John Mudd presently serves as the executive director and acting general counsel of the State Bar of Montana. Prior to joining the bar in 2018, John was the director of development and alumni relations for seven years at the Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of Montana. John helped direct the school’s record-setting capital campaign, which raised over $20 million. He also worked to help establish the Max S. Baucus Institute at the law school and secure the founding gifts for the same. The public policy institute is named for Ambassador Max Baucus, former U.S. ambassador to the People’s Republic of China.
John graduated cum laude from the Catholic University of American in Washington, D.C., where he was elected Phi Beta Kappa. He received his law degree from the University of Montana School of Law. During law school, John was an articles editor for the Montana Law Review and was a member of the school’s National Moot Court Competition team, which won the national championship.
After law school, John entered private practice in Missoula, Montana, during which he served a term as secretary of the Montana Senate. Prior to joining the law school, John served as executive counsel for the Montana commissioner of securities and insurance. He was selected as a Rising Star by Mountain States Super Lawyers before leaving private practice.
John currently serves on the boards of the Max S. Baucus Institute, the Montana World Affairs Council, and the Montana Justice Foundation, among others. He has been appointed as a “Montana Ambassador” by the governor of Montana.
John is also a frequent presenter on lawyer well-being topics, including for CoLAP, the State Bar of Montana, the Montana Defense Trial Lawyers, the Jackrabbit Bar, and the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis. He lives in Missoula and Helena, and is the very proud parent of a teenage daughter. In his free time, he enjoys fly fishing, sailing, painting, and drumming (all of which he reports need work).
*A note from Bree: To get a measure of the man, check out his blog: https://johnmudd.blog/.
