Making Your Case: Practice Tips From the Bench and Bar |
April 17, 2015
Elizabeth Halverson, Billings
|
Live Interactive OPTION - Problems with driving winter roads, hotel costs, time away from office? MTLA and Fisher Video Conferencing have a solution.
|
Seminar Sponsors FISHER - Video Conferencing | Court Reporting | Video Services | Trial Presentation Consultation |
||
![]() |
![]() |
|
Schedule 6 CLE Credits – including 1 ethics |
7:30 | Registration & Continental Breakfast | |
8:25 | Introduction & Welcome Elizabeth Halverson, Billings |
|
8:30 |
Recent Developments Regarding the Admissibility of Medical Bills
|
|
9:15 |
Perspectives from the Bench Hon. Susan P. Watters
|
|
10:00
|
BREAK
|
|
10:15 |
Observations from a Seasoned Trial Lawyer
|
|
11:00 |
Bakken Boom and Its Impact on the Judiciary in Richland County Hon. Katherine M. Bidegaray
|
|
12:00
|
LUNCH (on your own)
|
|
1:15 |
Issue Spotting in Wrongful Termination Cases
|
|
2:00 |
Preparation, Preparation, Preparation Hon. Michael G. Moses
|
|
3:00
|
BREAK
|
|
3:15 |
Four-Hour Workweek© for Lawyers: Practical Tips on Work-Life Balance and Time Management (1 ethics credit)
|
|
4:15 | SEMINAR ADJOURNS | |
Hon. Katherine M. Bidegaray took office as District Judge of the Montana 7th Judicial District in January 2003. Prior to taking office, Judge Bidegaray engaged in the general practice of law in Sidney, Montana. In addition, she served as the Public Defender for Richland County and filled in at the Richland County Attorney’s office. Before returning to Sidney, Judge Bidegaray worked three and one-half years for the State Auditor’s Office in Helena, first as a staff attorney for the Montana Insurance Department and then as Deputy Securities Commissioner. A graduate of the University of Montana Law School in 1985, Bidegaray worked as a teaching assistant for the Montana Defender Project and served as an editorial staff member of the Montana Law Review. Since 2006, she was instrumental in implementing three treatment courts for her judicial district. Bidegaray is the past president of the Montana Judges’ Association. |
Anders Blewett graduated cum laude from Harvard University in 2003 with a degree in Government. He graduated with honors from the University of Montana School of Law in 2007. He is an associate at the law firm of Hoyt and Blewett PLLC in Great Falls where his practice focuses on personal injury, products liability, and insurance litigation. He served one term in the Montana House of Representatives in 2009 and one term as a member of the Montana Senate where he served on the Senate Judiciary Committee. |
John Heenan practices in Billings, Montana, focusing his practice on consumer law, including consumer class actions, bank misconduct, debt collection harassment, identity theft, and unfair trade practices. John serves on MTLA’s Board of Directors and as Chair of the Education Committee. Using The 4-Hour Workweek© principles, John regularly goes home from work early, stays home on weekends, and takes guilt-free vacations with his family. |
Eric E. Holm is a member of the Billings law firm Sather & Holm, PLLC. Eric earned his law degree from the University of Montana School of Law in 2007, and he is a graduate of Georgetown College, where he earned a B.S. with Honors in Environmental Science. After law school, Eric practiced civil litigation for several years before co-founding Sather & Holm law firm in 2013. Eric’s field of practice includes employment law, plaintiff’s personal injury, and commercial litigation. |
Hon. Michael G. Moses was sworn in as District Judge of the Montana 13th Judicial District in May 2014. He earned his law degree from Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon, in 1978 and his bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Montana in 1974. Until his appointment, Judge Moses practiced law in Billings, where he was born and raised (he graduated from Billings Senior High School). Judge Moses was a member of MTLA from 1983 until taking the bench. |
Calvin J. Stacey is a partner in the law firm of Stacey & Funyak in Billings. Mr. Stacey earned his law degree at the University of Montana School of Law and is a member of AAJ, ABOTA and MTLA. His practice areas include personal injury, insurance defense; insurance bad faith, product liability, construction law, wrongful death, medical negligence and professional liability. He is listed in Best Lawyers "2012 Lawyer of the Year," Top 100 Trial Lawyers, Mountain States Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers. Cal was born in Great Falls. |
Back to Top |
Hon. Susan P. Watters is a United States District Court Judge for the District of Montana, presiding in the Billings Division. Judge Watters was appointed to the United States District Court by President Barack Obama, with the advice and consent of the United States Senate, on December 18, 2013. Judge Watters is the first woman appointed to the United States District Court in the history of the state of Montana. Prior to her appointment to the federal bench, Judge Watters was a state District Court Judge for the 13th Judicial District, Yellowstone County, Billings, for sixteen years. Judge Watters served on the state bench from 1997 to 2013. During her tenure on the state bench, she implemented and presided over the first family drug court in the state of Montana, the Yellowstone County Family Drug Treatment Court. Judge Watters was voted Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Judge of the Year in 2006 and 2013. Also in 2006, Judge Watters and her family drug court were the subject of the cover story of the September-October edition of Yellowstone Valley Women magazine; and the Yellowstone County Family Drug Treatment Court received the Roots of Promise, Spirit of the Promise Award. She graduated from Eastern Montana College (now MSU-B) in 1980 and from the University of Montana School of Law in 1988. |
Back to Top |