Phony flier takes aim at State Bar of Montana

Members of the State Bar of Montana  appear to have received a flier from a fictitious organization claiming the Bar is attacking the Legislature, and letting members know they are eligible for a refund. 

The mailer was sent from an address similar to a longtime Bozeman lawyer whose remarks at a continuing education event last year drew the ire of Republican lawmakers looking to overhaul the judiciary.

While the flier came from a fictitious organization, it appears to have used the mailing list of the Montana Bar, and urges members to demand a refund of lobbying fees — something allowed under state law — from the State Bar for alleged attacks on the Legislature.

The flier appeared to have hit mailboxes on Thursday, and came from an address associated with attorney James Goetz, with one mistake – an incorrect ZIP code.

Late on Thursday afternoon, the Bar estimated that works out to less than $8 per member.

“We are aware of the existence of the letter and that the return address from which it was purportedly sent is not connected to any organization known as ‘Friends of the Court,'” John Mudd, executive director of the Montana State Bar, said in a statement. “We are gathering more information.”

Goetz told the Daily Montanan that he had been inundated with phone calls on Thursday, but the organization “Friends of the Courts” doesn’t exist, and may have been used to confuse members who are part of another group that watches the state’s judiciary, “Friends of the Third Branch.”

Goetz said the matter has been turned over to the FBI, with possible investigations by the U.S. Postal Inspectors. 

In addition to urging members of the state’s Bar to demand a refund for the lobbying efforts, Goetz said the message appears to have been crafted by someone with legal knowledge because it cites Reynolds vs. State Bar of Montana, a case Goetz himself successfully tried nearly 40 years ago. He said the case, based on dues-paying union members, allows members of the Montana Bar to request a refund for their portion of dues that are used in lobbying efforts.

The letter, which begins, “You are entitled to a refund” in all caps, says that the State Bar is engaged in an “unprecedented attack” and “partisan fight” with the Legislature. 

“Bar members must send a clear message to our leadership that we will not stand by and allow these attempts to turn our professional organization into a partisan attack machine,” the letter said. 

It also suggests requesting a refund by returning an enclosed envelope, but several members did not receive a  return envelope.

The letter names longtime Bar lobbyist Bruce Spencer and Montana Bar President Toni Tease specifically. It does not name Goetz, but he drew plenty of criticism recently because of comments he made at a continuing education forum for the Bar, when he criticized the governor and called some legislation “pieces of garbage.” 

Nineteen Republican state Senators called on the Bar to issue an apology and said the organization, which all practicing attorneys must belong to, was endorsing Goetz’s comments by his participation on the panel. 

Goetz previously told the Daily Montanan that he appeared and spoke at the panel as an individual. The Bar said it did not know what Goetz planned to said, nor does it screen all the comments by presenters at the routine training classes.

The letter sent to Bar members also accuses Tease and Spencer of “using misinformation” and “false statements,” allegations Spencer disputed.

Bruce Spencer said he “categorically refutes” the contents of the letter, except for the Reynolds case, which was cited correctly.

“I have never provided misinformation and false statements to a legislative committee or legislator,” Spencer said. “On the few occasions I have made a misstatement, I have corrected it on the record, and I have only done that two times, that I can recall, in 20 years as a lobbyist”

On multiple occasions while testifying before either the Senate or House judiciary committees, Spencer explained the process by which the State Bar conducts its lobbying activities.

At the end of each legislative session, the State Bar publishes a list of the bills they lobbied for or against, along with explanations of their actions, in an edition of the Montana Lawyer, the organization’s print publication.

In 2023, the State Bar spent a total $31,006.15 on legislative activities — including $18,000 for Spencer and another lobbyist, roughly $3,000 to put on a Law School for Legislators Reception, $966 for “Session entertainment and meals (includes dinners for Senate and House Judiciary Committees)” and roughly $1,400 to print pocket constitutions for legislators.

With nearly 4,100 active members that year, the compulsory legislative dues refund available to active members was just $7.61.

Spencer said that only a handful of lawyers request refunds each year.

He said that on Thursday he had received calls and texts of support from lawyers “outraged” by the contents of the letter.

Sen. Andrea Olsen, D-Missoula, one of the few lawyers serving in the Legislature, said the letter was the “biggest scam ever.”

“Someone’s just trying to cause problems,” she said. “This is inferring that me, as a lawyer, should be mad at what the state Bar is doing, or that I don’t know what they are doing but should still be mad.”

House Majority Leader Steve Fitzpatrick, R-Great Falls, said his law firm had also received the letters. He said he would probably send in for his refund, saying he doesn’t always agree with the work the Bar does during the Legislature.