Law Firm Overview

In 1887, two years before statehood, C.O. Bailey came from Chicago to open a law office in Sioux Falls. He hired John Voorhees as an associate in 1888. In 1891 they became partners and the firm was named Bailey & Voorhees.

The firm’s founding partners, C.O. Bailey and John H. Voorhees, were present at and fully participated in the creation of the state bar association on December 7, 1897, at the Sioux Falls Court House where the association was organized. John Voorhees was elected as the association’s standing secretary, and held that post from 1897 to 1926.

Bailey and Voorhees carefully expanded the firm and hired some of the best young lawyers that the founders could find in South Dakota during the 1920's through the 1940's, including a second generation of smart, driven young trial lawyers. In 1924, associates Roswell Bottum and Melvin T. Woods joined the firm. Howell Fuller was recruited in 1931. The firm’s name was changed to Bailey, Voorhees, Woods and Bottum in 1936. The following year, 1937, John B. Shultz joined the firm. During World War II, Bottum left the firm for a federal government job, and the firm’s name became Bailey, Voorhees, Woods & Fuller. Francis M. Smith joined the firm in 1949. When John Voorhees died in 1953, the firm changed its name to Woods, Fuller, Shultz & Smith, and it has remained the same in the ensuing 53 years.

In its long history, the firm has evolved from a one-man office to a multi-lawyer firm, offering legal services in a wide variety of practice areas. The firm has provided legal services with distinction on a continuing basis since its beginning in 1887. When the firm celebrated its 100th anniversary, Gov. George Mickelson issued an executive proclamation making November 28, 1987, Woods, Fuller, Shultz & Smith Day in South Dakota. None of the named partners survives today. John B. Shultz died in 1975, Howell Fuller in 1981, M.T. Woods in 1983, and Francis Smith in 2004. However, their reputation for providing superior legal service is maintained today by the lawyers who are proud to practice law under the banner of their names.

Areas of Practice

• Appellate Practice
• Bankruptcy & Debtor and Creditor
• Business Law
• Commercial Law
• Construction Law
• Environmental Law
• Employment Law
• Estate Planning and Probate
• Family Law
• Government
• Health Law
• Insurance
• Intellectual Property
• Litigation
• Mergers and Acquisitions
• Personal Injury
• Product Liability
• Professional Liability
• Real Estate
• Securities
• Taxation
• Trusts
• Workers' Compensation

West Practice Categories

Mergers, Acquisitions & Divestitures, Bankruptcy Law, Business & Commercial Law, Debtor/Creditor, Construction Law, Employment Law -- Employee, Employment Law -- Employer, Environmental Law, Estate Planning, Trusts, Professional Responsibility, Family Law, Government Agencies & Programs, Government Contracts, Health & Health Care Law, Insurance Law, Intellectual Property Law, Litigation & Appeals, Personal Injury -- Plaintiff, Probate & Estate Administration, Professional Malpractice Law, Real Estate Law, Securities Law, State Government, Taxation Law, Workers' Compensation Law