Blewett School of Law: Seventh in Nation for Clerkship Placements

The Blewett School of Law sends 29% of our graduates into clerkships after graduation, putting the program at seventh in the nation for placements, as reported in National Jurist’s preLaw magazine. According to the “Best Schools for Public Service” section of the Winter 2018 edition, the law school is also ranked 16th nationwide in federal clerkships placements, with 8.7% of our JD graduates clerking at the federal level. The law school also received high rankings in the categories of trial advocacy and alternative dispute resolution.

Lillian Alvernaz '18 Selected as Ms. JD Fellow

An Alexander Blewett III School of Law student is among a select group of third-year law students to become a 2017 Ms. JD Fellow. Lillian Alvernaz '18 was selected out of hundreds of applicants to be part of the Ms. JD's mentorship program. Ms. JDs are paired with ABA Commission on Women in the Profession leaders and ABA Margaret Brent Award recipients.

Alvernaz, Assiniboine/Sisseton-Wahpeton, from northeast Montana, graduated with honors from University of Montana in 2013 in Social Work and Native American Studies, and is currently pursuing her master’s degree in public administration as well as a Juris Doctor degree with a certificate in American Indian law at the Blewett School of Law. Alvernaz's mentor through the Ms. JD Fellow program is Loretta Tuell, an American Indian law attorney in California, a former chief counsel for the United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, and the 2009 Margaret Brent Award winner.

Celebrating a High Water Mark: A Montana Stream Access Law Symposium

Please join us on Friday, March 16 for a special gathering “Celebrating a High Water Mark: A Montana Stream Access Law Symposium.” The event commemorates Montana’s extraordinary stream access case law and legislation. Governor Steve Bullock will open the event, followed by attorney Jim Goetz, who brought the landmark cases that recognized the public’s right to access state waters for recreational use. A roundtable of the drafters and stakeholders who crafted the original Stream Access Bill will discuss the key lessons to their success. Panels will cover legal ethics, subsequent developments in the law and issues on the horizon such as climate change, tribal rights and instream flow.

Read more.

Faculty Approves New Pro Bono Program

This month, law school faculty voted to approve the school’s new Pro Bono Program. The newly adopted program identifies and coordinates pro bono opportunities for students, staff and faculty, and sets a target of 50 hours of voluntary pro bono service for each student over the course of his or her law school career. In addition, students who complete 150 hours or more of pro bono service will receive a “Pro Bono Honors” notation on their law school transcript as well as recognition during graduation ceremonies.

The goals of the Pro Bono Program are to:

• support and encourage student awareness of their professional obligations to engage in pro bono service;
• provide hands-on learning opportunities for students through approved pro bono service opportunities; and
• promote, encourage and recognize student, staff and faculty participation in pro bono service.

Adoption of the program is in line with institutional strategic goals, particularly in efforts to develop opportunities for our students to provide access to justice for underserved places and communities, and extend and deepen the School of Law’s engagement with our communities.