advanced anatomy for trial lawyers 2013 sdtla fall seminar

J U L Y / A U G U S T 2 0 1 3 I S S U E N O . 2 6 9

Inside this issue….

TRIAL LAWYER OF

THE YEAR—page 6

Chief Justice Gilbertson Receives

Nichol Award—page 8

Get a Booster Shot for Your Office

Technology— see page 9

Law School Times—see page 12

2013 Annual Meeting Moments

and much much more…..

Advanced Anatomy for Trial Lawyers 2013 SDTLA Fall Seminar September 19-20, 2013

Lodge at Deadwood See page 15 for details

July/August 2013

PRESIDENT ’S MESSAGE….

B Y S T E P H A N I E E . P O C H O P

Officers President: Stephanie E. Pochop

President-Elect: G. Verne Goodsell Secretary-Treasurer: Steven C. Beardsley

Board of Governors

Timothy Rensch, AAJ Delegate Richard D. Casey, AAJ Delegate

Clint Sargent, AAJ Governor Terrence R. Quinn, AAJ Governor

Aaron D. Eiesland Casey W. Fideler Alecia E. Fuller

Raleigh E. Hansman Margo Tschetter Julius

Ryan Kolbeck Brad J. Lee

Melissa B. Nicholson Robbie J. Rohl

McLean Thompson Kerver T.J. Von Wald

Kasey L. Wassenaar

Past Presidents Immediate Past President

Steven S. Siegel

William J. Holland - Stan Siegel Joseph M. Butler - John H. Zimmer

Carleton R. Hoy - Horace R. Jackson William F. Day Jr. - Vincent J. Protsch

Gale E. Fisher - A. William Spiry Franklin J. Wallahan - Gerald L. Reade

Rick Johnson - David V. Vrooman Terence R. Quinn - Thomas R. Pardy

Charles M. Thompson - David R. Gienapp Gary E. Davis - Gregory A. Eiesland James S. Nelson - Robert J. Burns

Brent A. Wilbur - Steven M. Johnson Glen H. Johnson - William J. Srstka Jr.

Gary D. Jensen - John P. Blackburn Michael W. Day - Michael J. Schaffer

Bruce M. Ford - Nancy J. Turbak Berry Scott Heidepriem – Michael D. Stevens Robert L. Morris II - Richard D. Casey

Jon Sogn – Mark V. Meierhenry Brad Schreiber – Jeff A. Larson Mark Connot – Tina M. Hogue

James Roby - Wally Eklund Michael F. Marlow - Clint Sargent

Michael A. Wilson—Roger A. Tellinghui-sen

Association Office 104 W Spring Creek Dr — PO Box 1154

Pierre, SD 57501-1154 605-224-9292

The Barrister is published electronically six times a year by the South Dakota Trial Lawyers Association as a service to its membership and as part of its continuing commitment to educate and promote professionalism among trial attorneys. Submissions are welcome. Interested authors should contact Sara Hartford, Executive Director at the above address. Articles are accepted from contributors who share the goals of the South Dakota Trial Lawyers. All submissions must be signed by the author. The Barrister is not responsible for cite-checking or reference checking materials cited in submis-sions. The author must verify that any sources included, relied upon or quoted in the submission have been properly credited and cited; the author must obtain all necessary permissions for publication of copyright protected materials. The Executive Director and Editor have the right to edit all submissions or refuse to publish articles that are not in keeping with the goals of the organization. Subscriptions of $25 are included in the Association’s annual membership dues. Non-members subscription rate is $50 per year. Statements and opinions in the Barrister editorials and articles are not necessarily those of SDTLA. Publication of advertising does not imply endorsement of products or services or statements made about them. Add advertising copy is subject to approval by SDTLA. Copy deadlines are February 1, April 1, June 1, August 1 October 1 and December 1. Call for advertising rates.

It is truly an honor for me to the president of the SDTLA in its 51

st year. I want to sincerely

thank the members for trusting me to get the SDTLA off to a great start for the next fifty years. Steve Siegel has handed the gavel to me with the organization in great shape and de-serves an extra round of applause for his ef-forts and accomplishments last year. With Steve’s leadership, our membership grew; we had a diverse Board of Governors that repre-sented the interests of our membership; we operated within our budget; we had a suc-cessful year in the legislature and helped craft fundamentally important changes to the crimi-nal justice system; we had national quality CLE’s; and we “brought sexy back” to the SDTLA with our 50 Year Gala event. We said good-bye with a flourish to valued member Stanley Whiting; we recognized the out-standing achievements of Chief Justice Gilbertson for his leadership in the refor-mation of the criminal justice system; and we surprised and applauded one of our most extraordinary members and mentors, Charlie Thompson. If I can hand the gavel to Verne Goodsell next year with anything close to this list of successes, the SDTLA will have had another great year in 2013-14. The other person who deserves every member’s appreciation for a job wonderfully done is Sara Hartford. Sara is sincerely dedicated to the SDTLA and it shows in our business meetings, at our CLE’s and in our budget. Every member who has talked me about contacting the SDTLA with questions or concerns reports the same experi-ence: Sara provides timely, accurate, friendly and engaging responses. As a rural lawyer from a small law firm, I represent an important demographic in our member-ship and Sara’s organizational skills, adaptability and encouragement make it possi-ble for lawyers like me to assume leadership roles in the SDTLA. She deserves a standing ovation for all the things, big and small, she does for us all year long. I admit it: I am anchored to the history and traditions of the SDTLA and am at risk of becoming an SDTLA dinosaur because I have so many great memories of SDTLA events from “back in the day” that I don’t really much like to think of changing things. I am the third generation of my family to hold a leadership position in the SDTLA and I have been attending SDTLA events since I was in law school because active in-volvement in the organization was practically mandatory in our

