Scott Abdallah
is the firm's managing partner. His practice is focused almost exclusively in the area of trial work and civil litigation, including business litigation, personal injury, wrongful death and products liability.
Scott has been recognized extensively for his litigation skills. He has been selected for inclusion in the national publication, The Best Lawyers in America, and is one of only sixteen lawyers in South Dakota to receive the highest ranking possible by Benchmark Litigation, a national publication of
America
's leading business litigation attorneys. In addition, he has been recognized in Chambers USA's America's Leading Lawyers for Business for his outstanding presentation skills in the courtroom.
Scott was born in
Sioux Falls, SD.
He received a degree in Business Management from the University of Minnesota in
Minneapolis
. He then graduated with honors from Hamline University School of Law in
St. Paul, MN
. Following law school, he joined the downtown Minneapolis law firm of Moss & Barnett, one of the largest firms in
Minnesota
. He worked in the litigation department, focusing on insurance defense and commercial litigation.
In January of 1995, Scott returned home to South Dakota when he was appointed to the position of State's Attorney for
Lincoln County
. When he took office at age 27, he was the youngest full-time State's Attorney in
South Dakota
. In 1996, he was elected to a four-year term as State's Attorney, and elected again to another four-year term in 2000. As a prosecutor, he helped decrease felony crime by almost 50 percent in what was the fastest growing county in
South Dakota
. At the age of 29, Scott successfully prosecuted Donald Moeller for the rape and murder of a nine-year-old
Sioux Falls
girl named Becky O'Connell. The Moeller jury is one of only three juries to return a death sentence in
South Dakota
since the state reinstated the death penalty in 1979.
In 1999, Scott was appointed by Governor William Janklow to serve on the South Dakota Board of Pardons and Paroles, making him one of the youngest members ever appointed to that board.
In 2001, Mr. Abdallah was nominated by President George W. Bush to serve as
South Dakota
's 36th United States Attorney. He was appointed as Interim United States Attorney in 2001 by the Hon. Lawrence L. Piersol, Chief Judge of the District of South Dakota, and served briefly in that position before stepping down in 2002 to join Johnson, Heidepriem, Abdallah & Johnson LLP.
Scott and his wife Patti have two children, John and Grace.
