The Alexander Blewett III School of Law is a law school at the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. UM reported 10,962 undergraduate and graduate students in the fal ...

Missoula Missoula ( ; fla, label=Salish language, Séliš, Nłʔay, lit=Place of the Small Bull Trout, script=Latn; kut, Tuhuⱡnana, script=Latn) is a city in the U.S. state of Montana; it is the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, Missoula Cou ...

. It was established in 1911 and remains

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

's only law school. , the school accepted 83 applicants. The school tied for 103rd in the 2023 '' U.S. News & World Report'' law school rankings.https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/the-university-of-montana-03093 In 2009, '' National Jurist'' magazine ranked the school 6 in best value nationally, with its graduates passing the bar at a rate of 95%. The school has been praised for its innovative integration of theory and practice.

History

The school was established in 1911 as the first law school in Montana. It originally covered three academic years and gave special attention to the practice of court work, procedure, mining, and irrigation law in addition to the practice of law in Montana and the Western states in general. It was admitted to membership in the

Association of American Law Schools The Association of American Law Schools (AALS), formed in 1900, is a non-profit organization of 176 law schools in the United States. An additional 19 schools pay a fee to receive services but are not members. AALS incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non ...

in 1914 and by the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...

(ABA) in 1923.

Studies

The school offers concentrations in the areas of

trial advocacy Trial advocacy is the branch of knowledge concerned with making attorneys and other advocates more effective in trial proceedings. Trial advocacy is an essential trade skill for litigators and is taught in law schools and in continuing legal e ...

and dispute resolution, Native American law, and business and tax law. As Montana is home to seven

Indian Reservation An Indian reservation is an area of land held and governed by a federally recognized Native American tribal nation whose government is accountable to the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs and not to the state government in which it ...

s and t
eight
state-recognized tribal nations, the school's Native American law courses, Native American law clinic, and Native American Law Student Association provide opportunities for students to learn about and participate in the administration of justice for Native Americans. The school publishes the '' Montana Law Review''. Many students enroll in the natural resource and environmental law courses where the school offers a certificate program in Environmental and Natural Resource Law, natural resource clinics, and opportunities to participate on the ''

Public Land and Resources Law Review In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

''. The law school'
Natural Resources & Environmental Law Program
(NREP) has been nationally ranked among th
top 27 environmental law
programs in the country, receiving an “A” grade for the breadth of its environmental training, including its certificate concentration in natural resources and environmental law, its curricular offerings, Public Land & Resources Law Review, national environmental law moot court team, Environmental Law Group, and its law clinic program focusing on natural resources and environmental law issues. The school offers three joint–degree programs. Students can combine their law degrees with a Master of Science in Environmental Studies, a Master of Business Administration, or a Master of Public Administration. These programs can lead to completion of the joint degree in as little as three years.

Library

The William J. Jameson Law Library is over and holds over 100,000 print volumes that are enhanced by a multi-format audio-visual collection, extensive microform titles, and several electronic research services and databases.

New building

In 2008, the school underwent a $14.8 million renovation and addition. The addition includes classrooms with better acoustics, newer technology, audio-visual equipment, disability access, and more small and mid-sized classrooms. More space is also provided for the school's clinical program, including its land use, Native American law, criminal defense, and mediation clinics. This space includes client interview rooms, student workrooms, and office space. The renovated building also contains an expanded law library with newer technology to serve the needs students as well as the public.

Employment

According to the school's disclosures as required by the American Bar Association, 67.5% of the class of 2014 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment within nine months of graduation. Montana's Law School Transparency under-employment score is 22.5%, indicating the percentage of the class of 2014 unemployed, pursuing an additional degree, or working in a non-professional, short-term, or part-time job nine months after graduation.

Cost

The total cost of attendance including the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses for the 2014–2015 academic year was $26,739.26 for residents and $45,424.46 for nonresidents. The Law School Transparency estimated debt-financed cost of attendance for three years at $91,827 for residents and $161,494 for nonresidents.