Continued on page 21

July/August 2013

Scott A. Abdallah Renee H. Christensen Jeff A. Larson Steven S. Siegel Michael C. Abourezk J. Michael Dady James D. Leach Michael J. Simpson Charles Abourezk Patrick K. Duffy Michael F. Marlow Michael D. Stevens Stephanie R. Amiotte Aaron D. Eiesland Lee C. Kit McCahren Roger A. Tellinghuisen Kenneth E. Barker Gregory A. Eiesland Mark V. Meierhenry Thomas P. Tonner Steven C. Beardsley Bruce M. Ford James S. Nelson Nancy J. Turbak Berry John P. Blackburn Elizabeth M. Frederick Timothy J. Rensch TJ Von Wald Michael D. Bornitz Jay R. Gellhaus James C. Roby Thomas K. Wilka John William Burke Scott N. Heidepriem Susan M. Sabers Michael A. Wilson Michael J. Butler Gary D. Jensen Michael K. Sabers Steven M. Johnson Clint Sargent

$1,800 ANNUAL Michael F. Marlow

Stephanie E. Pochop

$1,200 ANNUAL Kenneth E. Barker John P. Blackburn Aaron D. Eiesland

Gregory A. Eiesland Scott N. Heidepriem

Clint Sargent Michael D. Stevens

Roger A. Tellinghuisen

$1000 ANNUAL Scott Hoy

$900 ANNUAL Gary D. Jensen

Nancy Turbak Berry

$720 ANNUAL Michael A. Wilson

$600 ANNUAL Terry L. Hofer

Margo T. Julius Mark V. Meierhenry

James C. Roby Michael J. Schaffer

Whiting Hagg & Hagg

$500 ANNUAL John W. Burke

Courtney R. Clayborne Terry Pechota

SDTLPAC is the political action committee of the SD Trial Lawyers As-sociation. Organized in 1987, SDTLPAC contributes to any candidate for a state office who will support fair and equitable legislation to protect the rights of South Dakotans through the preservation of our justice sys-tem. WE THANK THESE CONTRIBUTORS FOR THEIR SUPPORT!

$480 ANNUAL Jon C. Sogn

$300 ANNUAL

Charles Abourezk Steven C. Beardsley G. Verne Goodsell Wm. Jason Groves Thomas Johnson

Paul H. Linde Thomas Tobin

$240 ANNUAL

Richard D. Casey

$200 ANNUAL Stephanie R. Amiotte

Susan M. Sabers

$180 ANNUAL Brad J. Lee

$120 ANNUAL

Kenneth D. Bertsch Daniel F. Duffy

Richard A. Engels Dennis W. Finch

Robert B. Frieberg Alecia E. Fuller

George E. Grassby Ryan Kolbeck

Michael Paulson Catherine V. Piersol

Haven L. Stuck T. J. Von Wald

SUSTAINING MEMBERS

Sustaining members pay $700 in dues each year, which entitles them to attend the Association’s annual fall seminar, the annual meeting and luncheon and a plaque denoting their sustaining membership status. Our gratitude goes to these members so that the association can continue to sustain funding for an on-going defense of the civil justice system!

Fred J. Nichol Award for Outstanding Jurist

Hon. Ernest W. Hertz – 2000 Hon. Andrew W. Bogue - 2001

Hon. John B. Jones – 2002 Hon. George W. Wuest - 2003 Hon. Marshall P. Young – 2004

Hon. Robert A. Amundson – 2005 Hon. Lawrence L. Piersol – 2006 Hon. Richard W. Sabers – 2007 Hon. Judith K. Meierhenry - 2008

Hon. Tim D. Tucker – 2009 Hon. David R. Gienapp - 2010 Hon. Jack Von Wald – 2011

Hon. John Bastain - 2012 Hon. David Gilbertson -2013

TRIAL LAWYER OF THE YEAR AWARDS

87-88 Terry Quinn 88-89 Greg Eiesland 89-90 Steve Johnson 90-91 Glen Johnson 91-92 Bob Burns 92-93 Gary Jensen 93-94 Joe Butler 94-95 Mark Meierhenry 95-96 Jeff Larson 96-97 Nancy Turbak 97-98 David Gienapp 98-99 Rick Johnson 99-00 Jim McMahon 00-01 Mike Schaffer 01-02 John Blackburn 02-03 William F. Day, Jr. 03-04 Michael Abourezk 04-05 Michael W. Strain 05-06 Patrick Duffy 06-07 Thomas G. Fritz 07-08 Michael J. Butler 08-09 Wally Eklund 09-10 James D. Leach 10-11 N. Dean Nasser, Jr. 11-12 Stanley Whiting 12-13 Charles M. Thompson

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Carleton “Tex” Hoy John F. Hagemann Robert C. Ulrich

July/August 2013

TOAST OF TRIAL LAWYERS

June 2006 Nancy Turbak

T.F. Martin Travis Jones

Michael Stevens

June 2007 Roger Tellinghuisen

Mike Butler Eric Schulte

June 2008 Sid Strange Jerry Reade Jim Leach

June 2009

Mike Abourezk Alecia Garcia

Scott Heidepriem Shiloh MacNally Doug Cummings

June 2010

Michael DeMersseman Hon. John Schlimgen

Joni Cutler Margo Julius

Scott Abdallah

June 2011 Susan Sabers TJ Von Wald John Murphy Steve Siegel

June 2012

John Blackburn Linda Lea Viken Hon. Mark Smith Ronald Parsons

June 2013

Rep. Michael Stevens Hon. John Hinrichs Hon. Michelle Percy

Clint Sargent McLean Thompson Kerver

Eric C. Schulte Tim Rensch

Stephanie Pochop Richard Casey Ryan Kolbeck

If you are wondering why there is a giant 42 on the top of this page, I am following Stephanie’s idea of recruiting 42 new members to our organization. It is also Jackie Robin-son’s number which was a hit movie this year, so it should be easy to remember. I also think the quote I’ve included from Jackie Robinson, is particularly appropriate to each and every one of you. You impact your clients’ lives every day. Sara, Stephanie and I will continue to tally the new members as we go this year and keep you posted as to how close we are to this goal. As Stephanie suggested, think about sponsoring a membership for a young lawyer who may be struggling and can’t afford one on his/her own.

