Taking up the gavel: Coffman will serve as Flathead County’s newest district court judge

Flathead County’s newest district court judge, Danni Coffman, got her first taste of the law courtesy of a beloved NBC sitcom.

“I originally wanted to be a lawyer when I was little because I really liked ‘Night Court,’” Coffman said while finishing up her time at Crowley Fleck PLLP’s Kalispell branch in early December. “I wanted to be a public defender.”

The daughter of two journalists — her father a sportswriter and mother a freelancer — Coffman dabbled in geology in college, but ultimately earned a bachelor’s degree in American history and French before going to law school. In retrospect, the dalliance with natural sciences grew out of travels across the southwest and a trip to the Grand Canyon, she said. When she found out geologists spend less time in the field than advertised, the study lost a bit of its luster.

“I sort of knew that I was going to go to law school no matter what,” Coffman recalled.

After graduating from the University of Kansas in 1997, the Lawrence, Kansas native headed to the University of Wisconsin School of Law. During her time there, she served as an editor of the Wisconsin Law Review and her internships saw her work in criminal law.

Armed with a law degree, Coffman found herself working for Winston and Strawn in Chicago, a major firm with offices in New York, London and Hong Kong. Her job saw her primarily working in patent law and antitrust litigation, but she also had the opportunity to experience white collar criminal proceedings, including a high profile case involving a former politician.

“I was a peon,” Coffman said with a wry smile. “I walked witnesses to and from court. I was on the news a lot in a trench coat.”

That experience was a highlight for Coffman. The job, though, proved a poor fit. Young lawyers, particularly ambitious ones, expect to put in long hours if not eat, sleep and breathe work. For Coffman, who admits to a competitive streak, finding it unsatisfying came as a surprise.

“I thought I would thrive in that environment,” she said. “I like to work and I work hard.”

One particularly strange part of her routine then still stands out.

“I remember times when I would be taking the ‘L’ home when everybody else was going to work,” she said referring to Chicago’s elevated metro rail system. “It was a weird moment.”

While she has nothing but positive words of her five years at Winston and Strawn, Coffman suspected she might find a better fit elsewhere.

“Chicago is a great city, but I really love the mountains and outdoors,” she said.

On a lark, Coffman applied for a job at Crowley Fleck, which has offices across Montana and in North Dakota.

“I was stunned, when I came out here, to learn that people lived this way,” she said of Northwest Montana. In 2006, she and her husband, whom she met in law school, made the Flathead Valley home.

“Especially when you come from a place like Chicago and a work environment like that,” Coffman recalled. “[Northwest Montana] was eye opening and very exciting.”

COFFMAN FOCUSED on civil litigation after coming to Montana. It’s a job that, day-to-day, kept her poring through code, scrutinizing details and drafting documents. Though describing herself as “litigation-minded” it was time, she decided, for another career change.

In 2022, the 47-year-old campaigned unopposed to become Flathead County’s fifth and newest district judge.

“It’s something that’s always appealed to me,” Coffman said. “It’s an important job and we have to have good people willing to do it.”

Flathead County commissioners announced the addition of a fifth judge in May 2021 with funding for the position and the associated support staff approved by the 67th Montana Legislature. In the years leading up to the decision, the Montana Supreme Court administrator had endorsed the expansion, citing the judicial district’s caseload and the county’s burgeoning population.

All that was needed was space. This past year has seen a shuffling of county offices to make space for an incoming judge, including the opening of the new Election Office on North Main Street and the relocated Justice Court on First Avenue, both in Kalispell. Coffman will join fellow district judges Robert Allison, Amy Eddy, Heidi Ulbricht and Dan Wilson on the bench this month.

“It’s dynamic, it keeps you on your toes,” Coffman said of her return to the courtroom. “There is never a dull moment in court.”

Toward the close of the year, judges began shifting cases to her nascent calendar, arraigning defendants and letting them know that they would, in the future, appear before Coffman. Coffman said she looks forward to alleviating the crush of cases on her new colleagues.

There is, she acknowledged, plenty to learn.

“Most of the substantive practice areas are going to be new to me,” Coffman said, pointing to abuse and neglect cases as an aspect she expects will be challenging.

“My hope is to be able to help families and problem solve,” said Coffman, who is the mother of a third grader.

Having previously served as a substitute judge in justice court, she hopes getting up to speed with the valley’s criminal cases will prove a smooth process. Just in case, court watchers might have spotted her observing her colleagues’ law and motion days in the lead up to the holidays.

“They’re all wonderful,” she said of the county’s four other judges, “and I have no doubt they’ll help me as needed.”

In July, Coffman resigned from her partnership at Crowley Fleck and began focusing on transitioning her cases. She wrapped up her final hearing as an attorney in early December.

“I’ve really enjoyed my time here,” she said of Crowley Fleck. “I had great clients. But it really is time for a change and I’d like to do public service.”

News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 758-4430 or dperkins@dailyinterlake.com.