Randy K. Dix is a partner in the plaintiff’s law firm Dix, Hunt and McDonald. He practices exclusively in the areas of medical negligence and catastrophic injury cases. Randy has been a member of the Montana Bar since 1980, when he was admitted by motion because then Chief Justice Frank Haswell believed in the humane concept of full reciprocity. He graduated from law school in 1977 in Washington, D.C. where he was engaged in federal trial practice for 3 years. Randy serves as a mediator for select complex medical negligence cases for select defense counsel, primarily so he can understand their MO’s when they attempt to pay his clients less than fair value in his mediations. He has presented at several MTLA seminars on topics ranging from trial tips to mediation strategies to insurance bad faith issues. His presentation will focus on effective pretrial identification and exclusion of excessively prejudicial evidence in tort cases, with particular emphasis on exclusion of remote evidence of prior substance abuse.

Leonard J. Feldman is a partner in the litigation group at Stoel Rives LLP, where he is chair of the firm’s appellate practice group.  From 1991-92, he served as a judicial clerk for Ninth Circuit Judge Jerome Farris.  Currently, his practice focuses on appellate work and complex commercial litigation with a strong emphasis on Ninth Circuit appeals.  Mr. Feldman is also a District Coordinator for the Ninth Circuit Pro Bono Program and is the Pro Bono Coordinator for Division One of the Washington Court of Appeals. Leonard is also a lecturer and teaches a course on appellate practice at the University of Washington School of Law, and is a Past Chair of the King County Bar Association Appellate Practice Committee.

Kurt M. Jackson earned his law degree from Gonzaga University School of Law and was admitted to the Montana Bar in 1981. He has practiced with the Great Falls firm of Hoyt and Blewett for over 25 years and has been instrumental in several trials which resulted in verdicts in excess of $1 million. In 2003 Mr. Jackson earned Montana Trial Lawyer Association’s Trial Lawyer of the Year award. Kurt focuses his practice on catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death and complex damage cases including automobile accidents, medical negligence/malpractice, product liability, railroad law and insurance bad faith. He serves on MTLA’s Board of Directors as a State Delegate to the American Association for Justice. Mr. Jackson is listed in Best Lawyers in America and is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court, District of Montana and the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Jackson is a native of Montana and was born in Scobey.

Michael J. Mayott is a retired Internal Revenue Service computer investigative specialist with a Top Secret security clearance. Mr. Mayott has 15 years of experience teaching and developing courses on computer forensics in Montana, Georgia, Utah and Ottawa, Ontario. His expertise includes computer forensic examinations, computer investigations and criminal financial investigations. He served on the Montana Cyber Crimes Task Force. Mayott worked for the IRS for 22 years, and before his post in Billings he worked for the department in Portland, Oregon. Mike earned his bachelor of science degree in accounting in 1986 from State University of New York - Fredonia. He serves as a parish life coordinator for the Billings Cluster of Catholic Churches.

Hon. Justice James C. Nelson has served on the Montana Supreme Court since May 1993. Justice Nelson engaged in the general practice of law in Cut Bank for nearly 20 years; he also served as Glacier County attorney for 14 of those years. He received his law degree, graduating cum laude, in 1974 from the George Washington University Law School. Justice Nelson presently serves as the Supreme Court’s liaison to the Commission of Courts of Limited Jurisdiction; as a member of the State Bar of Montana CLE Institute; as a member of the State Bar of Montana Judicial Relations Committee; as a member of the State Information Technology Board; as Chairperson of the Supreme Court’s Commission on Technology; as a member of the Court’s Commission on the Code of Judicial Conduct; and as one of Montana’s Commissioners to the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. During the spring semester 2001, Justice Nelson taught Criminal Law and Procedure II, as an adjunct professor, at the University of Montana School of Law. Justice Nelson is a veteran, having served as an officer in the United States Army. He and his wife, Chari, have two grown children and four grandchildren.