1. law, govt and politics

The Magazine of the School of Law
of the University of South Dakota
Winter 2013/14
A Life of
Philanthropy
Estebo bestows $1 million to
School of Law
‘Now is our
Opportunity’
Law School seizes chance to evolve
in a time of transformation
FROM THE DEAN
Now is Our Opportunity . . .
It is an honor to introduce this issue of the South Dakotan Lawyer. I invite you to learn
how students, faculty, staff and alumni (Orrin Estebo, for example) are seizing current
opportunities. Please also take special notice of our recent list of donors. We would ask that
you join us in extending our sincere thanks to them for their contributions.
There is no question: Now is our opportunity. A bold assertion in a time when law
school applications are down sharply (45 percent in the last three years nationally) and the
legal practice has experienced a decade or more of financial challenges, hard decisions and
dramatic adjustments. It is precisely at such times, however, that truly meaningful change
can and should occur, not only at this institution but far beyond. Now is our opportunity
for all of USD Law (faculty, staff, alumni and students) to seize a pivotal moment and lead,
shape and propel legal education and practice into the 21st century.
Candidly, times have been tough. Other schools have lost a quarter or more of their
students, scaled back programs and laid off professors, administrators and staff. Fortunately,
South Dakotans, their civil servants and university employees, have held to our values of
adhering to proven measured, sometimes austere, approaches in challenging times. With
the help of our university, USD Law not only maintained our staff, but have been able to
modestly expand our student service capacities through rigid preparation, strategic planning
and transparent accountability. We are lean but strong, maintaining exceptionally high
standards in legal education and possessing a drive, vision and determination for the future.
Now is our opportunity. After 20 years of teaching for USD Law, I am both enthusiastic
and dedicated to working with all of you now as we seize the day. I consider it an honor,
privilege and duty to stand beside our outstanding, nationally recognized and extremely
productive faculty and you, our accomplished and dedicated alumni, as we venture forward
into a new normal.
Now is my opportunity and assisting USD Law seize its opportunities is my duty. Please
contact me so that we may continue this discussion individually by calling 605-677-5443
or email at Thomas.Geu@usd.edu. I give my good faith promise to respond. We want
your ideas, and legal education and practice need your sage advice. If you want to see some
changes already being instituted that directly relate to the practicing bar, please visit our
library website at www.usd.edu/law/lawlibrary.cfm.
I hope to see many of you in my travels in the coming year. I would welcome and encourage
invitations to local bar associations, private firms, government programs, non-profit entities
and civic group meetings. I am happy to prepare topics, participate in discussions, or, simply
attend. I plan to see as many of you as I can in the months ahead.
Tom Geu
Dean and Professor of Law
Adjunct Graduate Professor, Beacom School of Business
Faculty Affiliate, Department of Biology
South Dakotan Lawyer
Vol. 20, No. 1, Winter 2013/14
ADMINISTRATION
Thomas Earl Geu
Dean and Professor
John Henry Glover
Interim Associate Dean
Angela R. Ericson
Assistant Dean
EDITORIAL STAFF
Kim Lee
Editor, Marketing Communications
& University Relations
CONTRIBUTORS
John Henry Glover
Nick Kotzea
Kim Lee
Tom Sorensen
GRAPHIC DESIGN
Terry Dyvig
PHOTOGRAPHY
Miller Photography
Winter 2013/14
The Magazine of the School of Law of the University of South Dakota
Features
8
A Life of Philanthropy
Estebo’s major gift benefits the
School of Law
Aaron Packard
Copyright 2014
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
USD Law School Advisory Council
OFFICERS
President Roy A. Wise
Vice President Reed A. Rasmussen
Secretary Karen P. Hunt
10
‘Now is Our Opportunity’
Law School seizes the chance to evolve
in a time of transformation
CIRCUIT DIRECTORS
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
Lisa Z. Rothschadl, Dennis L. Duncan
Mary A. Akkerman, William C. Garry
Richard L. Ericsson, Chad C. Nelson
Karen Paige Hunt, Heather Lammers Bogard
Roy A. Wise, Reed A. Rasmussen
William M. Van Camp, Jr., Robert C. Riter, Jr.
Joseph Ashley Parr, Brian Hagg
MEMBERS AT LARGE
Kent R. Cutler
Marilyn J. Hagberg
Robert E. Hayes
35
13 Years of Service
Associate Dean Tom Sorensen Retires
EX OFFICIO
Hon. David E. Gilbertson, Chief Justice, Supreme Court of
South Dakota
Terry L. Hofer, President
Thomas H. Frieberg, President-Elect
Thomas C. Barnett, Secretary-Treasurer and Executive
Director, State Bar of South Dakota
Pamela R. Bollweg, Chair, SD Bar Law School Committee
Thomas E. Geu, Dean and Professor
Printed on recycled paper.
Anderson Brothers/4.8M/$1.01pc
Departments
2 Briefs
18 Our Newest Alumni
20 Faculty Notes
23 Class Notes
30 Honor Roll of Donors
WINTER 2013/14 | 1
BRIEFS
Madison Attorney Ericsson Receives
McKusick Award
The Student Bar Association (SBA) at the University of
South Dakota School of Law presented Madison attorney
Richard (Dick) L. Ericsson the 2013 Marshall M. McKusick
Award on June 21 during the annual meeting activities of the
State Bar of South Dakota in Pierre.
“It is the Student Bar Association’s honor and privilege to
present this year’s McKusick award to Mr. Ericsson,” Shekar
Jayaraman, the newly-elected SBA president, said. Jayaraman,
a third-year law student from Cincinnati, Ohio, presented
the award in a room packed with members of the State Bar of
South Dakota.
Ericsson is a native of Madison, where he practices law
as a partner of Ericsson & Giles law firm and currently serves
as a city commissioner. He is a past President of the State Bar
of South Dakota and has served as a bar commissioner and as
former president and chair of the Bar’s Disciplinary Board.
Comments among the nomination letters, according to
Jayaraman, included: “As an attorney, Dick is one of the best.
Dick is great at making clients feel comfortable and handles
uneasy situations with so much compassion.”
Additional comments stated, “As a small town lawyer,
he helps clients start and operate businesses, plan for their
later years, buy and sell property, resolve disputes and deal
with countless other matters,” and “as are most good small
town lawyers, he also is called upon for leadership in various
nonprofit community organizations.”
2 | SOUTH DAKOTAN LAWYER
Ericsson is the past president of the former Law School
Foundation and is a frequent guest speaker to law classes
at USD, including those on legal profession, law practice
management and South Dakota drafting and legal practice.
“Dick Ericsson is a fine and worthy recipient,” Dean Tom Geu
said on Ericsson receiving the award. “His service and other
contributions to the law school are remarkable.”
Ericsson has participated in two terms on the Madison
City Commission and as a member of Madison Rotary. His
other board services include the Madison board of Education,
the boards of Madison Community Hospital, the Community
Center and as chair of the Lake and Miner County Boards of
Mental Illness. Ericsson is a graduate of Madison High School
and received both a bachelor’s degree and a juris doctor degree
from USD.
The McKusick Award is presented annually to
an outstanding member of the South Dakota Bar for
contributions to the legal profession. The SBA selects the
recipient from nominations by members of the South Dakota
Bar. Marshall M. McKusick (1879-1950) was a professor at
the USD School of Law beginning in 1902. He was named
dean of the Law School in 1911, where he served for nearly
five decades.
Briefs
Past Recipients of the McKusick Award
1951 M.T. Woods
1952 Ambrose Beck
1953 Claude W. Schutter
1954 Joe R. Cash
1955 Alan L. Austin
1956 A.K. Gardner
1957 Vernon A. Vrooman
1958 Dwight E. Campbell
1959 Robert C. Bakewell
1960 M.Q. Sharpe
1961 George T. Mickelson
1962 Charles S. Hanson
1963 Karl Goldsmith
1964 Blaine Simons
1965 H.F. Fellows
1966 Holton Davenport
1967 James R. Bandy
1968 Roy D. Burns
1969 Alex Rentto
1970 Walter H. Seacat
1971 Wallace A. McCullen
1972 Ellsworth E. Evans
1973 William R. McCann
1974 Kelton Lynn and Ross Oviatt
1975 Samuel W. Masten
1976 Horace Jackson
1977 Stanley Siegel
1978 Fred J. Nichol
1979 Francis G. Dunn
1980 Robert Driscoll, Jr.
1981 Robert Riter, Sr.
1982 Gordon Gunderson
1983 Philo Hall
1984 Joseph H. Bottum
1985 Joseph M. Butler and
Joseph H. Barnett
1986 William G. Porter
1987 William K. Sahr
1988 William F. Day, Jr.
1989 Honorable James R. Adams
1990 Honorable E.W. Hertz
1991 Deming Smith
1992 Donald R. Shultz
1993 John W. Larson
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
George S. Mickelson
Francis M. Smith
Honorable John B. Jones
Honorable Robert C. Heege
Honorable Andrew W. Bogue
Carleton C. “Tex” Hoy
Honorable Roger L. Wollman
Robert E. “Mike” Driscoll III
Marvin G. Amiotte
Mildred Ramynke
Gene Lebrun
David V. Vrooman
Fredric Cozad
Robert Frieberg
Honorable Richard W. Sabers
Richard O. Gregerson
Honorable Lawrence L. Piersol
Honorable Judith Meierhenry and Honorable Mark Meierhenry
2012 Honorable David Gienapp and Charles M. Thompson University of South Dakota Trial Team
the next generation of trial attorneys
Winter 2013/14 | 3
BRIEFS
Student Group Assists South Dakota’s Veterans
The Veterans Legal Education Group (VLEG) was
rejuvenated four years ago by two law students, Dusty
Ginsbach and Bradley Richardson, who were looking
to create a group that would educate law students about
military law and veterans’ issues at the University of South
Dakota School of Law and throughout the state.
Open to veterans and non-veterans alike, a tightly-knit
cadre of caring and loyal members was created. VLEG
leaders recognize balance must be maintained and the
group strives to ensure its members are exposed to both the
disciplined course work and in-class education of law school
with necessary out-of-class experience and camaraderie. As
a result, VLEG engages in an agenda in an effort to further
these goals.
In the spring of 2013, VLEG, along with Veterans
Affairs (VA) and 14 practicing attorneys, created the
Veterans’ Legal Drop-in Service. This service has two main
objectives. The primary goal is to provide much needed
legal services to indigent veterans and their spouses through
legal advice and counseling. The secondary objective is to
pull the VLEG members out of the typical meeting and
classroom experiences offered at law school, and allow them
to partake in client assistance on a supervised basis.
The inaugural Veteran’s Legal Drop-in Service was
held in Sioux Falls and was a resounding success. The
Drop-in Service assisted more than 40 veterans with issues
such as housing, benefits and medical assistance. Among
the many highlights for the group in Sioux Falls last
4 | SOUTH DAKOTAN LAWYER
spring was the opportunity to assist a double amputee in
getting two traffic tickets, which were obtained prior to
deployment, dismissed.
In conformity with the goal of balance, VLEG also
participates in the annual Black Hills Veterans March.
This marathon-length march is an annual event aimed at
honoring our country’s veterans. The course takes place
on the scenic Mickelson trail and culminates in the city of
Deadwood, S.D. The march takes place every September
and this year, VLEG will have sponsored 15 law students
to take the challenge of honoring our veterans. The
overreaching goal of VLEG is to make the trip out to the
Black Hills both enjoyable and educational and in that
VELG aspires to create a Veterans Legal Drop-in Service
to be held the day prior to the Black Hills Veterans March
in Rapid City. The inability to secure enough legal counsel
committed to assisting veterans and their families along
with logistical setbacks stifled the attempts this year,
however, the group remains hopeful that it generate the
service next year. While this is a time-consuming event, the
payoff is worthwhile. Attorneys are exposed to clientele who
may not have thought of retaining counsel, law students
have the opportunity to perform client intake and partake
in the legal advice from the licensed attorneys, VA staff
gain exposure to the hidden populations of poverty-stricken
veterans, and most importantly, real people with real
problems walk away with some direction as to what their
next steps should be.
Briefs
VLEG’s central goal is educating law students about
military law and veterans’ issues at the University of South
Dakota School of Law and throughout the state of South
Dakota. In line with this goal, VLEG attempts to bring
insightful speakers to the law school and encourages and
motivates all those interested in military law to enroll in
the courses that address this subject matter. The speakers
engage and instruct law students about the dynamics that
exist between military and civilian law. With the time the
speakers are given, they do an incredible job of educating
law students. However, due to the complexities inherent
in both spheres of law, the speakers cannot hope to impart
a conclusive understanding of the differences between
military and civilian.
In an effort to combat this problem, the University
of South Dakota School of Law provides two separate
courses, Military Law and National Security Law. The
speakers and courses provide the valuable services of
enlightening future and practicing attorneys to the
challenges they will face when clients, who are also
current or former members of the military, walk into their
prospective law office. This is especially true of future
South Dakota practitioners, as the state of South Dakota
has a high population of current, active military, National
Guardsmen/Reserve members and veterans.
NALSA Students Help Draft Wills
During spring break, a dozen members of the Native
American Law Student Association (NALSA) traveled to three
different reservations to help draft wills for tribal members
with the help of Dakota Plains Legal Services (DPLS). The
students traveled 1,000 miles in three days and opened 25 new
cases for DPLS. Also, senior students Brad Richardson and
A.J. Franken were interviewed for an hour on KLND radio,
reaching into the Standing Rock and Cheyenne
River Reservations.
Ten NALSA members also traveled to the Yankton
Sioux Tribe Reservation on Election Day to help with poll
monitoring through the Native Vote Program to ensure that
people on the Reservation received a fair opportunity to
vote. In November, NALSA hosted a toy drive for the Crow
Creek Boys and Girls Club and the toys were handed out at
Christmas. NALSA also hosted a clothing drive for children
on the Rosebud Reservation and held a presentation for native
undergraduates about applying to law school.