I hope everyone enjoyed the bar convention in Pierre this June. It was a great turn out for the Trial Lawyer’s luncheon. I love it when we are listening to back-ground of the Trial Lawyer of the Year and everyone is trying to figure out who it is. I don’t think my table figured out until Dean was at least half way through! Dean did a great job of filling in for Stan Whiting. Judge Trandahl’s dedication of the donated Bill of Rights to hang in the courthouse in Tripp County in Stan’s memory was a touching tribute. Don’t miss Stephanie’s first president’s page. It is a touching tribute to our past and an energetic call out to everyone to embrace the future of this organization. In this issue, we have some highlights of the bar convention: presentation of the Trial Lawyer of the year to Charlie Thompson, the Nichol Jurist Award to Chief Justice Gilbertson, and an article on updating your office technology. We also have our new liaison’s (Kelsey Sutton) first article. I think Kelsey is going to help Stephanie kick off our 51

st year with a bang. There is no shortage of enthusiasm

with those two. Kelsey just spent the summer interning at Stephanie’s office so I am sure they have brain stormed some good ideas to continue the “sexy trend” of the Trial Lawyers at the law school. Now that we brought it back, we need to keep up the momentum. Don’t forget to reserve your room for the Advanced Anatomy for Trial Lawyers seminar in Deadwood. This year’s seminar will be at the Lodge at Deadwood. The block of rooms will be released on August 20

th. Last year, the weather was

beautiful and the gathering was tons of fun. I am sure Terry is putting together a fabulous line up for us. The bar examination will be given on July 30

th and 31

st. If you know a young law

school graduate, this is a good time to call and wish him/her luck. I know I would have been astounded if a lawyer had called me and done the same. As Jackie said, make an impact on the lives of others…this might be a good place to start.

42

July/August 2013

July/August 2013

The 2012-13 Trial Lawyer of the Year

Charlie Thompson

Excerpts from the Presentation by Dean Nasser: This last year we lost, among others, one of our finest. Stan Whiting, this past years recipient of this award should be standing before you to present the Trial Lawyer of the Year Award to this years Recipient. Stan was an example for all of us and I am sad but honored to stand in for him this year. I had a lot of fun preparing for this presentation and got to speak to a number of fine Trial Lawyers and Judges who allowed me to get to know this year’s recipient better than I had before. The more conversations I engaged in, the deeper I came to understand this individual and the more convinced I became that SDTLA had truly made a great selection this year. This year’s Recipient became extremely accomplished as a Trial Lawyer in the great South Dakota tradition of doing so out of a general practice of law; a jack of many, if not all trades. This lawyer's general practice included criminal law, DUIs, felonies, varied misdemeanors, domestic relations, wills & estates, employment law, business law and corporate law, pro bono legal services, agricultural issues, property disputes, farming issues, insurance work, governmental entity work, and lawsuits of all kinds in all those areas. This lawyer both Plaintiff'ed and Defended in Personal injury cases and business and farming litiga-tion cases. This lawyer was well known for excellent trial performance in all these areas and more. This Lawyer has been known, tongue in cheek, to attribute much of his extensive experience and expertise in the courtroom to the fact that the lawyers in the south central part of the state that this lawyer often goes up against are a "damn litigious bunch". This lawyer's colleagues have incredible respect for this lawyer and told me things like, this lawyer: 1) Always will do the right thing no matter what the cost. 2) This lawyer's word that can be taken to the bank.


July/August 2013

A Note to the Trial Lawyers…..

CHIEF JUSTICE GILBERTSON RECEIVES NICHOL JURIST AWARD

July/August 2013

The South Dakota Trial Lawyers Association presented the Honorable David Gilbertson with the annual Fred J. Nichol Award for Outstanding Jurist during the Association's annual meeting in Pierre on June 20, 2013. The award is given to an outstanding trial or appellate judge who possesses unwavering personal integrity and maintains an exemplary standard of conduct that enhances the image of the judiciary and reinforces public confidence in the jus-tice system. The judge receiving the award must also show respect and courtesy to the parties, witnesses, jurors, court personnel and attorneys who appear in the Judge’s Courtroom and consistently make decisions that are well reasoned and uphold the integrity and independence of the office. The South Dakota Trial Lawyers Association created this award in honor of the late Judge Fred J. Nichol. Chief Justice Gilbertson was elected to a fourth 4-year term as Chief Justice by the members of the Supreme Court. He was appointed to the Supreme Court in April 1995 to represent the Fifth Supreme Court District and was retained by the voters in the 1998 general election and the 2006 general election. Chief Justice Gilbertson received his undergraduate degree from South Dakota State University in 1972 and his Juris Doctor from the University of South Dakota, School of Law in 1975. He engaged in private practice from 1975 until his appointment to the circuit court bench in 1986. During this time he also served as a deputy state’s attorney and as an attorney for several municipalities and school districts. He is past President of the South Dakota Judges Association; and is a member of the Glacial Lakes Bar Association, the Brown County Bar Association and the South Dakota Bar Association. He is a member of the Conference of Chief Justic-es and chairs its Committees on Tribal/State Relations and the Task Force on Politics and Judicial Selection. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the National Conference of Chief Justices from 2005-2007. In 2006, he was the re-cipient of the Distinguished Service Award from the National Center for State Courts for his defense of judicial independ-ence. He serves on the Judicial-Bar Liaison Committee of the State Bar Association and has served as a Court Counse-lor at South Dakota Boys State since 1995. Born October 29, 1949, he and his wife Deborah have four children.

