Rev. RJ Dieken, Esq.

RJ DIEKEN, ESQ.

Montana Attorney • Mediator • Conflict Resolution Professional

Transportation • Construction • Contract • Business • Civil • Community Disputes

Serving Southern & Western Montana | Mobile Mediation | Virtual Mediation Statewide
________________________________________

Professional Overview

RJ Dieken, Esq. is a Montana attorney and trained mediator providing practical, confidential, and solution-focused dispute resolution services to individuals, businesses, attorneys, families, and organizations throughout Montana.

Before entering the legal profession, RJ spent 14 years as a professional commercial truck driver, operating equipment ranging from Rocky Mountain doubles and fuel tankers to specialized 13-axle heavy-haul combinations. His work supported oil and gas, wind energy, commercial construction, highway infrastructure, logging, and wildfire response operations throughout the western United States.

Combined with his legal training, trial experience, mediation education, and service as an ordained minister, RJ's firsthand industry experience gives him a distinctive perspective on transportation, construction, contract, business, civil, and relationship-based disputes.

As an attorney, RJ's professional background includes criminal defense, juvenile matters, negotiation, client counseling, estate planning, and dispute resolution. His work requires him to evaluate legal risk, communicate with people facing difficult circumstances, and identify practical options when parties strongly disagree.

RJ provides mobile mediation throughout southern and western Montana and secure virtual mediation statewide.
________________________________________

Transportation & Trucking Mediation

RJ brings an uncommon level of firsthand industry experience to transportation-related disputes.

Before becoming an attorney, he spent 14 years working professionally in commercial trucking and heavy-haul transportation throughout Montana and the western United States. His experience included fuel tankers, Rocky Mountain doubles, oversized loads, specialized heavy-haul equipment, and 13-axle truck and trailer combinations.

His transportation work supported commercial construction, highway infrastructure, oil and gas, wind energy, logging, and wildfire response operations.

This background gives RJ practical insight into the operational realities faced by drivers, carriers, contractors, vendors, and businesses.
________________________________________

Construction Mediation

Construction disputes can involve contracts, payment, performance, scheduling, project expectations, property damage, and disagreements over responsibility.

RJ's background includes firsthand exposure to commercial construction and highway infrastructure projects through his transportation career, combined with the negotiation and legal analysis skills developed through his work as an attorney.

Construction mediation may involve disputes between property owners, contractors, subcontractors, vendors, transportation providers, and other project participants.

Mediation provides an opportunity to address the immediate disagreement while also considering the business and working relationships that may need to continue after the dispute is resolved.
________________________________________

Contract & Commercial Disputes

Contract disputes can become expensive when communication breaks down and the parties become entrenched in their positions.

RJ mediates appropriate contractual and commercial disagreements involving individuals and businesses, including:
Mediation allows parties to evaluate both the legal and practical consequences of a dispute while exploring potential solutions without immediately committing to prolonged litigation.
________________________________________

Business & Partnership Disputes

Disagreements between business owners, partners, vendors, customers, and other commercial participants can threaten relationships that may have taken years to develop.

RJ provides mediation for appropriate business disputes involving contracts, partnerships, payments, vendors, professional relationships, services, and other commercial disagreements.

Where possible, mediation can help resolve the immediate dispute while preserving a productive underlying business relationship.
________________________________________

Civil & Pre-Litigation Disputes

Not every disagreement needs to become a lawsuit. RJ provides mediation for civil and pre-litigation disputes where parties want an opportunity to resolve their differences privately before committing additional time and resources to litigation.

Early mediation can be particularly valuable when the potential expense and disruption of litigation may become disproportionate to the issues in dispute.
________________________________________

Community & Organizational Conflict

As an attorney, mediator, and ordained minister, RJ brings a distinctive perspective to conflicts involving communities and relationship-based organizations.

These disputes can be particularly challenging because participants may need to continue working, worshipping, volunteering, or interacting with one another after the immediate disagreement has been resolved.

RJ emphasizes respectful communication and practical problem-solving with the goal of resolving the dispute while preserving important relationships whenever possible.
________________________________________

Estate & Family-Related Conflict

Disagreements involving family property, inheritance, estate planning, and family businesses can become difficult because financial and legal concerns are often intertwined with longstanding personal relationships.

Where appropriate to his training and qualifications, RJ provides a neutral environment in which participants can discuss disagreements, identify underlying concerns, and explore voluntary solutions.

Potential matters may include family property disputes, inheritance-related disagreements, estate communication issues, family business conflicts, and succession-related discussions.
________________________________________

Mediation Approach

RJ believes litigation is sometimes necessary—but it does not always need to be the first step.

Effective mediation requires understanding not only the parties' legal positions, but also the practical interests, relationships, and concerns behind those positions.

RJ emphasizes careful listening, candid communication, informed decision-making, and practical problem-solving. He does not decide who wins or loses. Instead, he helps participants evaluate options, identify areas of agreement, and explore potential solutions.

The parties remain in control of whether an agreement is reached and what that agreement contains.
________________________________________

Why Consider Mediation?

Depending on the circumstances, mediation can help parties:
• Maintain greater privacy
• Retain control over important decisions
• Reduce litigation expenses
• Resolve disputes more efficiently
• Preserve personal and business relationships
• Explore creative solutions
• Reduce hostility
• Develop voluntary agreements

Mediation gives parties an opportunity to resolve a dispute themselves rather than having the outcome determined entirely through litigation.
________________________________________