Bob Carlson, Past President of the American Bar Association

Bob Carlson was President of the American Bar Association, the largest association of lawyers in the United States, in 2018-2019. His presidency was the culmination of decades of involvement with the ABA during which he was a member and chair of many of its committees including the ABA Board of Governors, and as Chair of the ABA House of Delegates, the ABA’s policy making body.  

Bob was President of the Montana State Bar Association in 1993-1994 after being intricately involved with that organization for decades, holding positions as Chair of its Board of Trustees and a member of its Executive Committee.

From 1995 to present, he has served as a member of the Character and Fitness Commission for the Montana Supreme Court. His lengthy list of public professional service includes service and chairmanships for the State Bar of Montana, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the University of Montana’s Alexander Blewett III School of Law.  

Bob graduated with a B.A. with honors from the University of Montana in 1976, and a JD from the UM Law School in 1979.  He clerked for the Montana Supreme Court for a year and served as Staff Attorney for the Montana Department of Business Regulation (Commerce) before joining the law firm of Corette Smith Pohlman & Allen (now Corette Black Carlson & Mickelson) where he has been a shareholder since 1986.

Bob’s legal career has focused on civil trial practice and has included   insurance defense cases, a wide range of products liability cases, and insurance coverage disputes.  His practice has also included professional malpractice and errors and omissions defense as well as an active mediation practice.  He has been listed in Super Lawyers-Personal Injury for his products liability defense as well as Best Lawyers in America for products liability defense.  

During his career as a trial lawyer, Bob has been admitted to the Montana Supreme Court, Montana Federal District Court, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, United States Supreme Court, Tribal Court for the Confederated Salish-Kootenai, and United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.

Bob is married to Cindy Lee Carlson and has three children, Jim Rowland, Darin Rowland and Mikael Olson.

The Honorable Nancy Freudenthal, United States District Court Judge

Nancy Freudenthal was born and raised in Cody, and earned both a bachelor’s degree and a juris doctorate from the University of Wyoming. She worked for former Wyoming Governors Ed Herschler and Mike Sullivan, and then was appointed to the State Board of Equalization. She entered private practice in 1995 with the law firm of Davis & Cannon. In 2010, following a presidential appointment and Senate confirmation, Judge Freudenthal became the first woman appointed to the federal court in Wyoming and the seventh federal district judge in the State’s history.

Judge Freudenthal and her husband Dave raised their four children in Cheyenne, and are the proud grandparents of seven.

The Honorable Alan B. Johnson, United States District Court Judge

Alan Bond Johnson is a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming. Born in Cheyenne, Wyoming, Johnson received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Vanderbilt University in 1961 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Wyoming College of Law in 1964. He was in the United States Air Force from 1964 to 1967, and then in private practice in Cheyenne] from 1968 to 1971. Johnson was then a United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Wyoming from 1971 to 1974. He joined the Wyoming Air National Guard in 1973. Johnson was a substitute judge of the Municipal Court of Cheyenne, Wyoming from 1973 to 1974, and a judge on the Wyoming state district court from 1974 to 1985.

On October 22, 1985, Johnson was nominated by President Ronald Reagan to a new seat on the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming created by 98 Stat. 333. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 16, 1985, and received his commission on December 17, 1985. He served as Chief Judge from 1992 to 1999. As of 2020, he remains the last judge appointed by a Republican president to the District of Wyoming.

The Honorable Marilyn Kite, Wyoming Supreme Court Justice (Ret.)

Justice Marilyn S. Kite, retired, was appointed to the Wyoming Supreme Court by Governor Jim Geringer  in 2000 and retired in 2015. She served as Chief Justice from 2010 to 2015. She received her B.A. from the University of Wyoming in 1970 with Honors and her J.D. from the University of Wyoming Law School with Honors in 1974. Prior to her appointment to the Wyoming Supreme Court, Justice Kite served as Senior Assistant Attorney General for the State of Wyoming and practiced law with the firm of Holland & Hart in the Jackson  and Cheyenne offices.  She served on the Judicial Nominating Commission both as an elected member of the bar and as Chief Justice.  After retirement from the bench, Justice Kite is consulting on appellate matters and volunteering on a variety of community and university projects.

