School of Law

Irma S. Russell, Dean

Andrew King-Ries, Associate Dean

The Law School is accredited by the American Bar Association and the Association of American Law Schools, and offers the degree of Juris Doctor (J.D.). Prerequisites for admission to the Law School are a baccalaureate degree and Law School Admission Test.

For detailed information concerning the Law School’s admission criteria, application procedures, facilities, and official course descriptions, consult the Law School Catalog, which may be obtained by calling (406)243-6169 or visiting the Law School website.

The Law School’s administrative regulations are contained in the Law School Student Handbook, which is on the website. The Law School conforms in most instances to the calendar established for the entire University. There are some differences, however, because the Law School operates on a different (and longer) semester system than the rest of the University.

Academic Year Calendar

Access the Law School Academic Calendar on the Law School calendar weg page.

Required Curriculum

First Year Credits
500 Civil Procedure I 3
501 Civil Procedure II 2
502 Contracts I 3
503 Contracts II 2
504 Pretrial Advocacy I 2
505 Pretrial Advocacy II 1
506 Legal Research 2
508 Legal Analysis 1
509 Legal Writing I 3
510 Criminal Law & Proc I 2
511 Criminal Law & Proc II 3
512 Torts I 2
513 Torts II 3
Second Year Credits
550 Property I 2
551 Property II 3
552 Federal Tax(may be taken third year) 3
554 Business Organizations 3
555 Professional Responsibility 3
556 Business Transactions 2
557 Trial Practice 2
558 Constitutional Law 4
560 Evidence 3
Electives (see below)
Third Year Credits
(minimum of 4 credits required)
599 Clinical Training II 1-8
600 Clinical Training III 1-6
601 Clinical Training IV 1-6
Electives (see below)

Elective Courses

(Elective offerings vary from year to year)
  • Advanced Criminal Procedure (Law 690, 2 credits)
  • Advanced Environmental Law (Law 649, 3 credits)
  • Advanced Legal Research (Law 615, 2 credits)
  • Advanced Legal Issues in Education (Law 686, 3 credits)
  • Advanced Legislation (Law 652, 2 credits)
  • Advanced Federal Indian Law (Law 617, 2 credits)
  • Advanced Public Land and Resources Law (Law 619, 2 credits)
  • Advanced Trial Advocacy (Law 685, 1 credit)
  • Agricultural Law (Law 656, 2 credits)
  • Alternative Dispute Resolution (Law 614, 3 credits)
  • American Indian Natural Resources (Law 619, 2credits)
  • Appellate Advocacy (Law 616, 3 credits)
  • Bankruptcy (Law 621, 2 credits)
  • Child Advocacy (Law 670, 2 credits)
  • Client Counseling Team (Law 638, 2 credits)
  • Conflict of Laws (Law 653, 2 credits)
  • Consumer Transactions (Law 645, 3 credits)
  • Copyright Law (Law 682, 3 credits)
  • Cyber Law (Law 676, 2 credits)
  • Disability Law (Law 668, 2 credits)
  • Elder Law (Law 620, 3 credits)
  • Employment Law (Law 622, 3 credits)
  • Environmental Law (Law 650, 3 credits)
  • Estate Planning (Law 659, 3 credits)
  • Family Law (Law 669, 3 credits)
  • Family Law Mediation (Law 672, 2 credits)
  • Federal Courts (Law 671, 2 credits)
  • Federal Indian Law (Law 648, 3 credits)
  • First Amendment Seminar (Law 675, 2 credits)
  • Foundations of Natural Resources Conflict Resolution (Law 613, 3 credits)
  • Gender and the Law (Law 625, 3 credits)
  • Health Care Law (Law 637, 3 credits)
  • Independent Study (Law 660/1, 1-2 credits)
  • Insurance Law (Law 624, 3 credits)
  • International Business & Trade (Law 629, 2 credits)
  • Introduction to Environmental Law (Law 650, 3 credits)
  • Land Use Planning (Law 687, 3 credits)
  • Law & Literature (Law 607, 1 credit)
  • Law & Technology (Law 693, 2 credits)
  • Law Practice (Law 631, 1 credit)
  • Law Reviews I, II, III, IV (Law 564/5, Law 602/3, 1-2 credits)
  • Lawyers’ Values (Law 630, 2 credits)
  • Legal History (Law 626, 2 credits)
  • Local Government (Law 646, 3 credits)
  • Moot Courts (Law 666, 2 credits)
  • Montana Constitutional Law (Law 618, 2 credits)
  • Natural Resource Development (Law 633, 3 credits)
  • Negotiations (Law 641, 2 credits)
  • Negotiation Team (Law 642, 2 credits)
  • Non-profit Organizations (Law 674, 2 credits)
  • Patent Law (Law 627, 2 credits)
  • Philosophy of Law (Law 664, 3 credits)
  • Practicum in Natural Resources Conflict Resolution
  • Product Liability (Law 657, 2 credits)
  • Public Interest Lawyering (Law 673, 3 credits)
  • Public International Law (Law 634, 3 credits)
  • Public Land and Resources Law (Law 654, 3 credits)
  • Public Regulation of Business (Law 632, 3 credits)
  • Real Estate Transactions (Law 658, 2 credits)
  • Remedies (Law 628, 3 credits)
  • Sales & Leases (Law 692, 3 credits)
  • Secured Transactions (Law 636, 2 credits)
  • Special Topics in Criminal Law (Law 667, 2 credits)
  • Taxation of Business Organizations (Law 639, 4 credits)
  • Taxation of Estates & Gifts (Law 655, 3 credits)
  • Taxation of Property Transactions (Law 640, 2 credits)
  • Trademark Law (Law 693, 2 credits)
  • Tribal Courts/Tribal Law (Law 688, 3 credits)
  • Tribal/State Relations (Law 694, 2 credits)
  • UCC Articles 203 (Law 609, 3 credits)
  • Water Law (Law 663, 2 credits)
  • White Collar Crime (Law 644, 2 credits)
  • Workers' Compensation (Law 662, 3 credits)