A USD Law NALSA team consisting of seniors Steven
Iverson and Franken earned third place among the highest
brief scores in February at Lewis and Clark Law School
in Portland, Ore., in the National NALSA Moot Court
Tournament. Another USD NALSA team of 3Ls Nathan
Chicoine and Richardson also competed among more than
60 teams from across the nation. The tournament problem
involved aboriginal title and criminal jurisdiction.
Winter 2013/14 | 5
BRIEFS
Pictured is the 2012 Law Review Symposium: Antitrust and Competition in America’s Heartland.
The South Dakota Law Review Presents
Rural Practice Symposium
The University of South Dakota School of Law will
host a Rural Practice Symposium March 20-21. Students,
practitioners, scholars and the public are invited to join the
discussion about the rapidly declining number of attorneys
in rural areas across the United States.
The event begins at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, March
20 with a keynote address by South Dakota Chief Justice
David Gilbertson at the law school courtroom and features
panel discussions and dialogue about the problems facing
rural practitioners and legal consultants across the nation
as they examine new solutions for revitalizing rural
America. The South Dakota Law Review will address South
Dakota’s innovative rural lawyer recruitment legislation
as well as different programs being implemented in other
states; and Linda A. Klein, past chair of the American
Bar Association’s House of Delegates, will lead a panel
discussion at the symposium.
Additional highlights of the symposium include a
panel discussion at 10 a.m. on Friday, March 21 followed
by Professor Lisa R. Pruitt of the University of California,
6 | SOUTH DAKOTAN LAWYER
Davis, guest speaker at noon on Friday, March 21 at
the Muenster University Center ballroom. Pruitt has
published an impressive collection of peer-reviewed articles
concerning rural legal issues and access to justice. She
noted that South Dakota’s initiative is an excellent step in
providing legal services to all rural Americans.
“Project Rural Practice is a strong step toward
facilitating access to justice for South Dakota’s rural
residents,” Pruitt added, “and it is a model for how other
states might do the same for 51 million rural Americans.”
USD School of Law Dean Thomas Geu expressed his
enthusiasm for the event, specifically on how Project Rural
Practice showcases the interconnectedness of the entire
legal community in South Dakota.
“The symposium is an example of the close working
relationship between the law school, the legal profession,
the judiciary and the citizens of South Dakota and the
region,” Geu stated. “Needless to say, I am proud that at
least 70 percent of South Dakota’s lawyers chose to get their
law degree here.”
Briefs
L–R: Patrick Weber ’13, policy analyst in Gov. Daugaard’s office, Justice Lori Wilbur, Masten winner Moser,
Best Brief winner Liz Chrisp, Supreme Court Chief Justice David E. Gilbertson, Justices Steven Zinter,
Glen Severson and John Konenkamp and Masten runner-up Shanor.
Moser Prevails in Sam Masten
Moot Court Tournament
The School of Law’s Sam Masten Moot Court Tournament
took place in March 2013 with the final round on March
20 in the USD School of Law courtroom. Nick Moser of
Yankton, S.D. became this year’s Sam Masten champion,
defeating James Shanor, a native of Casper, Wyo., in the final
round after the two argued their case before the South Dakota
Supreme Court. The final round coincided with the annual
March visit of the Supreme Court of South Dakota.
Moser and Shanor were among the first-year class members
presenting oral arguments in a hypothetical case for which
each student had researched and prepared an appellate brief.
Each first-year student then presented their arguments before
volunteer judges including the Moot Court Board, alumni of
USD School of Law, attorneys, judges and faculty.
“The Sam Masten tournament allows the first-year
students to take what they have learned in the Fundamental
Legal Skills course and apply it in a real-world setting,” said
Professor Barry Vickrey, faculty advisor of the Moot Court
Board. “I doubt that there is any other law school in the
nation in which first-year students get to do oral arguments
before practicing lawyers and judges. I am confident that
there is no other school in which two of them get to argue
before the state’s supreme court, as do the Sam Masten
tournament finalists.”
The Sioux Falls law firm of Woods, Fuller, Shultz & Smith
hosted a reception, open to all students, faculty, staff and
others who helped or participated, immediately following the
final round at the Al Neuharth Media Center.
Winter 2013/14 | 7
Major Gift
Benefits USD
School of Law
by Nick Kotzea ’08, Director of Development,
USD School of Law
Orrin Estebo doesn’t recall from whom he borrowed his
go-to expression, “Education opens doors.” It probably doesn’t
matter; the axiom’s rightful owner would likely view Estebo’s
custodianship with glowing approval.
In June, the 1971 USD Law School graduate committed
$1 million to support construction and renovation at the law
school’s 32-year-old facility. The seven-figure gift marked the
largest single contribution in Estebo’s growing portfolio of
philanthropic undertakings.
“The law school was good to me,” said Estebo, 72, who
lives with his wife, Shirley, in Redwood Falls, Minn., about
200 miles from the USD campus.
“Education opens doors. I don’t care what it is you’re
pursuing,” he continued. “The more I learned, the more I was
subjected to opportunities that worked out.”
Estebo’s $1 million gift arrives as the law school eyes the
future of legal education and the tools necessary to facilitate
modern training and a heightened sense of community.
“We’re so honored and excited that Orrin has offered
his generosity and leadership,” said Tom Geu, dean of the
USD Law School. “We’re a family of only about 3,000 living
alumni. Orrin’s thoughtful reflection on his own journey—
8 | SOUTH DAKOTAN LAWYER
and the vision to help sustain those opportunities–that is
something I’m hopeful will inspire others to step up.”
Estebo’s gift will help the law school secure additional
common space for gatherings of current students, alumni and
members of the public.
“Orrin is one of the most genuine people I’ve ever met. He
seems to perceive the importance of community at a basic and
foundational level most of us are unable to appreciate,” Geu
said. “It is appropriate that this gift will provide the physical
space for dialogue to take place and the necessary human
connections for community to emerge.”
The caliber of Estebo’s law school gift is remarkable, but
not surprising. The mostly retired lawyer and businessman has
injected more than $1 million into the Redwood Falls public
school system, and his charitable fingerprints may be found
throughout the community of 5,200 residents.
“Orrin bred a culture of giving,” said Redwood Area
Schools Superintendent Rick Ellingworth. “We’re the envy of a
lot of school districts.”
The impact of Estebo’s support is apparent throughout
the facilities Ellingworth oversees. Hundreds of area students
have benefited from scholarships administered through the
“When people say you’re
making a lasting difference,
and you can see it, that’s a
good feeling. It’s a gift. I feel
like I’m getting a gift.”
—Orrin Estebo
local “Dollars for Scholars” chapter, which bears Estebo’s
name. Estebo is pictured in the school system’s hall of fame,
along with his first wife and inspiration, Nancy. A longtime
special education teacher, she died of cancer in 1995. His
name appears prominently upon a donor wall, and the couple’s
likenesses are bronzed with the phrase “Education opens
doors” at the entrance of the Estebo Performing Arts Center,
a 500-seat theater built and maintained largely through
Estebo’s private gifts.
In 2006, Estebo established the Orrin S. Estebo
Foundation, whose mission is to support local education
and economic development. He was instrumental in the
expansion of a Redwood Falls public golf course and actively
supports a long list of community events. This spring, for
example, Estebo successfully lobbied a coaches’ caravan from
the University of Minnesota to kick off its tour in Redwood
Falls. Estebo, who completed his undergraduate studies at
Minnesota, provided lunch to hundreds of attendees, and the
event outdrew the caravan’s stops in much larger communities.
Suffice it to say Estebo continues to build the reputation
that earned him USD’s 2001 Alumni Achievement Award for
“Outstanding Contribution to His Community.”
“There are many people throughout this community who
say, ‘What would Redwood Falls be like today without the
support of Orrin Estebo?’” said Jim Tersteeg, a local grocer and
longtime friend of Estebo.
Not bad for a farm kid from Cannon Falls, Minn.
“I’m not sure anyone expected much out of me,” joked
Estebo of his Cannon Falls upbringing.
Estebo’s path to success included a blend of hard work
and calculated risk. He worked his way through the University
of Minnesota, taking six years to earn a history degree. In
1965, fresh out of college, he borrowed money from Nancy,
his girlfriend at the time, to purchase a piece of South Dakota
farmland. The investment paid off, an early sign of the profit
potential Estebo would realize through later land acquisitions.
In 1968, with the support of his working wife, Estebo
left his job in chemical sales and enrolled at the USD Law
School. He went on to write for the South Dakota Law
Review, serve as Student Bar Association president and
graduate with honors.
“Orrin was always a very thoughtful person. He was
always a kind of big-picture type of person. You knew that
he was going to be very successful,” said Greg Eiesland,
Estebo’s law school classmate and longtime friend.
Eiesland, who practices law in Rapid City, S.D., said
Estebo’s altruism was apparent even as a law student. “He was
never self-centered,” he explained. “When he left law school,
you could just tell wherever he went he would be a leader.”
Estebo knew very little about Redwood Falls before
accepting his first legal post there, teaming with an established
attorney to create the firm of Farnberg & Estebo. Five years
later, in 1976, Estebo joined the modern-day firm of Estebo,
Frank, Gilk & Munshower. Almost 40 years later, in an
“of counsel” role, Estebo occupies a law office filled with
mementos from big-game hunts, fishing expeditions and
business endeavors that are as much a part of his professional
profile as the practice of law.
In the early 1980s, Estebo invested heavily in Warrior
Manufacturing Company, a struggling producer of “quick
hitches” used in the agricultural industry. His investment
helped save the local company, and he maintained an
ownership interest for more than 20 years. As Estebo found
stability, he also made lucrative investments in farmland, much
of which remains occupied by loyal tenants.
Estebo has faced his share of lows along the way, too,
the most gut-wrenching being the 1995 passing of his wife
and college sweetheart, Nancy. It would be six years before he
remarried, tying the knot with his current wife, Shirley,
a retired bank executive.
The ups, downs, risks and rewards–the composite picture–
is something Estebo regards with a distinct brand of pride.
Not boastfully, but in that pleased sense one might expect
of a craftsman or artist on the homestretch of a strong piece.
Estebo’s desire to do good is far from depleted, even though
his legacy seems all but certain.
“When people say you’re making a lasting difference, and
you can see it, that’s a good feeling. It’s a gift. I feel like I’m
getting a gift.”
Winter 2013/14 | 9
‘Now is Our Opportunity’
Law School seizes the chance to evolve in a time of transformation
by Kim Lee
Tom Geu
Dean and Professor of Law
It’s not news to anyone in the legal profession that the legal
climate experienced considerable change in recent years.
What might be newsworthy may be the way the USD
School of Law has chosen to embrace it.
South Dakota’s only law school isn’t exempt from the
national trends of decreasing enrollments. The American Bar
Association reported in December 2013 that the number of
first-year law students dropped 11 percent from fall 2012,
the lowest it’s been since 1977--when the U.S. had fewer, and
smaller, ABA-approved schools (americanbar.org).
The Law School is determined to seize the opportunity to
springboard itself into one of the nation’s premier law schools in
the face of this adversity.
Tom Geu, dean of the USD School of Law, sees this
time as an opportunity rather than a threat. “Some great
opportunities are created by challenges that face legal education
and the practicing bar,” Geu said. “In that
regard, we are all facing wonderful opportunities to improve
legal education.”
A Tenacious Leader
Geu came to USD in 1989 as a visiting assistant professor
of law and joined the faculty permanently the following year.
As a professor, his teaching areas included organizational,
transactional and capital formation courses. He is a two-time
winner of the Law School’s John Wesley Jackson Award for
teaching (in 1997 and 2010), and is an elected member of the
American Law Institute. Geu has been active in the State Bar of
South Dakota and has served as a national reporter (drafter) for
the Uniform Laws Commission.
10 | SOUTH DAKOTAN LAWYER
Geu stepped up to the position of dean of the School
of Law on an interim basis in July 2011 after Barry Vickrey
retired. The “Interim” moniker was dropped in May 2013 when
Geu was named the School of Law’s dean.
Although Geu, a self-described “hayseed” from western
Nebraska, who laments not being able to wear jeans and
cowboy boots to work any longer, relishes his new role.
Since 2012, Geu has made tracks across much of the
United States—from New York to many points in South
Dakota—talking up the USD School of Law. His message,
primarily, is this: the law climate is changing tremendously
throughout the United States, but the USD School of Law is
prepared to ride those waves of change.
“Declining enrollment is one factor that has prompted
the Law School to form a new and more robust administrative
team to be competitive in the present environment,”
Geu explained.
In recent months, the law school administration has
undergone some restructuring to make better use of its limited
resources. For example, the Law School received a university
investment to fund new positions, allowing it to form a new
and robust team to be able to thrive in the new environment.
In addition to new positions in career services manager and
admissions and enrollment coordinator, the School of Law also
recently hired a new registrar and interim associate dean due
to retirements. John Glover, J.D., is the interim associate dean
and has been involved in South Dakota public higher education
since 1992.
A New Perspective
Glover has somewhat of an outsider’s perspective on Geu’s
leadership. “Grabbing hold of opportunities to shine brings
a smile to Dean Geu’s face. It’s in his wheelhouse,” Glover
explained. “[Geu] has an understanding of our program and
of business operations you don’t necessarily see in upper level
higher education management. He’s here to take the USD
School of Law to the next level.”
Along with changes in the legal climate, law schools
need to be more flexible and offer more experiential
learning, a perspective that is increasingly in demand as
fewer students choose the traditional practice of law. Geu
pointed to a national survey, administered two years ago, that
indicated a full 50 percent of first-year students didn’t intend
to practice law.
“We are exceedingly aware of the expanded use of a J.D.
and how instrumental it is in our society to have those well-
John Henry Glover
Interim Associate Dean
Glover, on leave from Black Hills
State University where he is a
professor, received his bachelor’s
degree from Concordia College
in Moorhead, Minn. and
graduated from Willamette
University School of Law in
Salem, Ore. He has been a part
of South Dakota public higher
education since 1992.
trained professionals in critical roles in and outside of the
practice of law,” Geu said. “But this Law School has always
been closely tethered to the practice and applied doctrine
by the nature of our involvement with the state bar and the
judiciary and because of involvement of faculty members with
those groups. It’s because of that that we are in a much better
position than many other schools others to embark upon more
experiential learning.”