July/August 2013

Does Your Office Need a Technology Booster Shot? By Marya Tellinghuisen

A few months ago, I took my then 15 year old son to the pediatrician for a physical. I dragged his older brother along as he had car troubles and was without transportation. When we saw our pediatrician, he said both of the boys were overdue for booster shots for their childhood immunizations. Over the next few months, we went back to get everyone caught up. I had thought I was a “good” mom but because my kids have always been in the Rapid City School District, there has never been a request to update their immunizations since they started kindergarten. What a shock it was to find out how behind the times I really was. Likewise, I am sure some of you have neglected to update your law office technology. Maybe not intentionally but more because you have the notion that if it “ain’t broke why change things?” However, a technology “booster” does not have to be expensive and difficult to implement. With a few minor changes, your office can run much more efficiently. Here are just a few suggestions to consider:

Cell Phones, Phone Systems and Remote Access Most attorneys have a smart phone of some sort. This allows the attorney to be connected with his/her office even when on the road or from a remote office at home or in a hotel. Your firm should also have a network (or Cloud) which allows the attorneys to access it from a laptop or home computer. There are also many “apps” that can be used to further increase efficiency when the attorney is out of the office. My iPhone has a free application that allows me to record messages and send them by email or text to another person. Dictamus is a similar application that can replace your Dictaphone. Vide-oconferencing saves a lot of travel time and expense. Some of the state court houses have videoconferencing abilities as do some of the bigger law firms. Contact these firms to see if you can use their equipment for a cost. It is still cheaper than flying across the country to take a 20 minute deposition of a witness. One final suggestion for those of you who are in the courtroom a lot. The courthouses do not have internet access. If you would like to be connected to your network while in trial, then you should probably invest in an internet “hot spot” which is a device that plugs into your computer that allows an internet connection. Printing can also be a problem…check with your court administrator to see if there is a way to print documents there.

Computer Programs There are hundreds (maybe thousands) of computer programs that will help your office run more efficiently. Wikis are often used by groups of attorneys in an office. Instead of getting 20 emails a day regarding a document, all recipients can ac-cess the changes through a wiki which allows everyone access to information on a secure page online.

Westlaw/Lexis/Fastcase Every attorney has to have access to a law library. Most law firms have now eliminated libraries and instead now opt for Westlaw and or Lexis. This is due to both expense and space. But did you know that your subscription to Dakota Disc gives you access to the Supreme Court cases for all 50 states? You get much more than that with the additional option of downloading Fastcase for iPhone and iPad. At $500 a year, it is truly a bargain. If you spend any time doing trial work, then you must have Dakota Disc for the jury instructions. I see jury instructions sub-mitted with the wrong Pattern number frequently. I have access to them on my computer but I also print them off for quick access during trials. My Criminal set was updated by the State Bar in 1996. The Committee supplements them each year. My Civil set was updated by the State Bar in 2013. If you are using an older set, you need to update or check to make sure yours has the most recent numbering and patterns contained in it. In Pennington County, we have a set of both in the li-brary for lawyers to use.

Marketing, Web Page and Blogs Many people these days use the web to find attorneys. Your firm should have a web page. In addition to the basic web page, some firms have “blogs” and “podcast” links to additional newsworthy information. If you don’t know what a blog is or a pod cast then you should probably spend a little time with one of your associates, children or grandchildren. Technology is not something you can avoid so you are better off embracing it.


July/August 2013

Moments from 2013 Annual Meeting & Elections

July/August 2013

SOUTH DAKOTA TRIAL LAWYERS ASSOCIATION Board of Governors

Meeting Minutes June 19, 2013

Ramkota—Pierre

In attendance: Steve Siegel, Stephanie Pochop, Verne Goodsell, Roger Tellinghuisen, Clint Sargent, Terry Quinn, John Blackburn, Richard Casey, Aaron Eiesland, Eric Schulte, Alecia Fuller, Ryan Kolbeck, Brad Lee, Tim Rensch, Robbie Rohl, and Sara Hartford. A quorum was present. New Law Student Liaison Kelsea Sutton, incoming Secretary-Treasurer Steve Beardsley and Barrister Editor Marya Tellinghuisen were also present. President Siegel introduced and welcomed Ms. Sutton. Siegel asked for comments and a motion to approve the May 16, 2013 Board conference call minutes. Quinn made the motion, Kolbeck seconded, motion unanimously carried. Goodsell and Hartford gave the Treasurer’s report and discussed the Draft 12-13 Year-End report. Account balances are as follows: Operations - $9,939, Savings - $4,230, Reserve Fund - $25,102 and the PAC - $19,066. Hartford pre-sented the proposed 13-14 Budget and there was discussion. Rensch made a motion to adopt the 13-14 budget as presented, Eiesland seconded. Motion unanimously carried. Under old business, Fuller reported an event is being planned for Thursday August 15 at the Law School during Orien-tation week. There was discussion on enhancing our presence at the Law School and suggestions for the Law School Outreach committee to explore. Hartford will add the Adopt-A-Law Student program to the dues renewal invoices going out next week. Quinn reported the planning of the Fall seminar is underway with Tom Vesper as the evening banquet speaker. It is to be held September 19-20 at the Lodge of Deadwood and it is entitled Advanced Anatomy for Trial Lawyers. The agen-da and registration material is imminent. Kolbeck reported he is actively trying to engage Judge Bennett from Iowa to be a speaker at the Spring Seminar, May 8-9, 2014 in Sioux Falls. Pochop suggested Judge Bill Wilson from Arkansas also be recruited to speak as well. Under new business, Hartford asked Rohl & Eiesland to recruit a Rapid City attorney to replace Stan Whiting on the Da-kota Plains Legal Services Board. President-Elect Pochop appointed Robbie Rohl to start a Social Media committee and establish a Facebook page for SDTLA. Sargent made a motion to recognize Lobbyist Tellinghuisen and Barrister Editor Tellinghuisen as official ex-officio mem-bers of the Board of Governors and extend an open invitation to attend the board meetings, Goodsell seconded. Motion unanimously carried.

Lee asked the Board to sponsor the Seventh Circuit Charity Golf Tournament August 23 with proceeds going to the Dave Curington Family. There was discussion. Quinn made a motion to do a one-time sponsorship of the tournament in the amount of $500, Kolbeck seconded. Motion unanimously carried. Kolbeck reported the AG’s Consumer Protection Task Force is seeking our support. Tellinghuisen volunteered to con-tact Charlie McGuigen. Quinn reported AAJ is giving new lawyers a discounted membership rate. The contact at AAJ is Suzanne Rogers. The next Board meeting is Thursday, July 18, 2013 at 11:00 am CENTRAL/10:00 am MT by conference call. Dial-ing instructions will be on the agenda. Meeting adjourned.

