State Bar of South Dakota

The South Dakota Supreme Court chamber at the state Capitol in Pierre. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

Former lawyer with felony conviction asks Supreme Court for reinstatement

BY: - August 30, 2023

A Rapid City attorney who admitted to felony tax evasion in 2017 wants the South Dakota Supreme Court to reinstate him as a member of the State Bar. Kenneth Orrock was Bennett County state’s attorney before being charged in federal court for failing to collect and remit payroll taxes from 2011 through 2015. The charges […]

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. […]