Seminar Co-chairs: Andrea Collins and Monica Payne, Bozeman

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REVISED SCHEDULE 

6 CLE Credits — including 1 ethics credit

7:30-8:25
Registration 

8:25-8:30
Welcome & Introductions
Andrea Collins, Bozeman

8:30-9:30
Controlling Ediscovery Costs – Let's NOT Supersize a Snack  
Joel E. Henry, Missoula

9:30-10:45
COVID TIPPED US OVER: remote depositions; empowering attorneys through technology, rules and best practices; and, the future of court reporting and legal support tools
Carisa Fisher, Bozeman

10:45-11
BREAK

11:00-12:00
Discovering Insurance Bad Faith
Randy Bishop, Kalispell

12:00-1:00
LUNCH (on your own)

1:00-2:00
Judicial Panel on Depositions
Hon. John C. Brown, 18th Judicial District, Bozeman
Hon. Rienne H. McElyea, 18th Judicial District, Bozeman
Moderator:  Monica Payne, Bozeman

2:00-3:00
Legislative Primer - What to Expect For Your Practice
Al Smith, MTLA Executive Director, Helena

3:00-3:15
BREAK

3:15-4:15
Developments In Lawyer Regulation in Montana (ethics)
Pamela D. Bucy, Helena

4:15
Program Concludes

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SEMINAR SPONSORS

Fisher Video Conferencing | Court Reporting | Video Services | Trial Presentation Consultation

​SPEAKERS 

Randy Bishop maintains a limited civil trial and consulting practice in Kalispell, Montana. He served as an adjunct professor of torts, products liability and insurance law and co-coached the AB3 Trial Team at the Alexander Blewett III School of Law from 2015 through Spring semester 2020. Randy is a Past President and sustaining member of MTLA, a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers and a member and Past-President of the Montana Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (Montana ABOTA). He has been honored with MTLA’s Public Service, Appellate Advocacy and Career Achievement Awards.


Hon. John C. Brown was sworn in as District Court Judge for Department No. 3 of the Montana Eighteenth Judicial District, Gallatin County, on January 3, 2006 after being appointed by Governor Brian Schweitzer on October 17, 2005. Judge Brown was subsequently retained by the voters of Gallatin County in November 2006, 2012 and 2018. Before his appointment to the bench, Judge Brown was a partner in the Bozeman law firm of Cok Wheat Brown & McGarry and engaged in the private practice of law for 19 years with an emphasis in commercial and real estate litigation.  Judge Brown is a long-time supporter of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Gallatin County. 

Pamela D. Bucy was appointed by the Montana Supreme Court to serve as Chief Counsel for the Office of Disciplinary Counsel in November of 2019. Ms. Bucy joins the office after a few years with Taylor Luther Group, a boutique law/government relations firm where she specialized in business, employment, and administrative law as well as election and campaign finance law and strategic communications. Pam has served as a Deputy County Attorney for Lewis and Clark County, as Executive Assistant Attorney General for Attorney General Mike McGrath and as a Commissioner of the Department of Labor & Industry. Bucy earned her law degree from the University of Montana.

Prof. Craig Cowie teaches courses in consumer law and litigation, including Consumer Law, Civil Procedure, and Pretrial Litigation at the Alexander Blewett III School of Law. He also is the inaugural director of the Blewett Consumer Law & Protection Program. He serves on the board of the Montana Legal Services Association and acts as a faculty advisor for students in civil law clinics. Previously, Craig was an Assistant Litigation Deputy at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. After graduating Order of the Coif from the University of California at Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall), Craig clerked for the Honorable Sidney R. Thomas on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Carisa Fisher is the business development manager at the family-run Fisher Court Reporting, Video Conferencing and Videography.  Ms. Fisher has wide experience as a publicist, and an account manager and project producer in the marketing industry.  She has supported the MTLA in their seminar technical support for many years. The Fisher company has been an early pioneer in ushering in video conferencing and remote deposition options for their Montana clients. Carisa gained her certification as a TrialDirector court presentation specialist and trainer in 2012. She continues to pursue practical and conceptual learning opportunities, including immersion sessions with trial expert Rodney Jew. She’s also earned a certificate in “Storytelling and Content Strategy” through the University of Washington, and another in “Design Thinking” via the Rochester Institute of Technology. Carisa earned her bachelor's degree in English Literature at the University of Washington.

Joel Henry is one of the few lawyers in the country with a Ph.D. in Computer Science. He utilizes his deep understanding of technology to guide start-ups and clients with respect to business formation, contracts, and intellectual property, including patents, trademarks, trade secrets, and licensing. Joel also has significant experience in the technology used by and supporting legal processes. He has been deeply involved in the use and development of electronic discovery software platforms so critical to law firms across the nation. He brings an effective solution-focused approach to complex and interdependent problems involving technology, law, and business. Joel plays a vital role across the State of Montana as a unique attorney in the technical, legal, and entrepreneurial space. Integrating the ability to understand complex technology with his law degree, Joel crafts innovative, cost effective solutions for clients who need more than a legal beagle.  


Hon. Rienne H. McElyea earned her J.D. from the University of Colorado, School of Law in 1989. She practiced personal injury law with her father, Richard E. Hartman, in Englewood, Colorado. She moved to Bozeman, Montana in 1991 and began a general civil practice with The Berg Law Firm. Governor Steve Bullock appointed Judge McElyea to the Eighteenth Judicial District Court, Department 2, to complete the term of the Honorable Mike Salvagni. The Honorable Russ McElyea presided over the swearing in ceremony of Judge McElyea on January 3, 2017.

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