Brendan Johnson Named South Dakota Trial Lawyer of The Year

Robins Kaplan LLP is pleased to announce that partner Brendan Johnson has been named the 2024 South Dakota Trial Lawyer of the Year by the South Dakota Trial Lawyers Association. This annual award is presented to a distinguished trial lawyer who demonstrates high ethical standards, a dedication to preserving the jury trial system, and notable success in litigation.

Johnson chairs the firm’s National Business Litigation Group, leading more than 100 attorneys across all seven offices, and is a member of the Executive Board. He joined Robins Kaplan in 2015 after serving as the United States Attorney for the District of South Dakota, during which he also held a seat on the U.S. Attorney General’s Advisory Committee and chaired the Department of Justice’s Native American Issues Subcommittee. As a U.S. Attorney, he conducted groundbreaking prosecutions of cases involving human trafficking and violence against Native American women. At Robins Kaplan, he has represented a range of business and policy interests, leveraging his prosecutorial experience as co-chair of the firm’s Government and Internal Investigations Group.

This award adds to Johnson’s extensive list of professional accolades. He was listed in Forbes’ "Top 200 Lawyers in the United States" for 2024 and recognized as a "Leading Practitioner in Native American Law" by Chambers USA from 2018 to 2024. In 2024, Chambers USA also named him a "Leading Practitioner in General Commercial Litigation." Additionally, Lawdragon included Johnson in its "500 Leading Litigators in America" for 2023 and 2024, as well as its "500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers" list for the same years.