Notable alumni

* Forrest H. Anderson (1913–1989), Montana Attorney General, Montana Governor and Montana Supreme Court Justice * Diane Barz (1943–2014), Montana Supreme Court Justice * Eldena Bear Don’t Walk, Chief Justice of the Crow Nation *

Gordon Belcourt Gordon Belcourt, or Meekskimeeksskumapi, (1945 – July 15, 2013) was an American Blackfeet and Native American tribal executive and social advocate. A member of the Blackfeet Tribe, Belcourt served as the executive director of the Montana-Wyo ...

, former Executive Director of the Montana-Wyoming Tribal Leaders Council *

George Hugo Boldt George Hugo Boldt (December 28, 1903 – March 18, 1984) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington. Education and career Born in Chicago, Boldt received a Bachelor of Arts fro ...

(1903–1984),

United States District Judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

, Western District, Washington * John W. Bonner (1902–1970), Montana Governor * James R. Browning (1918–2012), Clerk of the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

, Chief Judge

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...

* Dana L. Christensen, U.S. District Judge, Montana *

Charles E. Erdmann Charles Edgar "Chip" Erdmann (born June 26, 1946) is a Senior judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. His term began on October 15, 2002, and expired on July 31, 2017. Education Born in Great Falls, Montana, Erdmann ...

, Montana Supreme Court Justice, Circuit Judge United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces * Tim Fox, Montana Attorney General * Sam E. Haddon, U.S. District Judge, Montana * Paul G. Hatfield, U.S. District Judge, Montana, Chief Justice of the Montana Supreme Court, United States Senator *

William James Jameson William James Jameson (August 8, 1898 – October 8, 1990) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Montana. Education and career Born in Butte, Montana, Jameson received an Artium Baccalaur ...

(1898–1990), U.S. District Judge, Montana * Howard A. Johnson, Chief Justice of the

Montana Supreme Court The Montana Supreme Court is the supreme court, highest court of the state court system in the U.S. state of Montana. It is established and its powers defined by Article VII of the 1972 Montana Constitution. It is primarily an appellate court wh ...

"Former State Chief Justice Johnson Dies", ''The Daily Inter Lake'' (June 11, 1974), p. 10. *

Denise Juneau Denise Juneau (born April 5, 1967) is an American attorney, educator, and politician from the U.S. state of Montana who served as the state's Superintendent of Public Instruction from 2009 to 2017. She is a Democrat and the first female Native ...

, Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction * Charles C. Lovell, U.S. District Judge, Montana *

Lee Metcalf Lee Warren Metcalf (January 28, 1911 – January 12, 1978) was an American lawyer, judge, and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a U.S. Representative (1953–1961) and a U.S. Senator (1961–1978) from Montana. He was th ...

, Montana Supreme Court Justice, United States Senator *

Donald W. Molloy Donald W. Molloy (born July 18, 1946) is a Senior Status, Senior United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Montana. Early life and education Born into an Irish-American famil ...

, U.S. District Judge, Montana * William Daniel Murray (1908–1994), U.S. District Judge, Montana * Arnold Olsen (1916–1990), Attorney General, U.S. Representative *

Marc Racicot Marc or MARC may refer to: People * Marc (given name), people with the first name * Marc (surname), people with the family name Acronyms * MARC standards, a data format used for library cataloging, * MARC Train, a regional commuter rail system o ...

, Montana Governor, Montana Attorney General * James A. Rice, Montana Supreme Court Justice * Jim Shea, Montana Supreme Court Justice * Russell Evans Smith (1908–1990), U.S. District Judge, Montana * Jack D. Shanstrom, U.S. District Judge, Montana * Sidney R. Thomas, Chief United States circuit judge of the

John Warner John William Warner III (February 18, 1927 – May 25, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the United States Secretary of the Navy from 1972 to 1974 and as a five-term Republican U.S. Senator from Virginia from 1979 to 200 ...

, Montana Supreme Court Justice * Susan P. Watters, U.S. District Judge, Montana * Martha Williams, director of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montana Law School, University of Schools and colleges of the University of Montana Educational institutions established in 1911 Law schools in Montana 1911 establishments in Montana