But while being recognized as a Mountain States Super Lawyers' Rising Star is a nice feather in the cap of Matt Hayhurst, the 35-year-old doesn't plan on using the resume-padder to move up to a bigger firm in a bigger city.
Hayhurst, a shareholder in the 15-lawyer firm of Boone Karlberg in Missoula, has already been there, already done that.
But in 2002, as it does for so many of its native sons and daughters who start their careers elsewhere, Montana beckoned, and Hayhurst and his wife Lisa, a Billings native, headed for home.
“The primary reason we chose to move back was the proximity to family and the lifestyle that life in Montana affords,” he said.
Hayhurst, who grew up in a big home on Helena's West Side, still has family there, still visits home regularly.
In Missoula, he lives close to an elementary school - no small consideration when two preschool sons are on hand - can be at work in five minutes, and has all the outdoor activities he enjoys close at hand. There's no big-city firm in his future.
“I plan to retire from this law firm, I plan to die in this house we're living in right now,” he laughed. “My wife and I are very content. I just want to keep practicing law and keep practicing at this firm.”
Rather than being pigeonholed into a specific area of law, Hayhurst's practice runs the gamut, from defending injury and death lawsuits to writing wills to working on pet trusts and product liability claims.
“What I enjoy most about the work is how it changes every single day,” Hayhurst said. “On any given day your focus can shift from one project to another, and practicing in a small Montana town you have to be a jack of all trades. I like the fact that there's a whole broad range of experiences you can have while working in the same field in the same job. And it's a very personal profession and I like that as well.”
In addition to hikes with 4-year-old Elliott and 1-year-old Charlie, Hayhurst fills his off time with road and mountain biking and other outdoor pursuits. He can relive childhood memories at a cabin his family built at Placid Lake.
Being singled out as a Rising Star by Super Lawyers magazine means Hayhurst was tabbed one of the top 2.5 percent of lawyers under the age of 40 in the five-state northern Rockies region.
It's a nice honor, he says, but ultimately doesn't say much about him.
“A lot of people define themselves by what they do for a living, and I'm not that kind of person,” he said. “I define myself by my wife and my kids and my family and by what I like to do outside the office.”
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