About Terry N.
Terry N. Prendergast combined law and business study early in his career. He earned a J.D. and an M.B.A. from the University of South Dakota in 1978 after completing a B.A. at Augustana College in 1975. The two degrees side by side underscored an interest in the legal and financial issues that would shape his work.
His first professional post came immediately after law school. In 1978 he served as a law clerk to Chief Judge Fred J. Nichol of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota. The clerkship exposed him to federal practice and to the procedural work of a busy district court. He moved into private practice in 1979, joining Boyce, Murphy, McDowell & Greenfield.
Over the following decades Prendergast stayed in South Dakota practice. In 2003 he became part of what would be Redstone Law Office LLP, a firm that had earlier been known as Murphy, Goldammer & Prendergast. That change reflected the continuity of a local practice and the common reshuffling of small-firm partnerships. In 2017 he took on an of-counsel role at Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz & Smith, LLP, allowing him to contribute to cases and counsel clients while remaining connected to his established client base.
He is admitted to practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, the U.S. Supreme Court and in South Dakota. Those admissions signify both trial- and appellate-level experience. Colleagues describe his work as steady and grounded in procedural knowledge earned over many years in state and federal matters.
Outside the office Prendergast engaged in public service on issues of fiduciary administration. From 2010 through 2018 he served on the Governor’s Task Force on Trust Administration Review and Reform, a multi-year advisory effort examining trust administration practices and suggesting statutory and administrative changes. He has also maintained active ties to the local legal community through professional associations.
After nearly five decades in practice, Prendergast splits his time between consulting on complex matters and counseling clients in South Dakota and before federal courts. He practices from the Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz & Smith, LLP office and continues to handle matters that draw on his trial and appellate experience, trust and estate administration, and business-related legal issues.