The emergence of the law school’s joint degrees, offered in
collaboration with USD’s Beacom School of Business, School
of Education and College of Arts & Sciences, also contribute
to the school’s ability to meet that increasing demand for J.D.trained professionals.
Moreover, the Law School is looking to extend its pro
bono services, student internships and externships and to
explore the possibilities of a virtual legal clinic. “We value
practice experience,” Geu said. “We embrace the opportunity
to be an active and vital component of the community.”
Some of these initiatives should come naturally, given the
unique nature of South Dakota’s law community. “There is a
symmetry here you can’t find anywhere else,” Glover explained.
“Supreme Court judges practice alongside each other and have
gone to school together, have mentors and go on to become
mentors to others.”
Influencing for Change
Geu is optimistic that the USD School of Law’s influence
won’t stop at the borders of South Dakota; it aims to improve
legal education at the instructional level and also to influence
it upon the national level. Geu intends to collaborate with law
school deans nationally to share ideas in taking advantage of
new flexibility in accreditation standards in order to improve
legal education in the U.S.
“This is a rare time when we have the opportunity to fully
leverage all our resources,” Geu said. “We can’t lose track of
the reason why a J.D. is valued for jobs other than being a
lawyer—that’s the transferable skillset that learning how to
practice law provides,” Geu explained. “Lawyers as problem
solvers have never been more important; whether they are
lawyers or serving in some other capacity.”
An example of how some indigenous South Dakota
programs go national is the South Dakota State Bar’s Project
Rural Practice (PRP). PRP provides structured guidance and
financing for young lawyers to break into rural practice, with
the goal of helping ameliorate a shortage of lawyers in many
South Dakota rural counties. PRP has even won an ABA
award and was picked up by the New York Times. “In this
competitive market, if someone comes up with a program that
works, it gets copied—immediately,” Geu explained.
Nicholas McInereny
Admissions and
Enrollment Coordinator
McInerney completed his B.S.
in business administration at
National American University
and received his M.A. in political
science and J.D. from the
School of Law. McInerney has
a background in management
and training work for
Midcontinent Communications.
Winter 2013/14 | 11
Darla Jackson
McKusick Law Library
Director
Jackson earned her J.D. and Master
of Library and Information Studies
from the University of Oklahoma
and her LL.M. in international law
from the University of Georgia.
Before beginning her career in legal
education, she served as a judge
advocate in the United States Air
Force. She also taught at the U.S. Air
Force Academy Department of Law
and was most recently associate
director of the Oklahoma City
University Law Library.
Making McKusick Shine
The McKusick Law Library is a space where tangible
change is visible at a glance.
The facility was in dire need of some upgrades, both
in physical space and in technology. It needed to streamline
its resources and clean out dated materials. As it turned
out, it was an ideal situation for Darla Jackson, J.D. to lead
the charge.
Jackson said she was excited to join the USD School of
Law as director of the Law Library partially because of the
opportunity to work with Dean Geu. “He understands the
importance of the Law Library and has a willingness to devote
resources to making changes happen,” Jackson explained.
She also loves a challenge.
Before beginning her career in legal education, she served
as a judge advocate in the United States Air Force. She also
taught at the U.S. Air Force Academy Department of Law and
was most recently associate director of the Oklahoma City
University Law Library.
Like many university entities, the Law Library experienced
some setbacks from state cutbacks in 2010. When Jackson
came on board in July 2012, one of the first things she did was
implement a survey, a self-study of sorts, for students, faculty
and staff of the law school to find out what the wants and
needs of those groups were.
From there, the McKusick staff developed a strategic plan.
“It’s really important that we have a Law Library strategic plan
that focuses on improving the services we offer,” she stated.
In just 18 months, Jackson has spearheaded several
additions to the library’s range of services. As more resources
become available electronically we also want our patrons to
12 | SOUTH DAKOTAN LAWYER
be able to access the resources remotely. One of the most
significant things, she said, is the addition of a proxy server
so students could access databases when off-campus. The staff
also created numerous LibGuides, which serve as bibliographic
tools to help students find not only print resources, but also
electronic materials. Electronic files, images and multimedia
tools make the LibGuides more engaging for users. The Law
Library is also trying to reach out using social media tools such
as a blog and is considering the possibility of using tools such
as Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest to reach the student.
Jackson also oversaw the creation of more physical spaces
for students to study, relax and socialize within McKusick
and reconfigured study spaces to be more conducive to
studying socially. ”This is a new generation of students who are
digital natives,” Jackson explained. “They’ve grown up using
electronic resources.”
Jackson is also making headway with teaching classes
in legal research, strengthening relationships across campus,
becoming more involved with law school faculty and
restructuring the staff positions to facilitate the offering of new
and improved quality services. Further digitization of South
Dakota legal resources is also on the docket.
“We want people to know that our library is available
to anyone to use,” Jackson pointed out. “We aim to serve
our students, yes, but we also want to South Dakota legal
community and alumni to know that they can access many of
our resources and that while we cannot conduct research for
them, we can provide other types of assistance.”
Benton received a B.B.A.
in economics and her
M.B.A. from USD. She
has had a variety of
management experiences,
including traveling
throughout the U.S. and
abroad, particularly Japan.
Lee Benton
Registrar
Still Transforming Students
Geu hastens to point out that although much is changing
in the law school, much remains the same. “Almost half of our
faculty has been here 20 years or more,” Geu said. “We have
a tremendous group of experienced faculty, mixed with new
faculty who bring new expertise to the table.
Leah Piersol
Career Services
Manager
Piersol, both an attorney and
a counselor, graduated from
the University of Minnesota
Law School and has a master’s
degree in counseling from
SDSU. Piersol has practiced
criminal defense as well as
private practice in family
law, counseling, mediation
and consulting.
“If someone who hasn’t been to the Law School in 20 years
walked through our doors today, they’d see a lot has changed;
but more that hasn’t,” he continued. “In many ways, we’re still
the Law School our alumni remember.”
The USD School of Law still transforms the best students
into complete attorneys with strong skillsets.
“We provide a higher quality product than many in
the region that cost at least twice as much, even though we
still have the smallest non-faculty infrastructure of almost
all law schools in the nation,” explained Geu. “We’ll
continue to emphasize what we believe are important
aspects of legal education even though they may not be
recognized. We are not driven by rankings; we are driven
by best practices and demand.”
“All of the opportunities we’re faced with have the
cumulative effect to tell our story,” Glover continued. “The
reason we have not been regarded as prominently as easily
recognized national law school names is not because of our
quality, it’s because we have failed to tell our story and that
is going to come to an end. We are not going to keep ourselves
a secret anymore.”
“The University of South Dakota School of Law provided
me with a strong legal education and prepared me to serve
as our State’s first Cabinet Secretary of Tribal Relations.
Like all USD Law alums, I proudly keep an eye on its
graduates because I know that they are being well
equipped for success.”
Leroy “J.R.” LaPlante
South Dakota Secretary for
Tribal Relations
LaPlante is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and
serves as the chief judge and court administrator for the Crow Creek
Sioux Tribe in Ft. Thompson. In both his law practice and his work,
LaPlante has focused on serving the Native American community. He
was the former administrative officer for the Cheyenne River Sioux
Tribe and has an extensive background working for Native American
human service organizations.
The mission of the University of South Dakota School of Law is to prepare lawyers and judges for
the federal, state, and American Indian justice systems in South Dakota and to provide South Dakota
residents and other students an affordable legal education imparting the knowledge, skills, and values
necessary for the practice of law or other careers in a culturally diverse and global environment.
Winter 2013/14 | 13
School of Law Takes Opportunities to Preserve Legal History
1
14 | SOUTH DAKOTAN LAWYER
Why did you choose the USD School of Law?
“I chose the University of South Dakota School of
Law because the combination of a convenient
central location, reasonable tuition rates, and low
faculty to student ratio fulfilled my educational
and personal interests.”
—Melissa Tidwell, Class of 2014
“I chose USD because it offers a small town
atmosphere without sacrificing quality. USD is
home to many distinguished and renowned
professors who have an intense passion for
teaching and the law. This passion is evident
throughout the law school; whether it be during
lecture, in discussions with students outside of
class, or in the professor’s personal works.”
—Brianna Feerer-Huss, Class of 2014
“I came to the USD Law
School even though
it is far from home…
because it was a mix
of the best value, it
is a state name, great
student teacher ratio,
low attrition rate, and
high bar passage rate.”
—Luke Lockett,
Class of 2014
“I was really impressed with my undergraduate
education from USD and knew the Law School
would be no different. I appreciate the access,
attention, and lack of pretension a school like
this offers.”
—Mandy Hagseth, Class of 2014
“As a non-traditional student I chose USD Law
because of the small class sizes, responses
from professors prior to making my decision,
and the community of Vermillion suited the
needs of me and my small family.”
—Cory Cottam, Class of 2014
“Economically, USD Law
just makes more sense;
you get more for
your money.”
—Dean Fankhauser,
Class of 2014
Winter 2013/14 | 15
1
The 81st Annual Meeting of
the State Bar of South Dakota
was held June 19 –21, 2013 in
Pierre, which was attended
by about 900 lawyers, judges,
law students, paralegals, court
reporters and others.
2
1. From left to right: Terry Hofer ’82,
Barry Vickrey, Stephanie Judson,
Dean Tom Geu and Nick Kotzea ’98.
2: Justice John Konenkamp ’74 (left) with
Chief Justice David Gilbertson ’75,
recipient of the SDTLA Award.
3: South Dakota Bar Past President
Tom Nicholson (left), with current
President Terry Hofer ’78.
3
16 | SOUTH DAKOTAN LAWYER
4
5
6
7
4. Cheryl Hanna and J.R. LaPlante ‘09.
5. Stephanie Pochop ’91 (left) with Francy Foral.
6. Luella and Fred Cozad, ’49.
7. Cheryl Hanna, A2J director (left) presents the
William Day, Jr. Award to Tamara P. Nash.
8. Charlie Thompson ’69 was honored with the
SDTLA Trial Lawyer of the Year Award.
8
Winter 2013/14 | 17
The Class of
1
18 | SOUTH DAKOTAN LAWYER
2
3
The Class of 2013
2013
Our Newest Alumni
The 2013 Hooding Ceremony was held Friday, May 3 in
Slagle Hall’s Aalfs Auditorium.
Clay Anderson
Kristi Jones
Joseph Balkenbush
Casey Jorgensen
Kelsey Bauerly
Dillon Karras
Vailferree Brechtel
Cherry Kolb
Amanda Breemes
Brianne Kreber
Joshua Brown
Anthony Lamb
Missy Bunger
Nicholas McInerney
Matthew Campbell
Patrick McKay
Catherine Chicoine
Erin Melling
Nathan Chicoine
Tamara Nash
Caleb Christopherson
Daniel Nelson
Eric Cleveringa
Nathaniel Nelson
Abbigail Clindaniel
Elvis Ngonga
Tyler Custis
PJ Painter
Eric Davis
Kimberly Paz
Kimberly de Hueck
Aaron Pilcher
Ryan Dougherty
Timothy Platt
Kate Dykstra
Andrew Polzin
Lacy End-Of-Horn
Sarah Popp
Eric Erickson
Theresa Rachel
Carmen Evenson
Melody Reimer
Joshua Finer
Thomas Reynolds
Melinda Folkens
Bradley Richardson
Anthony Franken
Jeffrey Schaefer
Kara Frankman
Brady Schlechter
Dusty Ginsbach
Caroline Srstka
Aaron Gunderson
Staci Stupka
Roxanne Hammond
Robert Tripp
Samantha Hargrave
Benjamin Tronnes
Brittany Hatting
Andrew Twinamatsiko
Chris Healy
Paul Van Olson
Alyssa Herbold
Caleb Veldhouse
Arthur Hoksbergen
Patrick Weber
Sara Hughes
Andrew Wilka
Steven Iverson
Joshua Wurgler
1. Now -retired Associate Dean Tom Sorenson
2. South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley
delivered the address
Find the Senior Spotlight at
www.usd.edu/law
3. U
SD President and School of Law alumnus
James W. Abbott
Winter 2013/14 | 19
FACULTY
Faculty Notes
Faculty were asked to provide notes on their scholarship,
service, honors and accomplishments, in and outside the
classroom. These are some examples.
Roger Baron
Professor
Professor Baron published the 4th
Cumulative Supplement to his
Family Law Book in August 2013,
and he co-authored an Amicus Brief
filed in the U.S. Supreme Court on
behalf of United Policyholders and
Seven Trial Lawyer Organizations
in US Airways v. McCutchen, No. 11-1285, an Employee
Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) case. He also
authored (with Tony Lamb) the article Defeating an ERISA
Lien with the Statute of Limitations (2012) which has been
published in trial lawyer journals in South Dakota, Colorado,
Nevada, Idaho, Louisiana, Minnesota, Montana, Pennsylvania
Association for Justice, Vermont and the Orange County Trial
Lawyers Association. He has also created a number of music
videos (available on YouTube) featuring USD Law School
students and faculty. Professor Baron’s teaching interests
include civil procedure, insurance and family law. His research
interests include ERISA reimbursement litigation issues
involving subrogation on personal injury claims; family law and
civil procedure.
David S. Day
Professor
Professor Day’s teaching interests
cover both public and private
law, with specific interests in
constitutional law, employment
discrimination and civil procedure
areas. His research interests include
constitutional law, plenary powers
doctrine, equal protection doctrine, dormant Commerce
Clause doctrine, First Amendment law, civil procedure and
employment discrimination law. Day is also a co-author of
“Cases and Materials on Constitutional Law,” which is in its
5th edition (Lexis/Nexis, 2010).
