Serving the Public Good: How an Innovative Program is Building Future Lawyer Leaders
Despite a strong culture of commitment to the public good, South Dakota faces an ever-growing challenge: how to best attract and retain the next generation of lawyer leaders in an increasingly competitive employment landscape.
The Public Service Pathway program introduces a solution by reimagining how law students discover, access and prepare to serve in South Dakota’s public legal sector.
In February of 2025, the South Dakota Supreme Court established PSP as a five-year pilot program. The South Dakota Board of Bar Examiners and the University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law then stepped up to collaborate on the implementation of the program, developing an alternative route to licensure to the traditional bar exam that fosters connections between practicing attorneys and USD’s law students.
The program effectively creates opportunities for students to discover and prepare for careers in South Dakota’s public legal sector, providing those who are passionate about public service with a path designed for them.
PSP students must complete at least 500 hours of work in a public sector legal office during the fall semester of their final year of law school. Within that placement, students develop a portfolio of written work assessed by the Board of Bar Examiners for minimum competence. In the spring, following their work placements, they return for additional classwork. Students then dedicate two years after graduation to a position in South Dakota’s public sector to obtain their license to practice law in South Dakota without taking the bar exam.
USD Knudson School of Law Dean Neil Fulton, J.D., approved the applicants for the inaugural PSP cohort, and those selected were then placed through a matching process based on student preference and office need.
“The program is an innovative approach to bar admission and meeting South Dakota’s legal needs,” said Fulton. “We saw great success in the inaugural cohort and learned important lessons to improve for the future. We have a second cohort going to work this fall in a broader swath of offices. I remain excited about the potential of the program for South Dakota.”
The program completed its first full year this spring, with the inaugural cohort of nine students now beginning legal careers in service to South Dakota. Eight students have been accepted for fall 2026.
Karli Viher, J.D., is among the USD law students who graduated with the first PSP cohort. Her PSP work placement was with the Pennington County State’s Attorney’s Office. For students like Viher, the experience was a metamorphosis resulting in improved skills and increased enthusiasm for the legal profession.
“The person who walked into the Pennington County State’s Attorney’s Office at the beginning of this program is not the same person standing here today,” said Viher. “Through this program, I have gained confidence and strengthened my critical thinking and writing skills—but most importantly, I have deepened my passion for public service and prosecution. One of the greatest impacts of this program is the clarity it has given me, confirming that this work is exactly where I belong.”
Viher’s experience with the Pennington County State’s Attorney’s Office is not over. As she embarks on her two years of service in the public sector, she is now working as a deputy state’s attorney in the same office—using the professional skills she has honed to continue serving that community.
Viher’s classmates have now begun their postgraduation commitments, as well, with professional positions in the Minnehaha County State’s Attorney’s Office and Public Defender’s Office, the United States Bankruptcy Court – District of South Dakota and other offices across the state.
The first year of PSP has developed nine new attorneys who are unprecedentedly prepared to fulfill roles in South Dakota’s public sector. These students have gained hands-on learning experience and found opportunities for self-reflection, accessing a glimpse into the difference they will make as the state’s lawyer leaders.
“Public Service Pathway is a great example of working together to make South Dakota better and invest in students,” said Fulton. “As the state’s only law school, it is our job to seize opportunities to do both these things. When we say we are a community of excellence, service and leadership, PSP is a great example of how the USD Knudson School of Law lives out those values.”
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