| Seminar Co-Chairs: Andrew D. Huppert, Missoula Jamie T. Towe, Missoula November 4, 2011 |
Sorry - due to technical problems with the hotel's internet access, MTLA and Fisher will NOT be able to offer remote attendance of this Seminar. |
| Seminar Sponsor FISHER - Video Conferencing | Court Reporting | Video Services | Trial Presentation Consultation |
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| Speakers & Topics | ||
| 7:30 | Registration & Breakfast | |
| 8:25 | Introduction & Welcome – Jamie T. Towe, Missoula | |
| 8:30 | Evidence-based Life Care Planning: The Mark of Expertise | |
| Reg Gibbs, Billings | ||
| 9:30 | How to Organize and Manage Auto Liability Cases to Enhance Your Pretrial Practice and Maximize Your Client's Recovery |
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| Amy Poehling Eddy, Kalispell | ||
| 10:30 | BREAK | |
| 10:45 | Pretrial Troubles: How to Spot and Avoid Some Minefields | |
| Donald L. Harris, Billings | ||
| 11:45 | LUNCH (on your own) | |
| 1:15 | Effective Use of Experts | |
| Mark M. Kovacich, Great Falls | ||
| J. David Slovak, Great Falls | ||
| 2:15 | Rules of the Road and Other Things I Have Stolen From Smart People | |
| Jim Manley, Polson | ||
| 3:15 | BREAK | |
| 3:30 | Pretrial Ethics* | |
| Timothy B. Strauch, Missoula | ||
| 4:30 | SEMINAR ADJOURNS | |
| *Ethics Credit | ||
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Amy Poehling Eddy is a partner at Bottomly, Eddy & Sandler Trial Attorneys, in Kalispell. As an undergraduate Amy attended Cal Poly University, graduating cum laude in 1997 with a social science degree. She spent the next year working on issues before the Idaho State Land Board before attending the University of Montana School of Law, graduating in 2001. Since that time she has devoted her practice solely to representing those who have been harmed through the fault of others. She is a past president of MTLA and has been active in MTLA through the course of her career. She has written regularly for the MTLA Amicus Committee, and she is currently a co-chair of the MTLA Communication Committee. She lives in Whitefish, MT, with her husband and two daughters. |
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| Reg Gibbs is the founder and President of Rocky Mountain Rehab in Billings. He earned a BS in Psychology in 1992 and a Master of Science in Rehabilitation Counseling in 1994 from MSU-Billings. Mr. Gibbs is a certified rehabilitation counselor, licensed clinical professional counselor, and certified brain injury specialist. Reg is also a certified life care planner. He serves as an adjunct professor of rehabilitation counseling at Montana State University-Billings and is a former expert witness for the Social Security Administration. Mr. Gibbs has nearly four years of experience in public-sector vocational rehabilitation, including two years as outpatient case manager at St.Vincent Healthcare's Headway brain injury program. For the past eleven years he has provided vocational rehabilitation, case management, and life care planning services to the private sector, and he is also a consultant on disability issues. |
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| Donald L. Harris earned his law degree from the University of Montana School of Law, with high honors, and was a member of the National Moot Court Team. Mr. Harris practices in Billings with the firm of Harman, Warren & Harris. His field of practice includes, insurance bad faith, plaintiff personal injury, nursing home negligence/abuse and wrongful death. Don is a member of MTLA’s Board of Directors and served on the Education Committee for five years. He has been honored with the State Bar’s Distinguished Service Award and the Montana Civil Rights Protection and Advocacy System’s Courage Award. Harris is a member of AAJ and ABOTA. |
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| Mark M. Kovacich graduated, with honors, from Montana Tech of the University of Montana, with a degree in environmental engineering, in 1996. He graduated, with honors, from the University of Montana School of Law in 1999. He is a partner with Lewis, Slovak, Kovacich & Marr in Great Falls, Montana. Mark handles only civil litigation on behalf of plaintiffs. Most of his work involves environmental litigation, toxic torts, product liability, workplace injury claims and general personal injury. Mr. Kovacich is a member of AAJ and MTLA. He received MTLA’s Trial Lawyer of the Year award in 2005 and its Appellate Advocacy award in 2008. |
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| Jim Manley is a 1978 graduate of Lewis and Clark Law School, Portland, Oregon. Mr. Manley practices in Polson with his daughter, Ann Moderie, and Joshua Morigeau. He is a member of the MTLA Education Committee, co-chaired MTLA’s Annual Convention in Polson for many years and was a founder of the MTLA Trial Academy. Jim has served on MTLA’s Board of Directors since 2000 and is a past president. In 2009 he was named MTLA’s Trial Lawyer of the Year. He is member of the American Association for Justice and has tried over 100 jury trials. |
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| J. David Slovak graduated from UM School of Law in 1980. He is a partner with Lewis, Slovak, Kovacich, & Marr of Great Falls. The firm has a State-wide trial practice exclusively limited to plaintiff’s civil litigation and emphasizes toxic tort, product liability, safe place to work, and environmental litigation. Mr. Slovak is a sustaining member of MTLA and currently serves on its Board of Directors. Slovak received MTLA’s Trial Lawyer of the Year award in 2005 and MTLA’s Appellate Advocacy award in 2008. |
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| Timothy B. Strauch practices in Missoula, where his focus includes professional disputes, professional malpractice, professional discipline litigation, consultation on antitrust litigation, and medical contract litigation. Mr. Strauch was appointed by the Montana Supreme Court as the first Disciplinary Counsel for the State of Montana’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel and served in that capacity for more than three years. He graduated cum laude with a Juris Doctorate from the University of Baltimore School of Law in Maryland. Tim currently serves on the State Bar of Montana Ethics Committee and the Judicial Relations Committee. He is also an adjunct professor at the University of Montana School of Law where he has taught professional responsibility. |
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