Alexander Blewett III School of Law

Faculty Bios

• Hon. Kathleen L. “Katie” DeSoto, United States District Court, District of Montana
  

  Kathleen L. DeSoto is a federal magistrate judge of the United States District Court for the District of Montana. She was appointed and took the oath of office on August 2, 2019.

  Education:

  B.A. from Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California in 1989.

  J.D. from the University of Montana School of Law in Missoula, Montana in 1999.

  Career Record:

  She worked as an associate at Garlington, Lohn & Robinson in Missoula, MT from 2001 to 2009.

  Later, she became a partner at the same law firm from 2009 to 2019.

  Memberships:

  American Bar Association

  Federal Bar Association

  Western Montana Bar Association

  She served as a Lawyer Representative to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and was the past-President of the Federal Bar Association for the District of Montana and the Federal Practice Section of the Montana State Bar.

  Additionally, she held positions as a past-President of the Western Montana Bar Association and was involved with the School Law Section of the Montana State Bar.

• Hon. Jason Marks, District Court Judge, 4th Judicial District, Missoula County
  

  Gov. Steven Bullock appointed Hon. Jason Marks as judge to the Fourth Judicial District, Department 4, to replace Judge Karen S. Townsend who retired Aug. 2019. In addition to presiding over regular cases in Missoula and Mineral Counties, Judge Marks also presides over the Veteran’s Treatment Court and Co-Occurring Treatment in Missoula County.

  Judge Marks was born and raised in Missoula. He received his J.D. from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA in 2005. After returning to Missoula he served in both the Public Defender’s Office and the Missoula County Attorney’s Office. He was recognized as the Public Servant of the Year in 2009 by the Missoula Family Violence Counsel for his work on domestic violence cases. He was promoted in 2012 to supervise the prosecution of sexual assault and domestic violence cases in the Missoula County Attorney’s Office. In 2015 he was appointed to Chief Deputy County Attorney where he supervised both the criminal and civil divisions of the Missoula County Attorney’s Office until he was appointed to the bench by Gov. Bullock.

  On a more personal level, Judge Marks is married and has three children that he feels lucky to be able to raise in the community where he grew up. He is an active member of the Missoula Kiwanis organization and has been a regular guest lecturer at the University of Montana Law School.

• Hon. Mike Menahan, District Court Judge, 1st Judicial District, Broadwater & Lewis and Clark Counties
  

  Mike Menahan is a judge for the 1st District Court in Montana. He was elected without opposition on November 6, 2012, and his term expired in 20181. Before serving on the 1st District Court, Menahan worked as Lewis and Clark County’s deputy county attorney for 17 years1. He is also a former Democratic member of the Montana House of Representatives, representing the 82nd District from 2009 to 20131.

  Menahan graduated from the University of Montana with a degree in political science and earned his J.D. from the University of Montana School of Law1. Born and raised in Helena, Montana, he attended Anaconda High School. Menahan is registered as a Democrat2.

  During his time in the Montana House of Representatives, Menahan served on various committees, including the Federal Relations, Energy, and Telecommunications Judiciary in the 2011-2012 legislative session, and the Judiciary, Natural Resources, Local Government, and Elections committees in the 2009-2010 legislative session1.

  As a judge, Mike Menahan presides over cases in the 1st Judicial District Court, which encompasses Lewis & Clark County and Broadwater County2. His legal background and experience contribute to his role in the Montana judicial system.

• Karen Townsend, District Court Judge, 4th Judicial District (Ret.)
  

  The Honorable Karen S. Townsend (Ret.) served as a judge for the 4th Judicial District Court of Montana. She was elected to the bench in 2010, filling the vacancy created by the retirement of the late Honorable Douglas G. Harkin. Townsend retired on August 30, 2019. The 4th Judicial District includes Mineral and Missoula Counties. Before her judicial career, she had an extensive legal background. Let me share more details about her professional journey:

  Education:

  Bachelor’s degree from Ohio Wesleyan University (1964)

  Master’s degree from the University of California (1965)

  J.D. from the University of Montana, Alexander Blewett III School of Law in 1976

  Career History:

  Worked with the Missoula County Attorney’s Office since 1990 before her election to the bench.

  Served as senior deputy county attorney (1990 to 1998) and chief deputy county attorney (1998 to 2006).