July/August 2013

Law School Times By

Kelsea K. Sutton [email protected]

(605) 830-5039 SDTLA Law Student Liaison

Who wants to be a trial lawyer after law school graduation? At the be-ginning of our first year, the more appropriate question probably would have been who didn’t want to be a trial lawyer after graduation? While some students have most likely found a new path in transactional law, non-profit organizations, or public service, the desire for a career in liti-gation certainly still lingers in many of them. I am the new South Dakota Trial Lawyers Association Student Liaison for the 2013-2014 school year, and I am here to help you connect with those students. I will work this year to encourage student membership in SDTLA, nurture the mentorship program for students who are inter-ested in litigation after graduation, and expand SDTLA’s presence amongst the entire student body.

If you are looking for ways to get involved in Vermillion, the first upcoming opportunity will be the SDTLA Orientation event on Thursday, August 15th. The Trial Lawyers will perform mock opening statements for both a plaintiff and a defendant and then screen the documentary “Hot Coffee,” a film that I feel both informs students about why trial work is so important and also inspires them to get involved in it. The screening will be followed by a social at Carey’s, which will be the perfect setting to get to know incoming first-year students. If you want more feedback on how to volunteer at the law school or get involved with students, feel free to contact me anytime by phone or email. I look forward to working hard for all of you in the up-coming school year.

SDTLA CALENDAR OF EVENTS 2013

August 15 Board meeting 11 am CT and Orientation Event, 1 pm CT USD School of Law, Vermillion September 19 Board meeting, Lodge at Deadwood, 11 am MT

Fall Seminar & Banquet, 1pm Lodge at Deadwood September 20 Fall seminar, 9 – noon, Lodge at Deadwood October 17 Board Conference call, 4 pm CT November TBA Meeting with Chief Justice, Location TBA December 19 Board Conference call, 4 pm CT

July/August 2013

Law Office Basics Finally, it’s important that you have a copy machine that does more than just make copies. Copy machines these days can, at a minimum, staple, scan, Bate Stamp and sort. Fax machines are a bit passé; however, they are still utilized when scanners and internet are not available. The South Dakota court system has recently completed its conversion to Odyssey Case Management system. While the Odyssey system is not available to you yet, it will be soon. You will be able to file electronically and access information regarding your cases. The electronic system should be similar to the system utilized by the Federal Courts. Some offices scan and store their files electronically. Additionally, I have talked to attorneys who have all of their mail scanned and sent to them so they can access it even when they are out of the office. Electronic file management saves space and increases the ability to access old files. Billing programs have evolved with our greater mobility as well. Plus, conflict check and tickler systems are must haves. Most of this technology can be obtained at affordable prices.

Conclusion If you are really uncomfortable using technology, then at a minimum, you must have support staff that can help you with some of these items. The “booster” will only hurt a little and in the long run it may increase your mobility and provide benefits to you and your clients. __________________________________ I blog (a contraction of the words web log) is a discussion or informational site published on the World Wide Web and consisting of discrete entries ("posts") typically displayed in reverse chronological order (the most recent post appears first). Wikipedia. Ii A podcast is a type of digital media consisting of an episodic series of audio radio, video, PDF, or ePub files subscribed to and downloaded through web syndication or streamed online to a computer or mobile device. Wikipedia. Iii My 82 year old mother has a laptop and wireless internet and her very own Facebook page. So don’t tell me you are too old to learn! Iv See http://ujs.sd.gov/Odyssey_System/ for more information.

Continued from page 9

July/August 2013

SOUTH DAKOTA TRIAL LAWYERS ASSOCIATION Board of Governors

Conference Call Minutes July 18, 2013

On the call: Stephanie Pochop, Steve Siegel, Tim Rensch, Aaron Eiesland, TJ Von Wald, Margo Julius, Alecia Fuller, Ryan Kolbeck, Melissa Nicholson, Casey Fideler, Raleigh Hansman, Kasey Wassenaar and Sara Hartford. A quorum was present. Law Student Liaison Kelsea Sutton was also on the call. President Pochop welcomed newly appointed board members. Pochop asked for comments and a motion to approve the June 19, 2013 Board meeting minutes. Rensch made the motion, Siegel seconded, motion unanimously carried. Hartford gave the Treasurer’s report and discussed the FY 13-14 Budget. Account balances are as follows: Operations - $47,915, Savings - $4,230, Reserve Fund - $25,103 and the PAC - $20,178. Fuller made a motion to accept the Treasurer’s report as presented, Rensch seconded. Motion unanimously carried. Pochop and Fuller explained the Adopt-A-Student option on the dues billing as a way to grow our membership by having a current member host a law student’s dues for $10 and be available to discuss being a lawyer during their education. Under old business, Fuller reported “A Welcome to the Courtroom and the Beginning of Your Career as a Trial Advo-cate” is being planned for Thursday August 15 at the Law School during Orientation week. The event has been revised to enhancing our presence at the Law School. All board members are encouraged to attend and mingle with the stu-dents as there will be a board meeting prior to the afternoon event. Volunteers for the event are (but not limited to): Hansman, Sargent, Siegel, Wassenaar, Fuller, Sutton, Pochop, Kolbeck, Fideler, Rohl, Rensch and possibly Julius. Pochop announced James Leach has agreed to take the Board seat on the Dakota Plains Legal Services board that was vacated by Stan Whiting. Under new business, Hartford asked for discussion on the frequency of seminars and the new format of Thursday after-noon CLE, evening banquet and CLE being done by Friday noon. It was first attempted in Deadwood last September 2012 and was a great success. The Spring 2013 seminar was replaced by the 50

th Anniversary Gala and mini CLE so

that cannot be used as a gauge. There was discussion and consensus to host the 2014 Spring seminar in Sioux Falls, with the new format, on the heels of the 2013 Fall seminar in Deadwood to see if both events are well-attended and suc-cessful. Wassenaar and Hansman reported the new Social Media committee is actively putting together a FACEBOOK page for SDTLA to attract more members and provide another form of networking among our members. Von Wald reported the planning of the Fall seminar planning is almost complete with Tom Vesper as the evening ban-quet speaker. It is to be held September 19-20 at the Lodge of Deadwood and it is entitled Advanced Anatomy for Trial Lawyers. Pochop and Kolbeck reported the AG’s Consumer Protection Task Force has asked Roger Tellinghuisen to participate. The next Board meeting is Thursday, August 15, 2013 at 11:00 am CENTRAL in Vermillion-Holiday Inn Express. Lunch will be served before the Orientation event at 1 pm. Meeting adjourned.

