TRIEWEILER, TERRY N.

TRIEWEILER, Terry N. (Dubuque, IA-- ). Justice, Montana Supreme Court. A graduate of the Drake University Law School, Trieweiler served as a legal services attorney in Des Moines, Iowa, for a brief time before moving to Seattle, Washington, where he practiced from 1973 to 1975. He then moved to Whitefish, Montana, and practiced law until January 1991. Trieweiler became a candidate for the Montana Supreme Court in 1990 in a campaign against Mike Greeley, a three-term attorney general and former legislator. Trailing in a nonbinding June primary by a margin of 2-1, Treweiler won on November 6 in a statewide election by a margin of 57% to 43%. He served from 1991 to 2003.

In 1981, Trieweiler was appointed to the Governor's Workers' Compensation Advisory Council and the Workers' Compensation Court's Advisory Council on Rules of Procedure. Two years later, he was appointed by the Supreme Court to the Commission which recommended and drafted rules of procedure for practicing in the Supreme Court. In 1983 Trieweiler became only the second Montana resident to be certified as a specialist in civil trial advocacy by the National Board of Trial Advocacy in Washington, D.C.

In 1984 Trieweiler was appointed by the State Bar to the commission which proposed and drafted civil jury instructions for use in the state's trial courts. In 1992, he was given an "av" rating from the Martindale Hubbell's National Directory of Attorneys. An "a" is the highest rating that can be given an attorney. A "v" indicated faithful adherence to ethical standards, professional reliability, and diligence. In 1987 and 1989, Trieweiler was chosen by fellow lawyers to be included in a directory of The Best Lawyers in America a listing of 7,218 attorneys selected through a rigorous screening process. In being elected president of the Montana Trial Lawyers Association and president of the State Bar of Montana in 1986, Trieweiler became one of only two attorneys in Montana to have served in both positions.

In 1988, Trieweiler, a guest lecturer at the University of Montana Law School and in numerous programs sponsored by the State Bar of Montana and the Montana Trial Lawyers Association, terminated the majority of his private practice to spend more time teaching. In 1989, he was elected to the Board of Directors for the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. He was also appointed to the Board of Directors for the American Board of Trial Advocates, a group of plaintiff and defense lawyers and judges nationwide who distinguished themselves in the field of courtroom advocacy. Beginning on February 1, 1990, he assumed the responsibilities as an instructor of civil procedure at the University of Montana Law School.

In 2000 Trieweiler ran unsuccessfully for Chief Justice of the Montana Supreme Court. In 2007 and 2008 he was named to Mountain States Super Lawyers.