Alexander Blewett III School of Law

Required Course
Course Number: LAW 556
Credits: 3

Required Course
Course Number: LAW 500
Credits: 4

Civil Procedure governs how parties can effectuate their rights in civil litigation (as opposed to criminal matters). In other words, it provides the procedures that determine who you can sue, where you can sue, and how you can sue. Civil Procedure is a mix of statutes, rules, and common law. The course covers issues from pretrial investigation through post-trial motions. While the course focuses primarily on litigation in federal courts, it also addresses Montana courts and tribal court jurisdiction. The course also addresses the structure and jurisdiction of federal, state, and tribal courts.

Required Course
Course Number: Summer – LAW 599 | Fall - LAW 600 | Spring - LAW 601 (Section Numbers Vary By Clinic)
Credits: 4 (up to 15 with approval; clinic is a variable credit course)

As your capstone course, clinic is actual practice that will bring together everything you’ve learned in law school thus far. Unlike a job as a law clerk or an internship, however, it is an academic experience done under the close supervision of both a placement staff attorney and a faculty supervisor. Students are required to take 4 credits of clinic and attend a weekly Clinic Seminar class. Students can usually select from over 30 clinical offerings to fulfill this requirement. The clinical program engages students in applying, enhancing, and integrating substantive and skills components of legal education. The program also enhances students' capacity to recognize and resolve ethical issues and assesses their performance in a practice setting.

Required Course
Course Number: LAW 558
Credits: 4

Constitutional law constitutes the legal system and governs government. This course surveys the United States Constitution, how it is interpreted, and who interprets it. The course begins with a history of the Constitution and its interpretation. Then, following the general structure of the Constitution, the course examines the vesting and limitation of legislative powers in Article I, executive power in Article II, and judicial power in Article III, as well as the relationship of the federal government to the States. The course next examines the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses. In addition to class discussion, students post short briefs on emerging issues and take a final exam.

Required Course
Course Number: LAW 502
Credits: 4

What promises will society enforce? What roles do lawyers and courts play in both structuring agreements and resolving disputes that arise from them? The course explores the traditional issues of contract law—including contract formation, performance, breach, and remedies—through a close analysis of cases, while also examining how those doctrines operate in real-world litigation. Although lawyers will often draft contracts more frequently than they litigate them, this course gives attention to both transactional practice and dispute resolution, emphasizing drafting skills, strategic thinking about enforcement, and the practice of preventative law, with a focus on planning things correctly, not merely cleaning up after they have gone wrong.

Required Course
Course Number: LAW 510
Credits: 3

In this class, we examine aspects of the criminal justice system, focusing on the notion of “crime.”  We explore the components of a crime, learn how to interpret and apply criminal statutes, and discover how to establish the elements of crimes.  We also delve into important defenses to criminal activity, such as mental disease and justifiable use of force.  Throughout this course, we look to examine the social policy behind determining that conduct is criminal and when punishment is appropriate and just.  The criminal law raises fascinating issues dealing with race, gender, sexual orientation, class, and mental illness.  Students will draft many of the documents prosecutors use to file charges against a person and to prosecute a case:  informations, affidavits of probable cause, and jury instructions. 

This course is required for 1st year students.

Required Course
Course Number: LAW 560
Credits: 3

Evidence examines the rules governing the admission and exclusion of proof at trial in both civil and criminal proceedings. The course focuses on the Federal Rules of Evidence, with Montana law applied to questions of privilege. Topics include relevance and its limits; character evidence and related doctrines; privileges; witness examination, impeachment, and rehabilitation; the hearsay rule with its exemptions and  exceptions; expert testimony and the Daubert standard; authentication and the best evidence rule; and the Sixth Amendment Confrontation Clause as it applies to out-of-court statements in criminal cases. Emphasis is placed on applying the rules to realistic trial scenarios rather than rote memorization, and students are expected to analyze evidentiary problems from the perspectives of both the offering and objecting parties. 

Required Course
Course Number: LAW 508
Credits: 2

Taught in small sections, this course introduces students to the reasoning and analytical patterns of lawyers. Students learn to read cases closely and brief them, identify and formulate legal issues, evaluate facts in light of applicable law, and analyze how judges will likely rule on legal questions. This course builds students’ analytical skills by guiding them through the steps of developing and organizing written legal analysis. Through a series exercises leading up to a more substantial summative assessment, students sharpen their ability to spot and articulate legal issues, organize their writing into the most common frameworks lawyers rely on, and practice communicating analysis clearly and precisely.

Required Course
Course Number: LAW 506
Credits: 2

This two-credit course introduces students to the foundational lawyering skill of legal research. Through hands-on exercises, students will build core competencies in locating cases, statutes, regulations, and secondary sources, while developing an understanding of how the structure of the American legal system and legal technologies shape the creation, organization, and retrieval of legal information. Students will also learn to read and produce accurate legal citations.

Required Course
Course Number: LAW 509
Credits: 3

Building on the knowledge and skills developed in the fall Legal Research and Analysis courses, students advance into the full writing process, including researching, outlining, drafting, revising, and polishing their written work. Small sections and peer groups create an intensive, collaborative environment where students sharpen their research, analytical, and writing skills. This course challenges students to analyze more complex legal problems, conduct thorough research, and communicate both objective analysis and persuasive argument. Through weekly reading, discussion, reflection, and drafting assignments, students produce a range of professional legal documents, which may include research memoranda, client letters, motions with supporting briefs, or proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law. Over the course of the semester, students develop professional habits that define effective legal writers.

Required Course
Course Number: LAW 541
Credits:  3

Required Course
Course Number: LAW 504
Credits:  1

Required Course
Course Number: LAW 555
Credits: 3

The course addresses the structure of the legal profession, the functions and activities of lawyers, and the relation of the profession to society as a whole.  The practicing lawyer must balance multiple identities: advocate, adviser, citizen, and public servant. Using actual problems and issues arising from the practicing bar, students apply the rules of professional responsibility and explore how to appropriately balance the lawyer's duties to clients, the courts, the legal profession, and the public good.  Course resources include the Model Rules of Professional Conduct and selected cases and problems that the Rules address.

Required Course
Course Number: LAW 550
Credits: 4 

This four‑credit course introduces first‑year students to the fundamental principles of property law. Topics include possession and ownership of real and personal property, donative transfers, estates and future interests, cotenancy, real property transactions, and landlord‑tenant law. Students also study public and private land use controls, constitutional constraints, and the basics of intellectual property. The course provides a solid foundation for further study in property‑related legal fields and supports students exploring and preparing for a broad range of legal practice areas.

Required Course
Course Number: LAW 512
Credits: 4

Students study the private civil wrongs for which courts provide a remedy, including intentional torts, such as battery and false imprisonment, and negligence and strict liability. The focus of this course is the substantive law of torts - that body of law which provides remedies for civil wrongs not arising from contract. Tort law serves various functions (e.g., compensation, deterrence, loss spreading, and corrective justice). These subjects will be covered in detail. As a first-year course, however, it is about much more than "torts." The course is designed to help you understand, appreciate, and practice the process of legal reasoning. It also explores how law affects human lives, and the historical, political, and social context of tort law. Students learn cooperatively, actively participate in discussions, discover "rules," and go beyond a search for "rules" to look and evaluate policies.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 595
Credits: 2

The American civil justice system is at a breaking point: in roughly three-quarters of the 20 million civil cases filed in state courts each year, at least one party is unrepresented, and countless additional legal problems—ranging from evictions and debt disputes to domestic violence, unpaid wages, and denied insurance claims—never reach a courtroom at all. This justice gap disproportionately burdens low-income and marginalized communities, raising urgent questions about fairness, equality, and the legitimacy of the courts. This course surveys the scope and causes of that gap, with particular attention to Montana, and examines how legal and judicial ethics both constrain and enable reform. Students will analyze the structure and stakeholders of state court systems and evaluate proposed solutions, including procedural simplification, renewed due process protections, technological innovation, and expanded roles for nonlawyer and software-based legal assistance.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 665
Credits: 3 

