Jean Elizabeth Faure

Jean E. Faure is an AV-rated civil trial attorney with 27 years of experience in labor/employment law, education/school law, and civil litigation. Jean's practice involves the representation of both public and private employers in connection with all labor and employment-related issues. Jean litigates wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, wage and hour, trade secret, non-compete, Family Medical Leave Act, and ERISA/fiduciary claims. Jean also handles union labor contract negotiations, labor grievance arbitrations, unfair labor practices and other issues under the NLRA. Jean's school law practice includes students with disabilities, special education/IDEA, student discipline, employment practices (teacher termination), and district operations (bidding, contracts and facilities).

Jean received her B.A. (magna cum laude) in English from Carroll College. Jean went on to earn a M.A. (summa cum laude) in English Literature from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. Jean returned to Montana to receive her J.D., with high honors, from the University of Montana School of Law in 1986. She was named Outstanding Law Student in 1986. Jean served on the Editorial Board of the Montana Law Review and co-authored with Honorable U.S. Magistrate R. Keith Strong, "The Model Rules of Professional Conduct: No Standard for Malpractice", 47 Mont. L. Rev. 363 (1986). She served for years on the Advisory Board to the Montana Law Review.

Following law school, Jean clerked for the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco, California and for the Honorable Judge David R. Thompson in San Diego. Jean also served as a Civil Motions Attorney for the Ninth Circuit before returning to Montana. In May 2006, Jean formed the firm of Faure Holden Attorneys at Law, P.C. and acts as the Managing Shareholder of the firm. With branch offices in Bozeman and Helena, Jean has practiced throughout the state of Montana since 1988.

Since 2009, Jean has been selected on an annual basis to the Mountain StatesSuper Lawyers® in Labor and Employment Law and Employment Defense Litigation–an honor reserved for only 5% of Montana lawyers. Super Lawyers featured Jean in July 2014 in http://www.superlawyers.com/idaho/article/Trying-to-Set-Things-Right.

She is top-ranked in The Best Lawyers In America® and in 2013 was named Great Falls’ Lawyer of the Year in Employment and Labor Litigation. From 2011 through current, Jean also has been recognized in Chambers USA Guide to Leading Lawyers in the field of employment litigation. In 2015, Jean was elected a member of the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel.

Jean is the Past President of the Montana Defense Trial Lawyers Association and is currently the Editor of Special Publications and a member of the Steering Committee for the Defense Research Institute (DRI) Employment and Labor Law Section. She is the author of the Montana portion of the DRI Employment Law Compendium, contributes to the Montana Employment Law portion of the Practical Law Journal, and frequently writes on fundamental issues in Montana human resource law.

She represents a wide range of public employers and school districts throughout Montana. Current clients include State of Montana Department of Justice, Toole County, Great Falls Transit District, Great Falls School District, Arlee School District, Moore School District and School Administrators of Montana. Jean has conducted grievance and employee investigations for Billings, Gallatin Gateway, Helena and Kalispell School Districts.