Lawyers

University of South Dakota Law School Dean Neil Fulton speaks to students. (Courtesy of USD)

Law school dean to lawmakers: More students admitted, bar exam scores best neighboring states

BY: - October 31, 2023

The University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law saw its largest incoming class in over a decade this fall, according to a report prepared for lawmakers by Dean Neil Fulton. The 88 students in the class of 2026 is a reflection of the school’s “investment in admissions personnel and resources,” Fulton wrote in his […]

Brendan Johnson, head of the business litigation group for Robins Kaplan and former U.S. attorney for South Dakota. (Courtesy of Robins Kaplan)

Q&A: Why Brendan Johnson chose courtrooms over politics

BY: - September 24, 2023

Sioux Falls lawyer Brendan Johnson has a last name that carries a lot of weight in South Dakota political circles. His father, Tim Johnson, was the last Democrat to serve in any statewide elected office from the now-solidly red state. The elder Johnson, who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1987 to 1997 […]

COMMENTARY
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Bar exam problems persist as jobs go unfilled

BY: - September 21, 2023

Chief Justice Steven Jensen’s State of the Judiciary message to the Legislature in January of this year suggested that reduced State Bar licensure rates were no longer a problem in South Dakota. But results of the July bar exam indicate otherwise.   The University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law graduated 59 students in May. […]

COMMENTARY
Students at the entrance to the University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law. (Photo courtesy of USD)

Law school should extend recruitment program to bar-exam reform

BY: - August 19, 2023

In a recent report to the State Bar of South Dakota, Knudson School of Law Dean Neil Fulton noted that law school applications “have been dropping nationwide for three consecutive years” and the “recent downward trend in applications is just beginning … we are projected to see a ten-year decline.” To combat the low enrollment […]

Students at the entrance to the University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law. (Photo courtesy of USD)

Bar exam critics move to strike testing requirement for USD law grads

BY: - January 15, 2023

On Wednesday, the state’s top judicial official asked lawmakers to refrain from any changes to the bar admission process while a committee studies it. Within hours, a lawmaker vowed to file a bill that would change the bar exam. Rep. Mary Fitzgerald, R-Spearfish, wants University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law graduates to earn […]

Tripp County will be the first South Dakota county in two decades to hand count ballots in an election, according to the Secretary of State's Office. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Rural lawyer recruitment efforts show local results, but fail to alter urban-rural divide

BY: - January 15, 2023

In 2013, then-Chief Justice of the South Dakota Supreme Court David Gilbertson was quoted in The New York Times for a story on a shortage of lawyers in rural areas. Gilbertson helped spearhead an effort called “Project Rural Practice,” a coordinated effort to address that issue.  The goal was critical, Gilbertson told reporter Ethan Bronner. […]