SDTLA HAS SOCIAL MEDIA!!!!

The South Dakota Trial Lawyers Association is pleased to announce that it has recently re-launched its official Facebook page in an effort to connect and unite more attorneys and legal support staff throughout South Dakota. Currently, the SDTLA page features videos of SDTLA’s 50 Year Anniversary Party held at Grand Falls Casino this past May and a tribute video to all of the great SDTLA members, past and present. Videos, pictures, and information about upcoming SDTLA events will be posted soon. Members are also invited to post questions, comments, articles, etc. on SDTLA’s Facebook wall. Not yet a SDTLA Facebook page member? Become one today by typing South Dakota Trial Lawyers Association – SDTLA into your Facebook search function and click JOIN!

July/August 2013

Advanced Anatomy for Trial Lawyers 2013 SDTLA Fall Seminar September 19-20, 2013

Lodge at Deadwood Agenda to be emailed out soon.

Check it out on FACEBOOK too….

REGISTRATION INFORMATION: The seminar begins at 1 pm on Thursday September 19 and ends at noon on Friday, September 20. Registration fees covers two half days of seminar with course materials, breaks, Past President’s Reception and banquet dinner. REGISTRATION FEES:

Deadline to register is September 9

th

Space is limited so REGISTER TODAY!!!

ACCOMODATIONS: Rooms can be reserved by calling the Lodge at Deadwood 1-877-393-5634 and ask for reserva-tions in the SD Trial Lawyer Association block. The SDTLA rate is $89.00/night plus tax. The SDTLA room block will be released on August 20th so call today! There is a back-up room block at Cadillac Jack’s 1-866-333-9195 for SDTLA also when the Lodge block fills up. Please photocopy and use a separate registration form for each registrant. Return this form and the appropriate fees to:

SDTLA Office PO Box 1154

Pierre, SD 57501-1154 If you have questions, call (605) 224-9292.

Name___________________________________ Address_______________________________ City_____________________State_______Zip_______ Telephone_____________________ EMAIL: _________________ REGISTER ON-LINE by sending an email message with the above information to [email protected]. Please send your registration fee by mail to SDTLA, PO Box 1154, Pierre, SD 57501-1154.

____ Comp Sustaining members, Judges and Law Students* ____ $175.00 members over 3 years in practice ____ $150.00 members less than 3 years in practice ____ $100.00 Public attorney members ____ $150.00 Public attorney Non-members ____ $250.00 non-members less than 3 years in practice ____ $325.00 non-members over 3 years in practice ____ $50.00 Legal Support Staff

July/August 2013

July/August 2013

South Dakota Trial Lawyers Association

Notice of 2013—2014

MEMBERSHIP DUES

DUE July 1, 2013

CATEGORIES

Check one:

_______ Legal Support Staff …………………. $50.00/ year

________ Law Student…………...………………$10.00/ year

________ 0-2 years in Practice…………………$70.00/year

________ 3-5 years in Practice……..………..$100.00/year

_____ Public atty employed over 2 years*……$100.00/year

______ Over 5 years in Practice …………… $350.00/year

______ Sustaining membership ** …………$700.00/year

______ Subscribing membership *** ……..$125.00/year

Please print or type

Name _________________________________________________ Email Address_______________________

Mailing address______________________________________________________________________________

CITY _____________________________________ State__________________________ ZIP _______________

Telephone _________________________________ Cell number ____________________________________

County _____________________________________ Date Admitted to Bar __________________________

Return to with appropriate dues:

SDTLA

PO Box 1154

Pierre, SD 57501-1154

* All public attorney members must be employed on a full-time basis by the Federal, State, county or municipal government or legal aid association. ** Any sustaining member must be engaged in the practice of law for more than five years and be a member in good standing of the Association for five years. Attendance at the Association’s annual fall seminar is free for sustaining members. *** Anyone may apply for a subscribing membership in the Association, i.e. associations, institutions of higher learning, research companies, etc. Subscribing members shall receive all Association membership benefits, but are not entitled to vote.

July/August 2013

NEW LAWYER REFERRAL LIST The South Dakota Trial Lawyers Association has compiled a list of aspiring young trial lawyers who are interested in accepting civil case referrals. The list is not for pro bono referrals, but rather cases that another attorney is not interested in handling due to his or her caseload, area of interest, or the client’s ability to pay. The purpose of creating this list is to allow young lawyers to gain experience handling civil cases on their own, while at the same time matching a worthy client with a willing lawyer. The goal is to give the lawyer the opportunity to independently plan case strategy, pursue a discovery plan and try a jury trial. By agreeing to be on the list, the attorneys have not automatically agreed to accept a case. They have the independence to accept or decline any case referred to them. Any lawyer in practice less than five years interested in accepting referrals is encouraged to contact the SDTLA office to join this list.

