Member News
CAREER MOVES
Orr and McDonnell open new Missoula firm
Missoula attorneys Thomas C. Orr and Gregory A. McDonnell proudly announce the opening of their new Missoula law firm; Orr McDonnell Law, PLLC. The firm evolved from the long-established Thomas C. Orr Law Office, P.C. which has served clients in western Montana for nearly two decades. Orr McDonnell Law, PLLC offers a diverse practice representing clients in personal injury, contract disputes, wrongful termination, landlord/tenant issues, and family law.
Orr grew up in Bozeman, Montana. He is a graduate of Montana State University and a 1990 graduate of the University of Montana School of Law. He practiced at the Missoula City Attorney’s Office and has had more than 20 years in private practice. Orr currently specializes in representing landlords with a myriad of complex legal issues, property disputes, and family law.
McDonnell is a Missoula native and graduate of the University of Montana School of Law. He previously worked as an associate at Datsopoulos McDonald & Lind, P.C. before joining Orr’s firm in 2019. McDonnell is a combat veteran and is currently serving with the Montana Army National Guard as a Judge Advocate. His practice focuses on civil litigation including personal injury, negligence, and contract claims.
Orr McDonnell Law, PLLC’s website can be found at www.omlmt.com.
Lindsey joins Ries Law Group as an associate attorney
Ries Law Group, P.C. is pleased to announce the hiring of Taiyler Lindsey as associate attorney.
Lindsey graduated from Alexander Blewett III School of Law in 2021. While in law school, she excelled as an intern with the Domestic Violence Clinic at Ries Law Group.
Lindsey received her undergraduate degree from Seattle Pacific University in Business Administration and prior to attending law school she worked for the Yakima County Courts in Washington. She is licensed in Montana state courts and the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribal Court.
Lindsey joins the RLG team to focus on the representation of survivors in a variety of civil matters. Formed in 2016, Ries Law Group provides civil legal assistance to survivors of domestic and sexual violence in Western Montana, with a special focus on trauma-informed family law, crime victim rights, orders of protection, and guardian ad litem cases. Attorneys Brandi Ries, Emily Lucas, and Robin Turner have a combined 30 years of legal experience in family law and other holistic civil legal services for survivors of gender-based violence. Attorneys Brandi Ries and Emily Lucas also act as mediators and settlement masters in family law cases.
All RLG attorneys provide free legal services to survivors through grant partnerships with Sanders County Coalition for Families, Safe Harbor, and the YWCA – Missoula. The firm helped to originate and currently supervises the Domestic Violence legal clinic at the Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of Montana.
Wells handles veterans compensation claims in Moscow, Idaho, practice
Michael S. Wells is a Montana lawyer and Iraq War veteran who practices federal law in Moscow, Idaho.
Wells handles Veterans Administration compensation claims all the way to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Recently, Wells has been handling agent orange claims for Vietnam veterans. Additionally, Wells handles all types of claims for veterans of all U.S. wars.
Wells is an Iraq War veteran and recipient of the Presidential Unit Citation, Army Good Conduct Medal, Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart.
Reed And Hixson join Brown Law Firm’s Missoula office
Brown Law Firm, P.C., with offices in Billings and Missoula, has announced that Anthony P. Reed and Zachary A. Hixson have joined the firm in Missoula. Reed received his undergraduate degree from the University of Montana in 2015. He then went on to law school at the University of Montana School of Law in Missoula, graduating in 2021. During law school, he served as managing editor of the Public Land and Resources Law Review and president of the Environmental Law Group. He interned with the Brown Law Firm during his third year of law school and began working full-time for the firm in September 2021.
Zachary A. Hixson graduated from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. He worked in international trade assisting U.S.-based customers with regulatory compliance before attending the University of Montana School of Law, graduating in 2019. While in law school, Zac was a member of the ABA Negotiations and National Trial Competition Teams, completed his clinic with the Powell County Attorney’s Office, and served as class commencement speaker. Following law school, Zac clerked for the Honorable Ray J. Dayton, Montana Third Judicial District Court, and the Honorable Sam E. Haddon, United States District Court for the District of Montana.
RETIREMENT
Tillman retiring from Boone Karlberg after 23 years as a partner with the firm
Ross Tillman is retiring from the practice of law After 34 years of serving in the legal field and 23 years of partnership with Boone Karlberg P.C.
Throughout his career, Tillman has focused on personal injury litigation, insurance coverage evaluation and litigation, insurance bad faith litigation, and defamation work. In addition to his law practice, Tillman has served in the local community as a member of the board of directors for Montana Food Bank Network, volunteered his time at the Missoula Humane Society, and is a licensed foster care provider. Ross also held membership positions within legal organizations such as Montana Defense Trial Lawyers Association and Defense Research Institute. It is never easy to bid farewell. Ross will be deeply missed, and we wish him all the best along with his wife, Marta Pierpoint, and his two children, Matthew Tillman and Rachel Tillman.
Boone Karlberg is grateful for Tillman’s many accomplishments and his legacy, work ethic, and passion will continue to inspire us well into the future.
HONORS
Jordan Crosby elected president of Montana Defense Trial Lawyers
Jordan Crosby, shareholder with Ugrin, Alexander and Zadick, Great Falls, was recently elected president of the Montana Defense Trial Lawyers.
Other officers elected at the Nov. 19 annual meeting include vice president Patrick Riley of Bozeman and secretary-treasurer Elizabeth Hausbeck of Missoula. Jill Laslovich of Helena will serve as past president.
New board members elected to serve three-year terms include: Jon Wilson, Billings, and Bryan Kautz, Billings. Additional board members are Sean Goicoechea, Kalispell; Gerry Fagan, Billings; Elizabeth Lund, Bozeman; Marshal Mickelson, Butte; and Tyler Smith, Missoula.
Carlson, Newbold, Mudd named to posts with national Institute for Well-Being in Law
John Mudd, State Bar of Montana executive director, and Chris Newbold, executive vice president of ALPS, have joined the board of the national Institute for Well-Being in Law.
Additionally, Bob Carlson, a past president of both the American Bar Association and the State Bar of Montana, has been named to the institute’s advisory board. As ABA president, Carlson spoke often on ABA initiatives to promote lawyer and law student wellness; advance diversity in the association and the profession; fight for access to justice for all, including those seeking refuge in the United States; and argue in defense of an independent judiciary.
Newbold will serve as the institute’s VP for Governance. He oversees business development and sales strategy at ALPS and is its chief liaison to bar associations. Additionally, he is a recognized strategic planning facilitator in the bar association and bar foundation worlds, a leader in the lawyer well-being movement and advises states/bar association exploring the merits of mandatory malpractice insurance or disclosure rules.
Newbold has been at the center of the national discussion on lawyer well-being since 2016. As co-author of the movement igniting report The Path to Lawyer Well-Being: Practical Recommendations for Positive Change, his leadership as co-chair of the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being, his participation on the ABA’s Working Group to Advance Well-Being in the Legal Profession and his role as co-host The Path to Well-Being in Law podcast, he has been at the forefront of a movement intent on creating a culture shift in the legal profession and on advancing personal and professional satisfaction in all sectors of the legal field.
Mudd will serve as the institute’s VP of Fund Development. Prior to joining the State Bar, Mudd served as the director of development and alumni relations at the Blewett School of Law at the University of Montana. He currently serves on the boards of the Max S. Baucus Institute, the Montana World Affairs Council, and the Montana Justice Foundation (ex officio), among others. He is also a frequent presenter on lawyer well-being topics.