Page 104 - ACTL Journal_Sum24

Cliff met his second wife Susan, also a native Montanan, through the same mutual friend who had introduced him to Denise, and they were married in 2008. Their blended fam- ily boasts five children and seven grandchildren to date. No conversation with Cliff lasts more than a minute without him circling back to a comment or observation about a member of his family. His pride in them, and their importance in his life, is a joy to observe.
Cliff notes that his decision was not to become a lawyer so much as to become a trial lawyer. As a young attorney, he had a diverse practice that included everything from soup to nuts, (including a never-ending stream of disputed divorce cases, criminal defense appointments by the federal court, etc., i.e., anything that would give him courtroom experience). With a self-deprecating laugh, he notes that he believes for many years he held the Montana state record for adverse Summary Judg- ment rulings. But during those early years Cliff developed en- during relationships with and learned lessons from any number of experienced opposing counsel, with whom lawyers spend the lion’s share of their professional time. Trial lawyers, Cliff ob- serves, have the ability to measure how rewarding or miserable their work experiences are by how they treat others: emphasiz- ing courtesy, professionalism and focusing on the clients serves their best interests in the long run. The most difficult, but most valuable quality to develop in young lawyers is the judgement to do only those things that advance our professional obliga- tions to our clients and to our system of justice.
As his experience grew and his practice evolved, Cliff centered on representing individuals and business interests in signifi- cant personal injury and commercial litigation, principal- ly in Montana, and eventually he established his own firm. Much of the passion and continuing interest he feels for tri- al work is the opportunity to work with his sons, who share his philosophy and competitive passion for the law as a vehi- cle for delivering justice one client at a time. He recalls trips to meet with clients in their homes, to investigate accident scenes, to review work sites – he would drag the boys along so that they too would develop an understanding of the im- portance of establishing a personal relationship. That connec- tion helps build trust and strengthen the client relationship.
Now that his sons are his partners, the team approach they maintain makes a challenging practice a joy, and is the model he applies beyond the law practice, to all family business in- terests, which include ranching, banking and aviation. “They probably think I do everything ass backwards, but it works for me; and the lesson is that each of us has to do what works for us!”
The opportunity to work with his sons, whether in their law firm, on the family ranch or otherwise, is the icing on the cake of a long career.
There was never any doubt about the type of practice that his sons desired or where they wanted to work. As they describe it, “we were brainwashed from an early age.” They grew up know-
ing what the job required, the challenges and rewards. They saw how hard their father worked, and how important his clients were to him. And they shared his competitive nature.
“There was never any doubt, if we were going to be lawyers, we were going to be trial lawyers, and we intended to do it as a family.” They credit Cliff’s willingness to serve as a mentor, his open communication style, and ability to accept input from others in the firm. They echo their father’s observation that their success working together is a function of a shared philos- ophy and competitive work ethic, and their ability to benefit from their collective diverse talents and work as a team.
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After having sat in the gallery watching his sons try a case, and after the verdict was returned and jury dismissed, the trial judge complimented the lawyers and noted (with re- spect to Chris and John) that “the apples didn’t fall far from the tree, but that they each had their own individual style and manner in the courtroom, separate from their dad’s.” Cliff reacted “Thank God for that!”