20 | SOUTH DAKOTAN LAWYER
Patrick Garry
Professor
“It was my great privilege to have
outstanding students in my classes
last year,” Garry stated. “These
students exhibited not only an eager
curiosity and keen legal analysis in
the classroom, but also demonstrated
an energetic and creative embrace
of the wide array of opportunities arising out of the law school
environment.” Garry’s teaching and research interests include
First Amendment, Media Law, Administrative Law, Advanced
Torts and Employment Law.
Thomas Horton
Associate Professor
A highlight of Horton’s 2012-13
academic year was working with
31 third-year students in the class
of 2013 (44.3 percent of the class)
who competed on at least one of
the Law School’s 11 national trial
competition tournament teams. He
was also pleased to serve as an instructor at the South Dakota
Trial Lawyers’ week long Trial Academy in July, and to publish
four journal articles and three book chapters in 2013. “I was
thrilled and honored to chair the Law Review’s March 15,
2013 symposium on Antitrust & Competition in America’s
Heartland.” Horton’s teaching interests include Antitrust &
Consumer Protection, Trial Advocacy and Techniques, and
History and Law. His research interests focus on evolutionary
biology models applied to structural and behavioral antitrust
analyses; ethics and antitrust enforcement; Clayton Act merger
regulation standards and enforcement/international merger
review standards; agricultural antitrust issues; and comparative
antitrust/competition law standards and enforcement.
Christine Hutton
Professor
Hutton’s publications include
commentary on the death penalty,
evidence issues in criminal trials,
retroactivity, and standards of
review. She provides annual training
for the state judges of the Unified
Judicial System, has testified before
the South Dakota Criminal Code Revision Commission, and
has also spoken about search and seizure and federal sentencing.
She serves s faculty advisor to USD Law’s Women in Law.
FACULTY
Darla Jackson
Library Director
Darla Jackson is the director of
the University of South Dakota
McKusick Law Library. Prior
to joining USD, she served as
the associate director of the
Oklahoma City University Law
Library and director, Certificate
in American Law Program. Before beginning her career in
legal education, she served as a judge advocate in the United
States Air Force. During her service in the Air Force, she was
stationed at numerous bases and performed a variety of military
justice, international operations and civil law (government
procurement) functions. Additionally, she taught at the U.S.
Air Force Academy Department of Law. Jackson’s research
interests are U.S. military justice, empirical legal research,
legal research instruction—U.S. and foreign comparative and
international law, international commercial arbitration, and
international human rights, indigenous peoples and Native
American law. She has published on these topics in a variety of
journals and publications.
he represented large manufacturing clients for the tax group
of Fenwick & West and later served in the IRS Office of Chief
Counsel National Office. He also worked in-house at Dow
Chemical as an attorney on tax matters.
Jo Pasqualucci
Professor
Pasqualucci received her Doctor
of Juridical Science from George
Washington Law School and her J.D.
from the University of Wisconsin. She
has been clerk of the Inter-American
Court of Human Rights, author
of “The Practice and Procedure of
the Inter-American Court of Human Rights” (Cambridge,
2013), and received a Fulbright to Costa Rica. Pasqualucci’s
teaching interests are in Public International Law, International
Human Rights Law, International Business Transactions, U.S.
Commercial Law (Sales and Negotiable Instruments) and U.S.
Secured Transactions. Her research interests are primarily in the
area of international human rights law with a specialization in
the inter-American human rights system.
Sean Kammer
Assistant Professor
Kammer is a recent addition to
USD Law. A Duke University
Law graduate, Kammer’s areas of
expertise include Natural Resource,
Environmental, Mineral and Energy
Law. His article titled “Coming
to Terms with Wilderness: The
Wilderness Act and the Problem of Wildlife Restoration”
(2013) was recently published in Environmental Law.
Allen Madison
Assistant Professor
Professor Madison’s teaching
interests include Federal Taxation
and Business Law, with research
interest in taxation, statutory
interpretation, logic and the
intersection of all three. He joined
the University of South Dakota
law faculty in 2012. Prior to joining USD, Professor Madison
held teaching positions at Georgetown University, University
of Wyoming, University of Idaho and in the Anglo-American
Law Program at the University of Navarra in Pamplona, Spain.
Before academia, Professor Madison practiced law with a focus
on taxation for 10 years. After clerking at the U.S. Tax Court,
30 Years at USD Law
Frank
Pommersheim
Professor
Prior to joining the faculty
in 1984, Pommersheim lived
and worked on the Rosebud
Sioux Reservation for 10
years. He currently serves on a number of tribal appellate
courts throughout Indian country including Chief Justice
for the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Court of Appeals
and the Rosebud Sioux Supreme Court. Pommersheim
writes extensively in the field of Indian law. He is the
author of “Braid of Feathers” (American Indian Law
and Contemporary Tribal Life) and numerous scholarly
activities. Pommersheim is a contributor to the 2005
edition of Felix Cohen’s “Handbook of Federal Indian
Law” and his newest book, Broken Landscape: Indians,
Indian Tribes, and the Constitution, was published in 2009
by Oxford University Press and has recently been released
in paperback. Pommersheim has also received the USD
Belbas-Larson Award for Excellence in Teaching, the
South Dakota Peace and Justice Center Reconciliation
Award and the John Wesley Jackson Award as the
Outstanding Professor of Law.
Winter 2013/14 | 21
FACULTY
Charles M. Thatcher
Professor
Thatcher was most recently
published in the South Dakota Law
Review in 2012 with an article
entitled “Specific Performance as a
Seller Remedy for Buyer’s Breach of
Sales Contract—The Availability of
Judicial Purchase Orders.”
Jon Van Patten
Professor
Van Patten has recently published
several articles regarding persuasion
and storytelling in the South Dakota
Law Review, including “Metaphors
and Persuasion” (2013), “Storytelling
for Lawyers” (2012) and “Themes
and Persuasion” (2011).
Barry Vickrey
Professor
Vickrey served as dean of the Law
School from 1993 to 2011. At USD,
he teaches the required first-year
course on property law and the
required upper-level course on the
legal profession, as well as upper-level
elective courses on mediation and
legislation. He is also in charge of the South Dakota Drafting
& Legal Practice course, which he helped create while dean. He
has held numerous positions in state and national professional
associations, including membership on the ABA Standing
Committee on Lawyer Competence for nine years. He is active
in the ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to
the Bar, for which he regularly chairs accreditation inspections
at other law schools. Professor Vickrey is a board member of
the Consensus Council, Inc., Bismarck, N.D., the Vermillion
United Way and the Vermillion Center for Children and
Families. Vickrey’s teaching interests include the required
course on the legal profession and legal ethics, legislation and
legislative drafting, mediation and property law. His research
interests follow the ethics and history of the legal profession,
specifically including the South Dakota Rules of Professional
Conduct, the area of legal education and Abraham Lincoln’s
legal career.
22 | SOUTH DAKOTAN LAWYER
New Faculty
Wendy Hess
Assistant Professor
A year ago, Hess was a visiting
professor and is now on the faculty
as an assistant professor and director
of the Fundamental Legal Skills
and Legal Writing Program. Her
teaching interests include Legal
Skills, Interviewing & Counseling,
Legal Writing and Juvenile Justice. Hess’s research interests
include law teaching methods and practices, legal education
reform, law student and lawyer wellness, and juvenile transfer.
Thomas Simmons
Assistant Professor
“I am enjoying my first semester
(fall 2013) teaching at the law school
more than I can even put into
words,” Simmons said. “Working
directly with students and wrestling
with difficult legal concepts is a
thrill. Our students are focused,
inquisitive, curious and just plain exceptional.” Simmons’s
teaching interests include Estate & Trust Administration,
Business Organizations, Trusts & Wills, Elder Law and
Estate Planning.
CLASS NOTES
Class Notes
Retires After Quarter Century
After teaching for 26 years at USD School of Law,
including courses on health care law and elder
law, Michael J. Myers ’67, has retired from the
classroom and announced his candidacy for South
Dakota governor on the independent ticket. His
running mate is Caitlin Collier, a graduate of the law
school. Prior to coming to USD, Myers was a CEO
for Mayo-St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester, Minn.,
and is an emeritus trustee of the Mayo Foundation.
1960s
Lewayne M. Erickson, ’60, Brookings,
was among those honored June 21
during the 2013 Annual Meeting of the
State Bar of South Dakota for reaching
the 50-year milestone since admission to
practice law in South Dakota.
Richard O. Gregerson, ’62, Sioux
Falls, was among those honored June 21
during the 2013 Annual Meeting of the
State Bar of South Dakota for reaching
the 50-year milestone since admission to
practice law in South Dakota.
Eugene E. Dobberpuhl, ’63,
Aberdeen, was among those honored
June 21 during the 2013 Annual
Meeting of the State Bar of South
Dakota for reaching the 50-year
milestone since admission to practice
law in South Dakota.
Ralph C. Hoggatt, ’63, Deadwood, was
among those honored June 21 during the
2013 Annual Meeting of the State Bar of
South Dakota for reaching the 50-year
milestone since admission to practice law
in South Dakota.
Boyd L. McMurchie, ’63, Sioux Falls,
was among those honored June 21
during the 2013 Annual Meeting of the
State Bar of South Dakota for reaching
the 50-year milestone since admission to
practice law in South Dakota.
Robert A. Miller, ’63, Pierre, was
among those honored June 21 during the
2013 Annual Meeting of the State Bar of
South Dakota for reaching the 50-year
milestone since admission to practice law
in South Dakota.
Jack Von Wald, ’67, Aberdeen, retired
Jan. 8 after serving as presiding judge in
the 5th circuit for 10 years.
Charles Thompson, ’69, L.L.D. ’95,
was honored as Trial Lawyer of the
Year in June by the South Dakota Trial
Lawyers’ Association.
Chief Justice Gilbertson was selected
to his first four-year term in September
2001, and has served three consecutive
terms. At a press conference announcing
the selection, Gilbertson thanked the
members of the Supreme Court for
their continued confidence in his
leadership and the Unified Judicial
System employees for their dedicated
service and hard work. Chief Justice
Gilbertson also received the Fred J.
Nichol (’36) Award as Outstanding
Jurist in June from the South Dakota
Trial Lawyers’ Association.
Richard (Dick) A. Bursell, ‘77,
recently concluded a two-year
appointment by the Colorado Springs
City Council to the Colorado Springs
Liquor and Beer Licensing Board (a
quasi-judicial administrative tribunal).
Bursell (retired, U.S. Army JAG Corps,
Lieutenant Colonel) and his wife Patricia
(Manion) Bursell, ‘75 B.F.A., have
resided in Colorado Springs since 1998.
Jeff Larson, ’78, Sioux Falls, was
named Defense Attorney of the Year for
2013 by the South Dakota Association of
Criminal Defense Lawyers.
1970s
Richard (Dick) L. Ericsson, ’74, of
Madison, was presented the Student
Bar Association’s 2013 Marshall M.
McKusick Award. The award was
presented June 21 during the Annual
Meeting activities of the State Bar of
South Dakota by the Shekar Jayaraman,
the new SBA president.
1980s
Hon. Kathleen Caldwell, ’80,
announced that she will be retiring
from the Second Judicial Circuit bench
effective Jan. 8, 2013. Judge Caldwell has
served as a circuit court judge since 1993
and has been the Presiding Judge of the
Second Judicial Circuit since 2009.
The Supreme Court
of South Dakota in
June unanimously
selected the Hon.
David Gilbertson,
’75, to a fourth
term as chief justice,
making him the first
chief justice selected to four terms in
South Dakota history, according to the
Unified Judicial System announcement.
Mike Day, ’83, of Belle Fourche, was
selected for appointment as a circuit
judge in South Dakota’s Fourth Judicial
Circuit. He has been a partner in the
Day Morris Law Firm of Belle Fourche,
and has practiced law in Belle Fourche
since his 1983 graduation from the
University of South Dakota School of
Law. Day’s service includes vice chair of
the Belle Fourche School Board and a
member of the state Board of Minerals
Winter 2013/14 | 23
ALUMNI
and Environment. He is a past president
of the State Bar of South Dakota and
has served on the Judicial Qualifications
Commission, the State Bar Disciplinary
Board and as president of the South
Dakota Trial Lawyers Association.
Courtney Clayborne, ’89, Rapid City,
a track star for Stevens High School and
USD, was inducted into the Rapid City
Sports Hall of Fame.
In 1978, at the age of 13, he came to the
United States with his family, and he
became a U.S. citizen in 1986. He is a
1990 graduate of Embry Riddle
Aeronautical University, where he earned
his degree in aeronautical engineering,
and worked as a commercial airline pilot
and flight instructor.
Joni Clark Cutler, ‘95, of Sioux Falls,
was appointed as magistrate judge for
the Second Judicial Circuit. Early on,
she worked in the Minnehaha County
State’s Attorney’s office and later
served 10 years in the South Dakota
Legislature, including as chair of the
House Judiciary Committee and as vicechair of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
More recently, she worked with the
South Dakota Network Against Family
Violence & Sexual Assault and as a
partner in the Beck & Cutler, LLP,
law firm.
Christopher Synsvoll, ’96, of Sioux
Falls, in December 2012 received the
Assistant (U.S.) Attorney General’s
(Criminal Division) Award for
Exceptional Service. Christopher was a
member of a team whose extraordinary
dedication and perseverance resulted
in the extradition of five terrorists
from the United Kingdom. The team’s
tenacity, persistence and diplomacy
were instrumental in presenting the
United States’ position before the
European Court of Human Rights,
where the defendants had challenged
their extradition. The protracted
litigation began in 2007 and concluded
successfully in April 2012, after
three days of argument in the United
Kingdom High Court. Thanks to the
extraordinary efforts of the team, the
defendants now face charges in the
United States in connection with, among
other things, the 1998 East African
Embassy bombings and the taking of 16
hostages in Yemen in 1998.