  Spent several years as a Special Assistant United States Attorney (1984 to 1988; 1990 to 2006).

  Began her legal career as a deputy county attorney in Missoula in 1976.

  Briefly served as chief staff attorney in the County Prosecutor’s Services Bureau with the Montana Department of Justice (1980 to 1981).

  Became Director of Training at the National College of District Attorneys in 1988.

  Director of the Trial Advocacy Program at the Alexander Blewett III School of Law, where she coached the program’s competition team since 1998.

  Recognitions and Memberships:

  Received a Distinguished Service Award from the law school in 2017 for her work at the Trial Advocacy Program.

  Memberships include the State Bar of Montana and the American Bar Association.

• Natasha Prinzing Jones, Boone Karlberg
  

  Shareholder

  Natasha is from Montana and graduated with honors from The University of Montana School of Law in 2000. While in law school, Natasha was a member of the National Trial Lawyers Association Trial Team, which placed first at the regional competition in Las Vegas, Nevada, and she was the recipient of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers Student Award. Following law school, Natasha served as a federal law clerk to U.S. District Court Judge Sam E. Haddon. Natasha has been a shareholder since 2008. As a practicing litigator, Natasha has handled complex matters, taken several cases to trial, and has achieved excellent results in the courtroom, including multiple defense verdicts.

  Practice Areas

  • Civil Litigation - Defense
  • Employment Law
  • Municipal Liability Law
  • Medical Malpractice / Nursing Home Law
  • Insurance Coverage and Defense
  • FELA law
  • Family Law

  Education and Experience

  • J.D., The University of Montana School of Law, with Honors, 2000
  • B.S., The University of Montana, with Honors, 1997
  • Clerkship - Honorable Sam Haddon, United States District Court

  Awards and Honors

  • Top 50 Women Mountain States Super Lawyers - 2023
  • Top 100 Mountain States Super Lawyers
  • Mountain States Rising Star
  • Chambers USA
  • Benchmark Litigation, Top 250 Women in Litigation
  • Benchmark Litigation, Local Litigation Star
  • AV Preeminent rating in Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory
  • Best Lawyers in America

  Community and Professional Involvement

  • International Society of Barristers (ISOB), member
  • American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), member
  • Montana State Bar Judicial Relations Committee, member
  • Montana School of Law Trial Advocacy Program, faculty
  • Montana School of Law Trial Practice Program, instructor
  • U.S. District Court Local Rules Committee, member
  • Western Montana Bar Association, Past President
• Professor Cynthia Ford, Blewett School of Law, The University of Montana

  Credentials

  Position

  Univ. of MT

  Admission Details

  1978, Montana

  1983, Washington

   

  Law School Attended

  Cornell University

  Class of 1978

  J.D.

  cum laude

  University Attended

  Dartmouth College

  Class of 1975

  A.B.

  magna cum laude

• Michael F. Lamb, Lamb Law Office
  

  MICHAEL F. LAMB has been practicing in Montana for over thirty years.  He is a native Montanan, born in Big Timber and raised in Red Lodge and Columbus.  He worked on ranches and oil rigs until law school in 1977.  He earned his undergraduate degree from Montana State University and his law degree from the University of Montana School of Law in 1980.

  In 1980, after law school, he worked for a year as a law clerk for U.S. District Court Judges William J. Jameson and James F. Battin in Billings.  In 1981 he joined Church, Harris, Johnson & Williams in Great Falls, Montana where he had a broad-based practice focused on litigation of all types (commercial, oil and gas, banking, insurance, personal injury, bad faith, medical malpractice, products liability, etc.) both from a defense and plaintiff’s perspective.  Mike moved to Helena in 1993 to form the firm of Thueson & Lamb Law – a practice focused on personal injury law and the Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA).  In 2004 Mike and Jamie Carey formed Lamb and Carey Law in Helena, which continued the specialty practice of personal injury with an emphasis on FELA, medical malpractice, products liability, nursing home negligence, accidents (car, truck, motorcycle, boats), wrongful death, head injuries, and insurance bad faith matters.  At Lamb Law Office Mike continues that focus on litigation matters.

