Brenda is a Montana native.  She earned her undergraduate degree in political science from Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, where she was selected outstanding senior in the political science department.  After graduating from Fort Lewis College, Brenda returned to Montana to attend The University of Montana School of Law where she received the Margery Hunter Brown Law Assistantship and the Outstanding Environmental Law Student Award.  Following law school, Brenda clerked at the Montana Supreme Court for the Honorable Terry N. Treiweiler (Ret.).  She joined the law firm of Reynolds, Motl and Sherwood (now Morrison Motl & Sherwood) in 1999.  In December 2010, Brenda received her M.S. in environmental studies.

Brenda is devoted to protecting the rights, health, and welfare of the people of Montana (See A Guide to Montana’s Human Rights Laws).  She has a thriving law practice that includes environmental and natural resources law and policy, personal injury, civil rights, and employment law.  Brenda is admitted to practice in both state and federal courts, including The Supreme Court of the United States.

For well over a decade, Brenda has represented a group of ranchers in southeastern Montana, the Tongue River Water Users’ Association, helping protect water quality, water rights, and the environment from the impacts of coal bed methane development.

Brenda has spoken on water and other environmental policy issues, and regularly advises clients on law and policy matters. She represents clients before the Montana Legislature and various state and federal agencies.

Practice Areas

  • Civil Rights & Discrimination
  • Constitutional Law
  • Employment law
  • Environment and Natural Resources Law and Policy
  • Personal Injury and Wrongful Death

Education

  • Fort Lewis College, Durango, Colorado, B.A. (with honors) 1995
  • University of Montana, J.D.  1998
  • University of Montana, M.S. (with honors) 2010

Bar Admissions

  • The Supreme Court of the United States
  • The Supreme Court of Montana
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Montana
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

Legal Memberships

  • Montana Trial Lawyers Association (MTLA)
  • American Association for Justice (AAJ)

Publications

  • “Subdelegation of Authority Under the Endangered Species Act: Secretarial Authority to Subdelegate His Duties to a Citizen Management Committee as Proposed for the Selway-bitterroot Wilderness Grizzly Bear Reintroduction”, 20 Pub. Land & Resources L. Rev. 1999
  • “Legal Fiction: Attempts to Circumvent the Prior Appropriation Doctrine”, Trial Trends, Spring 2009