Agencies are at the front-lines of administering the law, and their work touches on nearly every facet of our lives, from workplace and food safety, to government benefits, to environmental protection and more. This course introduces you to the world of agencies, exploring the laws that govern them and the political forces that shape them. This area of law is also on the move, with an active U.S. Supreme Courst shifting what we thougt was established precedent. All lawyers engage in agency work at some point in their practice, whether they are applying agency regulations, draftng or commenting on proposed rules, or participating in an administrative hearing. Knowing the laws governing agencies helps determine whether their rules and decisions can be changed or upheld. While focusing predominantly on the federal arena, we will also study how the federal administrative law system compares with that of Montana. And there will be a healthy does of practice problems and real-world applications along the way.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 647
Credits: 2

Activity and discussion-driven seminar exploring advanced and emerging issues in intellectual property law through current controversies, policy debates, and developing doctrine. The course will critically evaluate how and why IP rights are justified and contested.  Students will sharpen practice-ready skills in legal research, analysis, and professional communication by providing peer feedback, delivering a short in‑class presentation, and producing a seminar paper.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 617
Credits: 3

This course focuses on how tribal attorneys and other advocates can assist contemporary tribal governments in achieving political, cultural, and economic self-determination. Tribal self-determination requires the development of effective means for the exercise of tribal sovereign powers. These means include the development of effective tribal justice systems, tribal governmental institutions, tribal administrative agencies, and tribal natural and cultural resource protection programs.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 595
Credits: 3

Advanced Torts builds on the foundations of tort law established in the first-year Torts course. Topics include: products liability; nuisance; dignitary torts such as defamation and invasion of privacy; economic torts including misrepresentation, interference with economic advantage, and abuse of process; and harms to family relationships through wrongful death and consortium claims. The course situates these doctrines within the broader frameworks of the tort system, including the role of liability insurance and, time permitting, alternative compensation systems such as workers' compensation. Assessment includes a midterm quiz and a final examination.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 595
Credits: 3

This course focuses on how tribal attorneys and other advocates can effectively address tribal natural resources issues. The subject matter of the course will take an in-depth analysis of select tribal natural resource issues across Indian Country.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 656
Credits: 3

Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural producers represent an important segment of the U.S. economy. Agricultural law encompasses many other areas of the law, but focuses on the special rules and exceptions made for agriculture. Topics covered in this 3-credit class include U.S. agricultural policy; farm programs, incentives, and payments; livestock production and animal welfare; food safety; organic certifications; and genetic engineering of seeds. We will also study environmental, labor, immigration, commercial, tax, and property laws as they apply specifically to the agricultural sector. Students are expected to participate actively in this seminar class. The student’s grade will be based upon class participation and a paper. There will not be a final exam.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 595
Credits: 3

This course explores the application of generative AI tools, including Lexis+AI, Westlaw AI-Assisted Legal Research and CoCounsel, and CoPilot/ChatGPT, in legal research and writing. Students will critically assess AI-generated legal outputs, develop prompt engineering skills, and analyze the ethical, professional, and practical implications of generative AI in legal practice.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 614
Credits: 3

Broadly defined, Alternative Dispute Resolution encompasses any method of dispute resolution outside the context of formal adjudication. This course addresses the three most common forms of non-adjudicative dispute resolution associated with the U.S. legal system: settlement negotiation, mediation, and arbitration. The course will focus on the role of lawyers in the dispute resolution process, but will also sometimes adopt the perspective of other participants, including parties and neutrals.  The course will involve a mix of theory, legal doctrine, and skills in an experiential format. The course culminates in oral arguments and a mock arbitration that satisfy the Oral Advocacy Requirement (OAR).

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 619
Credits: 1

This course focuses on the specific legal issues facing American Indian children in the United States. Much of the focus will be on the implementation, interpretation, and understanding of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). ICWA, a federal statute interpreted almost entirely in state courts, applies to all terminations of parental rights if the child involved is an Indian child under the law’s definition. Congress passed this law was passed in 1978 in response to the overwhelming numbers of Indian children in foster care and adopted away from their tribes and families. However, the course will also address issues in state welfare systems, the history of Native children and state actors, and current tribal social service practices.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 619
Credits: 3

This course is a comprehensive study of tribal child welfare issues including the following: the examination of past federal policies which resulted in the removal of Indian children from their families and led to Congress passing the Indian Child Welfare Act; discussion of the legal requirements of the Indian Child Welfare Act; various aspects of working with Indian families; potential conflicts with state and other federal laws; the difficulties in maintaining compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act; Indian child welfare in tribal court forums; tribal juvenile justice matters; and international Indigenous child welfare perspectives from Canada, South America, Australia, and Scandinavia. Though the subject matter of the course is broad and each individual issue could be its own separate study, the overall objective of the course is to provide you with a foundational understanding of tribal child welfare related issues across this broad spectrum.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 619
Credits: 3

This course examines the unique aspects of cultural and religious practices exercised by the American Indian peoples. Course coverage will focus on the evolving judicial and legislative responses to the traditional and contemporary assertions by the American Indian peoples of their inherent right to the free exercise of their religious, cultural practices both on and off reservation, language preservation issues, educational impacts on tribal culture and how outside research impacts these rights. Particular emphasis will be given to the Indian peoples’ contemporary efforts to secure federal judicial and legislative protection of cultural practices. The major U.S. Supreme Court decisions regarding these rights will be assessed in terms of their effect on the Indian peoples’ religious and cultural freedoms. Additionally, those contemporary federal statutory and executive initiatives that seek to preserve these freedoms, pursuant to the federal government’s trust duty that it owes to the Indian peoples, will be analyzed.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 595
Credits: 3

Relations between Indian tribes and states have raised complex legal and policy questions since before America’s founding. While the federal government’s trust relationship with Indian tribes is the central focus of Federal Indian Law, the on-the-ground relationships between tribal governments and their state counterparts often define the day-to-day challenges facing lawyers and policy-makers working on their behalf. This course provides a basis for understanding why tribes and states may be “deadliest enemies,” “mutually beneficial,” or something in between while exploring tribal-state relations in a range of substantive policy areas, including civil and criminal jurisdiction, treaty-related natural resources issues, gaming, taxation, and child welfare. The class concludes with a forum of tribal and state officials discussing current issues in relations between Montana and the tribes located within the state’s boundaries.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 619
Credits: 3

This course is a study of the intersection of two of the most interesting and critical areas of the law, particularly for those of us west of the 100th meridian. Regardless of your ultimate area of practice, as attorneys working in the western United States, you are more than likely to encounter fascinating issues (if not decades-long conflicts) over the rights to use scarce natural resources such as water, the sharing of common resources such as the public lands, and the role of the region’s first populations in deciding those issues. In fact, you are entering the legal profession during a time of incredible opportunity to help define (or re-define) the standards and policies by which the next generations will view these issues as the traditional concepts of natural resources law fade and are replaced by new approaches, often centrally involving tribal views. Though the subject matter of the course is broad and each individual issue could be its own separate study, the overall objective of the course is to provide you with a foundational understanding of tribal natural resource issues across this broad spectrum.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 605
Credits: 2

Animal Law is the body of law relating to animals and the interaction between people and animals. Animal Law crosses into many areas of law including Property, Torts, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Contracts, Family Law and Wills & Trusts. In many ways Animal Law issues are somewhat contradictory: how can animals have rights but no standing to enforce those rights? Do animal laws protect animals or people’s interest in animals? In this course, students will read, discuss, and think about Animal Law issues.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 616
Credits: 3

This course is designed to develop advanced skills in research and writing. It emphasizes organizational skills, effective problem analysis, research, and effective communication of legal appellate arguments. Students learn the rules of appellate procedure, and will prepare a rough draft and a final version of an appellate brief, and will present an oral argument before a panel of attorneys. Students will receive peer and faculty critiques on the appellate brief. 

