Carina believes that most legal conflicts can be avoided with the right guidance early on—and that philosophy shapes everything about her practice.
She works with Montana businesses, employers, and families to navigate estate and trust planning and administration, labor and employment issues, corporate governance, real estate transactions, and alcoholic beverage licensing. Carina also offers mediation services in the areas she practices, helping clients resolve disputes with clarity, dignity, and a focus on long‑term stability. Whether she is advising a business owner or guiding a family through a difficult transition, her goal is always the same: provide practical, proactive support that prevents problems before they escalate.
Carina’s educational background in communication gives her a unique advantage. She is skilled at reading the room—picking up on non‑verbal cues, understanding emotional dynamics, and recognizing the human factors that often sit beneath legal issues. Clients appreciate her steady presence and her ability to translate complexity into clear next steps.
Before transitioning to legal work, Carina gained valuable experience in human resources doing recruiting and working with new hires for a large organization. Additionally, she worked with the Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs, training professionals in leadership and health communication in developing countries.
Carina is a Montana native who enjoys spending time with her family in the mountains around Montana and Wyoming, at the beach in North Carolina, and taking international trips.
The Best Lawyers in America® “Ones to Watch,” Real Estate Law (2022 – present), Immigration Law (2022-2023)
American Bar Association
First Judicial District Bar Association
Society of Human Resource Managers
State Bar of Montana
Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection, (former Board Member, 2015-2025)
Reviewer, Montana State University Extension Service MontGuide Educational Materials:
Transfer on Death Deeds (2026)
Designating Beneficiaries (2025)
Revocable Trusts (2024)
Accessing a Deceased Person’s Financial Accounts (2022)
Nonprobate Transfers (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)
St. Peter’s Health Foundation, Board Member (2024 – 2025)
Tibetan Children’s Education Foundation, Board Member (2001-2006; 2014-2023)
Presentations:
Pour Decisions: What Realtors Need to Know About Alcoholic Beverage Licensing (2026)
Remote workers in Montana, Crowley Fleck employment webinar (2021)
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)
SHRM – Billings Society of Human Resource Managers: Intersection of the Family Medical Leave Act, the Americans 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: https://scholarship.law.umt.edu/mlr/vol74/iss2/9). This work is cited in The Montana Constitution in the State Constitutional Tradition: Cases and Commentary by Anthony Johnstone, 2022.
Drafted, found a sponsor, and lobbied for HB 464 (codified at Montana Code Annotated sections 72-6-412 and 33-15-206) to provide for a temporary extension of real property insurance coverage when a transfer on death deed is used to transfer property upon an owners death.
Remote workers in Montana, Crowley Fleck employment webinar (2021)
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)
SHRM – Billings Society of Human Resource Managers: Intersection of the Family Medical Leave Act, the Americans 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: https://scholarship.law.umt.edu/mlr/vol74/iss2/9). This work is cited in The Montana Constitution in the State Constitutional Tradition: Cases and Commentary by Anthony Johnstone, 2022.
Drafted, found a sponsor, and lobbied for HB 464 (codified at Montana Code Annotated sections 72-6-412 and 33-15-206) to provide for a temporary extension of real property insurance coverage when a transfer on death deed is used to transfer property upon an owners death.