FEDERAL DEFENDERS OF MONTANA

What FEDERAL DEFENDERS OF MONTANA does

Federal Defenders of Montana is a non-profit community defender organization founded in 1991 and headquartered in Great Falls, Montana, with additional branch offices in Billings, Helena, and Missoula. The organization provides court-appointed legal representation to indigent individuals charged with federal criminal offenses across the five judicial divisions of the District of Montana, fulfilling a mandate under the federal Criminal Justice Act. Its attorneys have argued cases before the US Supreme Court and have been recognized with multiple federal defender industry awards.

The organization operates as a federally designated community defender rather than a private law firm, with no commercial clients, fee-for-service billing, or external revenue capture. Its core deliverable is legal defense services, supported by a staff of approximately 23 employees including attorneys, investigators, and administrative personnel distributed across the four branch offices. There is no proprietary technology platform; service delivery relies on conventional legal practice tools and court systems.

Federal Defenders of Montana is funded almost entirely by an annual grant of approximately $6M from the Administrative Office of the US Courts. The funding model is grant-based rather than transactional, with revenue determined by congressional appropriations and AOUSC staffing authorizations rather than by competitive pricing or volume. In 2022, the organization underwent a leadership transition with Rachel Julagay named Executive Director and additional attorney appointments including Hank Branom as Senior Litigator and Edward Werner as Assistant Federal Defender.

Name

FEDERAL DEFENDERS OF MONTANA

Legal name

Federal Defenders of Montana, Inc.

Website

https://mt.fd.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Federal Defenders of Montana is a non-profit community defender organization, founded in 1991, that provides court-appointed legal representation to indigent federal defendants across Montana's five judicial divisions, funded by an annual Administrative Office of US Courts grant.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Federal Criminal Defense Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110), Legal Services (5411)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAHAAAN

Criminal Defense

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/Legal Services

SECONDARYBPAIAFAC

Public Defense & Legal Aid Services

Business & Public Services/Public Sector & Government Administration/Justice System (Courts, Prosecution & Corrections)

Keywords

• Federal criminal defense
• Legal representation services
• Appellate defense advocacy
• Community defender organization
• Criminal justice act counsel

Headquarters

HQ city

Great Falls

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Federal Defender Services Grant: The organization receives 100% of its funding from an annual grant from the Administrative Office of the United States Courts. The grant amount is approximately $6,000,000 per year. No revenue is generated from client fees or other commercial sources.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Federal Defenders of Montana provides holistic, client-centered federal criminal defense representation to financially disadvantaged defendants in the District of Montana. Services span trial defense, sentencing advocacy, and appellate representation across four branch offices, supplemented by administration and training of the Montana CJA Panel of private attorneys. All representation is provided at no cost to eligible defendants under court appointment.

Product overview

Federal Defenders of Montana is a community defender organization providing legal representation services for federal criminal defendants who are financially unable to retain counsel. The organization operates as a single unified service offering, not a software product platform. Services include federal criminal defense representation, CJA Panel administration and oversight, attorney training programs, and appellate advocacy across Montana's federal courts. The organization maintains four branch offices (Great Falls, Billings, Helena, and Missoula) that collectively provide representation throughout the District of Montana's five judicial divisions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Federal Criminal Defense Representation
• Appellate Defense Representation
• CJA Panel Administration and Training

Quantifiable outcome

• More than 11% of cases resolved by trial, one of the highest rates in the nation for federal defender organizations
• +2 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Montana CJA PanelcoreOthers · 1 January 1964The Montana Criminal Justice Act (CJA) Panel consists of experienced, highly qualified private attorneys who specialize in federal criminal defense. FDOM works alongside the panel to provide comprehensive representation to eligible defendants. The panel supplements the defender organization's work, with panel attorneys required to accept at least three appointments annually to maintain membership standards.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights1 record

Direct peers

• Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem: A community-based, holistic public defender organization serving indigent defendants. Comparable to FDOM in mission and client-centered service model, though operating at the state level in New York rather than federal.
• Bronx Defenders: A holistic, client-centered public defense organization providing representation to indigent defendants. While operating in state court rather than federal, it is widely recognized as the model for holistic public defense that FDOM explicitly cites as its service philosophy.
• Office of the Federal Public Defender, District of Columbia: An institutional federal public defender organization providing court-appointed criminal defense representation to indigent defendants in federal cases, funded by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts — the same funder that backs FDOM. Operates as a direct peer in the federal Defender Services system.
• Federal Community Defender Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania: A community defender organization (the same designation as FDOM) under the Criminal Justice Act, providing appointed federal criminal defense representation in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Direct structural peer operating under identical statutory and funding framework.
• Federal Defenders of New York (SDNY / EDNY / NDNY / WDNY): Federal defender organizations serving the New York federal districts, providing court-appointed criminal defense under the CJA framework with Administrative Office funding. Direct structural and operational peer to FDOM.
• Montana Office of State Public Defender: Montana's state-level public defender organization providing indigent defense in state criminal cases. Several FDOM attorneys previously worked at the Montana State Public Defender, and the two organizations serve complementary jurisdictions — direct operational peer in the same state.

Regional players

• Federal Public Defender for the District of Montana: Although FDOM is the community defender organization for the District of Montana, a Federal Public Defender also operates in adjacent districts (e.g., Eastern District of California where FDOM's Executive Director previously worked). These are the closest structurally-comparable institutional federal defender offices providing court-appointed representation under the CJA.

Others

• National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL): The primary professional association for criminal defense lawyers, of which FDOM attorneys are members and contributors. NACDL's 2015 study of the CJA is cited by FDOM as foundational, and NACDL's The Champion publication featured FDOM attorneys — relevant ecosystem organization rather than a direct operational peer.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/federal-defenders-of-montana

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about FEDERAL DEFENDERS OF MONTANA