I graduated from UM law school in 2017. After graduation, I was lucky enough to have the two best jobs ever: I clerked for the Honorable Brian Morris in the Great Falls Division of the District of Montana, then for Chief Judge Sidney Thomas on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Following my clerkships, I joined the Los Angeles office of Munger, Tolles & Olson as a litigation associate.

When I started law school, I never imagined I would someday be a litigator at a big law firm. I had taken six years off after college and spent most of that time working in the policy world. I’m also a Fort Peck tribal member and I was raised to know and love Indian law. My uncle, another UM law alum, argued a case before the Supreme Court when I was a kid and my mom made sure I understood the foundations of our case before she’d take me to Washington to watch the oral argument. I studied Indian law at Montana, participated in the Indian law clinic, NALSA and NNALSA moot court. We all build on what we already know when we’re trying to learn something new, and Indian law was that foothold for me. But I would not have assumed, given my background and interests, that my current job would be the right fit for me.

It turns out that I was wrong. I love my job. The expectations are high and the pressure can be, too, but I get to solve challenging problems for my clients every single day. I work alongside brilliant colleagues and thoughtful mentors. The work is exciting and rewarding. The firm supports and encourages my growth as a lawyer and values me as a person by supporting my interests.

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Water management. Biodiversity protection. Climate adaptation.

These are some of the most significant environmental issues facing the Rocky Mountain West and they all share certain characteristics: coordination among multiple jurisdictions, involvement of policy and science, and their impact on multiple stakeholders, including public, private and non-governmental actors. Long-term solutions to these key problems require collaborative approaches that draw on the expertise and input of many people, often with divergent interests.

The Blewett School of Law’s Center for Natural Resources and Environmental Policy (CNREP) is leading the way in tackling these critical issues. The CNREP addresses broad environmental issues directly through its project work while also training the next generation of collaborative environmental leaders through its innovative Natural Resources Conflict Resolution graduate certificate program.

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Cathay Smith Appointed AALS Section Intellectual Property Law Chair-Elect, Participates in "Evil Twin" Debate

Professor Cathay Smith was recently appointed the new chair-elect of the AALS Section on Intellectual Property Law. The Section on Intellectual Property Law promotes the communication of ideas, interests and activities among members and makes recommendations on matters of interest in the teaching and improvement of the law relating to the trademarks, copyrights and unfair competition.

"Food Fight! Copyrightable or Simply Edible?" took place virtually on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, at the AALS Annual Conference. The debate featured "evil twins" Ann Bartow (University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law) and Cathay Y. N. Smith (University of Montana Blewett III School of Law).

The Intellectual Property Institute's Evil Twin Debate Series is founded on the notion that experts are often at loggerheads on important issues of IP policy, yet remain friendly on a personal level. The series therefore brings together pairs of scholars who disagree on an important IP topic, but who can air their disagreements in a friendly exchange – serious in substance but lighthearted in tone.

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Texas+Water Editor-in-Chief Dr. Todd Votteler talks with Monte Mills, associate professor and director of the Margery Hunter Brown Indian Law Clinic at the Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of Montana.

Mills teaches a variety of Indian law courses and works with clinical students on a range of legal matters in the Indian Law Clinic. His research and writing focuses on the intersection of Federal Indian Law, tribal sovereignty and natural resources. Recently, Mills coauthored “A Third Way: Decolonizing the Laws of Indigenous Cultural Protection,” which was published by Cambridge University Press.

Prior to joining UM, Mills was the director of the Legal Department for the Southern Ute Indian Tribe in Colorado. As director of the Tribe’s Legal Department, Monte represented and counseled the Tribe on a broad array of issues, including litigation in tribal, state and federal courts, legislative matters before the Colorado General Assembly and the United States Congress and internal tribal matters such as contracting, code-drafting and gaming issues.

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Updates from the Department of Public Administration and Policy

UM's Department of Public Administration and Policy is the first of its kind in Montana. Located within the Alexander Blewett III School of Law’s Max S. Baucus Institute, DPAP’s mission is to provide a cutting-edge public sector education and advance careers in public service.

Missoula Survey: County Voters Confident in Vote by Mail

Researchers from the University of Montana’s Department of Public Administration and Policy recently asked nearly 698 Missoula County residents, “Are you confident Missoula County is free of voter fraud?”

Eighty-nine percent of respondents either strongly agreed or agreed with this statement. In addition, 79% are confident in Missoula County’s vote-by-mail process.

This survey, funded by the Missoula County Elections Office, examined 698 registered voters’ perceptions of their voting experiences and election practices during the November 2020 election.

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Alexander Blewett III School of Law  

University of Montana - 32 Campus Drive

Missoula, MT 59812 

406-243-4311 | www.umt.edu/law