Susan Sabers, ’95, was appointed
by Gov. Dennis Daugaard as a circuit
judge in South Dakota’s Second Judicial
Circuit. She fills the vacancy left by
Judge Kathleen Caldwell’s retirement at
the end of 2012.
Ronald Parsons, ’97, is compiling
a collection of short stories (fiction)
entitled “The Sense of Touch,” due out
by spring 2014. The publisher is Aqueous
Books, an independent company based
in New Orleans.
Jason Campbell, ’96, Lead, was
selected as staff judge advocate of the
South Dakota National Guard.
Thomas E. Simmons,’98, joined
the faculty of USD School of Law in
fall 2013. His fall law courses include
Business Organizations I, Trusts
and Wills, and Estate and Trust
Administration. Prior to coming to the
Law School, he was a partner with the
Rapid City Law firm of Gunderson,
Palmer, Nelson & Ashmore, LLP, where
he worked as a trusts and estates lawyer
becoming a partner in 2006. Book
reviews by Simmons were featured in the
1990s
Hon. Mark Salter, ’93, of Sioux Falls,
was appointed as a circuit judge in
South Dakota’s Second Judicial Circuit,
which includes Minnehaha and Lincoln
Counties. He takes the place of the Hon.
William J. Srstka, ’68, who retired at
the end of 2012.
Robert Gusinsky, ‘96, of Rapid City,
was selected for appointment as a circuit
judge in South Dakota’s Seventh Judicial
Circuit. He has served as assistant United
States attorney, and earlier had been in
the private practice of law in Rapid City.
Gusinsky was born in Latvia, which at
the time was a part of the Soviet Union.
24 | SOUTH DAKOTAN LAWYER
Jan./Feb. 2013 edition of The Nebraska
Lawyer magazine winter reading section
(pp. 13–16). Having clerked for the late
Andrew W. Bogue, senior U.S. District
judge, Simmons’ article is entitled
“Judicial Memoirs,” his review of the
book Called to Justice: The Life of a
Federal Trial Judge, by Hon. Warren
K. Urbom.
Matthew Rusch, ’99, Omaha, Neb.,
was promoted to the rank of lieutenant
colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve. He
is a partner with the law firm Erickson
& Sederstrom, P.C., in Omaha and
practices primarily in the areas of civil
litigation and real estate.
Thomas L. Sorensen, ’99, retired in
December 2013 as associate dean after
13 years at the USD School of Law.
Tom was hired in fall 2000 and served
as assistant dean for two years. He had
practiced law as an associate at Bogue,
Weeks & Collier law firm in Vermillion
and served as deputy city attorney.
His career prior to the legal profession
spanned more than two decades as a
broadcast journalist for KSOO radio
in Sioux Falls, WDAY radio in Fargo,
N.D., South Dakota Public Broadcasting
radio (KUSD radio) in Vermillion,
and as a news writer for the Associated
Press. Sorensen and his wife, Mary,
have three grown daughters and three
grandchildren, who will be occupying
much of their time in the days and
years ahead.
2000s
Eric R. Kerkvliet, ’06, was named a
shareholder in the Sioux Falls offices of
the Lynn, Jackson, Shultz & Lebrun
law firm.
Katy Ritter, ’06, of Eagle, Idaho
became the assistant director of
university and industry ventures at
Boise State University.
Bryan Denham, ’07, Bismark, N.D.,
joined Larson Latham Huettl LLP as an
associate attorney, practicing primarily in
criminal defense and family law.
CLASS NOTES
Hon. Mildred Ramynke, ’39, of Peever, died on
Sept. 7, 2013 at the age of 96. Ramynke became the
first female county judge in South Dakota when she
took the bench in Roberts County in 1958. She later
served as county judge for Day, Grant and Marshall
Counties. After the creation of the Unified Judicial
System, Ramynke successfully ran for circuit judge
in the Fifth Judicial Circuit, becoming the state’s
first female circuit judge. During the two years
Ramynke was the presiding judge of the circuit, she
filled in on several Supreme Court cases, becoming
the first woman to serve on the state’s highest court. She retired in 1986.
Ramynke was a “consummate professional” who blazed trails for women in the
law, said Hon. David Gilbertson, chief justice of the South Dakota Supreme
Court and Ramynke’s close friend.
April (Norton) Hamilton, ’08,
formerly of Miller, S.D., in November
2012 joined the Phoenix law firm of
Ridenour, Hienton & Lewis, PLLC, as
an associate.
Jolene Nasser,’09, Sioux Falls, has
joined Nasser Law Offices as an associate
attorney.
Philip Terwilliger,’09, Vermillion,
was named deputy state’s attorney for
Clay County.
2010s
Melissa Fiksdal, ’10, Crooks, has
joined Jeff Larson Law in Sioux Falls.
Courtney (Stottler) Holthus, ’10,
of Meridian, Idaho, joined DisAbility
Rights Idaho as a staff attorney in the
Boise office.
Corey Bruning,’12, Sioux Falls, has
announced the opening of Bruning &
Lewis Law Firm.
Jason Krause, ’12, Hartford, has
joined the Dorothy Law Firm as
an associate.
Tamara Nash, ’13, received the
William F. Day, Jr. Law Student Pro
Bono Award in June from Access To
Justice, State Bar of South Dakota, for
her outstanding pro bono services while
a student at USD Law during (and more)
the 2012–2013 academic year.
P.J. Painter, ’13, was selected as master
scholar on the 2013-2015 Supreme
Senate at the 2013 summer convention
of Delta Theta Phi held in August in
Bloomington, Minn. The fraternity is
celebrating the 100-year anniversary of
its creation.
In Memoriam
1940s
John H. Zimmer, ’48, of Parker,
died on Sept. 15, 2012 at the Tieszen
Memorial Home in Marion. Zimmer was
born on Dec. 30, 1922 in Sioux Falls,
where he grew up and graduated from
Cathedral High School. He attended
Augustana College before serving in
the U.S. Army during WWII. After his
discharge from the service he attended
the University of South Dakota where
he received his law degree in 1948. On
Dec. 26, 1946 he married Phyllis Graber.
In 1948 he started his law practice in
Turner County. He practiced law with
Zimmer, Duncan, and Cole at Parker.
He had served as a state’s attorney of
Turner County, as an assistant professor
of medical jurisprudence at the USD
School of Medicine, as minority counsel
to the U.S. Senate Armed Services
Committee on Critical and Strategic
Materials, president of South Dakota
Junior Bar Association, president of
South Dakota Trial Lawyers Association
and was listed in Martindale-Hubbell
Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers. He
also served as general counsel for South
Dakota State Board of Medical and
Osteopathic Examiners, South Dakota
Medical Services (Blue Shield), South
Dakota Foundation for Medical Care,
South Dakota Basic Science Board and
the South Dakota Veterinary Medical
Association. His professional associations
included chair of Southeastern
Council of Governments (SECOG),
member of USD Law School Advisory
Council, chair of the Turner County
Republicans, member of South Dakota
State Republican Advisory Commission,
assistant doorman 1960 National
Republican Convention, alternate
delegate to 1968 National Republican
Convention, president of South Dakota
Easter Seal Society, South Dakota
Association for the Deaf and South
Dakota Easter Seal Board of Directors.
Zimmer was a member of the Veterans
of Foreign War (VFW), American
Legion, Parker Masonic Lodge and El
Riad Shrine, including Legion of Honor
Shrine. He was also an avid sportsman
and enjoyed spending time outdoors. On
July 31, 1976 he was united in marriage
to Deanna Waddle at Tyler, Minn. They
enjoyed spending winters in Arizona.
1950s
Frank E. “Rudy”
Henderson, ’51,
died on Dec. 28,
2012. A passionate
and larger-than-life
figure, he influenced
his family, the
military, the law
and the State of South Dakota for more
than eight decades. Justice Henderson
was born April 7, 1928, in Miller and
grew to be a three-sport letterman for
the Miller Rustlers and All-State athlete
in basketball, football and track. He
attended the University of South Dakota
on a basketball scholarship where he
Winter 2013/14 | 25
ALUMNI
and served as a U.S. commissioner. In
the 1970s, Henderson became a circuit
court judge and sat on the benches
of Pennington, Custer and Fall River
Counties. In 1979, Judge Henderson
became a justice on the Supreme Court
of South Dakota. Justice Henderson
experienced many professional and
personal associations with Native peoples
of South Dakota. Henderson appreciated
his kind and capable wife, Norma Jean
Henderson, with whom he was married
for 56 years, and the family they raised.
Justice Henderson lived to the age of 84.
Barry Vickery, Bud Day, USD President James W. Abbott, Don Dahlin
Col. George E. “Bud” Day (Ret.), ’49, of Shalimar, Fla., died on July 27,
2013 at age 88. George Day was born on Feb. 24, 1925, in Sioux City, Iowa
and married his hometown sweetheart, Doris Sorensen, the “love of his
life” for 64 years. The Sioux City airport was named for Day and displays a
statue of him just outside the main entrance. Col. Day enlisted in the U.S.
Marine Corps in 1942 and served in the South Pacific. He enlisted in the
U.S. Army Reserve in 1946–1949 and graduated from the University of
South Dakota School of Law in 1949. He was appointed second lieutenant
in 1950 and called to active duty in the U.S. Air Force, where he entered jet
pilot training. He served two tours in Japan and Korea and later fought and
flew in Vietnam. Col. Day’s plane was shot down on Aug. 26, 1967, when he
was forced to eject over North Vietnam. He survived as a POW for five and
a half years, part of which was in the “Hanoi Hilton.” A cellmate for a time
was future Arizona U.S. Senator John McCain. Day was awarded the Medal
of Honor in 1967 and also received South Vietnam’s highest military honor.
In his 34-year military service, he earned 70 medals and honors. He was
admitted to the South Dakota Bar in 1949 and to the Florida Bar in 1977.
He was instrumental in helping win a major victory for World War II and
Korean War retirees from a U.S. Court of Appeals, which acknowledged that
the government had breached its contract to provide retirees and their spouses
free, lifetime medical care. In 2004, Col. Day was the speaker featured at the
Law School’s hooding ceremony.
also competed in track and field and
football. He was a member of Phi Delta
Theta fraternity. He completed law
school at USD in 1951 and immediately
left to serve in the United States Army.
The Korean Conflict was to have a
profound impact on Justice Henderson.
He served as an officer and remained a
26 | SOUTH DAKOTAN LAWYER
strong patriot, with ties to the American
Legion, the Disabled American Veterans
and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Upon
his return from Korea, Henderson
began law practice in Rapid City as
a trial attorney, and later moved his
office to Hill City. He twice served as
a state senator for Pennington County
Robert Stark, ’51, Denver, Colo., died
on May 3, 2013. A Vermillion native,
Stark served in the United States Army
before returning to South Dakota to
receive his bachelor’s degree in history in
1950 and his law degree in 1951.
Alan R. Purintun, ’52, died on Jan. 23,
2013. He practiced law in association
with Harry Eggen and E.F. Wilkinson in
De Smet and was appointed Kingsbury
County judge in 1955. Alan was
recognized as a 50-year member of the
State Bar of South Dakota in 2002.
George R. Horner, ’56, of Vermillion,
died on April 4, 2013. He was born
in Sioux City, Iowa, and grew up in
Vermillion. George was admitted to
law practice in South Dakota and
Nebraska and was recognized by both
states for his legal services of more than
50 years. George worked in Omaha at
USF&G Insurance Co. for 10 years,
moving next to the Grand Island office.
He became city attorney. In 1969, he
joined the faculty at USD School of
Business, retiring in 1996. His U.S.
Navy service included as enlisted and
as a commissioned officer in Naval
Intelligence.
Floyd E. Meidinger, ’59, of Aberdeen,
died on Nov. 13, 2013. He was born
Nov. 1, 1929, near Eureka, and received
a bachelor’s degree in 1951 at the
University of South Dakota. He served
in the U.S. Air Force as an interpreter
(German and Russian) in both Libya
and Germany, receiving his Honorable
CLASS NOTES
Discharge in 1955. Floyd entered the
USD School of Law, graduating in
1959. He practiced with the Ivan
Borman Law Firm in Mobridge, served
as McPherson County State’s Attorney,
purchased the Francis Holman Law
Practice in Leola and served as Leola
city attorney. Floyd also served as Leola’s
mayor and chair of the McPherson
County Republican Party.
Alan Fay Glover,’64, of Brookings,
died on June 21, 2013, unexpectedly at
the age of 72 at his home. He was born
June 24, 1940 in Aberdeen and raised in
Frederick. He served as a captain in the
JAG Branch, U.S. Army, having enlisted
in 1963 and serving during the Vietnam
War. In 1998, he joined the law practice
of Glover, Helsper and Rasmussen PC
in Brookings.
1960s
Dennis Raymond Padrnos, ’60, died
on Nov. 20, 2012. He was born Sept. 9,
1936 to Judge George Padrnos and Lillian
(Honner) Padrnos in Lake Andes, the
youngest of six children. He went to
USD on a basketball scholarship, taught
business law in the School of Business and
graduated with a business and law degree
in 1960. He served in the U.S. Army Judge
Advocate General Corps from 1960-1963
and received the Army Commendation
Medal. While stationed in Germany, he
served as chief defense counsel for the
24th Infantry Division and prosecutor
for the JAG Corps. Achieving the rank
of captain, he was honorably discharged
and returned to Mitchell where he joined
the law practice with local attorney Fred
Tinan. Padrnos married Diane Nelson in
1967. He was appointed to the position
of Davison County States Attorney, was
successful in his re-election bids and
served the county for 13 years.
Gary Johansen, ’66, of Sioux City,
Iowa, age 75, died on April 17, 2013
at a Sioux City hospital. He was born
on Aug. 30, 1937 to Arthur and Pearl
Johansen in South Sioux City. He was
in the U.S. Navy and served on the USS
Midway aircraft carrier before marrying
Joan Rymill on Jan. 5, 1965. Johansen
graduated from the University of South
Dakota in 1966 and went on to be a
partner at Johansen & Johansen with
his brother, Raymond, for 33 years. He
retired in 1999.
