After graduating cum laude from Vassar with a BA in Urban Studies, Ada began her professional career as a land use planner in Bozeman, Montana. She earned a law degree from the University of Montana, where she was honored to receive the Margery Hunter Brown fellowship. Concurrent with her law degree, she earned an MS in Environmental Studies, focusing on watershed ecology, and a certificate in natural resources conflict resolution. She also served on the Public Lands and Resources Law Review.

Upon graduating, she focused her practice on water law while working for the boutique law firm of Franz & Driscoll, PLLP as a senior associate, where her practice consisted almost entirely of state-based adjudication cases. She next worked for the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) monitoring drought, serving as a water rights hearings examiner, acting as a state spokesperson in the Fort Belknap Water Right Compact, representing school trust lands, and gaining experience in federal court as amicus in various forestry related cases.

Driven by a commitment to building a better world for her son, Ada joined the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) to put her legal skills toward advancing justice for Tribal Nations and Indigenous peoples. She believes in the hope that NARF and the Tribes and communities it serves offer for future generations and sees this work as her life’s calling.

Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her son, biking, trail running, and spontaneous dance parties with friends.

Find Ada on LinkedIn.

Download a high resolution headshot of Ada Montague .

Education

• University of Montana, J.D.
  • Marjory Hunter Brown Fellowship Recipient
  • Certificate in Natural Resources Conflict Resolution
• University of Montana, M.S. Environmental Studies
  • Focus on watershed ecology
• Vassar, B.A. Urban Studies
  • Cum Laude

Admissions to Practice

• State courts of Montana and Colorado

Publications

• Strange Bedfellows: States, Tribes, and Water Rights (https://scholarworks.umt.edu/plrlr/vol47/iss1/6/)
• Renewable Energy Development on State Trust Lands (https://delpf.law.duke.edu/article/renewable-energy-development-on-state-trust-lands-montague-vol32-iss2/)
• Land Trusts and Water (https://landtrustalliance.org/resources/learn/explore/digital-download-land-trusts-water-strategies-resources)
• Mitigating for Growth: A Blueprint for a Ground Water Exchange Pilot Program in Montana (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1936-704X.2012.03111.x?msockid=07cbcdd9096d6e4f22f8d86008956f84)
• Pilot Program in Montana (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1936-704X.2012.03111.x?msockid=07cbcdd9096d6e4f22f8d86008956f84)