Page 102 - ACTL Journal_Sum24

ERITAGE OF THE COLLEGE
CLIFFORD EDWARDS
At seventy-five, Fellow Cliff Edwards continues to maintain a full case load, working with his sons Chris and John and the balance of his firm in Billings, Montana. Asked if he ever planned to slow down, his quick smile and immediate reply captures his personality and perspective – “I don’t golf and I don’t flyfish, as I am impatient and short-tempered, neither of which is compatible with those pursuits. I have a great situation and support team for practicing law, and I still love what I do. What I find most satisfying is the opportunity and privilege of saying ‘ladies and gentlemen of the jury.’”
Born in 1948, Cliff is a third generation Montanan. His grandfather Edwards came to the great Judith Basin in central Mon- tana in the early 1890’s, and his grandfather Cunningham settled in the area soon after. Edwards cattle have grazed the Judith Basin for over a century. Cliff references his Scottish heritage with pride, noting that some of his ancestors had the distinction of having gone broke in both the United States and Canada, but they got back up and ultimately succeeded as they fought to eke out a living in the unsettled West. Cliff laughs when he recalls that his grandfather A.C. Edwards decided to buy a bank in Denton, Montana in 1929 on the eve of the Great Depression; then turns serious when he relates a conversation with his grandfather one day after they had finished feeding cattle, when his grandfather said that his greatest accomplishment was to have never foreclosed on a mortgage during the Depression. Grandpa taught Cliff to have faith in hard-working people.
Cliff was raised in the small central Montana town of Denton, graduating seventh in his high school class of twenty-two in 1966, to his mother’s great disappointment. As a youngster, Cliff was afflicted with Perthe’s disease, a rare condition that causes the head of the femur to die from lack of blood supply. Cliff was forced to be inactive and non-weight bearing from ages five to nine, on crutches and in a leg brace. His doctors warned him not to expect to be able to play competitive sports or get back
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