Welcome to your daily briefing on legal developments in South Dakota. Today we're covering 5 key stories including updates on south dakota legal headlines, background & context. Let's dive in.
2 stories
The State Bar of South Dakota's committees, composed of appointed member volunteers, develop, implement, and oversee many State Bar goals and programs.
Serving on an SBSD committee offers legal professionals a direct opportunity to shape the profession, contribute expertise, and strengthen the broader SD legal community.
The State Bar of South Dakota has unveiled a new homepage featuring public resources including a career center, guardianship and conservatorship information, ethics opinions, and an event calendar.
The updated site gives SD legal professionals a centralized portal to direct clients for public-facing resources and to monitor bar events, member services, and ethics guidance.
Reach professionals in this market
3 stories
Arbitration clauses are most often struck down for procedural unconscionability — surprise placement, font that hides them, or no opportunity to negotiate — rather than substantive issues. A clause that is conspicuous, separately initialed, and accompanies a clear written notice of waiver of jury trial survives review in most jurisdictions.
A void arbitration clause means the dispute lands in court, often with discovery and jury exposure that the clause was meant to prevent. Drafting discipline at contract formation is cheap; defending the clause years later is not.
Enforceability of employee non-competes varies dramatically by state and is trending toward narrower enforcement nationally. Common defects include geographic scope broader than the employer's actual market, duration longer than necessary to protect a legitimate interest, and lack of consideration beyond continued employment.
An overbroad non-compete is often unenforceable in its entirety, not just blue-penciled down — meaning the employer gets no protection at all. A narrower, defensible clause protects more than an aspirational one.
Client trust funds and the firm's operating funds must never commingle, even temporarily, even with the intent to "fix it later." Bar audits look for two things first: (1) any check or transfer that touches both accounts, (2) negative balances on any specific client's ledger. Both are presumptive misappropriation regardless of intent.
Trust-account violations produce some of the harshest discipline in professional regulation, including suspension and disbarment. The technicality has no defense based on good intentions.
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