Michael S. McKnight

Lawyer, Arbitrator and Mediator

Originally from Silver Bay,  Minnesota, Michael S. McKnight graduated from South Dakota State University and attended the University of South Dakota School of Law, graduating with honors in 1986. Mike has practiced law with Boyce Law Firm in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, since his graduation. 

During the course of his practice, Mike has represented hundreds of employers, insurers and self-insurers in all types of employment and workers’ compensation related disputes across the state of South Dakota. In the past ten plus years, Mike  developed a practice exclusively as a mediator and arbitrator.  In March 2016, he completed a thirty (30) hour civil mediation training with Mitchell Hamline University. He is a member of the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals and is on the American Arbitration Association (AAA) Panel of Mediators and Panel of Arbitrators in the Employment Law Section. Additionally, Mike is on the Resolute System panel of approved mediators and joined the Value Solve group in 2019.  In 2018, Mike completed the advanced mediation training through the Iowa Mediation Service.  Mike is also a South Dakota member of NAM (National Arbitration and Mediation).  Since 2015, he has been both the Chair and Co-Chair of the State Bar of South Dakota Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee.  In 2019, Mike agreed to serve as an adjunct professor at the University of South Dakota School of Law and is teaching “ADR: Theories and Practice”. 

Mike’s  mediation practice includes mediating all types of disputes, but he has developed a particular interest and affinity in employment and workplace dispute resolution. Mike’s extensive experience has allowed him to develop a mediation style that easily adapts to the needs of each particular case, allowing parties to resolve disputes that could otherwise prove to incur substantial legal fees.

PROFESSIONAL AND COMMUNITY

• American Bar Association
• ABA Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee
• Minnesota State Bar Association
• State Bar of South Dakota
• State Bar of South Dakota – ADR Committee (Present Chair)
• Past Member of State Bar of South Dakota Disciplinary Board and Ethics Committee
•  Iowa Association of Mediators
• Nebraska Mediation Association
• The Defense Research Institute – Worker’s Compensation Committee
• National Worker’s Compensation Defense Network – South Dakota Representative
• The College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers – Fellow
• Kid’s Chance of SD, Inc.
• Food to You