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May, Adam, Gerdes & Thompson LLP is
a full service law firm committed to
providing high quality, cost
effective legal representation.
Members of the firm are encouraged
to pursue their individual interests
in professional, political, and
community involvement. The firm and
its members have a long history of
leadership and community
involvement. Among its members can
be found a president of the National
Conference of Bar Presidents, a
member of the ABA Board of
Governors, two presidents of the
State Bar of South Dakota, two
presidents of the South Dakota Trial
Lawyers Association, two presidents
of the American Board of Trial
Advocates, a president of the Pierre
Area Chamber of Commerce, a
long-time board member of the South
Dakota Easter Seals Society, and a
board member of the South Dakota
Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
May, Adam, Gerdes & Thompson LLP
offers superior legal representation
from the region’s foremost
attorneys. Our clients can be
assured their legal matters will be
handled with expertise and the
utmost professionalism. Our firm, as
well as all of our senior attorneys,
has consistently received an AV
designation for its legal ability
and integrity in the legal
profession. In another recent
publication, five members of the
firm were recognized among the best
lawyers in America. In addition,
May, Adam, Gerdes & Thompson LLP is
listed in the Bar Register of
Preeminent Lawyers and is
recommended by Best’s Directory and
Hines Insurance Counsel.
The firm is likely the oldest law
firm in the state. It was
established in Pierre in 1881 as
Wakefield & Horner. Since that time,
it has been known successively as
Horner & Stewart; Horner, Martens &
Goldsmith; Martens & Goldsmith;
Martens, Goldsmith & May; Martens,
Goldsmith, May & Porter; Martens,
Goldsmith, May, Porter & Adam; May,
Porter, Adam, Gerdes & Thompson; and
May, Adam, Gerdes & Thompson LLP.
Glenn Martens (1881-1963) and Karl
Goldsmith (1885-1966) practiced law
in Pierre from just after the turn
of the century to the middle 1960’s.
Mr. Martens was inducted into the
South Dakota Hall of Fame. He also
served in the State Senate from
1923-24 and as Chairman of the South
Dakota Republican Party from 1938 to
1944. Karl Goldsmith served without
compensation for many years as
Executive Secretary of the State Bar
of South Dakota. Martens and
Goldsmith were fast friends and
highly regarded practitioners whose
individual professional skills
complemented one another. Martens
apprenticed and read the law to
become a lawyer, while Goldsmith was
a graduate of Yale.
Although we are a regional firm,
country-wide access comes from our
association with several state and
national organizations, providing
our clients with an extra dimension
of service. Because of our
representation of numerous state
trade associations, their
counterpart national trade
associations provide national
insight. We are a member of the
State Capital Law Firm Group. This
group is a national and highly
selective organization founded
initially by the nation’s 50 leading
law firms with offices in their
state capitals. In recent years, the
State Capital Law Firm Group has
expanded to include firms in Canada,
Mexico, Central and South America,
as well as the Caribbean. While the
State Capital Law Firm Group focuses
primarily on providing access to
government relations and regulation
in areas where the member firms are
located, it also provides our
clients a point of reference and a
contact in all areas of legal
representation in the United States
and foreign countries. Member firms
of the State Capital Law Firm Group
practice independently and not in a
relationship for the joint practice
of law.
Located in Pierre, the state
capital, the firm has a widely
diversified law practice, due in
large part to its location. Aside
from state government, Pierre’s
economy is largely centered around
agriculture. As a consequence,
clients of the firm range from local
farmers, ranchers, and businessmen
to large multinational corporations.
The firm has an active litigation
practice in both federal and state
courts. U.S. District Court for the
District of South Dakota, Central
Division, is located in Pierre. The
federal Bankruptcy Court for the
District of South Dakota sits in
Pierre with a resident judge. Pierre
is the county seat for Hughes
County, and across the Missouri
River, Fort Pierre is the county
seat for Stanley County. Because of
Pierre’s central location and easy
accessibility to the remainder of
the state, members of the firm
routinely handle litigation in the
surrounding counties and the other
major cities of the state, including
Sioux Falls, Rapid City, and
Aberdeen.
South Dakota has a significant
Native American presence. Tribal
courts are exercising jurisdiction
over an increasing array of civil
cases. Members of the firm maintain
memberships in the courts of the
Rosebud Sioux, Crow Creek Sioux,
Lower Brule Sioux, Cheyenne River
Sioux, and Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux
Tribes.
As a corollary to its active trial
practice, the firm also has an
active appellate practice before the
South Dakota Supreme Court and the
United States Court of Appeals for
the Eighth Circuit. Four members of
the firm are members of the bar of
the United States Supreme Court.
A major aspect of the firm’s
practice is centered around state
government. Administrative and
regulatory law, as well as lobbying,
are major components of the service
mix which the firm can provide.
Administrative practice includes
utility and telecommunications
regulation before the Public
Utilities Commission, workers’
compensation proceedings before the
Division of Labor and Management,
Department of Labor, insurance
regulatory activities before the
Division of Insurance, Department of
Commerce, bank regulation and
franchising before the South Dakota
Banking Commission, enforcement and
other tax-related matters before the
Department of Revenue, and
environmental, water rights and oil
and gas proceedings before the
Department of Environment and
Natural Resources. The firm
maintains a significant lobbying
presence during the annual sessions
of the state legislature for state
and national clients.
The firm has broad experience
defending governmental entities from
a wide range of liability claims.
These include defense of civil
rights actions under 42 U.S.C.§
1983, age discrimination, sexual
harassment and other employment
related claims. The firm’s
experience extends to the
representation of officers and
employees of state government, as
well as officials and employees of
counties, cities, and other
governmental entities.
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503 S. Pierre Street
♦ PO
Box 160 Pierre, SD 57501
♦ (ph)
(605)224-8803
♦ (fax) (605)224-6289
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