SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A Sioux Falls attorney was named to Forbes’ inaugural list of the Top 200 Lawyers in the United States.

Robins Kaplan Sioux Falls-based partner Brendan Johnson was listed among the finest practitioners in the profession.

Brendan is the only attorney recognized on the list in South Dakota, according to Robins Kaplan.

Brendan has been with Robins Kaplan since 2009 after serving as South Dakota’s 40th United States Attorney during the Obama Administration. He has developed a national trial practice focused on high-stakes litigation while maintaining his family roots in South Dakota.

He also chairs the firm’s National Business Litigation Group, a role in which he leads more than 100 attorneys across all seven offices and is a member of the Executive Board.

Brendan attended the University of South Dakota, then attended law school at the University of Virginia School of Law.

He served as a judicial law clerk to Chief Judge Karen Schreier in Hill City, SD. He moved to Minnehaha County where he became a prosecutor for the county.

He later became a partner with Johnson, Heidepriem, Janklow, Abdallah and Johnson Law Firm.^[4]

Brendan focused on Native American issues resulting in an increase of prosecutions, including drug conspiracies. He also focused on prosecuting human trafficking, cracking more than 25 cases that resulted in three life-sentences for offenders.

Brendan is the son of former U.S. Senator Tim Johnson and wife Barbara. Brendan and his wife Dr. Jana Beddow Johnson, have four children.

Forbes’ selections are based on rigorous, multi-stage process of editorial research and evaluation. The list identifies lawyers with impressive track records in their specialties, those who have broken barriers to emerge as leaders in their fields and attorneys most respected by peers and clients.