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 621
Credits: 3

This course focuses on federal bankruptcy law and special problems encountered in bankruptcy practice. When individuals or businesses cannot meet their obligations, bankruptcy law determines who gets paid, in what order, and under what conditions. The course explores the bankruptcy estate, the automatic stay, exemptions, claims and priority rules, discharge, avoidance actions, and the treatment of secured and unsecured creditors. Students study Chapter 7 liquidation, Chapter 13 repayment plans, and Chapter 11 business reorganization, including plan negotiation and confirmation. Through statutory analysis and problem-solving, students learn to evaluate chapter choice, assess creditor remedies, and analyze how bankruptcy reshapes contractual and property rights. The course helps prepare students for practice in bankruptcy, commercial litigation, business restructuring, secured lending, and debtor-creditor law.

Elective Course
Course Number: Law 554
Credits: 3.0

This three-credit Business Organizations course surveys the laws related to agency, partnership, limited liability companies, and corporations. Other entities are compared to these basic organizational forms. Class discussion focuses on a mix of relevant case law and statutory law, with an emphasis placed upon how best to assist clients in the business planning context.  Students will gain an understanding of how to strategically advise clients about entity formation and operational issues, including which entity structure to choose and why, how to comply with fiduciary duties, how to structure entity ownership and management, and how best to limit personal liability.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 533
Credits: 2

Litigation over federal constitutional rights is prominent in the news at the moment. 42 U.S.C. § 1983 is the vehicle designated by Congress for the recognition and enforcement of federal constitutional rights against persons acting on the authority of a state or local government. In other words, if you want a court to protect your federal constitutional rights, you sue under § 1983. Last June, in a trio of § 1983 cases, the Supreme Court held that officials in three States could not enforce gay-marriage bans because such bans violate the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. But § 1983 will not always work the way you might think. All police officers who conduct unreasonable searches know the Fourth Amendment will prohibit use of the evidence in court; but, as the “Black Lives Matter” movement points out, an officer who kills someone while using force to make an arrest might not be held legally accountable at all – even if a court in a § 1983 action finds he violated the Fourth Amendment. Employees and students may use § 1983 to vindicate their First Amendment free speech rights, and § 1983 and the Fourteenth Amendment may protect employers, teachers, or administrators who are fired for limiting that speech in the first place. As these scenarios suggest, one individual’s constitutional rights against the government are frequently in tension with other individuals’ constitutional rights against the same government. And, although § 1983 gives individuals a way to enforce federal rights, federal supremacy is always in tension with the equally constitutional doctrine of federalism and respect for states’ rights. Federal rights should not prevent States from pursuing legitimate objectives. For these reasons, § 1983 provides both a sword to plaintiffs and shields to defendants. It is easy to misunderstand what the statute requires and what can be accomplished with it. It is also easy for lawyers, whoever they represent, to lose what should be a good case.

This class is designed for third- or second-year students who are interested in constitutional law or civil litigation. Students headed for clerkships at the trial or appellate level will also benefit. We will look at who can be sued under § 1983, what they can be sued for, what defenses are available, and why all these rules are what they are. Our focus will be practical. Instead of using a textbook, we will read landmark cases together with contemporary ones to see how the rules play out in real-world situations today. As a midterm assignment, students will be given a factual scenario and will draft a complaint under § 1983 to show they can sue the right people for the right things and avoid obvious defenses. The final exam will be a more traditional take-home law school exam.

Elective Course
Course Number: 595
Credits: 2 (graded credit/no credit)

Each year in late May and early June, a two-credit Comparative Law and Oral Advocacy course is offered in at the University College Cork Faculty of Law in Cork, Ireland. This course explores a substantive legal issue in U.S. and Irish law and teaches oral advocacy skills. Students then analyze a fact pattern implicating the substantive legal issues studied, craft an oral argument outline, and provide an oral argument to a simulated tribunal. Students who successfully complete this course obtain their Oral Advocacy Requirement.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 645
Credits: 3

This course concerns how (and why) the government regulates transactions between consumers and retailers. The breadth of consumer law makes a comprehensive review of all such laws impossible for any given course. Rather than jumping from statute to statute each week, this course lays a foundation for examining why we regulate in the consumer marketplace, how we regulate, and how effective these actions actually are at addressing our concerns. We will begin by covering key legal concepts and theories, including in particular deceptive and unfair acts and practices and the ways in which the government and consumers themselves respond to these violations. We also will examine how these basic concepts are applied to a variety of specific practices. In so doing, you will practice the skills necessary to recognize and analyze problems that arise during actual consumer transactions. Students will synthesize the material in a project/paper at the end of the semester.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 580
Credits: 2 

This two-credit practical course is an introductory guide to the income taxation of Subchapter C (and S) corporations. This course covers the basic tax consequences of the life span of a corporation – formation, operating distributions (including dividends), redemptions of stock, stock dividends, tainted stock, liquidations, and taxable acquisitions. This course does not cover non-taxable reorganizations. This course also covers the income taxation of Subchapter S Corporations. The course will be taught entirely using problems and examples to explain the rules.Federal Income Tax is a prerequisite for this course.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 690
Credits: 3

This course explores how the judicial system handles criminal cases and the roles of defense attorneys, defendants, prosecutors and judges in the criminal justice system.  Topics include initiating prosecution, bail and pretrial detention, right to counsel, plea bargaining, trial, sentencing, and post-conviction relief.  Attention is given to both the constitutional sources of adjudicatory criminal procedure and the practical considerations facing attorneys working within the system.  Students will attend court proceedings, engage in class discussions, and take a final exam.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 511
Credits: 3

In this course, we look at the intersection of constitutional law and criminal law.  This class focuses on police investigation of criminal activity and explores the limits and restrictions that the Constitution imposes on the police.  With a real world emphasis on how to secure the introduction or exclusion of evidence, we examine the protections provided criminal suspects by the 4th, 5th, and 6th Amendments.   We also compare the rights guaranteed in the US Constitution with those guaranteed in Montana Constitution, particularly Article II, Sections 10 and 11.

Elective Course - Offered Fall 2026
Course Number: 
Credits: 2

In 2021, during the COVID pandemic, Snowflake, Inc. a multibillion-dollar cloud-based software company, moved its executive office from California to Bozeman, Montana. Three years later, several of the largest data breaches in American history occurred. AT&T, Ticketmaster, Advanced Auto and other major companies alerted their customers that personal information had been compromised. At the core of these breaches was Snowflake. Class actions were filed across the country. Through the federal Multidistrict Litigation Panel the cases were consolidated and transferred to the District of Montana for resolution. The Snowflake case is currently being litigated before Judge Morris. 

Through this course, taught by two of the attorneys appointed to lead the class action on behalf of the class, various legal concepts will be addressed with real-world, real-time implications, including:

• What is a class action and how does it work?
• Jurisdiction over a case involving hundreds of millions of people
• Fundamental privacy protections- both nationally and with the enumerated right in Montana’s constitution
• The intersection of negligence concepts in the modern world of aggregation and dissemination of people’s personal information
• The right to a jury trial and companies’ ability to limit this right through forced arbitration
• Class action concepts
• Conflict of interest and other ethical issues in class actions
• Nuts and bolts case management and litigation strategies

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 522
Credits: 2

This course provides a practical introduction to domestic violence law with a focus on survivor-centered advocacy in civil legal proceedings. Students will develop problem-solving skills by identifying unmet community needs and evaluating ethical issues in domestic violence cases. The course considers how race, culture, and community dynamics influence the criminal justice system’s response to domestic violence, and emphasizes cross-cultural humility, community collaboration, and a commitment to pro bono service and access to justice. Students will explore the roles of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches in shaping domestic violence policy.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 595 - Special Topics
Credits: 3

