Montana Lawyer June/July 2025

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Holding Down the Fort The phrase “hold down the fort” is believed to have originated during the Battle of Allatoona in 1864, when General William Tecumseh Sherman sent a message to his officer, John Murray Corse, urging him to “hold the fort” until reinforcements arrived. Corse, a young lawyer and aspiring politician who volunteered for the Union Army, had been shot in the face while defending a critical railroad pass and had just regained consciousness when he received Sherman’s message. He held the line. 1 Lawyers are often asked to hold down the fort, and that is exactly what we did during the 2025 legislative session. Our goals were to (a) safeguard the independence of the legal profes sion, (b) uphold the constitutional separation of powers, and (c) protect the rule of law. Bar members stepped up by testifying at commit tee hearings, submitting written comments, and meeting with legislators. The State Bar Executive Committee met weekly to evalu ate and vote on proposed legislation, and we prepared position papers on issues of particular importance. We worked closely with our lobby ist and others to present constructive testimony on key issues. In total, the Executive Committee reviewed nearly 100 bills this session. As Bar President, I began my term by form ing two teams—one to identify bills affecting the legal system and another to manage commu nications. We published two op-eds in the fall: Preserving Montana’s Judicial Independence: Why Nonpartisan Elections Matter for Our Democracy (Billings Gazette, October) and Lawyers Will Maintain Commitment to Justice, Defending Democracy (Bozeman Chronicle, November). On December 10, I emailed bar members about our preparations for the upcom ing legislative session.

In late December, I received a letter from the Montana State Senate signed by 16 sena tors requesting that I appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee on January 7. On January 3, I participated in Law School for Legislators , an event at the Capitol co-hosted by the Alexander Blewett III School of Law and the State Bar. The event drew over 100 legislators and focused on the Montana Constitution. The message that I delivered on behalf of the State Bar was clear: we stand ready to assist lawmakers in crafting constitutionally sound laws that serve the people of Montana. On January 6, I submitted a formal response to the Senate letter, emphasizing shared princi ples: (1) the rule of law is good for business; (2) the State Bar values viewpoint diversity in CLE programming; and (3) the constitutional separa tion of powers must be respected. 2 I testified the next day before the Senate Judiciary Committee, addressing questions on State Bar governance, the Keller decision, 3 and the unification of the Bar in 1974. 4 We kept members informed through leg islative updates sent by email on January 21, January 30, and March 20, and again on May 7 with a summary of bills from the Senate Select Committee on Judicial Oversight and Reform. On April 10, the Daily Montanan published my op-ed, From Vigilantes to Judges: What Montana’s Past Teaches Us About Justice Today . 5 Throughout the year, I have welcomed opportunities to speak on issues of importance to the Bar. At last year’s annual meeting, I mod erated a panel on lawyers in democracy with Bill Bay (President of the American Bar Association) and Dan Cotter (President of the National Conference of Bar Presidents). I spoke to the Yellowstone Area Bar Association in October

Toni Tease is a registered patent attorney and a solo practitioner who special izes in intellectual property law. Her office is located in Billings, Montana, and her website is at www. teaselaw.com.

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