Robert Stewart, ’60, of Aberdeen,
age 81, died on May 7, 2013. He was
born on Feb. 12, 1932 to Roy and
Thelma Stewart. Steward received his
undergraduate degree at the University of
Colorado, where he met his wife, Jackie
Holder. He went on to receive his LL.B.
in 1960 from the University of South
Dakota. Stewart and his wife Jackie
raised five children.
Anthony “Tony” Buckmeier, ’61, of
Mobridge, age 77, died on March 28,
2013, in Sioux Falls after a long illness.
After college he moved to Mobridge to
practice law with Ivan Bormann and
continued to practice law for more than
50 years. His clients were always his
number one concern and family was his
greatest joy.
Thomas Muilenburg, ’66, of
Sioux Falls, age 72, died on Feb. 14,
2013 at his residence due to diabetic
complications. He was born June
12, 1940 in Sioux Falls, and in 1958
graduated from Washington High
School. Following high school, he
attended the University of South
Dakota in Vermillion where he excelled
in debate with his debate partner,
Robert Legvold. In 1962, Muilenburg
moved to Washington, D.C. where
he worked in the office of Sen. Karl
Mundt. Upon returning to South
Dakota, Muilenburg enrolled at the
University of South Dakota Law School
and earned his law degree in 1966. That
same year, on Aug. 6, Tom was united
in marriage to Elizabeth Bainbridge in
Paullina, Iowa. Following several years
of residence in Brandon, the couple
moved to Sioux Falls in 1974 where
Muilenburg practiced law.
Gary Lamont Richter, ’69, of
Brandon, died at the age of 72 on
June 17, 2013. He was born on Nov. 1,
1941 in Sioux Falls. He practiced law
in Parker until 1988 when he became
an assistant attorney general for the
Department of Game, Fish and Parks.
He had retired in 2006.
1970s
Larry Gullickson, ’76, of Sioux
Falls, age 67, died on May 12, 2013
at his residence from cancer. He was
born on May 16, 1945 to Leo and Edla
Gullickson in Volga, S.D. He attended
the University of South Dakota where
he received his B.S. in accounting before
serving as an officer for the United
States Army during the Vietnam War.
Gullickson married Lynn Gascoigne
in 1973 and had two daughters before
returning to USD to earn his J.D. degree
from the School of Law in 1976.
Stanley Everett Whiting, ‘74 of
Winner, died on Jan. 30, 2013. He
received a B.S.B.A. in accounting at
USD in 1966 and a J.D. degree from the
School of Law in 1974. After college he
joined the Marine Corps and achieved
the rank of captain. As an F-4 Phantom
fighter pilot, he accumulated 407 combat
missions in Vietnam. He was once shot
down, parachuted into a tree and was
subsequently recovered—only to resume
his role as a Marine Corps aviator and
continue flying. He received more
than 20 awards and medals. After his
honorable discharge from the Marine
Corps in 1971, he returned to South
Dakota where he met the love of his life,
Alyson Kocer. They were married in 1974
and enjoyed nearly 39 years together.
Whiting initially practiced law with the
firm Day, Grossenburg and Whiting for
several years before venturing out on
his own. In the summer of 2012 at the
annual meeting, Whiting received the
Trial Lawyer of the Year Award from the
South Dakota Trial Lawyers Association.
Brian Stuart, ’78, of Sioux Falls, died
on May 29, 2013, in Bucyrus, N.D.
Brian received a B.A. degree from the
University of South Dakota in 1967,
became a C.P.A. in 1970, earned an
M.B.A. in 1977, and completed his J.D.
degree in 1978. He was born Sept. 22,
1943, in Adams County, N.D., and
later moved to Plankinton, S.D. He
practiced law in Sioux Falls at Stuart
Winter 2013/14 | 27
ALUMNI
& Gerry Attorneys at Law in a 25-year
partnership. Stuart had retired in 2003
due to medical reasons.
1990s
Jeff Giebink, ’91, of Sioux Falls, passed
away suddenly at age 56 of natural causes
on Jan. 25, 2013. He was born Nov. 22,
1956 in Sioux Falls. Grateful for having
shared his life are his wife Maura, four
sons, Travis, Nic, Chase and Sam, all of
Sioux Falls; his siblings, Jan Giebink and
Joan (Dr. Bob Meyer) Giebink, both of
Sioux Falls; Dr. Jim (Roxanne) Giebink,
Merritt Island, Fla., Dr. Patti Giebink,
Chamberlain, Dr. Robert Giebink,
Watertown and Brad (Mary Ann)
Giebink, Sioux Falls; his three canine
companions, Frankie, Daisy and Chunky
Monkey, Boo Boo the cat, and Rudy the
African Gray Parrot.
2000s
David Bruce
“Dave”
Curington, ’05,
died at age 40 from
brain cancer on
Dec. 26, 2012,
in Rapid City.
Curington was born
Oct. 23, 1972, at
Ellsworth AFB, to
Bruce and Rachel Curington. Despite
living in other states while a young boy,
after coming back to Rapid City while in
junior high, Curington always thought
of the Black Hills and South Dakota as
home. As an assistant public defender
for Pennington County, Curington
was a committed advocate for his
28 | SOUTH DAKOTAN LAWYER
clients and believed in the importance
of his role in the legal process. He was
especially proud of his work with the
JDIA in South Dakota, which created
a process to find alternatives to juvenile
detention. In 2012 he was recognized for
his dedication to improving the lives of
children by the Western South Dakota
Child Protection Council. Curington
was a musician for most of his life as a
bass player and most recently had been a
member of the Jolly Llamas.
Faculty and Friends
Richard L.
Barnes, age 58,
distinguished lecturer
and professor of law
at the University of
Mississippi, died
Jan. 22, 2013 in a car
accident in Conway
County, Ark., as
he was driving home to Oxford, Miss.
Before joining the UM law faculty in
August 1989, Barnes practiced law in
Tucson, Ariz. He served on the faculty
at the University of South Dakota
School of Law from 1983-87, was a
visiting associate professor in 1985-86 at
Brigham Young University and returned
to Vermillion in 1987-89 to teach as an
associate professor at USD Law School.
His specialties included contracts,
secured transactions, commercial law
and federal Indian law. His interests in
agriculture and Indian law stemmed
from his Cherokee grandparents and his
childhood on an Arizona farm.
Marriages
2000s
Blair (Lawhon) McGowan, ’07, and
David McGowan were married April 13,
2013. The couple resides in Decatur, Ga.
2010s
Tyler Custis,’13, and Megan Kahler
Custis were married Sept. 15, 2012.
The couple resides in Elk Point, S.D.
Courtney Stottler, ’10 and Justin
Holthus, ’10, were married on June 16,
2012 in Hermiston, Ore.
Births
2000s
To Lindsay (Efting) Hovden, ’05,
and Christopher Hovden, Yankton, a
son, Myles William, born Nov. 27, 2012.
He joins brother Maddox (4).
To Philip Terwilliger, ’09 and Lisa
Terwilliger, Vermillion, a son, Frederick
Lawrence, born March 4, 2013.
Frederick joins big sister Maggie (4).
2010s
To Krista (Voyles) Benson,’10, and
Adam Benson, Boone, Iowa, a son,
Finley George, born Dec. 4, 2012. He
joins a sister, Lila.
CLASS NOTES
Wilbur Presides over
Dakota Days Parade
South Dakota Supreme Court Justice
Lori Wilbur ’77, served as Parade Marshal
for the 99th Dakota Days Parade, which
was held on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2013.
The 48th justice in the history of the South Dakota
Supreme Court and the second female justice, Wilbur was
appointed to the state’s highest court in 2011 by Gov. Dennis
Daugaard. She graduated from USD with a bachelor’s degree
in 1974 and earned her law degree from the USD School of
Law in 1977.
Wilbur represents the Fourth Supreme Court District,
which is comprised of Union, Clay, Yankton, Hutchinson,
Hanson, Davison, Bon Homme, Douglas, Aurora, Brule,
Charles Mix, Gregory, Tripp, Lyman, McCook, Turner counties
and a portion of Lincoln County. She has held every judicial
position in the South Dakota court system. She served first as a
part-time, and then a full-time magistrate judge from 1992 to
1999. She took the bench as a circuit judge in 1999 after being
elected in 1998, and was re-elected in 2006. Wilbur led the
Sixth Circuit as presiding judge since 2007, and she served as a
replacement justice on about 20 state Supreme Court cases. As a
circuit judge, Wilbur led the Sixth Circuit’s DUI Court program,
which is an alternative sentencing program that seeks to address
defendants’ underlying addictions. A Madison, S.D. native, she
and her late husband, Brent, have two grown daughters.
Moen Honored with Alumni Achievement Award
A USD School of Law graduate was among
three distinguished University of South Dakota
alumni honored with Alumni Achievement Awards
during the alumni dinner held during Dakota
Days in October 2013.
Daniel Moen, ’78, of Pickerel Lake, S.D.,
was honored for Service to the University. Moen,
an Irene, S.D. native, began his career as a private
practice attorney in Aberdeen, S.D. before
becoming associate general counsel for Super
8 Motels, Inc. He was then president of ACS,
Inc., a subsidiary of Wells Fargo Financial Bank
from 1994-2003 and then continued his career in business
development. Following his retirement from ACS, Inc. in
2003, Moen became involved in several business
endeavors as an independent investor.
In 2007, he was named chairman of the
board of the USD Foundation. He resigned
that position in 2009 to become a major gifts
officer for the USD School of Law and Beacom
School of Business. Moen served in that capacity,
obtaining many substantial gifts for the university,
until 2011 when he served as interim president
and CEO of the USD Foundation–a position
he held until January 2012 when Steve Brown
assumed the position.
Other USD alumni honored with Alumni Achievement
Awards were Joel Portice ’87 and David Landry ’73.
Winter 2013/14 | 29
DONORS
Honor Roll of Donors
Partners in Excellence
Dean’s Circle
Senior Partner ($5,000 and above)
Partner ($1,000 to $4,999)
Advocates
Golden Advocate ($500 to $999)
Century Advocate ($100 to $499)
Supporters & Friends ($1 to $99)
The law school is grateful to all Partners In
Excellence and encourages a “rise to the
top” and special recognition as a member
of the Dean’s Circle. These gifts were
received July 1, 2012 – June 30, 2013.
1949
Fredric R. Cozad, Century Advocate
1950
Dale E. Bradshaw, Century Advocate
James E. Moore, Century Advocate
Harry Pflaumer, Supporters & Friends
1951
Acie W. Matthews, Supporters & Friends
1952
Joseph S. Lesser, Senior Partner
Charles S. Milliken, Supporters & Friends
1953
Erwin L. Wiest, Century Advocate
1955
Roger S. Bottum, Supporters & Friends
1956
James L. Weaver, Partner
Carleton R. Hoy, Century Advocate
1958
Travis H. Lewin, Golden Advocate
Andrew Aberle, Supporters & Friends
Roger A. Peterson, Supporters & Friends
1959
Carlyle E. Richards and
Rev. Sheila Richards, Senior Partner
$100,000 gift to be used at the dean’s
discretion, made in honor of Dean Simpson,
Clark Gunderson, Ed Hadd, Chapin Clark
and others who positively influenced Richards’
law school experience and career trajectory.
George Applegate, Partner
J. D. Austin, Century Advocate
30 | SOUTH DAKOTAN LAWYER
1960
Russell R. Greenfield, Century Advocate
Chet Groseclose, Century Advocate
Golby C. Uhlir, Century Advocate
Burke M. Critchfield, Supporters & Friends
1961
Hermon B. Walker, Century Advocate
1962
Roger L. Wollman, Century Advocate
1963
Robert A. Miller, Century Advocate
Nicholas V. O’Hara, Century Advocate
1964
Frank G. Stickney, Supporters & Friends
1965
James R. Haar, Golden Advocate
Lawrence L. Piersol, Golden Advocate
David L. Blair, Century Advocate
Frank D. Brost, Century Advocate
Scott C. Moses, Century Advocate
Ronald E. Clabaugh, Supporters & Friends
Thomas F. Martin, Supporters & Friends
1966
Robert A. Warder, Partner
Charles L. Riter, Century Advocate
Richard W. Sabers, Century Advocate
John D. Gubbrud, Supporters & Friends
Thomas R. Pardy, Supporters & Friends
1967
Virgil K. Johnson, Partner
Charles V. Sederstrom, Partner
Jack R. Von Wald, Century Advocate
1968
John P. Blackburn, Partner
John E. Simko, Century Advocate
William J. Srstka, Supporters & Friends
1969
Larry C. Johnson, Century Advocate
Gary Richter, Century Advocate
Charles M. Thompson, Century Advocate
1970
Richard A. Bauerly, Golden Advocate
Peter J. Horner, Century Advocate
Allen K. Nepper, Century Advocate
Thomas P. Tonner, Century Advocate
George P. Williams, Century Advocate
Paul F. Angel, Supporters & Friends
1971
Orrin S. Estebo, Senior Partner
$1 million gift for purposes of future
construction and renovation efforts at the
School of Law, namely, the addition of common
space that may be suitable to serve as a primary
lobby, entrance or reception area.