Justice Kite was born and raised in Laramie.  She and her husband have raised a son and multiple four legged dependents.  Her non-legal activities focus on Wyoming’s wonderful outdoors and include camping, hunting, riding horses, hiking, skiing, and in normal times, cheering on the UW Cowboy football team.

The Honorable Donald W. Molloy, United States District Court Judge

Hailing from Butte, Montana, the Honorable Judge Donald W. Molloy attended the University of Montana where he received his B.A. in 1968, followed by a Juris Doctor from the University of Montana School of Law in 1976. He was a law clerk to the Honorable Judge James Battin, U.S. District Court, District of Montana, from 1976 to 1978; followed by private practice in Billings, Montana, from 1978 until his nomination to the U.S. District Court by President Bill Clinton in 1995. He served as Chief Judge in the U.S. District Court, District of Montana from 2001 to 2008, and then assumed senior status on August 16, 2011. He served as Chair of the U.S. Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on Criminal Rules, and is a member of the Ninth Circuit Jury Trial Improvement Committee. In May of 2016, he received a Master’s Degree in Judicial Studies from Duke University School of Law.

Judge Molloy is also the recipient of an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of College Cork in Ireland.

The Honorable  Susan Watters, United States District Court Judge

Susan P. Watters is a United States District Court Judge for the District of Montana, presiding in the Billings Division.  Judge Watters was appointed to the United States District Court by President Barack Obama, with the advice and consent of the United States Senate, on December 18, 2013.  Judge Watters is the first woman Article III judge appointed to the United States District Court for the District of Montana in the history of the state of Montana.

Prior to her appointment to the federal bench, Judge Watters was a state District Court Judge for the Thirteenth Judicial District, Yellowstone County, Billings, Montana for sixteen years.  Judge Watters was appointed to the state bench in 1997, elected to the state bench in 1998, and re-elected to the state bench in 2000, 2006 and 2012.  During her tenure on the state bench, Judge Watters implemented and presided over the first family drug court in the state of Montana, the Yellowstone County Family Drug Treatment Court.  

Judge Watters was voted Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Judge of the year in 2006.  Also in 2006, Judge Watters and her family drug court were the subject of the cover story of the September-October edition of Yellowstone Valley Women Magazine and the Yellowstone County Family Drug Treatment Court received the Roots of Promise, Spirit of the Promise Award.  Judge Watters was again voted CASA Judge of the Year in 2013.

Judge Watters was president of the Montana Judges Association (2006-2007).

She was one of three Montana judges chosen by Montana Supreme Court Chief Justice Karla Gray to participate in the Advanced Science and Technology Adjudication Resource Center (ASTAR) National Judges Science Program and she became an ASTAR Science and Technology Fellow in 2009.

Judge Watters received the Distinguished Alumna award from Montana State University-Billings in 2009.

Judge Watters graduated from Eastern Montana College (now MSU-B) in 1980 and from the University of Montana School of Law in 1988.

Craig Blumenshine, Moderator, Senior Public Affairs Producer, WyomingPBS

Craig Blumenshine’s family has been a prominent and important factor in Riverton’s community.  Craig grew up in Riverton and graduated from the University of Wyoming with a Bachelors of Science Degree in Computer Science.  While attending the University of Wyoming, he met his wife, Tracy, and they married following their graduation from UW in 1984.  Their three children Courtney, Kyle, and Cody have all graduated college, later earning advanced degrees.  

Craig worked for School District 25, the Wyoming Department of Health, the City of Riverton, and Brunton, Inc. Simultaneously, he and Tracy owned and operated Teton Athletic Club in Riverton. He has written for the Riverton Ranger newspaper and gained several Wyoming Press Association awards.

His technical focus centered in e-commerce, on-line medical records software development and security, campus-area networking and database administration. He continues consulting in tech today.

Craig is currently the Senior Public Affairs Producer for WyomingPBS where he produces Wyoming Chronicle and Capitol Outlook, moderates candidate debates for state and federal office, and assists with special projects for Wyoming’s lone Public Television Network.

Craig and Tracy reside in Cheyenne.