First Circuit Kraig L. Kronaizl Blackburn & Stevens 100 West 4th Street, Yankton, SD 57078 665-5550 Family Law, General Civil Litigation, Some Criminal Defense

Katie Johnson PO Box 136 Beresford, SD 57704-0136 763-8013 Family Law, Criminal Defense, Bankruptcy Second Circuit Cesar Juarez Siegel, Barnett & Schutz PO Box 1286, Sioux Falls, SD 57101 335-6250 Family Law, Criminal Defense & General Civil Litigation

Meghann Joyce Boyce Greenfield etal PO Box 5015, Sioux Falls, SD 57117 336-2424 Family law, Civil Litigation and Insurance Litigation James Nasser Nasser Law Office 204 S Main, Sioux Falls, SD 57104-6310 335-0001

General civil litigation

Laura Brahms Kading Kunstle & Goodhope 7400 S Bitterroot Pl #100 Sioux Falls, SD 57108 336-1730 Family Law, Criminal Defense, Worker’s Comp, General Civil Liti-gation Katie Johnson PO Box 136 Beresford, SD 57704-0136 763-8013 Family Law, Criminal Defense, Bankruptcy Fifth Circuit Seamus W. Culhane Turbak Law Office 1301 4th St NE, Watertown, SD 57201 886-8361 Long Term Care, Homeowner’s, Worker’s Compensation and other Non-ERISA Insurance Denials Casey W. Fideler 1301 4th St NE, Watertown, SD 57201 886-8361 Personal Injury, Wrongful Death, & Tax Implications of Settle-ments & Judgments Seventh Circuit Heather C. Knox Lynn, Jackson, Shultz & Lebrun, PC P.O. Box 8250, Rapid City, SD 57709 342.2592 family law and civil litigation.

WELCOME NEW SDTLA MEMBERS! Kasey (Wassenaar) Olivier is a 2012 graduate of the USD School of Law. After clerking with the Second Judicial Circuit of South Dakota, Kasey joined Johnson, Heidepriem, and Abdallah in July 2013. Kasey’s practice is devoted primarily to civil litigation, including business litigation, products liability law, medical malpractice, insurance law, and contract law. Jessica Larson graduated from Black Hills State University in 2005 and from USD School of Law in 2008. Jessica was active in law school - Student Bar Association as the ABA Representative, Pace Environmental Law Moot Court Competition, Editor-in-Chief for the Great Plains Natural Resources Journal, and a member of the USD Trial Team. Upon graduation, she clerked in the Third Judicial Circuit of South Dakota. In 2009, Jessica joined Beardsley, Jensen & Von Wald where she handles all types of civil litigation, business law, and appellate work. Joe Dylla has a general civil litigation practice with Cutler & Donahoe, LLP in Sioux Falls. Joe is also hoping to build an appellate practice. Joe started at Cutler & Donahoe in October, 2012 after a year in private practice in Rapid City. Joe is a 2010 Sterling Honor Graduate of USD School of Law, a former editor on the South Dakota Law Review, and was law clerk for the Fourth Judicial Circuit in Deadwood from August 2010 to July 2011. Paul John Brankin received his BA from DePaul University, his JD from University of South Dakota and is a licensed CPA in the State of Illinois. He is currently the Pennington County Public Advocate providing public defender services on conflict cases in Pen-nington County.

July/August 2013

3) Is the consummate gentle-person both in and out of the courtroom. 4) Can get along with everybody. 5) Is the most self-effacing and humble lawyer this colleague knew,and 6) Has many extraordinary qualities and talents as a person and a lawyer and yet never extolls his own virtue and always "deflects" praise from others. 7) This lawyer represents every client whether Plaintiff or Defendant, rich or poor, with full and equal vigor. Every client gets full respect from this lawyer. Every lawyer gets full respect from this lawyer as does every judge, every witness, and every person involved in every case. This lawyer is known to have raised the dignity of the profession in many ways. For example, it was reported to me that this lawyer: 1) After successfully defending a personal injury case, called the losing Plaintiff to tell him that "You are a won-derful person. I'm so sorry I had to be against you in doing my job. If there is ever anything I can do for you please call me." 2) After getting soundly defeated in a bitter and heated contentious case, this lawyer wrote the other lawyer a letter praising the other lawyer's performance. 3) When unable to convince an insurer client to honestly disclose discovery documents, this lawyer called op-posing lawyer and said: "There are some things I cannot be hired to do. You're entitled to have these documents. I promised you that you would have them. I cannot get my client to provide them. All I can tell you is that as of 15 minutes ago I have withdrawn as counsel. They cannot hire me to do just anything they want." One lawyer told me that this recipient was trying a lawsuit in a small town against another lawyer and due to the fact that there was only one motel and almost no accommodations they both stayed in the same room while try-ing the case. Showing even more of this lawyer's collegiality amongst colleagues and opposing counsel: This lawyer who always asserted you should get right to the point and make you strongest point first is famous for his collection of rubber stamps that are used in response to settlement demands such as _(BLANK)_ You! Strong corre-spondence to follow, (Exclamation point). And Bull _(Blank)_, Exclamation Point. Some of this lawyer’s more infamous cases include an unsuccessful defense in an alienation of affections case wherein a $15,000 verdict was entered by a jury in favor of an 85 year old male Plaintiff who had been cuckold-ed by our recipient's 86 year old male client. When the client came in to write the $15,000 check he screamed out that “if they wanted his blood they could have it,” whereupon he cut his hand with a knife and wrote the check in his blood. Another famous case of this famous trial lawyer involved two trips to the Supreme Court of South Dakota ulti-mately losing to a pro se sewing machine salesman. This lawyer's firm belief in service to the public and to the profession have taken our recipient, and us along with him, to some very high places. He didn't stop with being an SDTLA president or the State Bar President. 1) He has been President of the National Conference of Bar Presidents. 2) Years ago he ran for and narrowly lost the office of President of the Young Lawyers Section of the American Bar Association. 3) Years later he lost the Presidency of the entire ABA by one vote.