Arthur L. Rusch, Partner
Jan S. Amundson, Golden Advocate
John S. Theeler, Golden Advocate
Michael R. Austin, Century Advocate
Thomas V. Conway, Century Advocate
Dennis W. Finch, Century Advocate
1972
George L. Hirschbach, Partner
Thomas J. Whorley, Golden Advocate
Andrew S. Bogue, Century Advocate
Francis P. Cappello, Century Advocate
Allen G. Nelson, Century Advocate
Perry S. Patterson, Century Advocate
D. D. Titus, Century Advocate
1973
Harvey C. Jewett, Senior Partner
James P. Hoy, Century Advocate
Robert C. Riter, Century Advocate
Lyle W. Petersen, Supporters & Friends
1974
James W. Abbott, Partner
Richard L. Ericsson, Partner
Warren R. Neufeld, Partner
Roy A. Wise, Partner
Randal E. Connelly, Century Advocate
John K. Konenkamp, Century Advocate
Stanley E. Whiting (Dec), Century Advocate
Timothy R. Johns, Supporters & Friends
1975
Mary Sue Donohue, Golden Advocate
Edwin E. Evans, Golden Advocate
Thomas J. Welk, Golden Advocate
Bruce W. Cutler, Century Advocate
Vance R. Goldammer, Century Advocate
Rodney C. Lefholz, Century Advocate
Carolyn F. Rusch, Century Advocate
Haven L. Stuck, Century Advocate
Timothy C. Sweeney, Century Advocate
Steven L. Zinter, Century Advocate
Dennis D. Evenson, Supporters & Friends
David Gilbertson, Supporters & Friends
DONORS
1976
Arthur T. Carter, Partner
Robert E. Hayes, Partner
Michael M. Hickey, Partner
Mary Jane Cleary, Century Advocate
William D. Froke, Century Advocate
Richard A. Johnson, Century Advocate
Craig A. Kennedy, Century Advocate
C. J. Neiles, Century Advocate
Barry R. Buehler, Supporters & Friends
1977
Richard D. Casey, Golden Advocate
Howard W. Paulson, Century Advocate
1978
Jeffrey T. Sveen, Senior Partner
Aloysius J. Arendt, Century Advocate
Craig M. Eichstadt, Century Advocate
Gary D. Jensen, Century Advocate
Terry N. Prendergast, Century Advocate
Brian J. Stuart (Dec), Century Advocate
1979
Robert A. Martin, Partner
Joseph D. Nadenicek, Century Advocate
Reed A. Rasmussen, Century Advocate
1980
Mark J. Gherty, Golden Advocate
Glen W. Eng, Century Advocate
Michael J. McGill, Century Advocate
Richard L. Travis, Century Advocate
James M. Wiederrich, Century Advocate
Kenneth W. Cotton, Supporters & Friends
James D. Wilkerson, Supporters & Friends
1981
Patricia Riepel, Golden Advocate
Jon S. Flemmer, Century Advocate
Jeffrey R. Mohrhauser, Century Advocate
Dean E. Brekke, Supporters & Friends
1982
Kimberley K. Mortenson, Partner
1983
Roger W. Damgaard, Century Advocate
1984
Brian J. Bauer, Supporters & Friends
1987
Karen R. Twitchell, Century Advocate
1988
Darrell A. Jesse, Partner
Judith C. Arnold, Century Advocate
Frank T. Lautenschlager, Century Advocate
Martin P. Oyos, Century Advocate
Kim M. Riley, Century Advocate
Judith F. Rost, Century Advocate
Susan N. Steele, Century Advocate
Gregory G. Giles, Supporters & Friends
1990
Joy Nesmith, Century Advocate
Rodney W. Schlauger, Supporters & Friends
1992
Sandra K. Hanson, Partner
James S. Schultz, Golden Advocate
Vaughn P. Beck, Century Advocate
Jeanne M. Combs, Century Advocate
Patricia K. Economos, Century Advocate
John A. Gors, Century Advocate
Lucy Lewno, Century Advocate
1993
Brian J. Donahoe, Century Advocate
Joseph E. Martell, Century Advocate
1994
Todd C. Lockwood, Partner
Pamela R. Bollweg, Century Advocate
1995
William M. Van Camp, Golden Advocate
John A. Caucutt, Century Advocate
Jayna M. Voss, Century Advocate
1996
Heather M. Bogard, Century Advocate
Donald M. McCarty, Century Advocate
1997
Barbara A. Braley, Century Advocate
David E. Lust, Century Advocate
Matthew J. Vance, Century Advocate
Gregory J. Erlandson, Supporters & Friends
Michael S. Martin, Supporters & Friends
Jill S. Schaffer, Supporters & Friends
1985
Kay Cee Hodson, Golden Advocate
Steven L. Aberle, Century Advocate
Blake W. Duerre, Century Advocate
John H. Raforth, Century Advocate
Jerry L. Wattier, Supporters & Friends
1998
Marilyn J. Hagberg, Century Advocate
Bradley J. Lindeman, Century Advocate
Clint L. Sargent, Century Advocate
Robert C. Scremin, Supporters & Friends
1986
Lee “Kit” C. McCahren, Century Advocate
Glenn A. Metcalf, Century Advocate
Robert A. Peterson, Century Advocate
M. B. Mayer, Supporters & Friends
1999
Thomas L. Sorensen, Century Advocate
Melissa B. Nicholson, Century Advocate
Matthew V. Rusch, Century Advocate
Dale M. Kadlec, Supporters & Friends
2000
Stephanie R. Amiotte, Partner
Jerad G. Seurer, Golden Advocate
Jamie C. Thompson, Century Advocate
Julia M. Dvorak, Supporters & Friends
2001
Mary A. Akkerman, Partner
John A. Becker, Century Advocate
2002
Belinda N. Lamptey, Supporters & Friends
Lindsey L. Riter-Rapp, Supporters & Friends
2003
Joanne M. Haase, Century Advocate
Ryan W. Snell, Century Advocate
De Anna C. Le Beau, Supporters & Friends
Brad J. Lee, Supporters & Friends
2004
Michele L. Crissman, Supporters & Friends
2005
James C. Cerney, Century Advocate
Andrew R. Damgaard, Century Advocate
Jeffrey J. Fransen, Century Advocate
Ryan J. Kolbeck, Century Advocate
Sander J. Morehead, Century Advocate
Jennifer M. Williams, Century Advocate
2006
Alecia E. Fuller, Century Advocate
Jeffrey J. Roby, Century Advocate
Jessica R. Noll-Oetken, Supporters & Friends
2007
Marcus A. Behm, Century Advocate
Carla R. Cushman, Century Advocate
Denise J. Kracl, Century Advocate
2008
Justin R. Johns, Century Advocate
Nick A. Kotzea, Century Advocate
Tonnis H. Venhuizen, Century Advocate
2012
Elizabeth S. Tomlin, Supporters & Friends
Friends
ALPS, Senior Partner
Augustana College, Senior Partner
Claude W. Schutter (Dec), Senior Partner
Johnson, Heidepriem & Abdallah, LLP,
Senior Partner
$125,000 gift to provide a salary supplement to
an outstanding Law School faculty member who
specializes in the teaching of trial advocacy.
SD Continuing Legal Education, Inc.,
Senior Partner
Lindquist & Vennum PLLP, Senior Partner
Winter 2013/14 | 31
DONORS
SD Continuing Legal Education, Inc.,
Senior Partner
Woods, Fuller, Shultz & Smith P.C.,
Senior Partner
ALPS/Law School Foundation Golf Tournament,
Partner Alyssa Taber, Partner
Barbara Butler (Dec), Partner
Cadwell, Sanford, Deibert & Garry, LLP, Partner
Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation, Partner
DSEA Wong Foundation, Partner
Elizabeth A. Rosenbaum, P.C., Partner
Frances Biegelmeier Lowenstein, Partner
Katharine W. Richards, Partner
KPMG Foundation, Partner
Lorys H. Eiesland, Partner
State Bar of South Dakota, Partner
Thomas E. Geu, Partner
Bank of America Charitable Foundation,
Golden Advocate ConAgra Foods Inc.,
Golden Advocate
Covidien, Golden Advocate
Delta Theta Phi Foundation, Inc., Golden
Advocate
Green, Roby, Oviatt, Cummings & Linngren LLP,
Golden Advocate
Karla D. McCallister, Golden Advocate
Kolker Law Office, Golden Advocate
Lynne D. Day, Golden Advocate
Murphy Law Office, P.C., Golden Advocate
Nasser Law Offices, Golden Advocate
Nelson Law Office, P.C., Golden Advocate
American Bar Endowment, Century Advocate
Beardsley, Jensen & Von Wald, Prof. L.L.C.,
Century Advocate
Carol M. Zielike, Century Advocate
Colleen K. Tucker, Century Advocate
Elizabeth A. Vonalt, Century Advocate
Emma Laird, Century Advocate
Frohling Law Office, Century Advocate
Gail H. Young, Century Advocate
Hollmann Law Office, Century Advocate
Janklow Law Firm Prof, LLC, Century Advocate
Julie L. Brink, Century Advocate
Julie M. Bernard, Century Advocate
Keith A. Goehring, Century Advocate
Kenneth L. MacRitchie, Century Advocate
Kinney Law PC, Century Advocate
Lucy S. Elliott, Century Advocate
Mumford & Protsch Law Office,
Century Advocate
Nathan L. Buller, Century Advocate
Peter Quist, Century Advocate
Roger M. Baron, Century Advocate
Sally J. Cummins, Century Advocate
Sandra J. Zinter, Century Advocate
Sarah E. Houy, Century Advocate
Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation,
Century Advocate
Srstka & Srstka, Century Advocate
Steele Law & Mediation, Century Advocate
32 | SOUTH DAKOTAN LAWYER
Thomson Reuters LLC, Century Advocate
U.S. Bancorp Foundation, Century Advocate
Von Wald Law Offices, Century Advocate
Whiting, Haag & Haag, Century Advocate
Wilde & Hunt Prof. LLC, Century Advocate
William K. Sauck, Century Advocate
Wipf & Cotton, Century Advocate
Worden-Wachsmuth Law Ofc.,Century Advocate
Zieser & Rothschadl Law Office,
Century Advocate
Anonymous, Supporters & Friends
Casey Deibert, Supporters & Friends
Catherine Hall, Supporters & Friends
Charles W. Buttz, Supporters & Friends
Charlie Gross, Supporters & Friends
Cynthia Painter, Supporters & Friends
David R. Gienapp, Supporters & Friends
Denise M. Teesdale, Supporters & Friends
Evelyn Charlson, Supporters & Friends
Fassnight Meadows Association, Inc.,
Supporters & Friends Frederick B. Gullett,
Supporters & Friends
H. Scott Aalsberg, Esq., P.C., Supporters
& Friends
Helen E. Olsen, Supporters & Friends
Jean C. Dahlinger, Supporters & Friends
John C. Gross, Supporters & Friends
Joyce De Maro, Supporters & Friends
Karras Family Foundation, Supporters & Friends
Keva Aberle, Supporters & Friends
Kristin N. Wheeler, Supporters & Friends
Legacy Financial Group, Inc., Supporters
& Friends
Mary Habeck, Supporters & Friends
Mary Q. Fry, Supporters & Friends
Meierhenry Sargent LLP, Supporters & Friends
Microsoft Corporation, Supporters & Friends
Peter G. Guthrie, Supporters & Friends
Reefa Y. Hanenberger, Supporters & Friends
Ron Ollis, Supporters & Friends
Sheela L. Stuart, Supporters & Friends
Steve Adams, Supporters & Friends
Steven J. Oberg, Supporters & Friends
Theodore R. Muenster, Supporters & Friends
Webster Arms A Partnership, Supporters
& Friends
Senior Partners
ALPS
Augustana College
Claude W. Schutter (Dec)
Johnson, Heidepriem & Abdallah, LLP
Lindquist & Vennum, PLLP
SD Continuing Legal Education
Woods, Fuller, Shultz & Smith P.C.
Partners
ALPS/Law School Foundation Golf Tournament
Alyssa Taber
Barbara Butler (Dec)
Cadwell, Sanford, Deibert & Garry, LLP
Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation
DSEA Wong Foundation
Elizabeth A. Rosenbaum, P.C.
Frances Biegelmeier Lowenstein
Katharine W. Richards
KPMG Foundation
Lorys H. Eiesland
State Bar of South Dakota
Thomas E. Geu
DONORS
Participating Alumni/Friends 2012–2013
The School of Law each year attempts to collect the names of all the lawyers and judges who contributed, in some respect, to the
success of our academic program. In addition to those listed in the Honor Roll of Donors for their financial support, we offer
sincere thanks to those listed below who gave their time and expertise. Without all of you, we would not be the great school we
are. We apologize to anyone we may have inadvertently omitted from the list.
