Bristol Lawyers

Joel Rische is a litigation attorney at Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz & Smith, LLP in Sioux Falls, SD. Joel joined the firm in 2015 and is originally from Wessington Springs, South Dakota. He earned a bachelor of science degree in Contemporary Media and Journalism from the University of South Dakota and spent several years working in broadcast television before attending law school. After graduation from the University of Nebraska College of Law, Joel clerked for the Honorable Roberto A. Lange in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota in Pierre.Outside of work, Joel enjoys traveling with his wife,...

South Dakota lawyer David Rezac is a member of the Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz & Smith Transactions and General Business practice group, and his practice covers all aspects of business transactions, as well as federal and state trademark registrations. David advises clients in both large and small business transactions, and his expertise covers entity formation, leasing and financing arrangements, real estate sales, mergers, acquisitions, and general contract preparation and negotiation. David also has extensive experience in obtaining federal and state trademark registrations and can assist clients in determining the advantages of registration, as well as completing the registration process.

David joined...

Michael Fort provides aggressive and experienced representation in divorce, custody, alimony, criminal and personal injury cases. Prior to becoming an attorney, Michael Fort clerked for the 21st Judicial District's Circuit Court Judges Office. After graduating in the top ten percent of his law school class, Michael was invited to work as an associate attorney at the law firm of Schell, Binkley and Davies. After successfully litigating hundreds of cases, Michael Fort accepted a partnership at Schell and Davies.

I am an experienced trial lawyer helping clients with injury accidents, criminal allegations, divorce, custody, or guardianship issues. I enjoy helping clients get through difficult and stressful situations, and sticking up for the powerless when the individuals in power are attempting to take advantage of them.

Russ Janklow specializes in personal injury and civil litigation, wherein he has tried over 100 jury trials in South Dakota, including several appearances before the South Dakota Supreme Court. Russ has been distinguished as one of the top personal injury trial attorneys in South Dakota and has repeatedly been acknowledged by his peers for his personal approach, diverse skills and his outstanding accomplishments. A tenacious litigator, Russ is recognized annually by Best Lawyers in America, a recognition he’s received since 2010. He was also awarded the “2014 Lawyer of the Year” in Sioux Falls for plaintiffs’ personal injury litigation, an...

Justin Clarke is a litigation attorney at Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz & Smith, LLP in Sioux Falls, SD. An Estelline, SD native, Justin joined the firm in 2010 and is a partner in the firm’s litigation section. Justin’s practice focuses on insurance defense, commercial and complex litigation, and trust litigation. Justin graduated from the University of Kansas School of Law in 2010. While in law school, he served as a staff editor for the Kansas Journal of Law and Public Policy and participated in KU Law’s Moot Court competition. When Justin isn’t working, he enjoys spending time with his family and...

John R. Murphy has been practicing criminal defense in the state and federal courts of South Dakota for over 20 years. His practice is limited to criminal defense, and he practices at the investigatory, trial, appellate and habeas corpus stages. His firm is committed to proving high quality and aggressive representation to those accused of crimes.

Steve Johnson is a native of South Dakota, and was born in Sioux Falls. He attended Augustana College where he graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1973. He then graduated from the University of South Dakota School Of Law in 1976 as a member of the Thomas Sterling Honor Society and the South Dakota Law Review. Steve continues to be a frequent lecturer at the South Dakota School of Law. His many professional affiliations and distinctions include membership in the American College of Trial Lawyers, International Trial Lawyers Association, American Board of Trial Advocates and the Association of Trial Lawyers...

Experienced former prosecutor will "SEEK JUSTICE FOR YOU!". Successful experienced DUI/DWI trial lawyer.

Growing up on a farm Jeff Cole understood how hard it was to be a farmer so he decided he wanted to fight for farmers to get their fair share in our legal system and became a lawyer. Since he decided to become a lawyer he has a diverse career but now mainly focuses on trials and litigation. He has tried 7 cases to the South Dakota Supreme Court and one case to the US Court of Appeals. He has even won a US Supreme Court Case where he was trial counsel.

Brooke Swier Schloss leads Swier Law Firm's Family Law Practice Group and focuses her practice on divorce, child custody, child support, elder law, spousal support, property division, pre- and post-marital planning, and adoptions. Brooke is also the author of the book 15 Tips for Choosing a South Dakota Divorce Lawyer and serves on the South Dakota Bar Association's Family Law Committee. Brooke is a graduate of the University of South Dakota School of Law, where she served on the Board of Editors for the South Dakota Law Review and was a published author. She is a member of the...

Sioux Falls lawyer Elizabeth Hertz joined Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz & Smith, LLP in the litigation section in 2010, and became a partner in 2016. She received her B.A. from Macalester College in 2004 where she studied classical history and biology. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School and clerked for the Honorable James B. Loken of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Elizabeth practices in the areas of commercial and complex litigation, family law, tribal law, professional liability defense, appellate law, plaintiff’s litigation, construction litigation, and intellectual property litigation. Elizabeth currently serves as president...

Bret Merkle has been representing injured people since 1991. Bret is a trial attorney specializing in the area of bodily injury and insurance claims. He graduated with a law degree and an MBA degree, and is a staff instructor with the Gerry Spence Trial Lawyers College. Bret has obtained justice for his clients through negotiated settlements, mediation, arbitration, court trials and jury trials for hundreds of people over the years. Bret and his staff are personable and easy to work relieving the stress from tragic accidents and losses.

