Dennis P. Conner

Peter was born in Trondheim, Norway in 1963. After immigrating to United States as a child, he lived in New York. His family finally settled in Seattle, Washington, where he attended the University of Washington, receiving a degree in History in 1985. He received his law degree from Willamette University in 1989 and worked in the Civil Trial Division of the Oregon Department of Justice. As a prosecuting attorney in Seattle for six years, Peter prosecuted approximately 50 jury trials along wit...

Paul Odegaard, a North Dakota native, came to Montana in 1999 to begin his legal career in private practice. Prior to earning his law degree from the University of North Dakota School of Law in 1998, Paul graduated with honors from the University of Minnesota in 1994. While attending law school, he was inducted into the Order of the Coif, which reflected his achievement for graduating in the top 10% of his class. After graduating from law school, Paul served as a law clerk for the Justice Mar...

Bryan Kautz is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs. Bryan, who practices law in Billings, Montana, has been recognized since 2024. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Bryan is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Gary Kalkstein is a Partner in our Missoula office and focuses his practice on medical malpractice and health care matters. For the last 35 years, Gary has defended a wide range of health care clients, including physicians, hospitals, clinics, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, professional counselors, and other health care providers in medical negligence actions and professional licensing disputes throughout the State of Montana. He routinely appears before the Montana Medical Legal ...

Christian advises clients on real estate transactions, laws relating to land conservation and tax-exempt organizations, and related areas. He specializes in conservation easement transactions. Before co-founding Neilson, Swanson, Dietrich, Smith, PLLC, Christian served as General Counsel for the Montana Land Reliance, one of the nation's preeminent land trusts. In addition to the interpretation and defense of a million-plus-acre conservation easement portfolio at MLR, he successfully advised ...

Adam Tunning is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation, Insurance Law, Litigation - Insurance, Litigation - Municipal and Litigation - Real Estate. Adam, who practices law in Billings, Montana, has been recognized since 2024. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Adam is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Jeff has a diverse practice that includes civil litigation, insurance defense, employment law, business law, construction law and workers' compensation. He is admitted to practice in all Montana Courts, the United States District Courts for the District of Montana and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. He is also admitted to practice in California (inactive status). Jeff enjoys advising employers on all business and litigation related matters. Jeff's honors, awards and professional associati...

Elizabeth A. Kaleva is an attorney in Missoula, Montana, focusing her practice on representation of public and private school districts throughout the state of Montana, as well as the Montana High School Association. Bea graduated from Boston College in 1991, and the University of Montana School of Law in 1995. After clerking for a year, Bea joined the Montana School Boards Association as a staff attorney. She rose to the General Counsel position and remained with the MTSBA until 2003, when s...

Kristy Buckley is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law. Her professional recognitions include an AV Preeminent® rating from Martindale-Hubbell, sustained for more than ten years, designation as a Super Lawyers Rising Star in both 2018 and 2019 and a Super Lawyer in 2026, and inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America®. She grew up in Helena and now lives in Bozeman with her husband and two sons. She enjoys spending time in th...

Brad grew up in Montana. He left the state to play college baseball in Florida and attend the United States Naval Academy. After graduating from the University of Montana law school with honors in 1977 he began private practice in Missoula. Since that time he has had a varied state wide practice involving insurance related litigation, specializing in insurance bad faith, personal injury, professional negligence and workers’ compensation law. Brad has handled more than 60 appeals before ...