Paul Neal Cooley is a licensed Montana lawyer with 27 years of experience in the Western Montana area. His legal secretary, Rita Shear, has been with Paul 9 years.

Paul was in practice with his former partner for 14 years before Robert R. Skelton retired. Paul maintains the name in respect of the man who gave him his first job in the legal field.

Paul is 52 years old and has practiced in many areas of civil law. (Click here to see the sort of matters and cases he handles.) He has three children and has raised them as a single parent in a shared custody situation. He is active in softball, pheasant hunting, attending Griz games, golf, whitewater river rafting, skiing, canoeing, hiking, camping, scuba diving and motorcycle riding. He has a five year old yellow labrador named "Gus" who sometimes gets to come to the office. About five years ago, he decided he wanted to learn to build a house and he did so with the help of a client. Now, Paul attempts to keep one building project ongoing and has built three homes, moved a large commercial building three miles to a new location and remodeled his office.

Paul emphasizes the practical side of the law and will try to explain your situation using analogies whenever possible. He offers low ( $25 for one hour) and half hour no cost consultations one day a week in order to ensure that existing or potential clients can afford to get legal advice before they enter into a transaction or make a mistake. He feels the only effective way to lower the high cost of legal representation is to get advice before the problem erupts instead of after it has already happened. Rates are generally $150 per hour and most cases require retainers to be paid in advance. You will be provided with a written contract before any substantial work is conducted in any situation. Phone calls are returned daily. If you agree, many if not most communications can be done by email.

Paul is insured and office policies are generally that he does not give advice over the phone to potential clients. Some exceptions may be made in out of state clients or for those with handicaps or other difficulties which may prevent an immediate appointment.

If you wish to make an appointment, we prefer that you call Rita rather than attempt to reach us by email, since there is very little we can do over the phone or by email.