The successful development of vibrant and sustainable economies in Indian Country continues to present challenges for Indian tribes, their members and potential business partners, as well as federal, state and local governments. The unique legal status of Indian tribes and the consequences of that status inform these challenges and require a detailed examination of federal policy and Supreme Court jurisprudence. Thus, attorneys play a central role in understanding and advising their clients about the challenges of tribal economic development. This course aims to provide a foundational understanding of the legal issues surrounding economic development in Indian Country and then build on that foundation through examination of various types of actual or potential development, including natural resource development, gaming, online lending and other enterprises. Throughout the course, we will discover how history, federal policies, and the unique status of each tribe play a role in determining that tribe’s options for building an economic engine. We will also study practical issues, such as popular misconceptions about tribal status, which may affect business transactions in Indian Country. By the end of the course, participants will understand the foundational issues affecting all tribes and have the analytical framework to assess unique circumstances relevant for a particular tribe or development opportunity.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 595
Credits: 3

This is a practical course that is intended to provide students with an opportunity to argue in a courtroom setting. Oral advocacy before the court requires knowing the facts and law, listening carefully to opposing counsel’s argument and questions from the bench, responding succinctly to those questions, and using questions to segue to the points the advocate wants to emphasize. To develop and reinforce these skills students prepare and argue before the court on 3 separate occasions, using briefs filed in federal court. This course satisfies the Oral Advocacy Requirement.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 622
Credits: 3

This course covers the fundamental legal aspects of the employment relationship through analyses of federal and state statutory, case law, and legal theory. The class will provide a solid foundation necessary for the effective representation of employees and employers. It will include practical interactive activities designed to provide students with a full range of skills to assist clients with employment related legal matters. Such client-centered skills include policy and contract drafting, dispute resolution methods, as well as negotiating and effective advocacy.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 659
Credits: 3

This course addresses a variety of issues facing estate planners with respect to drafting of wills and trusts and their subsequent administration. Issues specifically addressed include intestate succession, execution and revocation of wills, will contests, will construction, creation and termination of trusts, fiduciary duties, and probate administration.  The Uniform Probate Code as adopted by Montana, along with relevant caselaw, forms the basis of study, but issues will be addressed in both a historical context and with a modern lens so that students better understand the purposes underlying the statutes and the ever-evolving state of the law.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 669
Credits: 3

This course examines family law with particular attention to Montana law and practice. Topics include marriage and nonmarital relationships, parent–child relationships, dissolution of marriage, parenting plans and custody, child support, and post-dissolution modification and enforcement. Additional topics may include third-party parenting, guardianships, and alternative dispute resolution. The course emphasizes practical lawyering skills through problem-based learning, including negotiation of a mock dissolution and preparation of related pleadings and final documents. Students also consider ethical issues and professional responsibilities that arise in family law representation.

Elective Course
Course Number: Law 671
Credits: 3

Federal courts merges advanced constitutional law inquiries with advanced civil procedure to provide a comprehensive understanding of Article III and related constitutional and statutory provisions. This course analyzes justiciability, the relationship between congress and the courts, the relationship between federal courts and state courts, and state immunity in federal court. This course situates these explorations through the lens of separation of powers and federalism issues.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 595
Credits: 2

The federal writ of habeas corpus is a means to attack a state or federal conviction on federal constitutional grounds. Because a habeas case looks back over what happened in the trial stage, on appeal, and in state post-conviction proceedings, it is a useful way to see how lawyers and judges carry out black-letter law in practice, how mistakes are made, and what remedies may be available. It will also allow students to reflect on the big picture of lawyers participating in the criminal justice system.

Students will learn the how and why of state post-conviction and federal habeas procedure, including studying 28 USC 2254, 55. The course materials will be drawn from actual cases, as well as a casebook series. In addition, the course will explore why federal constitutional guarantees are what they are, and what exactly is guaranteed; why procedures and standards of review are what they are; and why and how “error happens” even though all the lawyers are trying to do the right thing.

This class is designed for second and third students interested in prosecution or defense at the trial or appellate levels. Students headed for clerkships will also benefit. While the class is a criminal elective, students interested in litigation or appellate work on the civil side are welcome too.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 648
Credits: 3

This course examines the law that governs the relationship among American Indian tribes, the federal and state governments and those persons who may be subject to tribal jurisdiction. Students will learn about the evolution of federal Indian law from its late 18th century treaty-based origins to its early 21st century era of tribal self-determination. Specific topics for study and analysis include the foundational doctrines of original Indian title; inherent tribal sovereignty; congressional plenary authority over American Indian affairs; and the federal trust duty to protect American Indian lands and rights.

These doctrines' impact on the contemporary lives, resources, cultures, and rights of the American Indian peoples will be evaluated within selected legal frameworks. These areas of analysis include: (a) civil and criminal jurisdiction within Indian country; (b) Indian natural resources law; (c) Indian environmental law; (d) Indian taxation; (e) Indian cultural and religious freedoms; (f) Indian child welfare law; (g) Indian gaming; (h) Indian economic development; (i) Indian reserved water rights; and (j) Indian hunting and fishing rights.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 552
Credits: 3

Almost every important business and personal transaction involves tax considerations. This problem-based course addresses the fundamental issues at the core of our federal income tax law: What items of economic income or gain are includable in gross income? What items of expense are deductible? When is an amount included in gross income and when may a taxpayer claim a deduction for an amount that is clearly deductible? Who is taxed on items of income? What is the character of an item of income or of a deduction?

Elective Course
Course Number: 595
Credits: 3

The First Amendment provides for fundamental personal and political rights and a check on government power. This course examines the rights of expression, association, and religion, covering the history, theory, and interpretation of the First Amendment.  Students will engage in class discussions, prepare a short brief or research paper, and take a final exam.

Elective Course
Course Number: 595
Credits: 3 

Global Perspectives on Law provides an in-depth understanding of the diverse legal systems and traditions around the world. This course analyzes the common law, civil law, Islamic law, and customary legal traditions, highlighting their historical development, conceptual frameworks, and practical applications. Students will explore key legal institutions, sources of law, and legal reasoning in different jurisdictions. Through case studies, the course examines how different legal systems approach common legal problems. This comparative perspective not only enriches students' understanding of foreign legal cultures but also enhances their ability to critically analyze their own legal system. 

Elective Course
Course Number: 691
Credits: 1 

This course focuses on the specific legal issues facing American Indian children in the United States. Much of the focus will be on the implementation, interpretation, and understanding of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). ICWA, a federal statute interpreted almost entirely in state courts, applies to all terminations of parental rights if the child involved is an Indian child under the law’s definition. Congress passed this law was passed in 1978 in response to the overwhelming numbers of Indian children in foster care and adopted away from their tribes and families. However, the course will also address issues in state welfare systems, the history of Native children and state actors, and current tribal social service practices.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 624
Credits: 3

This course focuses on the insurance law and practice that every lawyer needs beginning with casualty insurance for autos, homes, and businesses followed by life, health, and disability insurance. Students will be immersed in the world of insurance, learning its history, fundamental concepts, regulation, and basic products. Students will analyze insurance policies, statutes, and cases while drafting opinion letters, coverage memos and pleadings. Insurance lawyers, claimant’s lawyers, regulators, and others lend their expertise as guests in particular class sessions.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 629
Credits: 3

International Law provides a comprehensive overview of the principles and practices governing the relations between sovereign states and other international entities. This course covers key topics such as the sources of international law (including treaties, customary international law, and general principles of law), the interplay between U.S. law and international law, international organizations and international legal tribunals, including the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. The course explores contemporary issues such as human rights, use of force and international humanitarian law. The course also emphasizes the development of critical thinking and analytical skills, enabling students to apply international legal principles to complex global challenges.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 539
Credits: 3

This seminar course introduces students to the foundational concepts of international law before embarking on a deeper exploration of how that law shapes and responds to environmental issues such as human and indigenous rights, the rights of nature, water and air quality, biodiversity, protected areas, and climate change. Students will also engage in comparative analyses of approaches taken by individual nation states and sovereigns. This course helps students place our national laws in context, learn from other legal systems, and discern the role that the U.S. plays on the global stage. Emphasis is placed on applying substantive knowledge to emerging environmental problems through robust classroom discourse and a final paper.

