News Archive

Koley Jessen is pleased to announce that a transaction handled by the firm received an award at the 2021 USA M&A Atlas Awards, sponsored by the Global M&A Network.

Koley Jessen has added Mikaela Witherspoon, Chad Loomis, Craig Benson, and Cody Nickel across the Corporate, Estate Planning, and Litigation teams.

Koley Jessen is excited to announce the addition of David Winkler as a Shareholder in our Corporate Department. David focuses his practice on mergers & acquisitions, private equity, and venture capital investments.

Maureen Fulton, Ben Herbers, and Clark Youngman have been promoted to Shareholder at Koley Jessen as of January 1, 2021. This class of shareholders includes attorneys from Banking & Finance, Data Privacy & Security, and Estate & Succession Planning.

Tom Ackley was elected to a three-year term as President of the Midlands Community Foundation Board.

The M&A Advisor has named Koley Jessen their Law Firm of the Year. It is the fourth year in a row that Koley Jessen has been recognized by The M&A Advisor for mergers and acquisitions work and the third time the firm has been recognized as “Law Firm of the Year.” 

Koley Jessen is proud to share our recognition in the 2021 Best Law Firms guide, having received 18 regional rankings overall for the Metropolitan Omaha area.

Koley Jessen welcomes the addition of five attorneys to the firm. Christopher Estwick, Adam Wachal, Erin Schroeder, Tyler Keyser, and Andrew Almodova bring experience and depth across multiple departments, having previously practiced at other local, regional, and national law firms.

Koley Jessen welcomes six new associates. Raquel Boton, Kianna Moore, Jennifer Novotny, and Michael Pirnie join the Corporate Department. Gabreal Belcastro and Taylor Hayes join the Litigation Department.

Koley Jessen is pleased to announce that Comran Sharif has been selected to join Inclusive Communities’ LeadDIVERSITY program, a year-long program designed to build a network of leaders dedicated to creating localized solutions to diversity and inclusion opportunities in Nebraska. 

Koley Jessen is pleased to announce that Best Lawyers® has recognized 29 attorneys in the 2021 edition of The Best Lawyers in America©, including two "Lawyers of the Year." Best Lawyers has also recognized six attorneys in their inaugural "Ones to Watch" category. 

Koley Jessen has hired Justin Haugen as the Firm’s first Chief Operating Officer. Justin will provide the leadership and management necessary to ensure that the Firm has the proper people, systems, operational controls, and administrative and reporting procedures in place to effectively grow the Firm and to ensure financial strength and operating efficiency.

Koley Jessen’s Corporate/Commercial, Healthcare, Intellectual Property, Litigation: General Commercial, Real Estate, and Tax practices were recently recognized by Chambers USA 2020. Nine attorneys were also ranked individually in the publication.

For the fourth consecutive year, our Private Wealth Law practice has been ranked Band 1 by Chambers High Net Worth. The firm was one of two Nebraska firms to obtain this Band 1 ranking. 

With the addition of 14 summer associates, Koley Jessen is excited to welcome it’s largest class of law school students ever to participate in its Summer Associate Program.

Koley Jessen Shareholder Don Swanson was quoted in the Wall Street Journal article, "For Struggling Small Businesses, Bankruptcy Law Change Comes Just in Time" published on May 18, 2020.

On Monday, April 27, 2020, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a $21.2 million judgment for unfair competition, copyright infringement, breach of contract, and false advertising.

Kevin Siebert, Jennifer Woodward, and Michelle Lewis have all joined Koley Jessen as Counsel. All three attorneys have experience in in-house counsel roles, providing them a unique client perspective.

Koley Jessen has promoted four attorneys to Shareholder as of January 1, 2020. This class of shareholders includes attorneys from the Immigration; Estate, Succession, and Tax; Health Law; and Litigation practices.

Koley Jessen is pleased to announce that Brandon Hamm has been elected a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC). One of 42 individuals elected internationally, Hamm joins the premiere organization for estate planning attorneys, which is comprised of only 2500 legal professionals from across the globe who are committed to enhancing the field of trust and estate law.

Koley Jessen has grown the Employment, Litigation, Corporate, and Estate and Tax teams with the hiring of 5 new attorneys.

Koley Jessen announced the next step in its long term leadership succession plan. The Firm has elected Executive Vice President Alexander J. Wolf to become President of the Firm, succeeding Michael M. Hupp in that role. Hupp will continue as Chairman of Koley Jessen’s Board of Directors and Co-Chair of the Firm’s Mergers and Acquisitions Practice Group.

The M&A Advisor announced the winners of the 18th Annual M&A Advisor Awards, held in New York City. Koley Jessen was honored as a winner for the firm’s involvement in the sale of Red Giant Oil Company to HollyFrontier (NYSE: HFC). This deal was named the Corporate/Strategic Deal of the Year ($50MM–$75MM).

Koley Jessen has hired Chastin Bailey as the Director of Talent and Culture. In her role, Chastin will oversee all aspects of the firm’s talent, culture, and human resources. She will also lead the firm’s Diversity Committee as they refine and execute diversity and inclusion strategies.

“We are excited about the addition of these six associates,” says Alex Wolf, Executive Vice President of Koley Jessen. “As our clients continue to grow and succeed, we continue to grow alongside them. The addition of these associates will allow us to continue providing over-the-top client service across departments.”

Koley Jessen is pleased to announce that for the third year in a row, our Private Wealth Law practice has been ranked Band 1 by Chambers High Net Worth. The firm was one of two  firms in the state to obtain the highest ranking.

For the third year in a row the firm is a finalist for “Law Firm of the Year.” Koley Jessen was named the winner in this category for 2017 and 2018. The firm was also involved in several deals that are finalists in various categories in 2019. 

