Russ Janklow

Russ Janklow was named the 2024 Trial Lawyer of the Year by the South Dakota Trial Lawyers Association. He was born in Vermillion, South Dakota, and grew up in Pierre. He earned his B.S. and B.A. from Creighton University in 1985 and his J.D. from the University of Notre Dame Law School in 1989. After graduation he clerked for the South Dakota First Judicial Circuit Court in Yankton from 1989 to 1990, then joined Woods, Fuller, Shultz & Smith in Sioux Falls before joining the firm in 1995. Russ specializes in personal injury and civil litigation and has tried more than 50 jury trials. He has served as a private mediator in more than 750 mediation and arbitration cases since 2007 and has been designated as an expert witness in workers' compensation, insurance bad faith, and legal malpractice matters. He holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell and has been recognized as a Super Lawyer since 2007.