We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
Jordan Salo
Jordan Salo began her duties as Blaine County's Deputy County Attorney on September 21. The Belgrade native said she saw the job posted just after she took the bar exam in July. She said, "I was hoping to find a position in Montana and be in a situation where I could get a variety of legal experience. At the job interview I felt Kelsie Harwood (County Attorney) would be a great mentor and that we had a similar outlook about how to approach legal issues."
Salo comes from a family of educators, but when she started college she wanted to work in corrections. She got her first exposure to the correctional system when she worked as a correctional officer intern, during college, in the Men's South Dakota State Penitentiary. At the time she was a student at Northern State University, in South Dakota, studying sociology with several add-on majors related to social service careers. She concluded, "After that internship I still wanted to work in a segment of corrections, but not in the prison system. Law seemed like a more fulfilling way to still be involved." She completed her law degree at the University of Montana in 2015.
While in law school she did a couple of internships that also helped her narrow her interest in law. She worked for a time in the Public Defender's office in Bozeman and with the Federal Prosecutor in Missoula. Salo added, "Those internships gave me some experience in both defending and prosecuting cases. From that I decided that I would be more comfortable as a prosecutor."
As Deputy Attorney she will prosecute most of the misdemeanor cases in Blaine County's Justice Court. In state District Court she'll work with dependency and neglect cases, involving children, and also with juvenile cases. She said, "Kelsie Harwood is very good about letting me help her on cases that she handles. I'm getting a very good look at all the types of cases and issues that come through a county attorney's office."
Harwood will be on maternity leave for a month early next year and Salo said, "I'll be handling everything for that month."
Salo says she feels very comfortable living and working in Blaine County. She explained, "I grew up on a small ranch, so I was involved in 4-H, rodeos, showing steers at the county fair... the whole rural scene. It's very comfortable to me."
As to her legal career, Salo added, "I'm here to learn and will stay as long as I continue to learn. I don't have any concrete career goals at this point, I'm still in the initial stages of learning and practicing law. I feel like I'm in a great place to learn the practical aspects of the law."
After living in larger college towns she said, "I am glad to be in a less hurried atmosphere. Even my dog appreciates the fact I can come home and let her out for a run during lunch time."
The "Journal" welcomes Jordan Salo to the community and wishes her a successful start to her legal career.
