Sara Frankenstein

Sara is a trial lawyer and practices in the areas of election law, employment law, trust litigation, commercial litigation, insurance defense, and government, including county, municipal and administrative law. Sara particularly enjoys trials and preliminary injunction hearings, handling the stressful and high-stakes issues that require experience and specialized knowledge to navigate in short periods of time. Sara serves as city attorney and special counsel for a number of cities and advises and defends hundreds of cities and counties in litigation and prelitigation. Sara trains and advises all 64 county election administrators in the State of South Dakota through all aspects of state and federal election law, and does the same for most of the towns and cities throughout South Dakota. Sara has twice testified before Congress on the issue of voting rights. She served as special counsel to the South Dakota House of Representatives for the impeachment of South Dakota’s former Attorney General and advises legislators on election and governmental law. She has successfully argued a Voting Rights Act re-districting case before the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals en banc (all 11 judges), and successfully briefed the case to the United States Supreme Court. In 2009, she won an election law trial which was the lead South Dakota news story that year. Sara has been selected as a Super Lawyer for the last five years in the areas of Legislative and Governmental Affairs. Sara was appointed as one of five directors to the Center for Election Confidence national board, serving along with four other nationally-known election lawyers across the country.

Sara served on the South Dakota State Advisory Committee that reports to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. She also serves on the board of directors for Sentinel Federal Credit Union, which has eight locations across South Dakota. She has served on numerous other boards and committees dedicated to scholarship opportunities, charities, and community development, and frequently speaks, emcees, and sings for a variety of events.