Accolades Admissions

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Education

  • Juris Doctor – University of North Dakota School of Law (1978)
  • Bachelor of Arts – North Dakota State University (1974)
Negligence and Personal Injury | Municipal Law | Personal Injury Attorney

Bar Admissions

  • North Dakota, 1978
  • Minnesota, 1978
  • U.S. District Court – District of North Dakota, 1978
  • U.S. District Court – District of Minnesota, 1978
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, 1980
  • United States Supreme Court, 2014
Real Estate | Real Estate Attorney

Professional Associations and Memberships

  • State Bar Association of North Dakota – Member (1978–Present), former chairman of its Continuing Legal Education Committee
  • Minnesota State Bar Association – Member, Bankruptcy Section (1978–Present)
  • North Dakota State University Bison Arts Board- Board Member (2013–2019)
  • Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra (1986-Present) – Board Member (1986-1993), serving one year as President
  • Fargo-Moorhead Opera Co – Board Member (2007–2013 and 2020)
  • American Bankruptcy Institute – Member
  • Fellow, American College of Bankruptcy (2018–Present)
  • North Dakota Chapter of The Nature Conservancy – Former Member
Business and Commercial Law

Certifications & Specialties

  • Creditors Rights Specialist
  • American Board of Certification
Tax Law | Family Law | Tax Law Attorney

Representative Clients

  • First International Bank
  • Sargent County Bank
  • CIT Group
  • Farmers State Bank, Elgin, North Dakota
  • Dacotah Bank
  • First State Bank, Gackle, North Dakota
  • Citizens State Bank, Enderlin, North Dakota
  • Prudential Insurance Company
  • Heartland State Bank of Edgeley
  • Union Bank, Hazen, North Dakota
  • Bell Bank
  • AXA Equitable Agrifinance
  • Dakota Heritage Bank
  • First State Bank, LaMoure
  • American Federal Bank
  • Alerus Financial
  • Caterpillar Financial Services
  • National Arbitration Forum
  • R. Agriculture Finance
  • Western State Bank
  • Educational Credit Management Corporation
  • Co-Bank
  • Bank of North Dakota
  • Crop Production Services
  • Northwestern Bank
  • Pifers Auction & Realty and Land Management
Estate Planning and Probate

Honors and Awards

  • First appeared in Best Lawyers in America in 1993, and has continued to be selected by his peers for inclusion for over 25 years, including the 2021 edition. Selected for work in the practice areas of Arbitration, Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Banking and Finance, Litigation – Bankruptcy, and Mortgage Banking Foreclosure Law.  Selected as Best Lawyers’ 2016 “Lawyer of the Year” in Fargo for Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law.
  • Selected for inclusion to the 2020 Great Plains Super Lawyers list.
  • Ranked in the Chambers and Partners 2020 publication of Chambers USA “America’s Leading Lawyers for Business” for Bankruptcy/Restructuring – Band 1.
  • Fellow in the American College of Bankruptcy.
Tax Law | Family Law | Tax Law Attorney

Representative Cases

  • Brandt v. Somerville, 692 N.W.2d 144, 2005 ND 35 (North Dakota 2005)
  • In re Borstad. 550 B.R. 803 (Bankr. D.N.D. 2016)
  • Four Season’s Healthcare Ctr. v. Linderkamp, 2013 ND 159, 837 N.W.2d 147
  • Pifer v. McDermott, 2013 ND 153, 836 N.W.2d 432, reh’g denied (Nov. 21, 2013) cert. denied, 134 S. Ct. 1941 (U.S. 2014)
  • Moorhead Econ. Dev. Auth. v. Anda, 789 N.W.2d 860 (Minn. 2010)
Insurance Litigation

Publications and Presentations

  • Numerous works for the State Bar Association of North Dakota, North Dakota Independent Community Bankers, North Dakota Credit Union League, Lorman, National Business Institute, and others to present continuing legal education programs and other educational programs.
  • Articles in Kiplinger.com and Common Ground, the flagship publication of Community Associations Institute, which is a national association of homeowners’ associations on homeowners’ association management.
Insurance Litigation

References

  • Kevin Pifer, Pifer’s Auction & Reality and Land Management
Scroll to Top