Aaron McGowan
Aaron Salberg
Adam Hoier
Alan Peterson
Alecia Fuller
Alex Hagen
Anthony Hohn
Hon. Arthur Rusch
Ashley Parr
Beth Roesler
Blayne Hagen
Bob Wichser
Hon. Bradley Zell
Brendan Johnson
Brian Bauer
Hon. Brian Gosch
Catherine Piersol
Catherine Schlimgen
Chad Jungman
Chad Nelson
Hon. Charles Kornmann
Cheryl Three Stars Valandra
Hon. Cheryle Gering
Clint Sargent
Curt Mortenson
Dana Frohling
Hon. David Gienapp
Hon. David Gilbertson
David Whitesock
Hon. Dennis Daugaard
Derek Nelson
Doug Barnett
Doug Cummings
Duane Anderson
Ed Evans
Elizabeth Rosenbaum
Ellen Kappmeyer
Ellie Bailey
Eric Preheim
Eric Schulte
George Hirschbach
George Johnson
Hon. Glen Eng
Hon. Glen Severson
Henry Evans
Hilary Williamson
Greg Huckabee
Gregg Peterman
Heather Bogard
Hon. J.R. LaPlante
Pres. James Abbott
Hon. Janine Kern
Jason Krause
Jay Denne
Hon. Jeff Davis
Jeff Larson
Hon. Jeff Viken
Jennifer Williams
Jeremy Roemen
Jerry Miller
Jesse Perkins
Jim Power
Jim Seward
Hon. John Konenkamp
Hon. John Schlimgen
Hon. John Simko
Hon. Joni Cutler
Joe Dylla
Joseph Haas
Hon. Joseph Neiles
Hon. Judith Meierhenry
Judith Roberts
Justin Goetz
Karen Hunt
Hon. Karen Schreier
Kari Mouw
Hon. Kathleen Caldwell
Hon. Kathleen Trandahl
Kenny Jacobs
Kevin Loftus
Kim Allison
Krista Tschetter
Hon. Larry Long
Hon. Lawrence Piersol
Leo Disburg
Linda Kogel
Lisa Maguire
Lisa Rothschadl
Hon. Lori Wilbur
Hon. Marc Feinstein
Marilyn Hagberg
Mark Ekse
Mark Haigh
Mark Meierhenry
Hon. Mark Salter
Mark Welter
Marshall Lovrien
Hon. Marty Jackley
Mary Akkerman
Hon. Mary Thorstenson
Matt Bock
Matthew Dorothy
Hon. Matt Michels
Meghan Dilges
Meghann Joyce
Melissa Hinton
Michael Roche
Michael Luce
Mitch Martin
Mitch Morrison
Mitch Peterson
Morgan Brekke
Pamela Bollweg
Hon. Patricia Riepel
Patrick Burns
Patrick Goetzinger
Hon. Patrick Kiner
Pete Gregory
Hon. Peter Lieberman
PJ Jennings
Richard Casey
Richard Cutler
Hon. Richard Engels
Richard Ericsson
Hon. Richard Sabers
Robert Frieberg
Robert Hayes
Hon. Robert Miller
Robert Riter
Hon. Robert Ulrich
Hon. Roger Wollman
Roy Wise
Ryan Kolbeck
Ryan Snell
Sabrina LaFleur-Sayler
Samuel Goodhope
Sandy McKeown
Scott Abdallah
Scott McGregor
Hon. Scott Myren
Scott Swier
Hon. Sean O’Brien
Shelly Munson
Sheridan Anderson
Sidney Strange
Stacy Hegge
Stephanie Chase
Stephanie Pochop
Steve Siegel
Hon. Steven Jensen
Hon. Steven Zinter
Hon. Susan Sabers
Hon. Tami Bern
Teddi Gertsma
Hon. Terry Huitink
Hon. Thomas Deadrick
Hon. Tim Tucker
Hon. Timothy Bjorkman
Timothy Langley
Tom Barnett
Tom Davies
Tom Frieberg
Tom Welk
Traci Smith
Hon. Veronica Duffy
Victoria Reker
Hon. Wally Eklund
William Garry
Hon. William Gerdes
William Kunstle
William Larson
William Van Camp
Winter 2013/14 | 33
DONORS
Endowed Funds
Partners in Excellence
Myrtle M. Smith Scholarship
Frank & Louise Fischer (Sahr Award)
Flynn Family Scholarship
Kenneth E. Raschke Memorial Scholarship
Winkler/Lovre Family Law
P. Daniel & Laura Donohue Scholarship
Law School General
Alan Cross Tax Scholarship
Law School Honors Scholarship
Everett A. Bogue Memorial Law Scholarship
Roy E. Willy-Law
George Applegate Scholarship
J.Timon Burke Memorial Scholarship
The Honorable Peder K. Ecker Memorial Scholarship Fund
M. Plin Beebe Memorial Scholarship
Alan Bogue Memorial Law Awards & Scholarship
George Jonathan Danforth Memorial Law Scholarship
Francis J. Dillon Law School Fund
Levi B., W.W. & Louis B. French Memorial Scholarship
Edward Hope
Marshall, Alice & Francis McKusick
Thomas Sterling
Eleanor Keuter Law Scholarship
Mary W. Hanson-Law School
Professor Frank J. and Ruth Ann Slagle Scholarship
Irlbeck/Housker Law School Faculty Business Law & Tax
USD Law School State Bar
Hannah Anderson UCC Prize
Alan L. Austin
Bangs, McCullen, Butler, Foye & Simmons
Joseph H. Barnett Memorial
Justice Frank Biegelmeier
Andrew & Elizabeth Bogue Law Student Scholarship
William F. Brady Memorial Scholarship
Joseph M. Butler Scholarship
Dwight Campbell Memorial
Gary G. Colbath, Sr.
Costello, Porter, Hill, Nelson Heisterkamp & Bushnell
Fred & Luella Cozad Scholarship
George J. Danforth, Jr. Memorial Law Scholarship
James E. Doyle Scholarship
Justice James M. Doyle Scholarship
Elinor M. & Robert E. Driscoll, Jr.
Mary L. Drury
Ellsworth E. Evans Memorial
Hubbard Freemont Fellows Scholarship
Clark. Y. Gunderson Memorial
Edwin J. Hadd Law School Scholarship
Roland W. Hagemann Prize in Water Law
Philo I. Hall
Herbert A. Heidepriem Memorial Scholarship
34 | SOUTH DAKOTAN LAWYER
George L. Hirschbach Law Library/John F. Hagemann Book
Fred J. Homeyer Scholarship
Preben C. & Christine Hvistendahl
Horace R. & Dorothy L. Jackson Award
John Wesley Jackson Outstanding Faculty Award
E.O. Jones, B.C. Matthews & E.G. Jones Memorial Library
John W. Larson/Delta Theta Phi
Mary J. Leamy
H. Lauren Lewis Law School Enrichment
H. Lauren Lewis Faculty Development
Robert B. & Kevin E. Looby Scholarship
Kelton S. Lynn Scholarship
Sam Masten Award
William R. McCann Memorial Scholarship
McKusick Law Library
Judith & Mark Meierhenry Family
Lyman & Lucille Melby
Brian B. Meyer Scholarship
George S. Mickelson Law School Scholarship
George T. Mickelson Law School Scholarship
Ruth M. West & Lloyd R. Moses McKusick Law Library
Ruth M. West & Lloyd R. Moses Scholarship
Theodore R. Muenster, Jr.
Judge Fred Nichol Memorial Scholarship
Michael F. Pieplow Scholarship
Thomas E. Poe, Jr. Law Library Research Assistant
Donald I. Porter Memorial Scholarship
Kurt Preszler Memorial
Gene E. Pruitt Scholarship
Susie Radigan Memorial
Roy K. Rietz Scholarship
Riter Family Memorial Scholarship
Max Royhl Memorial
William K. Sahr Law School Foundation Scholarship
M.Q. & Emily Sharpe and Lorena Sharpe Leedy Scholarship
Donald R. Shultz
Stanley E. Siegel Memorial Scholarship
Harry & Marie Siver Scholarship
Deming Smith Memorial
Marion R. Smyser Jurist-In-Residence Program
Cindy Spears Memorial
Georgiabelle & Erwin Stainbrook
State Bar RPPT Law Award
W. Richard Stengel Research Scholarship
Gayla Gull Worthington Memorial
Native American Law Students Association
Leslie C. & Gertrude L. Winters Scholarship
Jerry Norgren Environmental Law Scholarship
Harvey J. & Alwayne B. Gunderson Law Teaching
Associate Dean Sorensen Retires
Associate Dean Tom Sorensen
retired in December 2013 after more
than 13 years at the USD School of
Law and 20 years with the State of
South Dakota.
Among the areas of service and
contribution to USD and the School
of Law were Sorensen’s oversight of
academic affairs, policy and support;
media, public and alumni relations;
student recruitment; and as director of
the summer externship law course.
“You could say I have enjoyed the
aspects and duties of being ‘number
one’ to two ‘captains,’ Barry Vickrey and Tom Geu, in
our service to students and the profession here,” said
Sorensen. “I have also been fortunate to work closely
with Assistant Dean Angela Ericson, the excellent
faculty, and a very special group of staff members.
“A couple of my closest friends still tease me
sometimes and ask ‘you’re associate dean of what?’
and it reminds me how lucky I have been to work
with all of these interesting, talented and intelligent
people,” he said. “Add that I had opportunities to rub
shoulders with and serve justices, judges, great guest
speakers, members of the bars, and alums and I’m
really humbled. I am absolutely honored to have been
included in this professional and friendly community.”
Prior to his service in the legal profession, Sorensen’s
work spanned two decades in various positions in the
region as a radio news director and journalist, often
moderating political debates and other public panel
discussions. Sorensen briefly practiced law with Bogue,
Weeks & Collier on Main Street Vermillion, including
serving as deputy city attorney.
Before law school, he had served
two terms as an alderman on the
Vermillion City Council and spent
more than two decades in broadcast
journalism. Sorensen had served
as news and public affairs director
for KSOO radio in Sioux Falls,
WDAY radio in Fargo, N.D. and
South Dakota Public Broadcasting
radio (KUSD radio) in Vermillion.
He also worked as a news writer for
the Associated Press in Bismarck,
N.D. before returning to Vermillion.
During those years he was elected
four times as president of the South Dakota Associated
Press Broadcasters and served one term as president of
the Sioux Falls Area Press Association. “Dean Sorensen is a very loyal USD alumnus and
a tireless advocate for the School of Law and for its
students,” Dean Tom Geu said. “I have always valued
his talents as an effective communicator and important
and knowledgeable representative of the Law School.”
Sorensen is a native of Vermillion and received
his B.L.S. with a minor emphasis in Native American
studies, including Lakota language, and J.D. degrees
at USD.
Upon returning to Vermillion in the mid-1980s,
Sorensen rejoined the fire department as an active
member and certified instructor. He had served as a
medic in the 730th Medical Company Clearing (field
hospital), South Dakota National Guard, honorably
discharged in 1978.
Sorensen and his wife, Mary, have three grown
daughters and three grandchildren.
Winter 2013/14 | 35
Gratitude and the Sounds of Silence
A university capital campaign is an interesting animal.
Its components emerge from a laborious assessment of
needs and feasibility. Once the most critical and achievable
objectives are identified, the campaign rolls into an oddly
labeled “silent phase.” That’s when people like me talk openly
about leadership opportunities and momentum in the build
up to the “public phase.”
The transition to the public phase of a capital campaign
is special because it’s the point at which campaign leaders
stand celebrated and united, poised to influence others to
demonstrate their own commitment and leadership.
A large campaign lasts several years, mostly in some
form of a public phase. The beauty of such an ambitious
undertaking is that lives and institutions are changed forever.
I hope it’s an open secret at this point that the USD
School of Law is in the silent phase of Onward: The
Campaign for South Dakota, the first major campaign in the
law school’s 112-year history. Law school needs total roughly
$19 million, and private investment will enhance these areas:
1.Scholarships ($5 million) — Even with comparatively
low tuition and fee costs, 90 percent of USD law
students must borrow money. In 2012, the median debt
of graduating students was roughly $54,000.
2.Program Enrichment ($500,000) — Co-curricular
activities provide students important opportunities to
customize their education and find their passion. The
law school seeks support to better fund, sustain and
expand these programs.
3.Endowed Chairs & Professorships ($1.5 million) —
Students realize their potential when inspired by highly
qualified professors. With a wave of faculty retirements
on the horizon, funding is needed now to help attract
and retain quality teachers.
4.Construction/Renovation ($12 million) —
Construction and renovation at the 32-year-old law
school building will create the attractive, high-tech
and functional learning environment beneficial to
both students and the public they will serve. Naming
rights are available for the school of law, school of law
building, law library, courtroom, offices and classrooms.
As we move toward a projected public phase launch of
October 2014, I invite you to join the ranks of leaders like
Orrin Estebo ‘71, whose $1 million gift will add common
space to our law school; Carlyle Richards ’60 and his wife,
Sheila, whose $100,000 gift will address general law school
needs; the law firm of Johnson, Heidepriem & Abdallah,
whose $125,000 pledge created a trial advocacy fellowship;
and the law firm of Cutler & Donahoe, whose $125,000
endowed gift established a teaching award that will annually
reward deserving law faculty.
The Onward South Dakota campaign presents real
challenges and real opportunities. It belongs to all alumni
and friends of the USD School of Law, providing an
unprecedented opportunity to leave a lasting legacy and,
most importantly, open doors for very talented and
deserving students.
Demonstrate your leadership. Whether it’s through a
multi-year cash pledge, revocable estate pledge or a more
sophisticated planned giving vehicle, the USD Foundation
is prepared to bring your philanthropic vision to fruition.
Please contact me at nick.kotzea@usdfoundation.org or
605-670-4256 with any questions, concerns or ideas.
Thank you so much for your ongoing support!
Will you be at our side when October 2014 arrives?
Nick A. Kotzea, ‘04 B.S., ‘08 J.D.
Director of Development
USD School of Law
Current-fund annual gifts are crucial to the everyday operations of our law school. They are the primary funding
source for student programming. These gifts are initiated by donors and solicited by the USD Foundation’s
Annual Giving staff.
FY2010: 219 unique donors
FY2011: 217 unique donors
36 | SOUTH DAKOTAN LAWYER
$73,516.10 $82,431.28
FY2012: 210 unique donors
FY2013: 227 unique donors
$65,431.65
$74,719.28
Law School Advisory Council
Mary A. Akkerman
2nd Circuit
Thomas C. Barnett, Jr.
Ex-Officio
(State Bar Exec. Sec.)
Heather Lammers
Bogard
4th Circuit
Pamela R. Bollweg
Ex-Officio
(LS Committee Chair)
Kent Cutler
At-Large
Dennis L. Duncan
1st Circuit
Thomas H. Frieberg
Ex-Officio
(Bar Pres.–Elect)
Richard L. Ericsson
3rd Circuit
William C. Garry
2nd Circuit
Thomas E. Geu
Ex-Officio
(LS Dean)
Hon. David Gilbertson
Ex-Officio
(SCSD Chief)
Marilyn J. Hagberg
At-Large
Brian Hagg
7th Circuit
Robert E. Hayes
At-Large
Terry L. Hofer
Ex-Officio
(Bar Pres.)
Karen Paige Hunt
Secretary
4th Circuit
Nick A. Kotzea
Ex-Officio (non-voting,
USD Foundation)
Chad C. Nelson
3rd Circuit
Reed A. Rasmussen VP
5th Circuit
Robert C. Ritter, Jr.
6th Circuit
Not pictured:
Joseph Ashley Parr
7th Circuit
Lisa Z. Rothschadl
1st Circuit
William M. Van Camp, Jr.
6th Circuit
Roy A. Wise, President
5th Circuit
SCHOOL OF LAW
414 East Clark Street • Vermillion, SD 57069-2390
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