Gunderson, Palmer, Nelson & Ashmore, LLP

Where the practice is focused

This is a general practice with deep roots in western South Dakota. The firm works from Rapid City and keeps a second office in Pierre. It states that it has provided legal services in Rapid City for more than 50 years. It also describes itself as one of the larger firms in the western part of the state.

The range of work is wide. Core areas include personal injury, business law, criminal law, construction law, real estate, and employment law. The firm also handles estate planning and probate, trusts, and workers' compensation. Its list adds agricultural law, insurance and insurance coverage, health law, and general litigation. Governmental, administrative, and municipal law appear too, along with mining, utility, and energy law.

Criminal defense has a stated history of its own. The firm says it has handled criminal matters for more than 40 years. That points to a long habit of courtroom work rather than a recent addition.

How the team is built

The site names 20 attorneys. They work as partners, senior associates, and associates across the two offices. That mix suggests a settled structure, with senior lawyers leading practice groups and newer lawyers building their work under them. The roster also lists further attorneys beyond those with detailed profiles.

Backgrounds across the roster

A handful of profiles show how varied the paths into this firm have been. As a reviewer, I find the range of prior experience worth noting.

Business and estate planning

Patrick G. Goetzinger, a partner, leads the firm's Business and Estate Planning Group. He focuses on family-run businesses, business transactions, and real property law. Justin A. DiBona, also a partner, interned at the firm while in law school and joined as an associate in 2016. His work covers business and estate planning, probate and estate administration, business succession, and trusts. Lisa K. Cagle is a senior associate whose practice leans toward business and estate planning, real estate, and employment law. She taught for eight years before she practiced law.

Litigation

Katelyn A. Cook, a partner, handles complex civil litigation. Her cases reach personal injury, insurance litigation, construction law, corporate litigation, and contested estate matters. Aidan F. Goetzinger, an associate, works in complex litigation as well. His areas include construction law, corporate litigation, estate and trust litigation, insurance defense, and property rights. Kerri Cook Huber, a senior associate, concentrates on workers' compensation and personal injury.

Public and administrative law

Ashley E. H. McDonald, an associate, focuses on governmental, administrative, and municipal law. Sara Frankenstein was appointed to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. She earned her Bachelor of Arts and her law degree at the University of South Dakota, and she clerked for U.S. District Judge Richard H. Battey in 2001 and 2002. Quentin L. Riggins, a partner, joined the firm as an associate in August 2007, after a clerkship with the First Judicial Circuit Court.

Prior public service

Matthew E. Naasz brings a different background again. He served four years in the United States Army. He then earned a Bachelor's degree in English from Northern State University and a law degree from the University of South Dakota in Vermillion in 2006. After joining the firm, he worked as a Staff Attorney for the South Dakota Supreme Court and as an Assistant Attorney General in Pierre.

Two offices and the region served

The Rapid City office anchors the practice. The Pierre office places lawyers closer to the state capital and its administrative and legislative work. Together, the two locations let the firm reach clients across South Dakota and into nearby states.

That footprint fits the areas on the list. Agricultural, mining, utility, and energy matters tend to follow the land and the industries of the region. A firm with long roots in the west of the state is placed to take them on. The same goes for construction and real estate, where local knowledge tends to matter.

What the record shows

The picture here is of a settled general practice with depth on paper. The stated history runs past 50 years. The roster is sizable for the region, and several lawyers carry courtroom and public-service experience. In my opinion, the clearest strengths are the breadth of practice areas and the spread of seniority across the team.

The firm keeps its published material factual rather than promotional. It lists what it does and who does it, and it leaves the claims modest. As a reviewer, I read that restraint as a fair match for a directory built on evidence. A prospective client can see the practice areas, the two offices, and the named attorneys, then weigh the fit from there.