Dakota E. Atuan

Dakota Atuan brings a dynamic litigation practice to clients navigating complex construction and commercial matters, labor and employment work, and insurance disputes. With hands-on experience in both the courtroom and the boardroom, she guides clients through every phase of a matter, from transactional work and materialmen's lien filings to breach-of-contract and fraud actions, arbitration, and trial.

Licensed to practice in both Georgia and South Carolina, Dakota is dedicated to delivering client-first legal services in construction-related matters, guiding clients through both transactional and litigation needs with a focus on practical, results-driven solutions. She has extensive experience managing cases involving personal injury and property coverage claims, has taken extensive depositions, and regularly drafts and argues motions before the court. She has also handled automobile insurance claims, premises liability matters, and business disputes.

Dakota is actively engaged in the legal community through leadership roles in the American Bar Association. She serves as Chief Judge of the “On The Rise Awards” for the ABA Young Lawyers Division and holds multiple liaison and committee positions within the ABA Forum on Construction Law, including contributing to the Division 1 Dispute Resolver Blog. She has been recognized by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star in Construction Law in 2024 and 2025 and in Insurance Defense in 2023.

Dakota began her legal career as a Law Clerk to Judge McKinnon on the South Carolina Circuit Court, 16th Circuit, where she drafted jury charges and formal written opinions across a range of civil and criminal matters and observed numerous trials. She earned her Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from the University of South Carolina School of Law, where she served as Associate Justice of Administration for the nationally ranked trial advocacy team and competed in six trial competitions. She also served as the Associate Member Development Coordinator for the South Carolina Journal of Law and Education. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature with a minor in Criminal Justice from the University of South Carolina.