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Last week, officials from the Montana Department of Justice informed a budget subcommittee that they are seeking additional funding to recruit more attorneys and cover legal expenses. This request is primarily driven by an upsurge in constitutional challenges to state laws, among other factors contributing to increased costs.
Gov. Greg Gianforte’s budget request for the department’s legal services division calls for $2 million over the next biennium for a litigation fund to support the hiring of expert witnesses and outside counsel, pay increased costs “in courts across the nation” and, in some cases, fines and fees awarded in court orders.
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The budget proposal also includes a request for an amount slightly below $700,000 for the next two years. This funding would be allocated to hiring three civil attorneys, who would be responsible for defending bills passed by the Montana Legislature in legal disputes.
On February 3, Solicitor General Christian Corrigan informed the Joint Subcommittee on Judicial Branch, Law Enforcement, and Justice that the workload we have managed for the past two years cannot be sustained in the upcoming period.
According to Corrigan, the agency anticipates a surge of lawsuits depending on the actions taken by the Legislature this session. Additionally, he suggested that the requirement for three more positions might be a modest approximation.
He stated that whenever the Legislature takes any notable or slightly contentious action, it is bound to face challenges.
According to agency figures and the Montana Free Press Laws on Trial project, plaintiffs have challenged more than two dozen laws passed in the 2021 session. Corrigan said that’s on top of ongoing litigation concerning laws passed in previous sessions.
According to him, the civil bureau has recently completed all its current job vacancies, except for the bureau chief position. Whenever there have been staffing gaps in the bureau, they have sought assistance from external legal counsel, he explained.
The department recently renewed its contract with Emily Jones, a Billings attorney who is married to Republican political consultant Jake Eaton. Jones has previously worked on the election campaigns of both Gianforte and Attorney General Austin Knudsen. According to her contract, Jones will be responsible for offering supervision, mentorship, and “litigation management services” for the civil bureau.
As was the case when she signed her initial contract at the beginning of 2022, Jones will be paid $10,000 per month for no more than 12 months. Jones is listed as an assistant attorney general on the agency’s directory, though spokesperson Kyler Nerison clarified she is still a contractor. The other two civil lawyers listed with the same title — Thane Johnson and Michael Russell — are full-time employees, he said.
According to Nerison, Jones is typically involved in every civil case that the DOJ is currently litigating. In 2022, her firm dedicated a total of 1,107.2 hours to working on cases for the department, Nerison reported.
Last year, Nerison informed MTFP that Jones’ contract was a component of a larger initiative aimed at enhancing the civil bureau.
On Friday, lawmakers inquired about the instances when the department sought assistance from external lawyers, although they did not specifically mention Jones. Corrigan clarified that there are occasions when the department requires the services of outside counsel, either due to their specialized knowledge or because they lack sufficient resources to address a particular issue.
Corrigan noted that employing in-house lawyers is a more cost-effective option compared to engaging external legal services. He emphasized that hiring permanent staff members could ultimately reduce legal expenditures.
Corrigan is in charge of the solicitor’s bureau within the department, a division that frequently joins forces with other states to contest federal rules, regulations, and laws. However, he noted that the attorneys assigned to this division are now dedicating over 50% of their time to supporting the defense of state legislation.
The Department of Justice is seeking a 14% boost in its 2025 biennial budget compared to its baseline funding in the 2023 biennium.