About Christopher Meyer - Bozeman attorney & Montana civil litigation lawyer

Where I started

Like many Montana families who came to Montana three or four generations back, I had my start back east in New York City.

As a boy I spent summers on my grandparents’ farm in rural New Hampshire. We knew everyone in the valley. Our closest neighbor was a mile away, but the distances between us and our neighbors belied how close we were: everyone would drop whatever he was doing to help out in a pinch.

It is why I felt at home when I first came to Montana.

What work is

Between my years at Harvard and law school, I did everything from putting up hay, slaughterhouse, and railroad work to custom house painting, moving households, and traffic engineering.

I discovered what work was while working in the sand hills of northwestern Nebraska on railroad tie and siding gangs. I learned early that everyone counts.

From law school to my firm

I went to law school in Colorado. I was an Articles Editor on Law Review, but instead of seeking a big firm job after graduation, I chose work in which everyone counts.

I was a law clerk for Chief Judge Joseph Bellipanni in Colorado’s Boulder District Court and then I clerked for Justice W. William Leaphart on the Montana Supreme Court.

I had a stint as a deputy public defender in Missoula.

Early career: trial experience in Great Falls

For six years I was an associate with the firm of Hoyt and Blewett PLLC in Great Falls. Hoyt and Blewett is a plaintiffs’ firm with national recognition for its trial work. My cases included:

automobile negligence
underinsured motorist claims
oil pipeline spills
insurance bad faith
product liability
wrongful death and
illegal radiation exposure

I have tried cases to juries in state and federal district court. I have argued cases on appeal before the Montana Supreme Court and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Building my practice where everyone counts

I opened my own office in Bozeman in 2008 and I’ve practiced there as a Bozeman attorney since then. Over time my practice has diversified somewhat to accommodate the needs of clients.

I now have three principal areas:
• real estate and land disputes
• real estate contract review
• will, trust & estate disputes.

While my practice areas have evolved, my core belief remains the same as when I began the practice of law.

EVERYONE COUNTS

From hard work to hard cases: the story behind my Montana civil practice

Bare Bones Bio

• A.B. Harvard College
• J.D., University of Colorado School of Law
• Articles Editor, University of Colorado Law Review
• Law Clerk, Chief Judge Joseph Bellipanni, Boulder, Colorado District Court, 1997-1998
• Law Clerk, Justice W. William Leaphart, Montana Supreme Court, 1998-2000
• Deputy Public Defender, Missoula County, 2000-2001
• Associate, Hoyt and Blewett PLLC, Great Falls, MT, 2001-2007
• CD Meyer Law Firm PLLC, Bozeman attorney, Montana, 2008-present

Bar admissions

• Admitted to Montana Bar (1998)
• Admitted to Colorado Bar (1997)
• Admitted to United States District Court of Montana
• Admitted to Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
• Admitted to Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States

Memberships and recognitions

• The National Trial Lawyers Association Top 100 Montana Trial Lawyers
• Avvo Top-Rated Lawyer 2020
• Montana Trial Lawyers Association
• State Bar of Montana
• Board Member, Bozeman Public Library Foundation (2012-2016)
• Board Member, Stafford Animal Shelter (2009-2013)