  Mike has made numerous contributions to professional journals. He authors a “War Stories” column in Trial Trends (a periodical publication of Montana Trial Lawyers Association) and he is a three-time winner of the Justice Frank I. Haswell award for outstanding contribution to the Montana Bar Association periodical. He has also made numerous presentations on various subjects to the Montana Trial Lawyers Association, Montana Defense Trial Lawyers Association, Montana Bar Association, Montana Mediation Association and the Helena Education Foundation.

• Adam Duerk, McFarland, Molloy & Duerk
  

  After ten years with the firm of Milodragovich, Dale & Steinbrenner, P.C., shareholder Adam Duerk accepted a position as an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) in the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Montana. Mr. Duerk proudly serves as both a federal prosecutor in the criminal division and a trial attorney for civil matters. He has been tasked with prosecuting white-collar fraud and environmental crimes as well as defending civil claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act. During his time with our firm, Mr. Duerk represented both his clients and the firm admirably. We appreciate the work performed by Mr. Duerk over his time with Milodragovich, Dale & Steinbrenner, P.C. and applaud him for his many accomplishments along the way. We wish Mr. Duerk the best as he engages in this new endeavor and expect he will represent the citizens of the United States with the same tenacity, civility and professionalism he exhibited over the past decade as a successful trial attorney at our firm.

• Jill Laslovich, Crowley Fleck
  

  Jill Laslovich is a Partner in the Helena Litigation Department. Her practice focuses on medical malpractice defense, healthcare litigation, and professional licensing claims. Jill graduated with high honors from the University of Montana and the Davidson Honors College in 2003. In 2006, she received her Juris Doctorate from the University of Montana School of Law. Jill is the former president of the Montana Defense Trial Lawyers Association. She currently serves as a faculty member for the Advanced Trial Advocacy School at the University of Montana School of Law.

  Bar Admission

  Montana, 2006

  U.S. District Court, District of Montana 2006

   

  Education

  2006 – J.D., University of Montana School of Law

  2003 – B.A. in Political Science with High Honors, University of Montana and Davidson Honors College

• Randy J. Cox, Executive Vice-President and General Counsel, Wildfire Defense Systems, Inc.
  

  Clerkship, Senior U.S. District Judge W.D. Murray. Lecturer in Law, University of Montana Law School, 1985-1987, 1990. Law Clerk to U.S. District Judge W.D. Murray, 1979-1981. Associate, American Board of Trial Advocates. Member, 1988— and Chairman, 2002, Montana Board of Bar Examiners. Member, Supreme Court Advisory Commission on Rules of Civil and Appellate Procedure. Listed in Best Lawyers in America. Randy was raised on a cattle ranch on the Smith River in west-central Montana and graduated from Cascade High School. In the fall of 1981, he joined this firm, then known as Boone Karlberg & Haddon. Since that time Randy has developed a statewide litigation practice and has briefed and argued dozens of cases in the Montana Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

• A. Clifford Edwards, Edwards & Culver
  

  For 40+ years, Clifford Edwards has dedicated his law practice, throughout Montana and based in Billings, to representing individual Montanans and their small businesses. Clifford has:

  • Championed the cause of Montanans injured through the fault of others
  • Sued the insurance companies that have denied benefits that Montanans have coming
  • Sued the toxic polluters that have fouled Montanans' properties, forcing them as toxic polluters to pay to clean-up the mess they left
  • Sued manufacturers of defective products that injured, maimed and killed Montanans
  • Sued the Burlington Northern Santa Fe for damages they have inflicted on Montanans in personal injury as well as toxic pollution through their properties.

  He has had considerable success in the courtroom, and in the negotiation room, and has been able to significantly help many Montanans all over the state, to remedy wrongs that have been done to them, mostly by the corporations listed above. In addition to the above, Clifford and his firm are among legal leaders in representing the injured and maimed in Bakken Oil Field work incidents, as well as landowners against the multiple international, southern U.S.-based oil extractors drilling on their deeded land surfaces.

• Mick Taleff, Taleff & Murphy, P.C.
  

