Michael D. Bornitz

 Michael D. Bornitz

The South Dakota Trial Lawyers Association named Mike the Trial Lawyer of the Year in 2020. He was then named South Dakota Trial Lawyer of the Year by the Top 100 Registry in 2023. Mike has achieved outstanding results for his clients because he was raised to be a hard worker and stand up for people who need help. Mike has tried nearly 50 cases in state and federal courts and administrative agencies in South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska. He has successfully argued numerous cases before the South Dakota Supreme Court, the Iowa Supreme Court and the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. He has built a practice representing ordinary people and small businesses. Mike focuses on litigation in the areas of personal injury, insurance bad faith, products liability, wrongful death, worker’s compensation, and in business and estate litigation. He is widely known as an aggressive and tireless advocate for his clients.  Mike has obtained substantial settlements and judgments, recovering tens of millions of dollars for his clients by helping to enforce safety rules and holding those who break them accountable.

Mike is a native of Yankton, South Dakota. He graduated with honors from the University of South Dakota with degrees in history and political science. He received a Master of Public Administration degree, and he then graduated from the University of South Dakota School of Law. During graduate and law school, Mike served as a teaching assistant, and he was a member of the law school’s Moot Court Board.

Following law school, Mike served as a law clerk in Aberdeen, South Dakota. He then practiced law in Yankton before joining Cutler Law Firm, LLP. Mike is licensed to practice in state and federal courts in South Dakota and Nebraska and in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the American Association for Justice, and the Second Circuit Bar Association.  Mike is a member of the Board of Directors of the South Dakota Trial Lawyers Association.  Mike has served on the South Dakota State Bar’s Civil Pattern Jury Instructions Committee and has been a director of the State Bar’s Tort, Insurance and Trial Law Section and the Worker’s Compensation Section. Mike is also involved with a number of charitable organizations in the Sioux Falls community. Because of his numerous recoveries of more than $1 million, Mike has become a member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum®. Mike also has an AV® Preeminent peer review and client review rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest rating an attorney can receive, he has a perfect 10.0 rating from Avvo* and he has been named to Super Lawyers* multiple times as one of the top 5% of South Dakota trial lawyers.

$17,500,000   Negligence
$10,600,000   Negligence
$4,750,000     Personal Injury
$4,400,000     Medical Negligence
$3,250,000     Motor Vehicle Collision
$2,400,000     Motor Vehicle Collision
$2,100,000     Product Liability
$1,900,000     Fraud and Breach of Contract
$1,700,000     Breach of Business Contract
$1,500,000     Premises Liability
$1,500,000     Breach of Insurance Contract
$1,300,000     Premises Liability
$1,250,000     Motor Vehicle Collision
$1,100,000     Medical Negligence
$1,000,000     Motor Vehicle Collision
$1,000,000     Breach of Insurance Contract
$930,000        Breach of Insurance Contract
$860,000        Breach of Insurance Contract
$850,000        Breach of Insurance Contract
$840,000        Breach of Insurance Contract
$775,000        Semi-Tractor Collision
$735,000        Motor Vehicle Collision
$715,000        Motorcycle Collision
$700,000        Motor Vehicle Collision
$700,000        Semi-Tractor Collision
$700,000        Breach of Insurance Contract
$700,000        Motor Vehicle Collision
$660,000        Motor Vehicle Collision
$610,000        Breach of Contract
$600,000        Motor Vehicle Collision
$600,000        Breach of Insurance Contract
$575,000        Motor Vehicle Collision
$540,000        Motor Vehicle Collision
$500,000        Motor Vehicle Collision
$500,000        Motor Vehicle Collision
$480,000        Worker’s Compensation
$470,000        Motor Vehicle Collision
$460,000        Semi-Tractor Collision
$450,000        Breach of Insurance Contract
$430,000        Motor Vehicle Collision
$430,000        Worker’s Compensation
$410,000        Worker’s Compensation
$400,000        Premises Liability
$400,000        Medical Negligence