School of Law to recognize Marty Jackley

The University of South Dakota School of Law will present Marty Jackley, the recently re-elected South Dakota attorney general, with the Student Bar Association Volunteer Service Award Nov. 12.

The SBA chose Jackley because of his dedication to and his support of the law school and efforts to personally educate students pursuing a law degree without cost to the school, said Jennifer Harvey, graduate student and SBA president, via email. As SBA president, Harvey will present Jackley with the award.

Jackley said he is very honored to receive the award and will continue to help the school.

“I have been so blessed by the faculty and students at USD,” said Jackley in an email. “Every time that I meet with or hire a student, I can’t help but feel that it should be me recognizing and thanking USD for all it has done and continues to do for me.”

Law professor Roger Baron taught Jackley when he attended USD and was one of the people who nominated Jackley to be this year’s award recipient.

“I am amazed at (Jackley)’s willingness to always give the law school a high priority on his agenda,” Baron said in his nomination letter. “He has rendered himself to be of utmost service to us and he is deserving of this award.”

Jackley has spoken to Baron’s civil procedure class every year since 2006, something Baron said is helpful.

“He has a lot of information he can share with them that helps them bring what we study in the classroom to real life,” Baron said.

In his nomination letter, Baron said the visits are well-received by students.

“I receive overwhelmingly favorable reviews from the students after Marty’s visits,” Baron said. “His presentations are incredibly informative and inspiring.”

Jackley has helped several students find employment and internships with both the South Dakota Attorney General’s office and the U.S. Attorney’s office, Harvey said.

Baron said Jackley has created internships for students in his office and hired them when they graduated.

“He’s done a lot for us,” Baron said. “He’s probably single-handedly been responsible for hiring more students than any other person I know of.”

Graduate student Chauncey Moulding was one of four law students who completed an internship last summer at Jackley’s office. He said Jackley is deserving of the honor.

“Jackley and his office provide a wonderful learning environment for young attorneys to ‘get their feet wet,’ so to speak, in the statewide practice of law,” said Moulding via email.

Jackley also volunteered to speak at the School of Law Class of 2013 Hooding Ceremony.

“That was a result of him speaking to the first-year students when they were first-year students, and they really liked him,” Baron said.

Many people may get a false impression of who Jackley is because of what he does, Baron said.

“Most of the news about him is centered on political issues, and that doesn’t always accurately portray the Marty that I know,” Baron said. “One could get a false impression about Marty as being too much of a hard person because of the nature of his job … but he really is a super nice guy.”

Despite a demanding schedule, Baron said Jackley is never too busy for the university.

“He’s got a soft spot in his heart for USD,” Baron said. “If you need something, and you ask him, he never says ‘no.’ I don’t know how he does what he does because he’s got so many pressures on him and so many things he has to do, but he’s always got room in his schedule for us.”

The award has been presented annually since 2009. Previous award recipients include Susan Sabers, Clint Sargent, Eric Schulte and Arthur Rusch.

The ceremony will take place at noon in the law school courtroom and will be followed by a reception.

(Photo: Attorney General South Dakota Marty Jackley. Associated Press.)