(Main Office)

The firm was started in 1969 and has been providing legal services to the people of Montana ever since.

Statement of Practice

General Civil Practice in State and Federal Courts. Administrative, Commercial, Agricultural, Labor and Employment, Bankruptcy, Reorganization, Taxation, Probate, Estate Planning, Banking, Real Estate, Corporate, Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice, Wrongful Death, Automobile Accidents, Trucking Accidents, Family Law, Divorce Child Custody, Indian, Class Actions and Wills & Trusts, Construction Litigation.

Representative Clients:

First Interstate Bank of Commerce, Billings, Montana
Associates Financial Services Co.
Roebuck & Co.
United Mine Workers of America
Powell County Museum & Arts Fund.
Crown Parts & Machine, Inc.
Crown Mfg., Inc.
American States Insurance Co.
Systems & Service
Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers Union, Local 466
OCAW, Local 2-470
Laborers' Int'l Union Election Offices
IBEW Union
General Contractors Constr. Co.
U Bar S Realty
Kruse International.

Reference:

First Interstate Bank of Commerce, Billings Heights Branch, Billings, Montana.

Address

2525 Sixth Avenue, North P.O. Box 30457
Billings, MT 59107-0457, (Yellowstone Co.)

Phone

Phone: 406-248-7337
Fax: 406-248-2647

Website

http://www.lawyers.com/tbemslaw

MEMBERS OF FIRM

Thomas E. Towe (Member) born Cherokee, Iowa, June 25, 1937; admitted to bar, 1962, Montana; 1963, U.S. Court of Military Appeals; 1965, U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit, U.S. Claims Court and U.S. Supreme Court; 1967, U.S. District Court, District of Montana; 1974, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit; 1976, U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit; 2002, U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit; Crow Tribal Court; Fort Peck Tribal Court; Northern Cheyenne Tribal Court. Education: Earlham College (B.A., 1959); L'Institut d'Etude Politique, France; University of Montana (LL.B., with honors, 1962); Georgetown University (LL.M., 1965); University of Michigan (Candidate, SJD). Phi Delta Phi. Author: "Personal Jurisdiction Over Non-Residents & Montana's New Rule 4B," Montana Law Review, 1962; "Unavoidable Accident Instruction Held Reversible Error in Negligence Actions," Chapter in Book edited by Melvin Belli, 1962; "Criminal Pre-Trial Procedure in France," Tulane Law Review, 1964; "Fundamental Rights in the Soviet Union: A Comparative Approach," Pennsylvania Law Review, 1967; "Natural Law and the Ninth Amendment," Pepperdine Law Review, 1975; "A Growing Awareness of Privacy in America," Montana Law Review, 1976. Co-Author: "Truth and Individual Rights: A Comparison of United States and French Pre-Trial Procedures," American Criminal Law Quarterly, 1974. Seminar: Estate Planning for Farmers and Ranchers. Member, Youth Justice Council, 1981-1983. Member, Advisory Committee, Montana Crime Control Board, 1973-1978. Member, Montana House of Representatives, 1971-1974. Member, Montana State Senate, 1975-1986, 1991-1994. Chairman of Judiciary, State Administration, Labor, and Taxation Committees of the Montana Senate. Democratic Candidate for Congress for the Eastern District of Montana in 1976. Named, 26th most influential Montanan of the 20th Century by the Missoulian (1999). Recipient, Janet Rankin Award for Protection of Civil Liberties by the Montana Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union in May of 2008. Member: Yellowstone County Bar Association; State Bar of Montana (Member, Federal Court Section). [JAGC Army, 1959-1962, Capt.]. Special Agencies: Office of Controller of Currency. Montana Department of Labor. Public Service Commission. State Tax Appeal Board. Internal Revenue Service. U.S. Tax Court. Reported Cases: MDL 1206 - Oil Royalty Litigation, Citigroup, Inc.; MDL 1354 - Capital Accumulation Plan Litigation; Marceau v. Blackfeet Housing Authority, 2008 WL 3876575 (9th Cir.). Languages: French. Practice Areas: Civil Litigation; Farm Law; Ranch Law; Class Actions; Taxation Law; Estate Planning Law; Indian Law; Covenants Not To Compete; Employment Class Actions; Employment Law; Equal Employment Opportunity Law; Intellectual Property.Email: Thomas E. Towe

Court E. Ball (Member) born Palo Alto, California, November 25, 1942; admitted to bar, 1969, Montana and U.S. District Court, District of Montana. Education: University of Montana (B.A., 1965; J.D., 1969). Phi Delta Phi. Member: Yellowstone County Bar Association (Member, Board of Directors, 1984); State Bar of Montana. Practice Areas: Real Estate Law; Commercial Law; Bankruptcy Law.