Elective Course
Course Number: 595
Credits: 3

This course examines the primary legal frameworks governing international trade in goods and services between states.  The initial focus is on central questions about trade and international political economy, which includes global multilateral economic institutions such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the rise of bilateral and regional trade agreements.  Main areas of international trade on the domestic side include unfair trade remedies (anti-dumping and countervailing duties), export controls, customs and tariffs, sanctions, and national security.  The course also covers a range of international regulatory and legal topics, such as human rights, international intellectual property protection, international arbitration and dispute settlement, foreign direct investment, developing countries, and trade conflicts.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 650
Credits: 3 

Environmental law profoundly impacts the well-being of our communities and the planet. Competency in this area is also important to numerous types of legal practice, including natural resources law, property and corporate law, tort law, and consitutional and administrative law. In this class, you will learn the legal and policy framework of environmental law; become versed in the various regulatory approaches to environmental issues; and study several key environmental laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, and CERCLA. While these laws are federal, they are cousins to similar laws at the state and tribal level. For this reason, you will also explore the overlapping reulgatory spheres of federal, tribal, and state environmental law-an area shifting greatly at this moment in history. This class also centers on competency-building, allowing you to practice some of the basic lawyering skills necessary to this field of law through practice problems.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 534
Credits: 3 Credits

This course is an introduction to the law of intellectual property. It is an introductory course for students interested in a general overview of intellectual property as well as students interested in pursuing a legal career in intellectual property law. The course will cover trademark, patent, and copyright law, with some attention devoted to trade secrets law and emerging issues in intellectual property. Students are not expected or required to have a technical background.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 523
Credits: 2

This course covers the origins of the juvenile justice system, status offenders, jurisdiction, adolescent psychology, diversion, custody and search, school searches, drug testing, interrogation, right to counsel, jury trials, disposition, waiver, death penalty for juveniles, and restorative justice.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 595
Credits: 2

Labor law is the study of the law governing the collective rights of employees and the relationship between employees, unions and employers. This course focuses on the National Labor Relations Act, the Montana Collective Bargaining for Public Employees Act and cases interpreting these laws. Starting with the history of the federal law, topics covered in this two-credit class include the rights of employees to join, form and assist labor organizations, the process for recognition and certification of a union in a workplace, the rules and processes governing the relationships between unions and employers and unions and employees, and the negotiation and enforcement of collective bargaining agreements.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 687
Credits: 2

Land use law influences everything from neighborhood design to environmental health. This course traces the origins and evolution of land use law, examines constitutional and other legal limits on land use regulation, and explores the interaction of local regulations with federal, state, and tribal laws. Students learn about traditional planning, zoning, and subdivision controls, and the public processes that accompany these controls. Through national readings and a close look at Montana cases and statutes, students gain an enriched understanding of how land use decisions shape communities and landscapes.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 607
Credits: 1

In this class, we read outstanding works of literature, confront concepts of justice, and explore the role of lawyers and the law in our society.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 506
Credits: 2

This two-credit course introduces students to the foundational lawyering skill of legal research. Through hands-on exercises, students will build core competencies in locating cases, statutes, regulations, and secondary sources, while developing an understanding of how the structure of the American legal system and legal technologies shape the creation, organization, and retrieval of legal information. Students will also learn to read and produce accurate legal citations.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 630
Credits: 3

The three questions that provide the content of this course are: 1. What are the sources of meaning and satisfaction in professional life? What are the sources of dissatisfaction and stress in professional life? 2. In what ways are professional values and attitudes transmitted in law school and in the profession, and how do the professional values and attitudes shape the profession? 3. What values and attitudes do students need to cultivate personally in order to find meaning and satisfaction in thir professional lives as lawyers? What practices and habits must they develop to be able to protect their chosen values and attitudes in the fact of potentially conflicting values and practices in the legal profession?

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 524
Credits: 3

This course concerns how law is written and read by the public, legislators, lawyers, and judges, from campaign to capitol to court. It begins with an introduction to the system of representation, legislation, and interpretation. Then it takes each function in turn: first, the regulation of the electoral process including voting rights, campaign finance, and direct democracy; second, the structure of the legislative process including ethics, lobbying and deliberative rules; and third, the interpretation and implementation of resulting statutes. Students will synthesize the material in a paper or legislative project.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 595
Credits: 3

This course examines the intersection of mental health and the law, with a primary focus on the criminal justice system. We will explore the various ways the law has evolved to address mental illness and related impairments in terms of charging, trying, convicting, and sentencing defendants, as well as managing mental illness in correctional settings. Defendant and prisoner rights will be discussed in these contexts, as well as the civil mental health system in terms of laws designed to protect individuals and society from harm. Finally, we will consider how social science research can provide information that is relevant to courts, attorneys, and legislatures. 

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 618
Credits: 3

This seminar considers the history, development, and future of the Montana Constitution from a comparative perspective. Beginning with the forces that led to the Constitutional Convention of 1972, it surveys the structure of Montana state government and key provisions in the Declaration of Rights. It pays particular attention to distinctive provisions such as the right of privacy, the right to know, and the right to a clean and healthful environment. Throughout, the course considers the role of popular sovereignty in the interpretation of the constitution over time. In addition to classroom discussion, students present short moot courts and produce a research paper or draft judicial opinion.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 613
Credits: 3

Examines the basic framework for preventing and resolving natural resource and environmental conflicts in America. Reviews the history of alternative approaches, emphasizes the theory and practice of collaboration, and considers future trends. This highly interactive course uses lectures, guest speakers, case studies, and simulations

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 641
Credits: 3

Negotiations is a skills-intensive course designed to help students develop and refine the practical art of legal negotiation. Drawing on both theory and hands-on simulation, the course introduces students to the foundational concepts of interest-based and distributive bargaining and then challenges students to apply those concepts in realistic, lawyer-centered role plays drawn from the kinds of disputes Montana practitioners regularly encounter. Each week, students negotiate with peers in scored and unscored simulations covering civil litigation, transactional matters, and criminal plea bargaining, followed by structured debriefs designed to connect experience to theory. Additional topics include the psychology of negotiation, cognitive biases, power dynamics, ethical obligations governing lawyer negotiators, and the ways that gender, culture, and communication modality shape bargaining outcomes. Assessment is based on negotiation planning, scored simulation results, class participation, a peer-generated reputation index, and a final negotiation exercise. No prior negotiation experience is required or assumed.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 651
Credits: 3

Oil and gas law applies property law and contract law principles to a complex natural resource that has been the subject of a rich body of case law. The course evaluates resource rights from the perspective of the developer, the property owner, and the regulator. Topics include the creation of mineral property interests in oil and gas, how those interests are similar and different from other forms of real property, and how they are conveyed. We spend a fair amount of time evaluating the provisions of oil and gas leases, which are the principal instruments uses to transfer oil and gas rights. While much of the course focuses on private rights in resources, the course also looks at the acquisition of oil and gas rights on public domain lands. Property law is the only prerequisite, even if it is taken concurrently.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 635
Credits: 2

This course examines in detail the tax consequences associated with the formation, operation and liquidation of partnerships and limited liability companies  taxed as partnerships. Among the topics addressed are the contribution of property and services, the partners’ distributive shares of items of partnership income and deduction, the maintenance of capital accounts, partnership allocations, current and liquidating distributions, and an array of anti-abuse rules.  his course is recommended for all students planning to practice in the business and property transaction areas. Federal Income Tax is a prerequisite for this course.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 664
Credits: 3

In the practice of law, according to Karl Llewellyn, “Ideals without technique are a mess. But technique without ideals is a menace.” This course provides a vocabulary of ideals to help answer questions that arise throughout legal practice: what is “law,” and how does it relate to “justice”? This course enables students to understand and apply diverse meanings of “law” and “justice” in practice. It begins with classical theories of natural law, legal positivism, and legal realism, then proceeds to the emergence of critical legal studies and legal pragmatism, and wraps up with legal interpretation. Students will participate in discussion, comment on current issues, and produce a research paper.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW  676
Credits: 3

This course is designed to help students practice the skills and habits necessary for successfully passing the bar exam. The course focuses on preparation for the Multistate Bar Examination and will transition to the NextGen Bar Exam upon its adoption in Montana. Students will engage with core substantive areas including torts, criminal procedure, evidence, and civil procedure. Instruction incorporates multiple question formats, including multiple-choice, essay, and practical performance tasks, to reflect the range of bar exam assessments. In addition to reviewing substantive law, the course emphasizes strategies for memorizing, recalling, and applying large volumes of detailed legal information under timed conditions.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 654
Credits: 3

This course examines the basic historic, political, and economic forces that continue to shape the legal development of federal public land and natural resources law.

