UM Directory

Paul Kirgis is the Helen & David Mason Professor of Law at the Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of Montana. Professor Kirgis focuses his teaching and scholarship on civil dispute resolution both within and outside of the traditional civil litigation paradigm. He teaches Evidence, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Advanced Torts, and other courses related to civil litigation. His articles have appeared in the Harvard Negotiation Law Review, the Negotiation Journal, the Oregon Law Review, the William & Mary Law Review, the Ohio State Law Review, and the Georgia Law Review, among others.

Professor Kirgis joined the School of Law as Dean in 2015 and served in that role until 2021. Prior to joining the University of Montana, Professor Kirgis taught at St. John's University School of Law in New York City, where he founded and served as Faculty Chair of the Hugh L. Carey Center for Dispute Resolution. Before entering teaching, Professor Kirgis practiced with two major law firms in Washington, D.C.

Publications

Court-Connected Mediation in Montana: Law, Practice, and Recommendations for Reform, 87 Montana Law Review 281 (2026)(with Brianna Anderson & Brock Flynn.

Arbitrating with Indian Tribes: Separability, Tribal Sovereign Immunity, and Exhaustion of Tribal Remedies, 55 New Mexico Law Review 295 (2025).

The Efficacy of Mandatory Mediation in Courts of Limited Jurisdiction: A Case Study from the Missoula Justice Court, 17 American Journal of Mediation 1 (2024)(co-authored with Brock Flynn).

“Whimsy Little Contracts” with Unexpected Consequences: An Empirical Analysis of Consumer Understanding of Arbitration Agreements (with Jeff Sovern, Elayne Greenberg, and Yuxiang Liu) 75 Maryland Law Review 1 (2015).

Bargaining with Consequences: Leverage and Coercion in Negotiation, 19 HARVARD NEGOTIATION LAW REVIEW 69 (2014).

Status and Contract in an Emerging Democracy: The Evolution of Dispute Resolution in Ghana, 16 CARDOZO JOURNAL OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION 101 (2014).

Hard Bargaining in the Classroom: Realistic Simulated Negotiations and Student Values, 28:1 NEGOTIATION JOURNAL 93 (2012)(peer-reviewed).

The Knowledge Guild: The Legal Profession in an Age of Technological Change: Review Essay of RICHARD SUSSKIND, THE END OF LAWYERS? RETHINKING THE NATURE OF LEGAL SERVICES, 11 NEVADA L.J. 184 (2010).

Arbitration, Bankruptcy and Public Policy: A Contractarian Analysis, 17 AMERICAN BANKRUPTCY INSTITUTE L. REV. 503 (2009).

Judicial Review and the Limits of Arbitral Authority: Lessons from the Law of Contract, 81 ST. JOHN'S L. REV. 99 (2007).

The Contractarian Model of Arbitration and Its Implications for Judicial Review of Arbitral Awards, 85 OREGON L. REV. 1 (2006).

The Right to a Jury Decision on Sentencing Facts after Booker: What the Seventh Amendment Can Teach the Sixth, 39 GEORGIA L. REV. 895 (2005).

A Legisprudential Analysis of Evidence Codification: Why Most Evidence Rules Should Not Be Codified—But Privilege Law Should Be, 38 LOYOLA L.A. L. REV. 809 (2004).

Race, Rankings, and the Part-Time "Free Pass", 54 JOURNAL OF LEGAL EDUCATION 395 (2004).

Questions of Fact in the Practice of Law: A Response to Allen & Pardo's Facts in Law, Facts of Law, 8 INT'L J. EVID. & PROOF 47 (2004)(peer reviewed).

The Right to a Jury Decision on Questions of Fact Under the Seventh Amendment, 64 OHIO STATE L.J. 1125 (2003).

The Problem of the Expert Juror, 75 TEMPLE L. REV. 493 (2002).

Meaning, Intention, and the Hearsay Rule, 43 WM. & MARY L. REV. 275 (2001).

Apportioning Tort Damages in New York: A Method to the Madness, 75 ST. JOHN'S L. REV. 427 (2001).

Curtailing the Judicial Certification of Expert Witnesses, 24 AM. J. TRIAL AD. 347 (2000).

Section 1500 and the Jurisdictional Pitfalls of Federal Government Litigation, 47 AM. U. L. REV. 301 (1997).

The Constitutionality of State Allocation of Punitive Damage Awards, 50 WASH. & LEE L. REV. 843 (1993).

SERVICE

• Presenter, “Evidence of Value in Bankruptcy,” Montana State Bar Bankruptcy Section Meeting, August 2023.
• Instructor at Montana Justice Institute Evidence Seminar for Non-Lawyer Judges in Courts of Limited Jurisdiction (2025)
• MALA Training for Paralegals on Civil Litigation (AY 2025-2026)
• Promotion and Tenure Committee (Chair AY 2023-2024, Member 2024-2025 Chair 2025-2026)
• Chair Admissions Committee (AY 2023-2024, 2024-2025, 2025-2026)
• Dean's Advisory Committee (AY 2024-2025, 2025-2026)
• Faculty Senate (AY 2025-2026)
• Faculty Perquisites and Merit Pay Review (Chair 2025-2026)
• 1L Advisor (AY 2025-2026)
• Trainer and Volunteer Mediator, Community Dispute Resolution Center of Missoula (Ay 2025-2026)
• Led CDRC 40 Hour Mediation Training (AY 2025-2026)
• Member Montana Evidence Commission (AY 2025-2026)
• Chair- Elect, Montana State Bar Section on Dispute Resolution (AY 2025-2026)