Montana

With more than 20 attorneys across four offices, all in Montana, Browning Kaleczyc Berry & Hoven joins this year's list with five stars. Co-chair of the Commercial Group Stanley Kaleczyc brings his expertise to insurance complex commercial and securities-related litigation. He has defended clients across the board from health insurers to natural gas producers to tribal governments. Clients call him "intelligent, responsive, knowledgeable, and experienced." Dan Hoven of the Helena office stands out to clients as a "skilled defense attorneys who can evaluate standard of care, causation and damages." He is revered as a knowledgeable malpractice attorney, characterized by "impeccable judgment, sophisticated legal analysis, elite writing, practical know-how derived from [his] day-to-day experience in the courts, and high standard of ethics.", Sarah Berg and Carlo Canty join Hoven in the medical malpractice department.

In 2009, Crowley Haughey Hanson Toole & Dietrich and Fleck Mather & Strutz combined to establish the Crowley Fleck, the largest firm within the state. Prior to this union, Haughey Hanson Toole & Dietrich was one of the oldest law firms in Montana having come into existence in 1895. The firm holds offices in Billings, Helena, Kalispell, Bozeman, Bismarck, Butte, Casper, Cheyenne, Sheridan, Williston, and Missoula. In the mid-1990s, it opened up shop in Williston, North Dakota. The firm is praised for its "attention to detail" and ability to "effectively discuss and manage legal expenses." Moreover, clients are grateful for Crowley's practice of "referring outside the firm if necessary for expertise on jurisdiction issues," but note that "the firm is deep so it's also easy to stay within for most issues." One client reports, "our representatives at Crowley are vested in helping us solve problems effectively, big or small, whatever time of year or day-they treat our issues as if they are their issues."

Crowley Fleck's attorneys represent clients in nearly all areas of law and have organized their specializations into three departments: commercial; energy, environment, and natural resources; and litigation. Ian McIntosh focuses on civil litigation defense including product liability, personal injury, and insurance bad faith. McIntosh served as counsel to Moonlight Basin Management when an anesthesiologist was injured on the client's property and attempted to seek damages of up to $8 million. The case was resolved on summary judgement for the defendant. In the Kalispell office, Kimberly More primarily concentrates on insurance defense and commercial litigation including personal injury, product liability, real property, Americans with Disabilities Act, and ERISA. Jeffrey Oven has litigated cases through trial in both state and federal courts. His practice covers commercial litigation including complex natural resources, oil and gas, banking, and IP, and he represented Kent and Julie Beers in a dispute over a pipeline across the client's property: the company which acquired the dominate estate claimed that under the 1977 Real Estate Easement Agreement, no consent on the part of the clients was necessary to change the use of the pipeline, a claim which the clients disputed. Ultimately, the Court ruled that consent from the clients was required. Colby Branch is championed by peers for his contribution to the firm's reputably "vibrant" Native American law practice. New addition Ken Lay of the Helena office earned a jury verdict in favor of Wells Fargo in a litigation alleging fraud, deceit, and violation of the Montana Consumer Protection Act. Kiely Keane and Julie Lichte stand out as a star in the malpractice department, while David Wagner earns a favorable reputation with peers for his work as lead trial counsel on a number of commercial and banking cases.

Garlington Lohn & Robinson is home to three stars at their energy efficient Missoula-based office. With a background in college baseball and the US Naval Academy, Bradley Luck ultimately found his way to litigation where he specializes in insurance, bad faith and personal injury. Luck has brought over 60 appeals before the Montana Supreme Court and has been an adjunct professor teaching Workers' Compensation Law at the UM School of Law. A Butte native, Robert Sheridan focuses his defense practice on railroad (FELA) law, products liability, governmental liability, premises liability and vehicular liability. He has extensive experience in both civil trials and appellate matters before state and federal courts. After joining the firm in 2001, future star Kathleen Desoto developed her reputable defense practice with cases involving insurance, school liability defense, and federal criminal defense.

Located in Bozeman, Goetz Baldwin & Geddes is a litigation and trial boutique with a wide range of practice areas. These include complex commercial disputes, constitutional claims, plaintiff's personal injury and property damage, product liability, toxic tort and environmental claims, oil and natural gas litigation, and white-collar criminal law, among many others. Its attorneys have retrieved millions for their clients including a recent $3.8 million jury verdict on behalf of local business owners in a defamation case. The firm represents local residents as well as Fortune 500 companies in need of legal counsel in the state.

After attending Montana State University, James Goetz went on to Yale Law School. He later returned to his home state and was admitted to the Montana Bar in 1969. He has argued nearly 100 cases in the Montana Supreme Court including various cases under the Montana Constitution. He is currently representing a group of committed, same-sex couples challenging discrimination in benefits. Robert Baldwin represents both plaintiffs and defendants in a wide variety of litigation involving complex commercial disputes, business torts, and personal injury. He currently represents Glacier Electric Cooperative and Global Net in an intra-corporate dissolution case in which the client and defendant Scott Johnson were shareholders, and Glacier sued alleging embezzlement. The matter is ongoing, but the Baldwin has yet been able to secure partial summary judgement about Johnson's duty to account dissolving the corporation, declaring certain shareholders agreements to be invalid, ordering the sale of the corporation, and approving the sale.

Lewis Slovak & Kovacich is one of the leading plaintiffs' firms in the state. The lawyers handle matters of toxic torts, environmental litigation, personal injury, and wrongful death. Its extensive practice includes claims of exposure to asbestos, toxic chemicals, and soil and groundwater contamination. It has tried many multimillion-dollar cases including an environmental contamination lawsuit that ended in a $41.2 million verdict on behalf of its clients.

Tom Lewis received his JD from Gonzaga Law School in 1975. After being admitted to the bar in both Montana and Washington, he became an associate at Hoyt and Bottomly in Great Falls, where, in 1979, he founded his own firm. He limits his practice strictly to civil litigation on behalf of plaintiffs who have been injured or damaged by the fault of others. Approximately 30% of his practice is devoted to toxic torts, 20% on environmental litigation, and another 20% to workers' safety claims. The rest is divided evenly between product liability, insurance bad faith, and workers' compensation. He is a past president of the Montana Trial Lawyers Association.

Located in Great Falls, the law firm of Ugrin Alexander Zadick & Higgins also represents clients in Billings, Bozeman, Butte, Havre, Helena, Kalispell, Missoula, and various other cities throughout the state. More than a dozen attorneys have extensive experience in many areas of practice. They are trained in appellate practice, commercial litigation, complex litigation, discrimination and civil rights law, employment litigation, insurance coverage and bad faith, insurance defense, land use development and litigation, medical malpractice and health care law, municipal/government liability, personal injury, premises and property damage law, and product liability. It represents a number of companies, medical facilities, and insurance companies.

Gary Zadick was born and raised in Great Falls. He attended the University of Montana and later the University of Montana School of Law, where he obtained his JD in 1978. He frequently lectures at his alma mater. His practice concerns personal injury, insurance law, and product liability.