Montana Lawyer August/September 2024

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Reflections and Futures: Celebrating a Year of Progress and Looking Ahead with the State Bar of Montana

As I sit down to write my final President’s Message, I feel reflective but also hopeful for the future of our profes sion. I have been privileged to serve as the State Bar of Montana president this past year. This is no solo activity, however, but a team job. I serve with an incredible executive committee: the Bar’s president-elect, past president, sec retary-treasurer, and chair of the Board of Trustees. More broadly I get to work with the Board of Trustees on setting policy for our Bar. We are all supported, day-in and day-out, by the capable State Bar staff, led by Executive Director John Mudd. Across the State and across many topic areas, we work with our Bar com mittees, sections, and local bars. We are all linked in ongoing efforts to improve the practice of law. It has been a whirlwind of a year, but we have made some headway as detailed in my last article. I look for ward to seeing the progress made by the groups working to advance our profes sion and address our changing times, from challenges to the rule of law across the globe, to legal deserts, to the threat and promise of AI. I hope you all stay involved as we shepherd in our next 50 years as a State Bar. Speaking of 50 years, we have an exciting and information-filled pro gram planned for our rapidly approach ing Annual Meeting. We are honored to welcome William Bay, President of the American Bar Association and Dan Cotter, President of the National Conference of Bar Presidents to our celebration. The CLE program will cover important topics such as the lawyer’s role in society, a review of the last term of the United States Supreme Court in a historical context, and the timely topic of housing law, in addition to many other topics and learning opportunities. With this year’s meeting in Missoula, we are pleased to be presenting some of these programs in collaboration with our friends at the Mansfield Center at the University of Montana and the Montana Law Review.

At this time, I also would like to congratulate this year’s award winners! Jean Faure is honored with the George Bousilman Award for her exceptional contributions to the legal community. Hon. Ben Hursh receives the Karla Gray Award, recognizing his profound dedi cation to justice and legal service. Carey Matovich is celebrated with the Jameson Award for her remarkable achievements and impact on the legal profession. D. Michael Eakin is awarded the Neil Haight Award for his outstanding com mitment to pro bono work, demonstrat ing his dedication to serving those in need. Meri Althauser is recognized with the Haswell Award for her exceptional writing contributions, highlighting her skill and dedication in the field. Each of these remarkable individuals has made a significant impact, and their achieve ments are truly deserving of this rec ognition. I hope you can join us at the Annual Meeting Awards Dinner to help celebrate the achievements, and service, of these distinguished members of the State Bar of Montana. Also at the Annual Meeting, the presidency will transition to Toni Tease, a dynamic Billings intellectual property lawyer. Toni is incredibly talented and organized (I suspect she already has her goals and president messages outlined). I look forward to continuing to work with Toni and the rest of the officers and trustees as she leads the Bar forward in the coming year. Adios, and see you in Missoula September 11-14 (visit www.mon tanabar.org for registration details and itinerary). -Stu

Stuart Segrest is a senior at torney at Christensen & Prezeau, PLLP where he handles a wide range of litigation and appel late matters. Before joining the firm, he worked for the Montana Attorney General’s Office, where his career spanned the terms of four different Attorney Generals. He served as Chief of the Civil Services Bureau, which repre sents the State of Montana in complex constitutional litigation and other cases of state-wide importance in both state and federal court. He is currently serving as the President of the State Bar of Montana.

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