Neil D. Enright (Member) born Helena, Montana, May 13, 1944; admitted to bar, 1973, Montana, U.S. District Court, District of Montana and U.S. Tax Court. Education: Gonzaga University; Montana State University (B.S., 1966); University of Montana (J.D., 1973). Instructor, "Changes to the Adoption Laws," Montana C.L.E. Seminar, 1997. Member: State Bar of Montana (Estate and Probate Section); American Bankruptcy Institute. [U.S. Navy, 1967-1970; Lt.]. Special Agencies: State Tax Appeal Board. Internal Revenue Service. Practice Areas: Bankruptcy Law; Corporate Law; Estate and Probate; Family Law; Adoptions.Email: Neil D. Enright

Stephen C. Mackey (Member) born Lewiston, Idaho, July 14, 1949; admitted to bar, 1975, Montana and U.S. District Court, District of Montana; 1976, U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Circuits. Education: Purdue University (B.S.E.E., 1972); University of Montana (J.D., 1975). Eta Kappa Nu. Recipient: Prentice Hall Award in Taxation; Bancroft-Whitney Award in Taxation. Author: "Bankruptcy" Chapter, Montana Collection Law, PESI 1983; "Treatment of Secured Creditors in Bankruptcy Plans" NBI, 1991; "Defeating Debtor's Plan" NBI, 1991. Instructor, Montana CLE Seminars: Montana Collection Law-Bankruptcy, PESI, 1983; Protection of Secured Interests in Bankruptcy in Montana, NBI, 1991. Member, Panel of Private Trustees, U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the District of Montana, Billings Division, 1979-1992. Member: Yellowstone County (Director, 1979-1981) and American (Member, Section on Litigation; Committee on Business Torts Litigation, 1983—) Bar Associations; State Bar of Montana; Montana Trial Lawyers Association; The Association of Trial Lawyers of America; American Bankruptcy Institute. Special Agencies: National Labor Relations Board (NLRB); Montana Human Rights Commission; Montana Department of Labor; U.S. Dept. of Labor. Practice Areas: Domestic Relations; Personal Injury; Bankruptcy Reorganization Law; Civil Litigation; Commercial Litigation.Email: Stephen C. Mackey

Donald D. Sommerfeld (Member) born Billings, Montana, April 7, 1951; admitted to bar, 1979, Montana and U.S. District Court, District of Montana; 1980, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Education: Montana State University (B.S., with honors, 1974); University of Montana (J.D.,1979). Phi Kappa Phi; Phi Delta Phi. Author: Initial Considerations Chapter, Trial Advocacy, NBI, 1991; "Trial of the Case - Plaintiff's Perspective," Automobile Injury Cases, NBI, 1994. Instructor, "Trial Advocacy in Montana," Montana CLE Seminar, NBI, 1991; "Trying the Automobile Injury Case in Montana," Montana CLE Seminar, NBI, 1994. Member, Billings Symphony Society, Board of Directors, 1980-1990. Member: Yellowstone County and American Bar Associations; State Bar of Montana; Montana Trial Lawyers Association (Member, Section on Litigation); The Association of Trial Lawyers of America; Yellowstone Valley Claimants Attorneys (Member, Board of Directors, 1981-1984). Special Agencies: N.L.R.B. Human Rights Commission (State of Montana). Employment Relations Division and Workers' Compensation Division (State of Montana). Reported Cases: Farmers Alliance Mutual Ins. Co. v. Holeman, 924, P.2d 1315 (1996); Farmers Alliance Mutual Ins. Co. v. Holeman, 961, P.2d 114 (1998). Languages: Portuguese. Practice Areas: Insurance Disputes Law; Personal Injury Law; Business Litigation.

Jeff A. Turner (Member) born Great Falls, Montana, May 31, 1973; admitted to bar, 1998, Montana. Education: University of Montana (B.S., 1995; J.D., 1998). Member: Yellowstone County and American Bar Associations; State Bar of Montana. Practice Areas: Family Law; Business Law; Employment Law; Litigation; Personal Injury; Criminal Law; Real Estate.