Nancy Turbak Berry

About Nancy

Nancy is well recognized for her commitment and skill as an advocate for injured people and has been honored for accomplishments on behalf of clients. She is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates. She has served as an adjunct professor at the USD School of Law and as a frequent faculty member of the National College of Advocacy. Nancy was one of the first trial lawyers in South Dakota to be board-certified as a specialist in Civil Trial Advocacy and Civil Pretrial Practice.

Nancy was chosen Trial Lawyer of the Year by the South Dakota Trial Lawyers in 1997, honored as Attorney of the Year by South Dakota Women in Law, and has long been listed in Best Lawyers in America. Nancy is Past President of the South Dakota Trial Lawyers and the South Dakota Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates and has served as a Commissioner of the State Bar of South Dakota. She is a former member and Chair of the Disciplinary Board, the arm of the State Bar responsible for reviewing complaints of attorney misconduct.

Nancy started school in a one-room schoolhouse in Kranzburg, SD. She graduated from high school in Watertown, SD and graduated with honors from Harvard. She received her law degree from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California and practiced briefly in Minneapolis before returning to Watertown in 1982.

She established Turbak Law Office in 1982 and has since represented hundreds of people as their courtroom advocate. Since 1989, Nancy’s practice has been limited primarily to representing people hurt by the carelessness of others or individuals involved in disputes with their insurance companies. She is experienced not only in courtroom advocacy but also in other forms of dispute resolution. She is often able to negotiate resolution of clients’ claims without trial. Not afraid to present her clients’ causes to judges and juries though, she long held the record in South Dakota for the largest jury verdict awarded to an individual in a personal injury case.

Nancy is a former magistrate of the Unified Judicial System and served for four years in the South Dakota State Senate. She has always been active in her state, profession, and locale, serving in many volunteer positions in service to the Watertown community. She is the mother of two sons, Seamus and Liam Culhane, who practice with her at Turbak Law Office, P.C.