in a new book entitled “Coyote Warrior: One Man, Three Tribes and the Trial That Forged A Nation” (Little, Brown Publishing Co. 2004). He began his legal career as a staff attorney with California Indian Legal Services (C.I.L.S.) in its Mendocino County office located in Ukiah, California. He later served from 1975-80 as the Indian Law Support Center Director for Native American Rights Fund (NARF), a public interest law firm located in Boulder, Colorado. During his tenure at NARF he represented the Klamath Indian Tribe in its successful litigation effort to establish its time immemorial reserved water right for the preservation of the tribe’s aboriginal hunting, fishing, gathering, and trapping rights within the environmentally significant Klamath Marsh region of south central Oregon. He also represented the Pasqua Yaqui Tribe, which resides in the Sonora Desert of southern Arizona, in its successful effort to secure Congressional recognition of its aboriginal status as an American Indian tribe entitled to federal protection and federal services.
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