Small-Town Lawyer Seeks Decent Coffee, So He Roasts His Own

By Andrew Chow, Esq. on April 18, 2012 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Introducing our Ex-Lawyer of the Week: Randy Lint.

Lint earned his law degree from the University of Montana School of Law in 1995, and then became a successful small-town lawyer with a wife, kids, and a comfortable life.

But one thing really irked him about his rural location, he told the local Ravalli Republic: He just couldn't find a decent cup of coffee.

"People have become conditioned to stale coffee," Lint lamented, "because the national brands ship their coffee to supermarkets, and that's what people are used to."

Randy Lint's initial solution was to order fresh-roasted coffee beans and have them shipped to his Montana home. But as that quickly grew expensive, Lint's next idea was to start roasting beans on his own.

It's now his full-time job, as "Chief Bean" at Big Creek Coffee Roasters in Hamilton, Mont.

"I went from dealing with some pretty serious life-or-death situations to being a bright spot in people's mornings," Lint, who was once elected to serve as Ravalli County's Justice of the Peace, told the Republic. "It took courage and finances, but I was finally able to take that leap."

Lint left his law practice in 2010, and invested in a state-of-the-art coffee roasting machine. A computer lets him monitor and precisely control the roasting process, so he can roast beans to the exact lightness or darkness that a customer requests.

Lint, who studied music as an undergrad, also invested in high-quality coffee beans that he hopes will make a social impact. For example, one type of African coffee that he roasts is grown by war widows from the Rwandan genocide, the Republic reports.

Ex-lawyer Randy Lint's coffee-roasting career seems to be robust. His fresh-roasted coffee beans are available via mail order nationwide; check out his website at BigCreekCoffeeRoasters.com.

Curious about other ways to use your JD, or how ex-lawyers have found success in other fields? Check back here for more ex-lawyer profiles and success stories. And if you have suggestions for our Ex-Lawyer of the Week series, let us know by posting your tip on our FindLaw for Legal Professionals Facebook page.

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