Samuel Panarella

Associate Professor

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Samuel Panarella

Personal Summary

Professor Sam Panarella teaches Contracts I & II, Business Transactions, Business Organizations and Renewable Energy Law.

Before joining the law school faculty, Professor Panarella was the CEO of Crux Consulting, LLC, a legal process and management consulting firm whose clients include the legal departments of several Fortune 500 companies. Prior to that, Professor Panarella was a partner at Stoel Rives LLP, a leading western law firm, where he focused his legal practice on energy law, with a specialty in renewable energy development, and representing public and private companies in large-scale industrial and commercial project development.

Professor Panarella clerked for United States 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Otto R. Skopil, Jr. before entering private practice. Professor Panarella was selected for inclusion in the 2007 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. 

 

Education

Professor Panarella earned a B.A. degree, with honors, in Liberal Studies from the University of Montana. He earned his J.D. degree, cum laude, from Lewis & Clark Law School, where he was a member of the law review.

Courses Taught

Publications

Article: For the Birds: Wind Energy, Dead Eagles, and Unwelcome Surprises, Hastings West-Northwest Journal of Environmental Law and Policy (Winter 2014)

Book: “Litigation Readiness: A Practical Approach to Electronic Discovery” Oxford University Press (2011)

Treatise: “eDiscovery for Corporate Counsel,” West Publications, Thomson Reuters Company (2008)

Article: Not in My Backyard: The Clash between Native Hawaiian Gathering Rights and Western Concepts of Property in Hawaii, Environmental Law (Winter 1998)

Article: Creating Landowner Value with Lease Agreements: The Finer Points Explained for a Document that Could be Valid for Years, North American Windpower (2004)

Article: Effectively Managing Legal Holds During e-Discovery, The Electronic Discovery Counselor (2007) Article: The FRCP Clock Has Rung. Now What?, e-Discovery Law & Strategy (2007) 

Article: Just Starting Out: Leasing, Siting, and Permitting Geothermal Projects, Lava Law: Legal Issues in Geothermal Energy Development (2004)

Article: Wind Energy Lease Agreements, The Law of Wind: A Guide to Business and Legal Issues (2004)

International Experience

Courses in Comparative Energy Law and Comparative Environmental Law taught in China, 2014 & 2015