Firm: Haffey Vap PLLC
PO Box 1988 , Missoula , Montana 59806
Practice Areas: Insurance
John was born in South Bend, Indiana, and grew up in the Smelter City of Anaconda, Montana. When choosing a career path, his interest in science led him to Montana Tech in Butte, Montana, where he graduated with honors in Engineering Science in 1994. While going to school at Tech he also worked as a railway track crewman, an intern at an engineering firm testing magnetohydrodynamics power generation and plasma arc furnaces, and also as a powerline construction inspector.. He passed the FE (Fundamentals of Engineering) exam and started graduate work in Petroleum Engineering. However, after taking an environmental law course, he changed his mind and decided to go to law school instead. Prior to heading to law school he obtained a commercial driver’s license and drove specialized commercial vehicles in oil fields and drove belly and end-dump trucks for the construction of the Old Works golf course in Anaconda.. John earned a Juris Doctorate from the University of Montana School of Law. After graduation, he worked as a Special Assistant Attorney General for the Montana Department of Transportation for three years. There he handled construction, environmental and eminent domain litigation. He also represented the agency in administrative hearings.. John went into private practice with the civil defense/insurance firm of Phillips & Bohyer, and then the Phillips Law Firm, later becoming Phillips Haffey. In these firms he litigated insurance, injury, contract, products liability, trucking and intellectual property matters.. In November of 2015, he co-founded Haffey Vap PLLC, with Mitch Vap. Their desire for smaller firm with a broader scope led them to form Haffey Vap. John is admitted to practice in State and Federal Courts in Montana, the 9th Circuit and Federal Circuit Courts of Appeal and as a patent attorney with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. He is AV® rated by Martindale Hubbell and has been listed as a SuperLawyer® in civil litigation since 2010. He is a member of the Tau Beta Pi engineering honor society, the State Bar of Montana, and the Defense Research Institute.. Outside of work, like many in Montana, he enjoys the outdoors – hiking, skiing, biking, snowmobiling, boating and floating. Being born in South Bend, for better or worse, has made him a lifelong Fighting Irish fan. Coming from immigrant Irish stock, he loves Irish history and stays in contact with his Irish cousins all over the globe. He also plays the Great Highland bagpipes and enjoys playing whenever he can with the Celtic Dragon Pipe Band, but especially enjoys volunteering to play in parades and at memorial and veteran ceremonies. Finally, John’s greatest passion is spending time with family and friends, especially his wife Jen, and their boys Liam and Finn.
Firm: Smith Oblander PC
104 2nd Street South , Great Falls , Montana 59405
Practice Areas: Insurance
As a partner at Smith Oblander, Stephanie Oblander handles a variety of matters that include construction litigation, personal injury, personal injury defense, and insurance coverage matters. In addition to personal injury and insurance matters, Stephanie represents design professionals in complex construction disputes and homeowners regarding property damage claims. Stephanie’s law practice began in 1996 at Smith Law Offices with a strong emphasis in business litigation and business transactional matters, including real estate transactions and liquor and gaming matters. Over time her practice has evolved to litigation with a strong emphasis in construction, insurance and personal injury.. Stephanie received her juris doctorate from the University of Montana School of Law in 1996. She is admitted to practice in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana, and in state district courts in Montana.. Stephanie has spent her life enjoying the quiet and beauty of Montana, having been born and raised on a farm in Ballantine, Montana, in the Huntley Project community. In her free time Stephanie enjoys riding her horses and her other animals that include dogs, goats, parrots and Emmet the cat. In the summer you may find her at her home outside of Great Falls bucking bales or driving a swather, work that compliments and gives perspective to her busy legal practice.
