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Each circuit employs at least one recent law school graduate to provide
research assistance to the judges in the circuit. The Fourth Circuit
has been so fortunate in the quality of law clerks that have served our
circuit since clerkships began in 1985. We wish to “honor” our past law
clerks by including a brief synopsis of their lives after the Fourth
Circuit in our circuit web page – we want them to know how proud we are
of them and their accomplishments. Thank you to each one for your past
service to our Circuit!
JOHN HAMILTON (85-86)
Employment History:
The Legal Affairs Director of South Dakota Advocacy Services (19 years),
which is a non-profit federally-funded agency providing advocacy and
legal representation to persons with disabilities.
Memorable Experience as 4th
Circuit Law Clerk:
“Encompasses the entirety of the year I worked there and all the great
people I met – the judges, the clerks, court services, states attorneys
and private attorneys – everyone treated me great and even though it has
been 19 years, the year I spent in the Northern Hills still holds great
memories.”
JEFFREY MAKS (86-87)
Employment History:
Finch, Bettmann, Maks & Hogue in Rapid City, South Dakota.
MICHAEL STRAIN (87-88)
Employment History:
Morman Law Firm in Sturgis, South Dakota (18 years), where he has tried
many jury trials, ranging from misdemeanor DWI and assault cases, to
death penalty criminal murder cases and on the civil side, all types of
cases ranging from minor dog bite cases to medical malpractice wrongful
death cases and civil rights violations. On staff at the
Gerry Spence Trial Lawyer's College since 1998.
Memorable Experience as 4th
Circuit Law Clerk:
“Observation of the circuit court judges trying and handling different
types of criminal matters all across the western part of
South Dakota.
The trips up north were always fun and memorable but more so when we
were involved in a jury trial which involved ‘colorful characters’.
These types of trials were worth the price of admission for a
clerkship.”
DEAN EISENB RAUN (88-90)
Employment History:
Trammell Crow Company based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota - Contract
Consultant to American Express. US, Canada and Mexico operations – also
involved with best practices in South American and more recently, the UK
– involves extensive travel.
Memorable Experience as 4th
Circuit Law Clerk:
“Riding the circuit in northwestern South Dakota with Judge Tschetter
and turkey hunting with Judge Johns.”
THOMAS PENISTEN (90-91)
Employment History:
Practiced law in Canton and Sioux Falls, primarily in the areas of
personal injury, worker’s compensation, bankruptcy and criminal
defense. In January, 2004, he joined the Evangelical Lutheran Good
Samaritan Society as a Risk Manager, where he is responsible for
managing general liability and worker’s compensation claims for Good
Samaritan’s captive insurance company in the states of Colorado, Kansas
and Nebraska.
Memorable Experience as 4th
Circuit Law Clerk:
“Clerking for this circuit was the highlight of my legal education.
Working with Judges Johnson, Johns, Tschetter and Moses was truly an
honor and a privilege. I learned that running a circuit takes a team
and the support staff were wonderful to work with. One outstanding
highlight of my clerkship is the vision of magistrate court during the
Rally, which still haunts me.”
TIMOTHY RENSCH (91-92)
Employment History:
Opened his own law practice in Rapid City, South Dakota, in 1992. Since
then, he has tried many cases from murders to traffic tickets, personal
injury to preliminary and permanent injunctions.
Memorable Experience as 4th
Circuit Law Clerk:
“He recalls the time when the Lawrence County Courthouse was being
restored and how the artist used real gold foil on the designs and
colonnades. When school children would tour the courthouse, he would
crumple and break the foil into dust and drop it from the third floor
balcony to second floor and the school children would scramble to pick
it up.”
SUZANNE FEIST (92-93)
Employment History:
Opened her own law practice in Rapid City, South Dakota, receiving much
direction and mentoring from Curt Ireland. She primarily practiced
insurance defense work. After practicing for six years, she retired to
stay home full time.
Memorable Experience as 4th
Circuit Law Clerk:
“I started working during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and I remember
feeling really out of place in my suit and heels! I enjoyed sitting in
on all of the jury trials and definitely came away with many pointers on
‘what I wouldn’t do’ – it was a great learning experience. My favorite
writing assignment was helping Judge Johnson prepare the brief on an
appeal of a murder conviction and the trial transcript was fascinating
as there were multiple legal issues to address.”
KAREN HILMOE-LEONARD (93-94)
Employment History:
Office of City Attorney, Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
DAWN AMAN-ELSHERE (94-95)
Employment History:
Currently a full time deputy state’s attorney with the Codington County
State’s Attorney’s Office where she handles all of the domestic
assaults, sexual assaults, child abuse and all of the abuse and neglect
cases. She is also a domestic abuse and sexual assault trainer for the
South Dakota Network Against Family Violence and Sexual Assault.
Memorable Experience as 4th
Circuit Law Clerk:
“What I remember the most about being a law clerk, is that I really
enjoyed working with everyone in the entire court system. I also
remember taking our noon hours to go for walks and killing wasps for
Veronica.”
KRISTI WAMMEN-WHITCHER (95-97)
Employment History:
Immediately following her clerkship, she prosecuted criminal cases for
the Lawrence County State’s Attorney’s Office. In 1998, she joined
Johnson, Eiesland Law Firm in
Rapid City,
South Dakota, where personal injury, medical malpractice and business
litigation became her focus. In addition to practicing law, she taught
graduate and undergraduate law courses for the University of Phoenix
online in 2003.
