Clearly Boldly Unequivocally - The University of Montana Foundation

UM students
graduate, then
hit the ground
running.
legal community.” He
points to the totals:
$5 million in private
gifts combined with
$4.7 million in legislative
appropria tions;
$1.6 million in federal
funds; and $2.4 mil -
lion in bond proceeds.
“The law program is expanding,
and the build-
ing had to catch up,” says Luke Berger,
former president of the Student
Bar Association. Erica Grinde, 2007-08
executive editor of The Public Lands
and Resources Law Review, agrees. “The new
building allocates needed additional
space to The Law Review, as well as to our
public lands and resources program.”
In addition to leadership of the Bar
Association, Berger was active in several
student groups. According to current
building plans, the association and other
student groups will gain working space in
the three-level structure.
Grinde counts among her valuable experiences
participation as a member of
The University of Montana Moot Court
team, which went on to represent
law schools from the Northwest Region
in the National Moot Court competition.
She also was Student Bar Association
business manager.
Berger and Grinde emphasize the im por-
tance of UM’s close professor/student
relationships to their academic experience.
“We weren’t faces in the crowd. We had
plenty of opportunity to speak with teachers
and admini strators” about significant
issues, as well as less sweeping matters.
And what they learned at the law school
has practical, day-to-day application.
“East Coast law graduates can ramble
Luke Berger
on forever about theory,” Berger
observes. “UM students graduate, then
hit the ground running.”
Grinde and Berger typify alumni of The
University of Montana School of
Law. Berger serves as clerk to the Montana
Supreme Court, while Grinde practices
with Browning, Kaleczyc, Berry &
Hoven, Missoula.
Critical to the processes of teaching and learning, two new classrooms will accommodate a maximum of 45 students, and two
existing classrooms are being redesigned and updated. Students and faculty will enjoy improved acoustics and additional space
for laptops and books. Seats will connect to the School’s computer network and to the Internet, and plans call for incorporating the
latest in audiovisual and computer-presentation technology in each room. The existing facility will have energy-efficient windows,
a new roof, and improved temperature controls, including an air-conditioning system. The exterior of the new wing will be faced with
red brick to tie its appearance to that of the 1961 building.
In addition to her already
demanding schedule, Grinde
was executive editor of Montana
Law Review.
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