The University of South Dakota has announced its new Law School Dean.
The University has named Neil Fulton, a current federal public defender, South Dakota Bar Examiner and former chief of staff to Gov. Mike Rounds, Dean of the University of South Dakota School of Law.
In a speech given during this announcement, Neil Fulton voiced his excitement and enthusiasm for tackling this role.
“Excellence, service, leadership…these ideas were the currency of the law school when it was founded in 1901, they’re its currency today, and they must be going forward as we work together for the future of South Dakota. Now this is a solid and noble foundation, but as we move deeper into the second century of the law school the world around us is changing rapidly radically and irrevocably. The legal environment today would be nearly unrecognizable to our predecessors. Lawyers everywhere are wrestling with transformative forces like artificial intelligence, the rise of ADR over traditional litigation, rethinking fundamental business models of hourly billing and firm structure, building diversity and inclusion into our core professional competencies and the increased use of in house or un-bundled legal services.”
Fulton says one of his goals is to recruit the next generation of students from rural areas and Indian country. He says he also wants the law school to have a more active and engaging relationship with the community of Vermillion and its students.