Dan Semmens
PEOPLE

Dan Semmens

Partner
semmens.dan@dorsey.com

Overview

DAN HELPS COMMUNITIES BY PROVIDING PRACTICAL ASSISTANCE RELATING TO THE FINANCING OF INFRASTRUCTURE, SCHOOLS, HOSPITALS AND PUBLIC SPACES.

Dan is a public finance partner whose practice focuses on issuer representation. He regularly serves as bond counsel to the State of Montana in connection with various types of financings, including general obligation bonds, coal severance tax bonds, and state revolving fund bonds. He also represents cities, towns, school districts, water and sewer districts, and other special districts in an array of public and special purpose financings.

In addition to his public finance work in Montana, Dan also represents higher education institutions in the Pacific Northwest in connection with a variety of matters.

Education & Admissions

University of Notre Dame Law School (J.D., 1991), cum laude
Book Review Editor, Journal of Legislation

University of Durham (U.K.) (M.A., English Literature, 1988)

College of Idaho (B.A., English and Business Management, 1986)

Admissions

  • Washington
  • Montana
  • Oregon

Clerkships

  • Minnesota Supreme Court, Honorable Jeanne Coyne, 1991-1992

News & Resources

Articles

CARES ACT Municipal Liquidity Facility
CARES Act Summary for Public Finance

News & Press Mentions

201 Dorsey Lawyers Recognized in 2025 Best Lawyers in America, Lawyers of the Year, and Ones to Watch
Chambers USA 2024 Recognizes Dorsey Lawyers and Practices
200 Dorsey Lawyers Selected for Inclusion in 2024 Best Lawyers in America, Lawyers of the Year, and Ones to Watch
Chambers USA 2023 Recognizes Four Dorsey Lawyers and Three Practices in Missoula
Chambers USA 2023 Recognizes Dorsey Lawyers and Practices
Chambers USA 2022 Recognizes Dorsey Lawyers and Practices
Chambers USA 2019 Recognizes Dorsey Lawyers and Practices
Chambers USA 2018 Recognizes Dorsey Lawyers and Practices in Missoula
SID costs laid out for golf course residents
Dorsey Partner Dan Semmens Comments on Riverfront Triangle Development
Chambers USA 2017 Recognizes Dorsey Lawyers and Practice Groups in Missoula
Chambers USA 2017 Recognizes Dorsey Lawyers and Practices
School Board Reviews Draft Bond
Dorsey Partner Dan Semmens Comments on Helena School Bond
Chambers USA 2016 Ranks Dorsey Lawyers and Practices
Chambers USA 2016 Recognizes Dorsey Lawyers and Practice Groups in Missoula
Chambers USA 2015 Recognizes Dorsey Lawyers and Corporate/M&A Practice in Missoula
Chambers USA 2014 Ranks Dorsey Lawyers and Practices
Chambers USA 2014 Recognizes Dorsey Lawyers and Corporate/M&A Practice in Missoula
Chambers USA 2013 Recognizes Dorsey Lawyers and Corporate/M&A Practice in Missoula
Chambers & Partners Recognizes Dorsey Lawyers and Corporate/M&A Practice in Missoula Office

Select Presentations

Regularly presents at the following annual conferences:

  • Montana Rural Water
  • Montana Association of School Business Officials
  • Bond Attorneys Workshop (NABL)
  • Montana Association of Counties
  • Montana League of Cities
  • Municipal Clerks Institute
  • Montana Conference on Educational Leadership (MCEL)

Industries & Practices

Government Contracts Counseling & Litigation
Higher Education & Academic Research Institutions
  • Banking & Financial Institutions
  • Development & Infrastructure
  • Energy & Natural Resources
  • Government Contracts Counseling & Litigation
  • Healthcare & Life Sciences
  • Higher Education & Academic Research Institutions
  • Public Finance
  • Public-Private Partnerships
  • Real Estate & Land Use

Professional & Civic

Professional Achievements

  • Member, National Association of Bond Lawyers
  • Board Member, Poverello Shelter, Inc.
  • Board Member, Partnership for Children
  • Board Member, YWCA Holding Company, Inc.

Community Involvement

  • Board of Directors of Poverello Shelter, Inc.
  • Board of Directors of Partnership for Children
  • Board Member, YWCA Holding Company, Inc.
  • Former member of Steering Committee, National Association of Bond Lawyers, Bond Attorneys Workshop
  • Named Friend of Rural Water
  • Secretary of the Montana Chapter of the Council of Educational Facility Planners

Accolades

Chambers USA 2024 Dorsey LogoChambers USA 2023Chambers 2022Chambers USA 2021  Ranked in Chambers USA 2020  Ranked in Chambers USA 2019 Leading Individual 
Chambers USA 2018 Leading Individual  Ranked in USA Chambers 2017 Leading Individual  Ranked In - USA Chambers and Partners 2016 - Leading Individual   
Ranked in Chambers USA 2015 - Leading Individual 

  • Listed in Best Lawyers in America©, 2021-2025
  • Named one of “America’s Leading Business Lawyers” by Chambers USA (Corporate/M&A), 2011-2024
  • Recipient of Friends of Rural Water Award
Dan Semmens