Rule 6.1

The panel having jurisdiction over a dispute shall be the panel appointed for the judicial district in which the attorney to the dispute maintains his or her primary law office, unless:

(a) the parties agree that the matter should be referred to a statewide panel or,

(b) the State Bar determines there are an insufficient number of qualified arbitrators available in the appropriate judicial district, in which case the State Bar may appoint such additional arbitrators as may be required from an adjacent judicial district or from the statewide panel, or

(c) the attorney does not maintain an office in Montana, in which case, the jurisdiction shall be the one in which the Client resides or has its primary office, or

(d) if none of the above apply, the State Bar will determine which jurisdiction(s) the arbitrators will come from, taking into account availability of arbitrators and other considerations.