  Ward E. “Mick” Taleff is a native Montanan who grew up in Great Falls. He attended the University of Utah and graduated with honors. He then entered the University of Montana School of Law, graduating in 1976. He is admitted to all federal and state courts in Montana, as well as the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan. His legal career has involved representation of individuals and businesses in commercial transactions, insurance matters, estate planning, probate, and litigation. He has acted as a prosecutor, special prosecutor, Special Assistant Montana Attorney General, Special Referee for the Montana Insurance Commissioner, and as an arbitrator. He is a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, an invitation-only association limited to no more than 2% of the attorneys in a State who display the highest ethical standards and trial skills. With Tim Strauch, he was named co-Trial Lawyer of the Year in 2014. He also has an active mediation practice, having conducted approximately 1,000 settlement conferences to assist litigants in resolving disputes without a trial. Mick’s philosophy is to provide each of his clients with a personal, dedicated and ethical representation. He has previously served on and been the Chair of the Great Falls Public School Board of Trustees, various charitable and service organizations, and is the Chair of the Montana Supreme Court Commission on Practice, which hears ethical complaints filed against lawyers.

• Thorin A. Geist, Assistant Attorney General, Montana Department of Justice

  Born and raised in the land of the Midnight Sun! Thorin moved to Montana in 2005 after he graduated from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, with dual degrees in Psychology and Criminal Justice. He earned his law degree from the University of Montana School of Law in 2007 and began his legal career in private practice as a civil trial and appellate attorney.

  In 2012, Thorin found his calling and began his career as a prosecutor. For the next eight years Thorin worked in Ravalli County as a Deputy County Attorney, where he worked primarily on felony drug and violent crime cases. In 2021, Thorin began serving as an Assistant Attorney General for the Montana Department of Justice, Prosecution Services Bureau, where he now specializes in prosecuting homicide and other high-profile cases across Montana.

  During his career Thorin has also had the privilege of serving as a Special Assistant United States Attorney, and as a substitute Municipal Court Judge and Justice of the Peace. He is also a former member of the Montana Supreme Court’s IT Committee.

• Meghann F. Paddock, Assistant Attorney General, Montana Department of Justice

  Meghann Paddock is an Assistant Attorney General with the Montana Department of Justice. She played a significant role in prosecuting a case that resulted in a 300-year prison sentence for a man named Charles Michael Byrne. Byrne was found guilty of sexual intercourse without consent with a minor. The case involved three separate instances of sexual activity with a minor girl between 2010 and 2016. As a result of the jury’s verdict, Byrne received three consecutive 100-year sentences, totaling 300 years in the Montana State Prison. The sentence was requested by the state and required by law due to the age of the victim123. Meghann Paddock’s dedication to justice and her work alongside other legal professionals helped ensure that child predators are held accountable in Montana.

• Paul Ryan, Ryan & Miller, PLLC - Attorney/Owner

  Paul Ryan was born and raised in Missoula, Montana. An experienced trial attorney, Paul has won numerous jury trials throughout the state of Montana. After graduating in 1988 with a BS in Business Administration from the University of Montana, he worked for Boeing Airlines for several years in Seattle before pursuing a career in law.

  Paul attended law school at the Gonzaga University School of Law from which he graduated with honors in 1993. In 2007, he finally opened his own law firm, and Paul Ryan & Associates Attorneys at Law was born. Among his myriad accolades and achievements, Paul is an acting Justice of the Peace and has been named Missoula's Best Attorney 13 times. His clients have received millions of dollars in personal injury settlements during the 25+ years he's been practicing law. With experience in a variety of complex civil and criminal cases, his work has been recognized by judges, other attorneys, clients, and independent agencies. That same commitment to quality and ethics carries through to all members of Paul Ryan's team.

  Outside his legal practice, Paul is an avid hiker and softball player. He enjoys getting outdoors during Missoula’s beautiful summers and going paddle boarding or to local concerts. Paul has a 14-year-old daughter who he enjoys playing catch and staying active with. 

  Memberships:

  • Association of Trial Lawyers of America
  • Montana Trial Lawyers Association
  • Licensed in State and Federal Court
  • American Association of Premier DUI Attorneys
• Nikki Schaubel, Trainer, Coach, and Mediator

  Nikki Schaubel is a Trainer, Coach, and Mediator based in Montana.
  Before venturing into the coaching and consulting field, Nikki’s career experiences were diverse, including nearly a decade in Court Administration. She is passionate about human connection and has been joyfully immersed in the study and teaching of Communication
  since 2008.

  Nikki holds a B.A. in Organizational Communication and a M.S. in Public Relations from Montana State University Billings. When she’s not researching, speaking or helping others achieve their goals, she enjoys traveling and spending time with family.