Ronald A. Parsons Jr.
866-258-0645 (Toll Free)
Ron Parsons heads the firm's strongly developed Appellate Department. He represents clients in state and federal appellate courts in all areas of the law, including civil and criminal. Ron has argued or handled more than eighty appeals primarily in the South Dakota Supreme Court and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. He also appeared with co-counsel before the United States Supreme Court in one of his cases involving a constitutional challenge to a federal statute. See Johanns v. Livestock Marketing Ass'n, 544 U.S. 550 (2005).
Ron was selected to author the South Dakota chapter for the American Bar Association's upcoming multi-jurisdictional guide to appellate law: The Appellate Practice Compendium. (Dana Livingston ed. 2012). He is also the author of Appellate Practice in the South Dakota Supreme Court, 56 S.D.L.Rev. 1 (2011).
In addition to appellate work, Ron accepts cases at the trial level, representing plaintiffs and defendants in the areas of constitutional law, business litigation, contracts, insurance, administrative law, personal injury, arbitration, and declaratory judgment actions. He is a prolific legal writer, authoring summary judgment briefs and other significant legal memoranda for many of the firm's clients. He also frequently serves as local counsel for corporations and other clients in state and federal court.
After graduating from law school with the highest honors, Ron served as a law clerk for the Hon. Roger L. Wollman, Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Since entering private practice in 1998, he has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Appellate Law and First Amendment Law. His appellate work has also been recognized in Chambers USA's America's Leading Lawyers for Business. In addition, Ron is included in Great Plains Super Lawyers, and was recently featured in Super Lawyers, Corporate Counsel Edition.
Year Joined Firm
- 1998
Areas of Practice
- Civil and Criminal
Bar Admissions
- South Dakota
- U.S. District Court District of South Dakota
- U.S. Court of Appeals 8th Circuit
- U.S. Supreme Court
- New York
Education
- University of South Dakota School of Law, Vermillion, South Dakota
- J.D. - 1997
- Honors: Sterling Honor Society
- Honors: Law School Foundation Distinguished Scholar, 1995-97
- Honors: Edward W. Hope Award for Highest G.P.A. in Graduating Class
- University of Minnesota
- B.A. - 1994
- Major: English
Published Works
- Appeals Across America: An Insider's Guide to State and Federal Appellate Courts (Author of South Dakota Chapter), 2011
- Cattle on a Thousand Hills: Reflections on the Beef Checkoff Litigation, 57 S.D.L. Rev. 427, 2012
- Appellate Practice in the South Dakota Supreme Court, 56 S.D.L.Rev, 2011
- Being There: Constructive Denial of Counsel at a Mental Competency Hearing as Structural Error under the Sixth Amendment, 56 S.D.L.Rev., 2011
- Should the Eighth Circuit Recognize Procedural Misjoinder?, 53 S.D. L. Rev. 52, 2008
- Pierre Pressure: Legislative Elections, the State Constitution, and the Supreme Court of South Dakota, 50 S.D. L. Rev. 218, 2005
- The Heart of the Matter: Substantive Due Process in the South Dakota Courts, 47 S.D. Law Rev. 185, 2002
- Dedication to the Honorable Roger L. Wollman, 46 S.D. L. Rev. 1, 2001
- The Wrongful Death of Common Sense, 45 S.D. Law Rev. 283, 2000
- That Which Governs: An Essay on the Nature of Law and Its Relation to Justice, 43 S.D. Law Rev. 172, 1998
Past Employment Positions
- Hon. Roger L. Wollman, Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, Law Clerk, 1997 - 1998