Topics for analysis and discussion include:

1. the historical epochs of public land law including the eras of acquisition, disposal, withdrawal or retention, and the modern public land management era;
2. the evolving division of jurisdictional and managerial authority over America's public lands;
3. the statutory and regulatory standards governing the use of specific natural resources on public lands; and
4. assessment of pending legislative or administrative reforms of America's public land laws.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 595
Credits: 2

This seminar examines race and racism in contemporary U.S. society and the role that law and lawyers play in perpetuating and combating them.  Situating our inquiry in the current rise of and resistance to white supremacy, we will investigate the concept of race and roots of racism, trace their development in the Indian, African-American, and immigrant contexts, and interrogate the opportunities and limitations of law in addressing them.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 658
Credits: 3

Real Estate Transactions is a practice-focused course examining the structure and documentation of commercial real estate deals. The course combines foundational legal principles with training in transactional lawyering skills, including document review, drafting, and negotiation. Students work directly with documents drawn from actual transactions and progress through the major stages of a real estate deal—from purchase and sale agreements and due diligence to financing, loan documentation, and closing. Topics include deeds, title and survey matters, representations and warranties, leases and estoppel certificates, loan commitments, promissory notes, mortgages and deeds of trust, foreclosure under Montana law, and closing mechanics. Throughout the semester, students analyze contractual language, evaluate risk allocation, and revise provisions to advance client objectives. The course helps students prepare for practice in commercial real estate, business transactions, and related areas of transactional law.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 628
Credits: 3

Remedies analyzes the various remedial options available to parties in civil disputes, including injunctive relief, declaratory relief and damages. This course explores the various types of injunctions, including temporary restraining orders, preliminary injunctions and permanent injunctions. It analyzes state and declaratory relief paradigms. It also analyzes the various types of damages, including tort, contract and punitive damages.

Elective Course
Course Number: Law 678
Credits: 2

Renewable Energy Law focuses on how energy resources are acquired, developed, and regulated.  The class will begin with an introduction to how the electric power industry is structured and regulated generally within the United States, including at the state-level. The class then will cover four specific renewable energy sources: wind, solar, hydroelectric power, and geothermal. This part of the course will include the property and regulatory regimes applicable to each source. Additionally, each energy source will be used as an example for certain topics – such as renewable development on federal and tribal land, and environmental regulation – that pertain to more than one type of source. This class is intended to complement several other substantive environmental and natural resource classes, including Introduction to Environmental Law, Oil and Gas Law, Public Land Law, and Water Law. None are mandatory prerequisites, but any of them will provide helpful background.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 636
Credits: 3

Secured Transctions examines security interests in personal property under Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code. The course explores the legal framework governing creditor-debtor relationships and the rights of third parties when a debtor defaults. Students study the creation of security interests, perfection, priority disputes, and remedies available to secured and unsecured creditors. The course also examines the interaction between Article 9 and bankruptcy law, including the effect of the automatic stay. Students learn how to analyze complex creditor-debtor problems and to advise clients on risk, asset-based lending strategies, and the enforceability of security interests. The course is foundational for careers in commercial lending, bankruptcy practice, agricultural and business finance, and transactional law.

Elective Course
Course Number: Law 612
Credits: 2

Tax exempt organizations enrich the communities in which we live and provide critical services to many.  Land trusts, conservation organizations, legal services organizations, food banks, hospitals, private schools, community foundations, symphonies, skating rinks and religious organizations fall within the umbrella of nonprofit organizations.  The Internal Revenue Code governs the formation and operation of these nonprofits.  The Code sets forth “behavioral” rules for nonprofits that, if not followed, result in excise taxes imposed on the organization and, in some cases, its contributors and managers.  To maintain charitable status, charitable organizations must meet operational requirements imposed by the Code.

The 2 Credit Tax Exempt Organization course focuses on formation and operation of charitable organizations. It is designed for the lawyer who: 1. Advises clients wishing to form a charitable organization 2. Serves on the board of nonprofit organizations or 3. Acts as legal counsel for the charitable organization. Students who complete this course will be able to advise and assist clients in the formation of charitable organization, the appropriate choice of charitable entity , and the procedural requirements for operating the organization and maintaining its tax exempt status.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 557
Credits: 2

This course is designed to provide students with persuasive skills in trial advocacy that will serve them broadly in the professional work in which they engage. Lawyers and judges volunteer with the weekly classes, each class focusing on identified trial skills. The class format is one of demonstration, question and answer session, and hands-on practice of the identified trial skill. Classes are supplemented by evening sessions in which students perform jury voir dire, give opening statements, perform direct and cross examinations of lay and expert witnesses, and give a closing argument. Students complete the course by collaborating with a partner and participating in a mock jury trial against two other students.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 688
Credits: 3

This course is a study of tribal laws and tribal justice systems, both historically and currently, to evaluate the scope of tribal jurisdiction. This course examines a variety of tribal justice systems, including the tribes located in Montana to evaluate similarities and difference between tribal systems. This course compares tribal justice systems to state and federal systems of justice in the areas of criminal, civil, and regulatory laws. In doing so, this course delves exclusively into the laws of American Indian tribes and the cases decided by tribal courts. This course assists participants in navigating tribal courts and other indigenous dispute resolution forums, including the practice of law in Indian Country. Participants will come to learn that nearly all tribal jurisdictions can and do apply their own laws, not the laws of the United States or state law.

Offered: Winter Session
Credits: 1
Course Number: 545
Grade Mode: Traditional

Course Description: Welcome to ‘the Crucible of Sovereignty.’ The exercise of inherent sovereignty by the nation’s 575 federally recognized Indian tribes depends on qualified and dedicated lawyers and advocates. Whether within a tribal courtroom, before a tribal appellate body, in Tribal Council chambers, or in the day-to-day work demanded by these ‘third sovereigns,’ advocacy within a tribal law setting demands unique skills, qualifications, and knowledge. Tribal Law Advocacy aims to prepare students for that work by providing a skills-based simulation course requiring students to produce written and oral advocacy in a tribal law setting. This course is designed to simulate the issues and challenges presented to attorneys working in tribal courts and tribal governments. Therefore, the primary objectives of the course revolve around skills needed to competently address those issues and tackle those challenges.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 595
Credits: 3

Course description coming soon.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 663
Credits: 3

Water law consists of the rules that govern the right to use water. Attorneys play a critical role in society's water future-one that includes competing demands for an increasingly scarce water supply. This class will provide you a foundation in the fundamental rules and lawyering skills associated with water law. Because water law is primarily the province of state law, this couse first compares the law of various states, with a focus on the American West. Students will practice how water rights applications advance through the agency process and research water records in the context of a land transaction. The course then moves beyond state law to address the important topics of tribal water rights, federal water rights and interstate water rights. You will discover that water law is in part a study and critique of historical values that underpin the rules we have today. You will also discover that water law is a rapidly changing field that requires legal innovation to become more equitable and workable for the peoples and needs of today. We will thus explore emerging topics like instream flow protection, endangered species, and prevention of groundwater mining.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 644
Credits: 3

This course surveys substantive and procedural issues arising in the investigation, prosecution and defense of white collar crimes under federal, state, and tribal law. The substantive offenses covered by this course include conspiracy, RICO, mail and wire fraud, money laundering, securities fraud, and bribery. The course also covers offenses arising during the underlying investigation, such as perjury, false statements, and obstruction of justice. Procedural issues covered in the course include the Fifth Amendment, conflicts, privileges, ethical issues, proffer sessions, plea bargaining, parallel proceedings, corporate sentencing issues, and corporate compliance and deferred prosecution agreements. Students are assessed using practice-based assignments.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 520
Credits: 3

This class examines legal requirements and policies for the protection and management of wildlife and biological diversity. Topics include the distinctions between Wildlife Law and Animal Law, private interests in domestic animals and wildlife, the constitutional underpinnings of state and federal wildlife laws, state regulation of wildlife, and American Indians’ rights to wildlife resources. The class also covers the federal Endangered Species Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, plus international efforts to protect biodiversity. Guest speakers will highlight the spectacular array and richness of regional and transboundary wildlife-related issues in the Northern Rocky Mountains.

