Keith A. Gauer
Keith A. Gauer
South Dakota Financial Services Lawyer
My Story
Keith is a member of the Banking and Financial Services Practice Group at Davenport Evans and focuses his practice on the representation of banks and companies involved in the development, marketing, and distribution of financial services. He regularly counsels banks with respect to the structure, negotiation, and drafting of agreements related to national financial products, including contracts relating to credit cards, prepaid cards, installment loans, remote deposit capture/centralized check clearing, and other national products.
Keith frequently assists banks and financial services companies in evaluating new and innovative models for the delivery of financial services, including issues raised by federal and state laws. Many of the programs involve fintech entities interested in partnering with a bank in order to offer financial services in new and innovative ways. Keith also represents clients in connection with regulatory examinations and investigations, including the representation of banks in regulatory enforcement actions commenced by federal and bank regulators and state attorneys general. He regularly guides clients on issues arising with payment systems and general commercial law matters, including ACH, traditional and electronic check clearing, remote deposit capture, wire transfer, and other electronic commerce related matters. In addition, Keith has an established creditor’s rights practice where he represents local and national lenders with initial loan documentation matters, foreclosures, loan workouts, and bankruptcy cases.
In addition to traditional commercial law matters, Keith has also developed expertise in matters involving digital assets, including the representation of trust companies and banks providing custodial services involving cryptocurrencies. He is actively tracking the expansion of the law in areas relating to the regulation of participants in the digital asset marketplace, including new statutes and caselaw incorporating digital assets into both existing and new legal structures. He has further provided guidance and legal opinions to clients evaluating cryptocurrency custody models under both state insolvency and federal bankruptcy law.
Keith has received an AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rating by Martindale-Hubbell®, for the highest level of professional excellence for their legal knowledge, communication skills and ethical standards. Keith has also been recognized by Best Lawyers® in the areas of Corporate Law and Litigation – Banking and Finance, and has been ranked by Chambers and Partners in the areas of Corporate/Commercial and Corporate/Commercial: Bankruptcy/Restructuring Law, and ranked in the top 5% of practicing attorneys in South Dakota by Great Plains Super Lawyers in the areas of Banking, Bankruptcy & Creditor/Debtor Rights Law.
Position: Partner
Direct: (605) 357-1256
Email: [email protected]
Practice Areas
Highlights
Davenport Evans Lawyers “Most Recognized in South Dakota” by Best Lawyers® 2027
Davenport Evans Lawyers Awarded “Most Recognized in South Dakota” by The Best Lawyers in America® (2027 Edition). The lawyers at Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz & Smith, LLP have been named the “Most Recognized Lawyers in South Dakota, with 18 lawyers selected to The...
The Agricultural Processor Liens – What Bankers Should Know
The 2026 legislature adopted amendments to significantly revise South Dakota’s agricultural processor lien statutes, which generally provide a lien on crops to persons who “process” the crops, including threshing, combining, bailing, and related services. The changes...
Super Lawyers 2026 Recognizes 14 Davenport Evans Lawyers
Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz & Smith, LLP is pleased to announce selection of the following Davenport Evans lawyers to the 2026 edition of Great Plains Super Lawyers. Attorneys selected were ranked in the top 5% of practicing attorneys in South Dakota. ...
The Demise of the CFPB?
At this point, the Trump administration’s strategy with respect to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) is completely transparent. Instead of seeking the dissolution of the agency through the legislative process, it has sentenced the CFPB to death by...
Federal Bank Regulators “Flip” on Crypto
On July 14, 2025, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) released new guidance for banks seeking to provide safekeeping services relating...
Best Lawyers® 2026 Recognizes 18 Davenport Evans Lawyers
Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz & Smith, LLP in Sioux Falls, SD is pleased to announce that 18 Davenport Evans lawyers were listed in Best Lawyers® 2026 for South Dakota, in 22 different practice areas. The following three Davenport Evans lawyers were named 2026 Best...
Davenport Evans Lawyers Ranked Tier One by Chambers 2025
Lawyers from Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz & Smith LLP in Sioux Falls, SD have again been ranked Tier One by Chambers USA. In South Dakota, rankings are given in five categories: Corporate/Commercial Law, Corporate/Commercial: Bankruptcy/Restructuring, Labor &...
Howard Wood Relays at 100 – Davenport Memories
May 2-3 marks the 100th running of the Howard Wood Dakota Relays in Sioux Falls! In his welcome on www.dakotarelays.com, Howard Wood Relays Board President Scott Fiedler states, “Yes, 100 of anything is a milestone and the work that the Board of Directors do to...
The Fight to Keep “Uniform” in the Uniform Commercial Code
During the 2025 session of the South Dakota legislature, yet another bill was proposed to adopt non-uniform amendments to South Dakota’s version of the Uniform Commercial Code (“UCC”). As most bankers know, the UCC is a set of commercial laws governing multiple...
Contract for Deed Sellers, Read Up On Regulation Z
Contracts for deed are a mechanism by which the owner of real property may provide seller financing to a buyer to facilitate the sale of real property. On August 13, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued an “Advisory Opinion” in which the CFPB...
Professional Experience
Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz & Smith, LLP
Partner: 2000 – present
Associate: 1995 – 1999
Education
Augustana University
(B.A., summa cum laude, 1992)
Creighton University School of Law
(J.D., magna cum laude, 1995)
Professional Memberships
State Bar of South Dakota
American Bar Association
Minnehaha County Bar Association
American Bankruptcy Institute
Licensure
Admitted to Practice (State):
South Dakota, 1995
Admitted to Practice (Federal):
United States District Court, District of South Dakota, 1995
United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit, 1995
Accomplishments
Protecting what you’ve built.
Phone Numbers
Direct: (605) 357-1256
Dehs: (605) 336-2880
Driving Directions
Davenport Evans, Hurwitz & Smith, LLP
206 West 14th Street
P.O. Box 1030
Sioux Falls, SD 57101-1030
