MISSOULA – The U.S. Senate has confirmed a Kalispell attorney to replace U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy of Missoula.
President Barack Obama nominated 60-year-old Dana Christensen in May, and the Senate confirmed the attorney by voice vote Monday.
Christensen and Molloy were friends and classmates at University of Montana School of Law in the 1970s. Christensen has been a partner in the firm Christensen, Moore, Cockrell, Cummings & Axelberg since 1996 and previously was an associate and a shareholder at two other Montana law firms.
U.S. Sen. Max Baucus spoke on Christensen’s behalf Monday, saying “I know his experience, leadership and prudence will serve Montanans well.”
Molloy, who was appointed in 1996 by President Bill Clinton, assumed senior status in August.