Rebecca Wilson founded Wilson Legal Planning after practicing in the field of estate planning and elder law for 18 years. Rebecca’s practice throughout her career has been focused on estate planning, elder law, probate and trust administration. She enjoys working with her clients to help them understand their options and choose the best fit for their family. Rebecca received her undergraduate degree in psychology from Yale University with distinction. She graduated cum laude from the University of Minnesota Law School. Rebecca is a member of the National Association of Elder Law Attorneys, the Sioux...

Mark Ekse - Registered Patent Attorney and Member of the State Bar of South Dakota. Mark’s practice focus includes licensing, trademark and copyright law. He also represents clients involved in patent disputes, infringement cases and intellectual property cases. Mark represents clients needing legal guidance with registering and protecting software and computer technology, electronic commerce and digital enterprise, as well as trade secret protection and disputes. Mark is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Mark currently serves as an adjunct professor of Patent Law and Intellectual Property at the University of South Dakota. He received his undergraduate...

Keith Gauer is a Financial Services lawyer at Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz & Smith, LLP in Sioux Falls, SD. His practice is focused on the representation of banks and companies involved in the development, marketing, and distribution of financial services. He regularly counsels banks with respect to the negotiation and drafting of agreements related to national financial products, including contracts relating to credit card products, prepaid cards, student loans, and other national products. While representing payment card issuers, Keith also regularly works on agreements to document the transfer of card portfolios between institutions. In connection with payment card programs, Keith has...

Charles Gullickson is a Financial Services lawyer at Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz & Smith, LLP in Sioux Falls, SD. Financial and insurance regulatory matters make up a substantial portion of Chuck’s practice. He devotes a significant amount of time to such banking law matters as lending transactions, loan documentation, bank acquisitions and branching, and Chuck advises banking clients regularly on regulatory matters and oversight of third party vendors and servicers, and credit card lending and securitizations. Chuck also handles various insurance regulatory matters and serves as Executive Director and General Counsel for the South Dakota Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Association....

Mike Snyder is a litigation attorney at Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz & Smith, LLP in Sioux Falls, SD. Originally from Pierre, SD, Mike joined the firm in 2016 as a member of the firm’s litigation section. His practice focuses primarily on commercial and complex litigation and insurance litigation.

Mike interned with the firm in the summer of 2013 and is a 2014 graduate of the University of South Dakota School of Law, where he graduated first in his class and served as editor-in-chief of the South Dakota Law Review and as a research assistant to Professor Christine Hutton. Following graduation, Mike served...

I have over 30 years experience helping people with difficult problems. I am a former public defender and later a prosecutor. I have had numerous jury trials. My experience enables me to help you in cases from personal injury/automobile accidents to criminal and DUI defense as well as family law. My family law practice includes divorce, custody, child support, adoption, guardianship and conservatorship matters. I also handle bankruptcy cases for people looking for a new start financially.

I have been a family law attorney for over 40 years and after having also done family law mediation for several years, I am now doing only Family Law Mediation. I have taken the ABA Family Law Mediation training and attended the Harvard Negotiations Seminar.

Doug Hajek is a business and financial institutions attorney at Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz & Smith, LLP in Sioux Falls, SD. A Tyndall, SD native, Doug didn’t enter the practice of law on the usual path. After graduating from college in 1972, Doug began a 10-year career in banking — first, as a commercial lender with US Bank in Rapid City, then in Minneapolis managing the company’s system-wide commercial loan participation pool, and finally, managing Western Bank’s mortgage banking operation in Sioux Falls. Doug entered law school in 1982 and graduated in 1985, with a practice in corporate law, public finance,...

South Dakota lawyer Mitch Peterson is a partner focused on commercial litigation. As such, he assists both large and small clients, as well as individuals, with claims arising out of commercial transactions. He also does a significant amount of general litigation work for both companies and individuals.

This work includes litigation, trials, arbitration, and appellate work in the following areas: conditional use permits and variances, confidential information, construction, contracts, copyright, corporate/ownership, estate/probate, land use, non-competition and non-solicitation, non-disclosure agreements, product liability, professional services/negligence (legal, architectural, engineering, accounting, software development, financial services), real estate, sales of businesses, sales of goods, technology/software,...

My commitment to each client is to achieve results that exceed expectations by providing high quality, personalized legal services. My commitment to each small business client is to provide high quality, creative, and results-oriented legal services and to serve as a primary resource in all aspects of the client's growth and development througout the formation, operations, and termination stages of the business life cycle.

Beau joined the Den Herder Law Firm in 2019 with several years of experience practicing in a variety of civil litigation matters, real estate transactions, and debtor-creditor negotiations. Beau serves as the municipal attorney for the town of Mission Hill, South Dakota. Beau graduated from the University of South Dakota Law School in 2014. During law school Beau served as Lead Articles Editor for the South Dakota Law Review and was a member of the Trial Team.

Beau has been a member of the South Dakota Bar Association since 2014 and is also admitted to practice before the United States District...

Robert E. Hayes is a Financial Services lawyer at Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz & Smith, LLP in Sioux Falls, SD. Bob has long been recognized for his expertise in the field of creditors rights law, a fact reflected not only by his having served for years on the State Bar’s Debtor Creditor Committee but accumulating nearly a decade as chair of that committee. Bob has received an AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rating by Martindale-Hubbell®, for the highest level of professional excellence for their legal knowledge, communication skills and ethical standards. He was also selected by Best Lawyers® in the areas of...