STEVEN NOLAN (97-98)
Employment History:
Currently a partner with Bangs, McCullen, Butler, Foye & Simmons, L.L.P.
in
Rapid City,
South Dakota,
where he primarily works in the litigation area, focusing on insurance
law, employment law, personal injury, real estate, and family
relations.
Memorable Experience as 4th
Circuit Law Clerk:
“The one-year clerkship was an absolute wonderful experience. It helped
prepare me for the practice of law, as I was able to observe and assist
in all types of cases. It was also a great opportunity to get to know
the Judges both inside and outside of the courtroom.”
JIM SEWARD (98-99)
Employment History:
Currently the Butte County State’s Attorney, Belle Fourche, South
Dakota. In the summer of 2000, Jim received a direct commission to
become a JAG officer with the South Dakota National Guard and was
assigned to serve with the 109th Engineer Group of Rapid
City. In the fall of 2003, Jim’s unit was alerted to begin preparing
for deployment to Afghanistan with the 109th Engineer Group
and Combined Task Force Coyote from May 2004-May 2005. We are all so
thankful that Jim has returned and we want to especially thank him for
his service to our Country!
LANCE RUSSELL (99-00)
Employment History:
In November, 2000, Lance was elected Fall River and Shannon County
State’s Attorney and was re-elected in November, 2004.
Memorable Experience as 4th
Circuit Law Clerk:
“The most memorable experience was playing golf on the sand greens of
the Bison golf course with Judge Johns. I learned a great deal during
my clerkship and have very favorable memories. I will always be
grateful for the education and experiences afforded me by the Circuit
and Magistrate Judges of the Eighth (now Fourth) Judicial Circuit.”
MANUEL deCASTRO (00-01)
Employment History:
Worked for two previous law clerks – Michael W. Strain and Timothy
Rensch. More recently, he opened his own law firm in Madison where he
practices family law, criminal law and personal injury.
Memorable Experience as 4th
Circuit Law Clerk:
“My clerkship allowed me to refine my research and writing skills and to
watch the great lawyers in action. It was great to be able to see which
things worked for lawyers and which didn’t – learn from other’s
mistakes. I have so many memorable experiences as a law clerk – working
on three capital cases and learning the process of how those cases work
– golfing with Judge Johns, Judge Eckrich and Judge Johnson. Talking
with Cindy – she taught me how to use the copier! Most of all, I made
some great friends and had some great mentors to help me along the path
of my legal career. I cherish my experience there.”
CHRISTINA WILLIAMS (01-02)
Employment History:
After her clerkship, she moved to North Carolina for two years and
worked for a Plaintiff’s firm – The Blount Law Firm. She currently
works at the Gillette, Wyoming County Attorney’s Office and is studying
for the Wyoming Bar Exam. When licensed in Wyoming, she will be
prosecuting felony files for the Campbell County Attorney.
JASON SMILEY (02-03)
Employment History:
Since August of 2003, Jason as been an associate with Gunderson, Palmer,
Goodsell and Nelson where he primarily practices civil litigation,
including personal injury and business litigation.
SHANE PENFIELD (03-04)
Employment History:
Currently an associate at the law firm of Gunderson, Palmer, Goodsell
and Nelson in Rapid City, South Dakota.
Memorable Experience as 4th
Circuit Law Clerk:
“When everyone got a good laugh at my ’81 Cadillac, which was equipped
with steer horns!”
ERIC STRAWN (04-05)
Employment History:
Currently working at Tellinghuisen and Gordon in Spearfish,
South Dakota.
Memorable Experience as 4th
Circuit Law Clerk:
“There can be no doubt that the clerkship is one of the best positions
to obtain post graduation from Law School. In my time as a law clerk, I
witnessed the practice of law unfold before my eyes with expert judges
teaching me the correct avenues of practice in the 4th
Circuit. I sat in on amazing cases, from police searches that crossed
the constitutional barrier to adverse possession claims on wells/water
rights. I assisted in researching case law, statutory history and
watched hundreds of decisions being made by very competent judges. I
cannot imagine my career without the resources I gained from this
clerkship.
PAUL LEWIS (05-06)
Employment History:
Paul is currently
practicing law at Lewis Law in Rapid City, South Dakota.
Memorable Experience as 4th
Circuit Law Clerk:
As the
4th
Circuit Law Clerk,
Paul
indicated that he always looked forward to
getting up each morning and coming to work because of the people, the
job challenge, and the beautiful view from his window!
FRANCY FORAL (06-07)
Employment History:
Currently an associate at Reindl Law in Spearfish, South Dakota.
Memorable Experience as 4th
Circuit Law Clerk:
"The lessons learned in just one year as Law Clerk have already proven
to be valuable as I practice law in a small firm. While I enjoyed so
many things about working as the Fourth Circuit Law Clerk, my most
memorable experience was the opportunity to accompany Judge Macy when he
sat in for Justice Zinter at the Supreme Court in Pierre. This allowed
me to observe and participate in the entire process, from reviewing
counsels' briefs, to observing oral arguments, through to assisting
Judge Macy with research as he wrote the opinion and ultimately finding
out it represented the majority opinion of the Court."
TYLER
STEINLE (07-08)
Employment History: In 2007, Tyler graduated 5th
in his class from the University of South Dakota, School of Law. He
became our 4th circuit law clerk on August 1, 2007. Tyler’s
plans for the future involve finding employment in the beautiful Black
Hills area.
Memorable Experience as 4th
Circuit Law Clerk:
Tyler remarks that he has had so many
memorable experiences here that it’s tough to choose, but one of his
favorites is bantering with Judge Macy!
KYLIE
DUMMETT (08-09)
Employment History:
Memorable Experience as 4th
Circuit Law Clerk:
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