Montana Debt Collection Laws: The Last Best Place

Today, March 12, 2013, The National List of Attorneys published the white paper on debt collection law in Montana, submitted by attorney Bruce M. Spencer, one of two shareholders for Smith Law Firm, P.C., Montana’s oldest continuously operating law firm. They have been National List members since 1987.

The Montana State Slogan is “The Last Best Place,” but Smith Law Firm, P.C. is quite possibly the “First Best Place” where someone in Montana could get legal help. The Firm was established in 1871 by Masenna Bullard, when Montana was still a territory. Bullard came to Montana from the East following the gold miners. He was a man of some means and spent most of his career grub-staking miners on Helena’s famous A Last Chance Gulch. In the late 1880′s, Bullard enticed a young J. Miller Smith, Sr., then a U.S. Marshall who had come to Helena, to return some notorious bandits to Missouri, to join him and study law under him.

Bullard sold out and returned to the East in about 1892. Smith continued the law practice and was joined by his sons, J. Miller Smith, Jr., David Smith and Paul W. Smith, as they became of age. J. Miller Smith, Jr.’s son, Chadwick H. Smith, joined his father and uncles in 1951. R.J. “Jim” Sewell, Jr., joined the firm in June, 1971 and acquired the firm from Chad Smith in 1992. Bruce M. Spencer joined in 1994. Jim Sewell and Bruce Spencer are the shareholders. Approximately 50 percent of their practice is dedicated to debt collection.

Bruce Spencer

Bruce obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of Montana in Business and Finance and his J.D. from the University of Oregon in 1992. He has been active in the representation of creditors since joining the firm 19 years ago. The firm is a member of The National Association of Retail Collection Attorneys (NARCA), ACA International, and Commercial Law League of America (CLLA).

Bruce told NL, “When starting law practice you usually assume the most aggressive path is the best. However, I have found that with polite persistence we can get claims paid and obtain the respect of the folks we are collecting from. It does not always pay to be aggressive and mean. We are a large geographic state with a small population. Chances are great that we actually know the debtor or someone from that debtor’s family or group of friends. Thus, we need to always be respectful when collecting debts.”

From the paper we learned to “keep realistic expectations when executing on real property. Levying on Real Property and selling it at a Sheriff’s sale may not bring as much money as the judgment creditor may hope for. First, all prior liens must be paid before the judgment lien. Then the debtor is entitled to a $250,000.00 homestead exemption, with some exceptions, from the proceeds of sale if there is money left over after these items and the cost of sale have been paid, the judgment creditor will receive some. The practical effect of this is the majority of homes in Montana do not warrant proceeding with a Sheriffs sale. Raw land that has no liens or a home that is paid for may be worth pursuing.”

Smith Law Firm has received the Harvest Award of Merit, and the Pro Bono Award of the Year, 2004. Outside of work, they support Montana Legal Services Pro Bono, the Original Governors’ Mansion, Crime Stoppers, The Montana Club, The Boy Scouts of America, the Special Olympics and Autism causes.

Bruce lives in Helena, MT, is married and has two boys, ages 7 and 10. When he’s not working, Bruce enjoys “being with my boys, skiing, fishing, hunting, cooking and reading.”

The National List thanks Bruce for submitting this paper and for giving us the chance to learn the fascinating history of his firm, and the opportunity to get to know him a little better. You can access the paper at http://www.nationallist.com/white_papers/montana.