Carina works with large and small employers on all employee issues including contracts, policy development, wages, worker health restrictions, discipline & terminations and employment issues related to mergers & acquisitions. She assists clients with business formation, contract drafting, commercial and residential purchasing/selling/leasing. Carina also works with individuals on estate planning, probates, and succession planning for small businesses.

Carina is a Montana native and enjoys spending time with her family in the mountains around Montana and Wyoming, as well as taking international trips to various places.

Practice Areas

    • Business Organizations
    • Governance
    • Mergers, Acquisitions & Other Business Transactions
    • Advice and representation in employment litigation, including wrongful discharge and discrimination matters
    • Development of drug testing policies and related advice
    • Employee discipline and termination advice
    • Employee screening, hiring practices and policies
    • Employment contract review and drafting
    • Employment policy development, including handbook drafting and review
    • Family and Medical Leave Act compliance
    • Independent contractor / employee classification
    • National Labor Relations Act
    • Non-compete and non-disclosure agreements
    • Separation agreements
    • Wage and hour compliance
    • Workers Compensation
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Due Diligence
    • Real Estate
    • Commercial Real Estate Acquisition, Sales and Leasing
    • Real Estate Financing and Security Devices
    • Trusts & Estates
    • Business Succession Planning
    • Elder Law Planning
    • Estate Planning
    • Guardianships, Conservatorships and Disability Planning
    • Premarital Agreements
    • Probate, Estate and Trust Administration

Bar Admission

Wyoming, 2017
North Dakota, 2017
Montana, 2014
U.S. District Court, District of Montana, 2014

Education

2014 – J.D., University of Montana School of Law (High Honors)
1997 – M.A., Intercultural Communication, University of New Mexico
1995 – B.S. in Social Sciences, University of Wyoming (UW Honors Program)

Prior Experience (Employment)

Prior to her legal work, Carina worked in human resources as a Recruiter and in the new hires department for an organization of over 5,000 employees. Carina also worked with Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs training professionals in developing countries in leadership and health communication.

Honors & Awards

Best Lawyers – Ones to Watch – Immigration Law, Real Estate Law (2022-Present)

Community Involvement

Tibetan Children’s Education Foundation, Board Member
Reviewer, Montana State University Extension Service MontGuide Educational Materials:
– Accessing a Deceased Person’s Financial Accounts
(pending 2022)
– Nonprobate Transfers (pending 2022)
– Transferring a Vehicle or Vessel at Death Without Probate (2022)
– Transfer on Death Deeds in Montana (2020)
– Financial, Estate, and Health Care Planning Documents for Montanans Concerned About Memory Loss (2020)

Professional Affiliations

State Bar of Montana
American Bar Association
First Judicial District Bar Association
Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection, Board Member
Society of Human Resource Managers
Women’s Leadership Network (Helena)

Presentations & Publications

Presentations:
– Remote workers in Montana (2021)
– Supervisory trainings on discrimination and harassment (2014-present)
– Montana Chamber of Commerce Business and The Law Conference: Federal Impacts to Montana employers: Immigration and the NLRB (2018)
– Helena Chamber of Commerce: Sexual Harassment in the Workplace (2018)
– Supervisory Trainings – Working for the Best, Ready for the Worst (2017-2019)
– SHRM – Billings Society of Human Resource Managers: Intersection of the Family Medical Leave Act, the American’s with Disabilities Act, and Workers’ Compensation (2016)

Publications:

– Carina Wilmot, Reichert v. State ex rel. McCulloch and the Open Door for Increased Pre-Election Substantive Judicial Review, 74 Mont. L. Rev. 441 (2013) (Available at: http://scholarship.law.umt.edu/mlr/vol74/iss2/9). This work is also cited in The Montana Constitution in the State Constitutional Tradition: Cases and Commentary by Anthony Johnstone, 2022.