Judgeship

2022 – Present
District Court Judge, 1st Judicial District
Fillmore, Gage, Jefferson, Johnson, Nemaha, Otoe, Pawnee, Richardson, Saline, and Thayer counties

Experience

2006 – 2022
Partner, Associate
Private Practice of Law

2022
Adjunct Professor
University of Nebraska School of Law

2004 – 2006
Judicial Clerk to the Hon. C. Arlen Beam
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

2002 – 2003
Summer Associate
Private Practice of Law

Education

University of Nebraska College of Law, 2004
Juris Doctorate with high distinction

University of Nebraska at Omaha, 1999
Master of Public Administration

University of Nebraska at Kearney, 1996
Bachelor of Science

Judicial/Law-Related Professional Activities

Professional Affiliations
United States District Court for the District of Nebraska, Admitted to practice
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, Admitted to practice
Nebraska Bar Association, Member
Nebraska State Bar Foundation, Lifetime Fellow
Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys
Lincoln Bar Association, Member
Lincoln Bar Association Law Day Committee, Member
Groundwater Foundation Advisory Board, Member

Nebraska Supreme Court Commissions/Committees
Nebraska Judicial Qualifications Commission, 2024-present
Nebraska Supreme Court Judicial Resources Work Group, First Judicial District Representative, 2023-present|

Nebraska District Court Judges Association 
Problem Solving Court Committee, 2022-present

Community Activities

Coach, Norris High School Mock Trial Team, 2021-present
American Legion Cornhusker Boys State Presenter, 2010-2019

Honors and Awards

Nebraska State Bar Foundation Fellow:
Honor is based on integrity and character. Recognition is for those accredited as leaders who contribute to charitable and community education works of the Foundation and dedicated to the improvement of the administration of justice.  

Leadership Nebraska, Class of 2008
Super Lawyers Rated, Five Years
Named among “leading individual – commercial litigation lawyers in Nebraska” by Chambers USA, 2013 – 2022
Named “Rising Star” by Great Plains Super Lawyers, 2013 – 2014
Executive Editor, Nebraska Law Review, 2002-2004
The Order of the Coif
Theodore Sorenson Fellow

Publications

• The Frequency Of Redistricting In Nebraska and the Balance Between One-Person, One-Vote and Electoral Stability: How Often Is Too Often?, 82 NEB. L. REV. 575 (2003)
• Henderson v. City of Columbus: Nebraska Supreme Court Clarifies ‘Intent’ or ‘Foreseeability’ Required For Eminent Domain/Inverse Condemnation, NEBRASKA MUNICIPAL REVIEW, April 2013
• Nebraska Supreme Court Adopts New Test For Determining Public Records, NEBRASKA MUNICIPAL REVIEW, June 2015
• Leadership Nebraska Fosters “Nebraska Patriotism,” Address at the Leadership Nebraska 2008 Graduation Ceremony (2008)

Speaking Engagements

• Civil Law Update, Presented at the District Court Judges Summer Conference, Kearney, Nebraska (2024)
• Police Powers In A Pandemic: A Look At The Foundations of Police Power Authority, Presented at the Nebraska State Bar Association Annual Government and Administrative Practice Seminar, Lincoln, Nebraska (2021)
• Nebraska Water Law Developments, Presented at the University of Nebraska Water Center, Robert B. Dougherty Water for Food Institute and College of Law Water Law Conference (2020)
• Who’s Your Client When You Represent The Government?, Presented at the Nebraska State Bar Association Annual Meeting, Omaha, Nebraska (2017)
• Effectively Tackling Nuisance Issues in Nebraska’s Cities of the Second Class, Presented at the League of Nebraska Municipalities 2015 Municipal Accounting & Finance Conference, Kearney, Nebraska (2015)
• Zoning Changes and Exceptions: Prior Non-Conforming Uses, Variances, ‘Spot’ Zoning, Presented at the Nebraska State Bar Association Government Practice Section Annual Seminar (2015)
• Legislative and Regulatory Update, Presented at the University of Nebraska Water Center, Robert B. Dougherty Water for Food Institute and College of Law Water Law Conference (2015)
• Henderson v. City of Columbus: The Nebraska Supreme Court Clarifies ‘Intent’ or ‘Foreseeability’ Required For Inverse Condemnation, Presented at the University of Nebraska Water Center, Robert B. Dougherty Water for Food Institute and College of Law Water Law Conference (2013)
• Water Rights and Real Estate, Presented at the Nebraska State Bar Association Annual Real Estate and Probate Seminar (2012)
• Water Use Transfers: Current Procedures and Possible Measures for Improvement, Presented at the University of Nebraska College of Law Water Law Conference (2011)
• Of Threads And Centerlines: Riparian Boundary Disputes, Presented at the University of Nebraska College of Law Water Law Conference (2010)

Updated September 2024