From page 6


4) He serves on the Board of the American Bar Association Endowment Corporation. 5) For may years he was a member of the ABA House of Delegates and on its Board of Governors. 6) He has been the South Dakota Bar Foundation President; 7) He has been the Jackrabbit Bar Association Chancellor; 8) He is a member of the ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary. 9) He was a Co-recipient of the coveted McKusick Award. 10) He was the recipient of an additional honorary Doctorate at USD. 11) and he was an invited member of the American College of Trial Lawyers at a young age. And yet he devoted pro bono and charitable efforts towards such wonderful projects as Wakpa Sica, a place of Reconciliation with a Justice Center for Native American Tribal Disputes. And numerous pro bono projects. Our recipient began his love affair with South Dakota at the age of 3 when parents Walter and Lois moved their family to Pierre from Texas. The Texas accent is long gone, except, I'm told, when it has re-emerged on several occasions during campaigns for various ABA offices when he needed to solicit the votes of Southern delegates. Of her father, this lawyer's daughter told me that her dad would take her and her brother to all the professional functions he attended, but more importantly, he would carry his dictating machine with him, whether traveling or at home and whenever one of his kids said something that would make him smile he would dictate it into the machine so he wouldn't forget it. As busy as he was, he always let them know how important they were. When they got older, this lawyer, also being a pilot, would fly to Kansas or Washington DC or wherever they were to just "show up" for dinner. I personally saw the pride and joy on his face when his daughter received her USD law degree since he had always told her that she was capable of doing anything her older brother could do. He graduated from Riggs High School in Pierre. He graduated from Colorado State University with honors in 1965. After furthering his agricultural studies in Peru for a year he decided to be a lawyer and enrolled In the USD School of Law, graduating with honors. He practiced law with the May, Adam, & Porter, (now May, Adam, Gerdes, & Thompson) firm. His mother, Lois, 93 is still living and well. He has two children Murray and McLean. McLean is also a lawyer and very active in this organization. His family is here and they are as proud of him as we are. He is a pilot. He is a rancher. He is fine fine Trial Lawyer and a fantastic person.

July/August 2013

From page 19

Dean Nasser keeping Stan company at the headtable…..

law firm. My grandfather George Johnson was one of the founding members and served as the Secretary/Treasurer of the organization in 1968; unfortunately cancer prevented him from moving any further up the ladder. My father Rick Johnson was committed to the SDTLA for his entire career: he served as the SDTLA president in 1971. Additionally for-mer members of our firm Gary Davis (1982) and Wally Eklund (2007) each served as president of the SDTLA, and my brother George Johnson and I have both served on the Board of Governors. I hope that you noticed at the top of this letter that I’m recycling: my brother and I found this stationery in a file marked “SDTLA – Important” while we were cleaning out Rick’s desk after his death. Other records Rick kept in his desk includ-ed: invitations and complimentary letters he had received from other lawyers; a variety of witty musings from the likes of Bill Wilson, Dave Gienapp, Dave Vrooman, Bill Janklow, Mark Meierhenry, Ron Banks and Tom Pardy; laminated maps of the trees he had planted in his orchard; a stack of hot pepper plant orders and seed packets (which I assume were being saved in anticipation of a Mike Schaffer challenge); hunting notes and drawings that he and my son Gavin had exchanged; and decades of invitations to his trial lawyer’s hunts. It was like mining a treasure trove of things that mat-tered to my dad. Included in Rick’s “SDTLA – Important” file along with the stationery that I’ve used here were 42 blank membership cer-tificates that were signed by Joe Butler in 1967. At the end of my president’s letter, I’ve included one of the blank mem-bership certificates signed by Joe – another legendary lion of the South Dakota trial bar. The blank membership certificates do indicate that membership recruitment in 1967 – year 4 of the SDTLA -- wasn’t ex-actly what the Board of Governors had hoped. Yet this certificate should not only trigger a re-telling of some of the best Joe Butler war stories, I hope it inspires all of you to help us fulfill the1966-67 Board of Governor’s membership goal. With your help, we can recruit at least 42 new lawyers who can benefit from a SDTLA membership this year. I have one easy way of doing this: our law school student memberships are only $10 a piece. Law student participation in SDTLA events and positive interactions between SDTLA members and aspiring trial lawyers is mutually beneficial: we can encourage law students to explore a career in trial law and the students can help us grow our membership and adapt to the changes that the next generation of trial lawyers will bring to our profession. Additionally, because the USD Law student body is increasingly diverse, welcoming USD law students into our organization at the very beginning of their legal careers will encourage necessary diversity in the SDTLA in years to come. We would like to provide complimentary student memberships to every one of the 217 full-time law students at USD. Can you help us? Each donation of $10.00 to the “Adopt a Student” membership drive will allow you to sponsor a law student membership. Simply send your donation to Sara marked “Adopt a Student”: when you do, the law student you sponsor will be advised that you have provided him/her with this valuable membership along with your contact infor-mation so that you can potentially correspond or meet at SDTLA events. Adopting a law student is an important step toward our future, but there is more that we can do for practicing trial law-yers. There is something valuable in SDTLA membership for every lawyer who does courtroom work in the state, espe-cially in terms of our legal education programs and workshops. Law school faculty memberships are complimentary. Your legal support staff can join for $50.00. New lawyer memberships for lawyers who have been in the practice three years or less are $70.00; memberships for lawyer who have been in the practice for three to five years are $100.00. Federal, state and local government and legal aid memberships cost $100.00. Think about Joe Butler’s optimistic effort of signing 42 blank membership certificates. Can you call a favorite professor and tell them about this free opportunity to be a part of the best legal education and professional development organiza-tion in the state? Can you sponsor a membership for a public service trial lawyer who has a set budget or help out a new lawyer who has a student loan debt that impacts his/her ability to pay membership dues? Can your trial prepara-tion be more effective and creative by having your legal support staff learn the newest persuasion techniques with you? Rick’s description of the things he saved -- “SDTLA – Important”– summarizes exactly how I feel about both the past and the future of the SDTLA. We have an enthusiastic Board of Governors who are excited to make the SDTLA even more responsive to membership interests and a little more technologically accessible. We are looking forward to hearing your ideas and concerns so that we can continue to build a diverse, creative and enthusiastic membership.

July/August 2013

Continued from page 2

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