Koley Jessen has been recognized in the 2020 edition of Best Lawyers in America© with the inclusion of 22 attorneys across 20 practice areas.

Koley Jessen has added four attorneys to the corporate and tax departments. Jack Horgan, Kyle Dostal, Ryan Maloley, and Nicholas Bjornson have added depth in their respective practices and will enhance the firm’s ability to provide exceptional service.

In 2019, the Exit Planning Institute (EPI) will survey the Nebraska business community and will produce primary research called the State of Owner Readiness™ Report; the report will reveal how prepared Nebraska’s private business owners are for transitioning their businesses to next-generation owners. 

Super Lawyers, which recognizes leading attorneys by state, has announced that 14 Koley Jessen attorneys have been selected to the 2019 Great Plains Super Lawyers or 2019 Great Plains Rising Stars list.

Taylor Dieckman has been selected as an Emerging Leader by the M&A Advisor. The Emerging Leaders Awards program—originally known as the ‘40 Under 40 Awards’—were created in 2010 to recognize and celebrate the achievements of the outstanding young professionals who have reached a significant level of success while still under the age of 40.

“We are happy to welcome these nine students to Koley Jessen and look forward to getting to know each of them,” said David Goeschel, Recruiting Committee Chairperson. “Rotating through this program is a great introduction to the day-to-day practice of law; showcases our talent, culture, clients, and legal services; and ultimately provides a well-rounded picture of what our firm has to offer.”

Chambers USA recognized Koley Jessen in four practice areas, including Corporate/Commercial, Healthcare, Litigation: General Commercial, and Real Estate in their 2019 rankings publication. Eight attorneys were also ranked individually in the publication.

“Ben’s addition to the firm has increased the depth of our banking and finance practice,” says Marlon Lofgren, Chair of Koley Jessen’s Banking and Finance Practice. “Ben has several years of experience in this area and is a great addition to our team. He has been able to hit the ground running and is providing exceptional service to firm clients.”

Matt Maser has rejoined Koley Jessen as Counsel in the Firm’s Corporate and Mergers & Acquisitions Practice areas. Matt was an attorney and shareholder at Koley Jessen from 1997 to September 2010 before becoming the General Counsel for Gary and Mary West’s family office, West Family Holdings, LLC. 

Two separate deals in which Koley Jessen represented the respective sellers were named “Deal of the Year” in their respective categories by the Global M&A Network for The M&A Atlas Awards in 2018.

For the second year in a row, Koley Jessen has been named “Law Firm of the Year” by the M&A Advisor. Finalists in the category included AmLaw 100 firms, Alston & Bird LLP, Davis Polk & Wardell, Linklaters LLP, Ropes & Gray LLP, and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC.

Alex Wolf, Shareholder, Executive Vice President, and Chair of the Tax Practice Group at Koley Jessen has been named a 2018 Midlands Business Journal 40 Under 40 award winner. He was recognized at the Midlands Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 Awards Breakfast on November 2, 2018 for having shown drive, leadership and success in his career as well as within the community.

American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) announced that Brian Koenig, Shareholder at Koley Jessen, has been selected as one of its emerging leaders and honorees for its “40 Under 40” Initiative, which identifies 40 top industry professionals under the age of 40, for his excellence in corporate bankruptcy and bankruptcy-related litigation. 

Koley Jessen is proud to announce the recent growth of its Mergers & Acquisitions, Litigation, Health Law, and Corporate practices with the addition of Taylor Cammack, Cassie Langstaff, and Paige Gade as Associates

Koley Jessen has been named as a finalist in several categories for the 2018 M&A Advisor Awards.

For the second year in a row the firm is a finalist for “Law Firm of the Year” alongside AmLaw 100 firms, including Alston & Bird LLP, Davis Polk & Wardell, Linklaters LLP, Ropes & Gray LLP, and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC. Koley Jessen was named the winner in this category for 2017.

Brandon Hamm has earned his BEI Certified Exit Planner (CExP™) designation. The BEI CExP™ designation is the standard for Exit Planning certification. The business owner community benefits from engaging an Exit Planning Professional who holds the BEI CExP™ designation by having greater confidence that the service they receive is professional in quality, adheres to ethical and industry standards of practice, and meets a level of expertise BEI deems credible and worthy of one of its certified members.

Koley Jessen has been recognized in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America© with the inclusion of 18 attorneys across 18 practice areas.

Koley Jessen is pleased to announce that for the second year in a row, our Private Wealth Law practice has been ranked Band 1 by Chambers High Net Worth. In addition to being ranked as a firm, three individual attorneys, Kurt Tjaden, Brandon Hamm, and Alex Wolf, were accredited as notable practitioners by the publication.

Koley Jessen has welcomed eight law students to the firm to participate in its summer associate program. Four are returning for their second summer at the firm and four are new to Koley Jessen this year.

Eight attorneys from Koley Jessen have attained individual rankings in the newly released 2018 edition of Chambers USA. According to Chambers USA 2018, market commentators and clients alike, have said that “the service is outstanding beyond normal expectations," that "they are very thorough and very available. We get very good results with them."

The American College of Real Estate Lawyers recently announced that Max Burbach has been elected a Fellow.  Admission to the College is by invitation only to lawyers who are viewed as distinguished real estate practitioners and who have contributed to the improvement of real estate law through speaking, writing and/or teaching. The election of the College's Class of 2018 followed a rigorous screening process.

Koley Jessen Shareholder, James Tews, has earned the Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP®) designation from the Richard D. Irwin Graduate School of The American College. This unique year-long series provides advanced insight into the process of philanthropic planning and equips professional advisors with the knowledge and tools to help their clients achieve their charitable giving objectives while also helping them meet their estate planning and wealth management goals.

Koley Jessen recently announced the promotion of Minja Herian to Shareholder status effective January 1, 2018.