Personal Experience & Education
Steve was born in Sioux City, Iowa, graduated from UNI in May 1993 and from University of Iowa Law School with honors in December 1995. While clerking for district court judges in Iowa’s Fifth District for two years in 1996-1997, Steve met his wife Tracy in Chariton, Iowa. After working at the downtown Des Moines-based Finley law firm for two years, Tracy and Steve moved to Yankton in 1999 when Steve became associated with the firm Johnson, Heidepriem, Miner, Marlow and Janklow. In 2004, Steve became a partner with Mike Marlow and Sheila Woodward, with whom he has worked with for almost 23 years.
Steve’s practice areas include ag and commercial litigation, creditor rights and collection work, creditor-side bankruptcy work, and general civil litigation. This work includes foreclosing on real and personal property, whether through loan documents or contracts for deed, as well as obtaining authority for court-appointed receiverships and assisting with farm and commercial loan workout arrangements of all types. Steve works for multiple national banks and regulated lenders in multiple states. He has worked on over $100M in foreclosed or bankruptcy stayed assets in South Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa. Steve is licensed in South Dakota and Iowa but has also been admitted pro hac vice in Minnesota and Nebraska.
Membership & Activities
Steve served as the Yankton County Bar Association president from 2000-2006 and has served several two-year terms as a South Dakota Bar Commissioner and thereafter was president of the South Dakota Bar Association. He has been a member of the East River Legal Services board of directors for 20 years, serving as its president for six years and thereafter on its audit and finance committee. Steve has also been president of the local chamber of commerce, the local Big Friend Little Friend program, Verve and presided over dozens of Yankton County Teen Court trials. Steve is also a board member of the South Dakota Bar Foundation and the United Way of Yankton.
Steve and Tracy have been married for twenty years and have two adult children who both attend Wayne State University. When not working or spending time with family, Steve enjoys cooking (BBQ, Italian, and Chinese, among other types), fantasy football, and provocative haikus.
