Michael Strand -  Michael is a fourth-generation Montana native, with roots in the Choteau and Richland County areas. Over the decades, his family has been instrumental in the development of Montana’s railroad and oil and natural gas systems. His father, an architect, designed some of Montana’s most notable buildings, and his mother was a successful business executive in the transportation industry. A National Merit Scholar, Michael obtained his undergraduate degree from Cornell University and his law degree from the University of Washington School of Law. He is licensed to practice in both Montana and the State of Washington.

Michael’s primary legal focus is on telecommunications law and information technology law and policy with significant additional exposure to the energy and financial services industries. Following his successful representation of a group of Montana telephone cooperatives in their purchase of $125 million in assets comprised of the telephone systems in 60 rural communities across the state, those same cooperatives hired him to be the founding CEO and General Counsel of their new statewide industry association, Montana Independent Telecommuni-cations Systems (MITS).

Michael served in that capacity for 12 years, becoming a nationally-recognized expert on telecommunications policy in rural America. He has published numerous articles on the subject and has provided expert testimony before a number of Congressional committees. A frequent public speaker, he has been a guest lecturer at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and has made appearances at a wide variety of industry and governmental policy forums in many different states across the country.

Michael has enjoyed great success representing the interests of his telecom and IT clients before the full spectrum of state and federal courts and regulatory agencies. He was also responsible for all of the telephone cooperatives' lobbying efforts at the state and federal level as well as serving as their chief liaison and negotiator in their various relationships with governmental entities.

In his spare time, Michael served as the CEO of a highly successful competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) called Skyland Technologies. Sklyand built a state-of-the-art, fiber optic-based voice (landline and wireless), video and data services provider in the Williston, North Dakota area. Michael stepped down from that position when one of his long-time clients, Nemont Telephone Cooperative, acquired Skyland. He was then tapped to be the CEO of iConnect Montana an equally successful company that built and operated carrier-neutral collocation facilities (also known as “fiber hotels”) in six locations across Montana. The venture provided broadband connectivity and ideal operating environments for telecom, IT, and Internet-based businesses.