Gayville Lawyers

Joel Arends offers his clients substantive experience in a wide range of fields including personal injury, family law, estate planning/probate, real estate, government relations and public policy development. Born and raised in Little Rock, Iowa, Joel Arends graduated from the University of South Dakota in 2000 and received his law degree from the University of South Dakota School of Law in 2006. In 2022 the voters of Lincoln County re-elected Arends to serve a second four year term on the Lincoln County Commission in County Commission District 1. Arends ran on a platform of fiscal responsibility, economic growth, fidelity to taxpayers...

South Dakota Employment and Family Law attorney in Sioux Falls and the surrounding areas. Beth is local to the Sioux Falls area and has raised her three children in the community. Beth's extensive background helps her clients navigate the drama in business and life. She leverages her past HR experience to dissolve employee issues, cut the drama, and find solutions to prevent them in the future. Beth proactively helps clients protect their business by updating employee handbooks, offering employee training, providing guidance on difficult employment situations, conducting internal investigations, responding to charges of discrimination, and defending lawsuits. She handles cases...

Lindsay M. Harris is the owner and managing member of Harris Law & Co. She leads our succession planners in protecting every family and business we serve using forward-thinking solutions derived from exceptional experience. Whether it is creating wills, revocable trusts, irrevocable trusts, charitable trusts, or advanced business plans such as family limited partnerships, limited liability companies, or corporations, Lindsay’s passion is to ensure that every family and business is protected when life changing events occur. Lindsay has seen first-hand the legal challenges businesses face. From family farms, professional practices, to small and large companies, Lindsay is a...

Eric began his journey to the legal field by working as a life insurance agent prior to returning to college. While working with a family that was struggling financially, he learned just how important proper planning is for all families, not just wealthy families. He learned that day of the unexpected death of this family’s teenage daughter. He saw how much their entire family went through because they were not prepared for such a horrific situation. It was that day and that story that made Eric realize that he wanted to help make sure that families didn’t have to go...

Scott Swier is the Founder and Managing Member of Swier Law Firm. He also leads the law firm's Business Litigation Practice Group and Education Law Practice Group. Scott is a recognized authority in state and federal legal matters. While serving in private legal practice and as Assistant Attorney General for the State of South Dakota, he has represented individuals, businesses, and government entities before state and federal trial courts, state and federal appellate courts, and state and federal regulatory agencies. As Assistant Attorney General, Scott served as counsel for the State of South Dakota in...

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...

Tim James has more than 30 years of litigation experience. He consults on medical malpractice cases. Tim's experience as a litigator involving many complex cases has resulted in a strong record of success. See more about Tim at www.yankton.lawyer or www.timjameslaw.com.

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.

Amanda Engel grew up in South Dakota and returned there after a brief excursion into North Dakota for a few years. She graduated magna cum laude from the University of North Dakota with a B.A. in political science and then University of North Dakota School of Law with cum laude honors. In 2012 she was admitted to practice law in South Dakota.

Born and raised in Parker, South Dakota lawyer Drew Duncan graduated from Parker High School in 1994. From there he went to the University of Nebraska in Lincoln and then got his law degree from the University of South Dakota School of Law. After a year as a clerk for the 5th circuit judges of South Dakota he joined Zimmer, Duncan and Cole. At Zimmer, Duncan and Cole he has specialized in governmental affairs law and civil litigation. Drew is married to his beautiful wife Carrie and they have two children together Olivia and Bennett. Drew loves outdoor activities and...

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.