This course is approved for and counts toward completion of the Environmental and Natural Resources Certificate.

Instructor: Professor Deb Dumontier, University of Montana Alexander Blewett III School of Law

This course looks at fundamental aspects of American Indian law and provides a basic understanding of core Indian law principles, both on the federal and tribal level. The course familiarizes participants with the development of foundational concepts in the area of Indian law and addresses the continuing impact of federal legislation and court actions on tribal governance structures and principles of sovereignty. In addition to providing substantive information on legal principles associated with American Indian law, participants will engage in practical skill-building exercises that build upon the substantive materials being covered.

Instructor: Maranda Compton, Lepwe

Who decides what happens to land, water, air, and sacred places in Indian Country?  What is preserved?  And when does development take priority? Far from being a subset of federal regulation, environmental law in Indian country is a jurisdictional patchwork, shaped by inherent Tribal sovereignty, federal trust responsibilities, state assertions of authority, and a history of disposition and disproportional impacts.  This medley of concerns and oversight plays out in all types of project development, from mining to transmission lines, wind farms to data centers. This course will review the current frameworks for environmental regulation, governance, and environmental justice. We will address the various layers of environmental laws implicated by Tribal rights and resources and the roles played by Tribal Nations, federal agencies, states, and project proponents in development and regulation. Rather than approaching environmental law as purely procedural, this course interrogates who holds decision-making power and whose voices are centered—or marginalized—in permitting processes. Students will analyze how environmental review, Tribal consultation, and deregulation can either advance or undermine Tribal self-determination and either improve or delay project permitting.  We will also review modern strategies for responsible project development, including Tribal Benefit Agreements and Tribal coordination.  And we will analyze recent changes to environmental permitting and their relative impact on development and impact management.

Instructor: Professor Jordan Gross, University of Idaho College of Law

This course examines the relationship between criminal justice policy and the wellbeing of Tribal communities in the United States. Specific topics we address include: (1) how wrongdoing in Indian Country is defined, investigated, prosecuted and punished, (2) the allocation of Tribal, State, and federal jurisdiction over wrongdoing in Indian Country, and (3) how federal Indian Country law and policy promote or undermine Tribal sovereignty, self-determination, and public safety interests. Upon completing this course, students will be able to identify and analyze the law, facts and circumstances relevant to determining which sovereign has jurisdiction to investigate, prosecute and punish wrongdoing in Indian Country, and to critically evaluate the quality and availability of criminal justice in Indian Country.

Instructors: Professor Kathryn R.L. Rand, University of Nevada Las Vegas William S. Boyd School of Law; Professor Steven Andrew Light, University of Nevada Las Vegas William S. Boyd School of Law

This course covers statutes, regulations, and case law pertaining to Indian gaming issues, with particular focus on the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.  Participants will learn about Indian gaming's origins and policy goals, how tribal gaming is regulated, the tribal-state compacting process required for casino-style gaming, and contemporary issues that are shaping the future of Indian gaming.

Instructors: Professor Michelle Bryan, University of Montana Alexander Blewett III School of Law; Professor Monte Mills, University of Washington School of Law

This place-based learning experience focuses on the Elwha River and the Salish Sea encompassing the myriad natural resource, environmental, governmental, legal, policy, and practical issues embedded in this region. We approach these issues by immersing ourselves in the place and working to understand the ways in which law and policy interact with it. Aside from the course faculty, students will hear from tribal representatives, private conservationists, federal land managers, and other stakeholders involved in management of the Elwha River and the Salish Sea. Themes explored include the myth and reality of public lands; wildlife management across jurisdictions; water law; cooperative management; and the intersection of tribal rights, sovereignty, and interests with federal, state, and private interests—both historical and continuing.

Instructors: Professor Monte Mills, Monte Mills, University of Washington School of Law; Brian Upton, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes

Since time immemorial, Native Nations and their citizens have engaged in deep relations with the lands, waters, wildlife, and natural environment of what is now the United States. Over the last two centuries, various laws, policies, and practices imposed upon those Nations dispossessed them of many of those connections. Where they persisted, applicable laws and policies often ignored or marginalized such Indigenous interests in the ownership or management of what came to be known as natural resources. Consistent with the rise of Indigenous sovereignty over the last half-century, Native Nations are now actively reviving, reclaiming, and expanding their roles in the stewardship of lands, waters, wildlife, and ecosystems, both within and beyond their Reservation homelands. With a focus on federal public lands and resources, this course explores the history, context, and evolution of the current laws and policies relevant to that movement, including the legal and policy strategies of co-management, co-stewardship, and land back.

Instructor: Professor Kekek Stark, University of Montana Alexander Blewett III School of Law

Because tribes are sovereign governments, the field of Indian Law encompasses distinct legal issues and legal sources. Researching both federal Indian law (the law of the relationship between tribal governments and the U.S. government) and tribal law (the law of individual tribes) requires an additional set of tools and research skills to those students are introduced to in a basic legal research course. In this course, students will learn the skills and sources necessary to research general Indian law issues as well as the very specialized skills and sources used in researching the legal history of a tribe, including reserved treaty rights. The course will cover researching treaties, Indian land claims, statutory and case law, and tribal law. Students will actively participate in creating a tribal legal history throughout the course.

Instructors: Wesley Furlong, Native American Rights Fund

This course covers the study of Alaska Native Law and Policy as a study “of the laws— and there are many— historically applied to Alaska Natives. Increasingly, it is the story of the Indigenous Peoples of Alaska remaking these laws into the tools of their own choosing, tools they are still fashioning. From the Iñupiaq of the North to the Athabascan and Yupiit of Alaska’s geographic center and western coast to the Alutiq of the North Pacific to the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian Indians of Southeast Alaska, Alaska Natives use skill and resolve to protect their patrimony, revive their rights to the subsistence way of life, assume control over their own health and social services, and successfully litigate their claims to sovereignty.”

Instructor: Judge Anthony Johnson, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit; Meghanlata Gupta, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

This course will introduce participants to the distinctive constitutional issues arising from and affecting Indian country. The class will cover the legal history of federal Indian law, dating from pre-constitutional times to the modern era of federal Indian law beginning in 1959. In doing so, the course will examine the Indian canons of construction doctrine. The class will also address critical modern era cases and their impacts on contemporary tribal governance and Indian affairs.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 605
Credits: 2

Animal Law is the body of law relating to animals and the interaction between people and animals. Animal Law crosses into many areas of law including Property, Torts, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Contracts, Family Law and Wills & Trusts. In many ways Animal Law issues are somewhat contradictory: how can animals have rights but no standing to enforce those rights? Do animal laws protect animals or people’s interest in animals? In this course, students will read, discuss, and think about Animal Law issues.

Summer Course
Course Number: LAW 685
Credits: 1 Credit for Students (25-30 CLE for Practicing Attorneys)

Practitioners and a select number of law students study and demonstrate the fine points of trial advocacy during this five-day, one-week course that is offered during the spring.  Please refer to the events calendar for upcoming sessions of the Advanced Trial Advocacy Program.

