Mike Black is a fourth-generation Montanan who was born and raised in Havre. He graduated with high honors from the University of Montana in Missoula with a degree in history/political science, and later graduated from the Cornell Law School in Ithaca, New York. He was admitted to practice in 1989. He is currently licensed to practice in state and federal courts in Montana and previously practiced in Idaho and Washington.

 Mike has represented people from all walks of life in cases from Justice Court all the way to the United States Supreme Court. For more than thirty years, he has represented plaintiffs and defendants in numerous jury trials, bench trials and arbitrations. Mike has briefed and argued appeals before the Montana Supreme Court, federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Washington Supreme Court and Washington Court of Appeals. He practiced as a partner in firms both large and small from Bozeman to Spokane, and opened his office as a sole practitioner in 2004. In 2011, he joined the Montana Department of Justice, serving as Civil Bureau Chief and Senior Assistant Attorney General in the Attorney General’s Office until 2015. He then joined Montana Legal Services Association as its Litigation Director and remained there until 2018. Mike has been rated AV-Preeminent* by Martindale-Hubbell for many years.

 In addition to representing clients in court, Mike has also been engaged to consult on regulatory matters by Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance Troy Downing and former Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl. Mike was appointed by the Montana Supreme Court to serve on the Commission on Practice during 2018-2022. He has also served as Chairman of the Granite County Zoning and Planning Commission, as Trustee of the Granite County Hospital District, and on numerous other bar committees and non-profit boards. Mike has presented at continuing legal education programs on multiple occasions and testified numerous times in court and depositions as an expert witness on claims handling practices and attorney’s fees.