Summer Course
Course Number: LAW 595
Credits: 1

This course will focus on the historical policies behind, and the current provisions of, the American Indian Probate Reform Act. In particular, the Act's creation of the first federal Indian probate code, testate and intestate succession rules applicable to federal trust realty and personalty, land consolidation opportunities for individuals and tribes, and tribal probate code development. Additionally, this course will explore estate planning options that individual trust land owners can use to control and distribute their trust lands during their lifetime and through the probate process.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 595
Credits: 1

Course description coming soon.

Summer Course
Course Number: LAW 595
Credits: 1 

This course provides information about crime and criminal jurisdiction in Indian Country.  Topics include an overview of the laws affecting criminal jurisdiction, some of the unique criminal problems affecting Indian Country, traditional methods of resolving unacceptable behavioral problems within tribal communities, and the evolution of current responses to crime within Indian Country.   Following completion of the course, students should have a basic understanding of the foundational principles relating to crime and law enforcement in Indian Country.

Summer Course
Course Number: LAW 644
Credits: 1

This course covers issues confronting corporations, officers, and employees when they find themselves under criminal investigation. In doing so, the class will focus on the role of an internal investigation, some of the thornier legal and ethical issues that arise in conducting such an investigation, and the practical problems that must be confronted in any investigation. The class will also examine the roles of the board of directors, board committees, management, employees, the lawyers conducting the investigation, and the prosecutors. It will also provide practical advice on handling the defense of corporate entities and their officers and employees.

Summer Course
Course Number: LAW 595
Credits: 1

This course looks at the dynamics of domestic violence within Indian Country, the jurisdictional challenges associated with addressing this issue, the various federal and tribal law applicable to domestic violence situations, and what tools are being used in response to domestic violence within Indian Country.   Following completion of the course, students should have a basic understanding of the foundational principles relating domestic violence and the jurisdictional factors that impact effective enforcement of domestic violence laws within Indian Country.

Summer Course
Course Number: 595
Credits: 1

This course will focus on opportunities and challenges for sustainable Economic Development in Indian Country.  The class will cover the growth of E-commerce as an economic sector with the potential for expanding the economic footprint on even the most remote tribal lands and reservations through online financial services opportunities.  The course will cover the various federal consumer protection laws and regulations that impact Tribal Governmental E-commerce lending, including tribal consumer protection laws.  Following completion of the course, students will have a basic understanding of E-commerce opportunities in Indian Country, structuring E-commerce businesses; the legal, jurisdictional, regulatory and consumer protection issues associated with Tribal Governmental E-commerce lending. The course will have a special emphasis on whether Congress granted the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) the authority to regulate Tribal Governmental E-commerce lending under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

Summer Course
Course Number: LAW 77090
Credits: 3

In the last two decades, criminal prosecution of environmental offenses has become an integral part of environmental protection in the United States.  This three-credit course addresses practical and policy issues involved in criminal enforcement of environmental laws, including:   (1) the evolution of environmental criminal law as a distinct body of law; (2) investigation and litigation of environmental offenses; (3) legal issues involved in environmental criminal prosecutions; (4) policy considerations related to criminal enforcement of environmental laws; (5) environmental justice considerations; and (6) trends in environmental law prosecutions.

Student assessment is based on class participation and preparation, writing assignments, and oral presentations.  Credits earned from this course apply toward the Environmental and Natural Resources Certificate.  This course provides students with an opportunity to fulfill their Advanced Writing Requirement.

Elective Course
Course Number: LAW 677
Credits: 1

This course will introduce students to the sources and skills necessary to researching environmental law issues. Environmental law is largely occupied by the federal government, so this course will focus on federal regulatory research (CFR & Federal Register), the Administrative Procedures Act and administrative hearings, and federal statutes and legislative history research. The course will also introduce students to state and international environmental law sources. The course will not cover the substantive provisions of environmental law.

Summer Course
Course Number: LAW 595
Credits: 1

This course surveys federal Indian policy and law related to Indian education, including historical sources for Indian education rights. Special attention will be given to the unique Indian education matters in the state of Montana, including those programs implemented by the state as well as special tribal education programs.

Summer Course
Course Number: LAW 611
Credits: 1

Because tribes are sovereign governments, the field of Indian Law encompasses distinct legal issues and legal sources. Researching both federal Indian law (the law of the relationship between tribal governments and the U.S. government) and tribal law (the law of individual tribes) requires an additional set of tools and research skills to those students are introduced to in a basic legal research course. In this course, students will learn the skills and sources necessary to research general Indian law issues as well as the very specialized skills and sources used in researching the legal history of a tribe, including reserved treaty rights. The course will cover researching treaties, Indian land claims, statutory and case law, and tribal law. Students will actively participate in creating a tribal legal history throughout the course.

Summer Course
Course Number: LAW 595
Credits: 1

Professional advocates invariably find themselves in mediation or mediation-like settings.  Lawyers and social workers, for example, often advocate in such formal settings as court-annexed mediations, and activists and journalists in such informal settings as disputes involving neighborhood problems and news access.  How do such situations differ from litigation?  And how should we advocate in them?  Taking an expansive view of “mediations”, this seminar will look at the characteristics of extra-legal dispute resolution mechanisms and introduce effective advocacy strategies appropriate in such settings.

Summer Course
Course Number: LAW 595
Credits: 1

The objective of this course is to create a base of understanding about the development and financing of renewable energy projects.  After introducing essential electric industry concepts, terms and systems, we will review the contractual infrastructure of a renewable energy project (wind or solar, or a combination of the two).  This review will include a summary of documents for site control, permitting, interconnection to the grid and transmission of energy, construction of the project and power sales agreements, and an analysis of why getting these documents right and having them properly integrated is essential to a successful financing of the project.  The last two class sessions will focus specifically on structure of, and principal documents associated with, a non-recourse project financing.  A significant portion of the financing discussion will be based on a case study of a recently-completed financing for a wind energy project in Alaska.

Brief introductory reading materials will be assigned and distributed in advance of the first class.  The final examination for the course will consist of 10 “short answer” questions; each student will select 8 of these questions to answer in a “take-home, open book” setting.

Summer Course
Course Number: LAW 595
Credits: 1

This course provides information about crime and criminal jurisdiction in Indian country. Topics include an overview of the law affecting criminal jurisdiction, some of the unique criminal problems affecting Indian country, the traditional methods of resolving unacceptable behavioral problems within tribal communities, and the evolution of current responses to crime. Following completion of the course, students should have a basic understanding of the foundational principles of Indian law, as well as a more fully developed understanding of crime and law enforcement in Indian country.

Summer Course
Course Number: LAW 545
Credits: 1

Welcome to ‘the Crucible of Sovereignty.’ The exercise of inherent sovereignty by the nation’s 575 federally recognized Indian tribes depends on qualified and dedicated lawyers and advocates. Whether within a tribal courtroom, before a tribal appellate body, in Tribal Council chambers, or in the day-to-day work demanded by these ‘third sovereigns,’ advocacy within a tribal law setting demands unique skills, qualifications, and knowledge. Tribal Law Advocacy aims to prepare students for that work by providing a skills-based simulation course requiring students to produce written and oral advocacy in a tribal law setting. This course is designed to simulate the issues and challenges presented to attorneys working in tribal courts and tribal governments. Therefore, the primary objectives of the course revolve around skills needed to competently address those issues and tackle those challenges.

Summer Course
Course Number: LAW 595
Credits: 1

This course starts with an introduction to state, federal and Indian water law. It then addresses the unique attributes of Indian reserved and aboriginal water rights.  It includes discussions on protection of Indian water rights, state-tribal water disputes and the preemptive role of Congress in Indian Country.

This course was taught by guest lecturer John Carter.  Mr. Carter has represented the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation for thirty years, primarily in the field of water law, natural resource protection and development and on treaty issues.  His practice involves extensive litigation in these areas and work with the Montana Legislature and U.S. Congress. Mr. Carter practices in the trial and appellate courts of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, the State of Montana and the Federal Courts.