In Memoriam

Nebraska Legal Legend Remembered For His Exceptional Life

Published by Derek Noehren on Thu, 09/09/2021 - 5:00am

He was that rare individual who not only was a character but also had character.James Martin Davis, who can best but inadequately be described as an icon of Omaha’s legal community, died Aug. 30 of a heart attack. He was 75 years old.

Dennis Chapman: Attorney Remembered as Storyteller, Fan

Published by Derek Noehren on Mon, 08/30/2021 - 12:00am

Dennis T. “Denny” Chapman was a husband, a father, a coach, a grandfather, a sports fan, and a lawyer who spent most of his career at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska. Most of all, it seems, to those who knew him, he was a good guy. Probably a great guy.

Denny Chapman passed peacefully in his sleep on Aug. 15 after suffering from cancer and dementia in his final months.

Attorney Took His Advocacy Into Politics

Published by Scott Stewart on Thu, 05/13/2021 - 4:53pm

Steven E. Achelophl

July 15, 1950 — April 17, 2021

Omaha attorney and former head of the Nebraska Democratic Party Steven Achelpohl died last month due to complications from Alzheimer’s disease. He was 70 years old.

Dedicated Servant Had Extraordinary Life

Published by Scott Stewart on Wed, 05/12/2021 - 2:24pm

Eileen Hansen

February 15, 1924 — April 16, 2021

Omaha attorney Eileen Hansen, who grew up on a farm in Hampton, worked at the Pentagon, and had a legal career that spanned more than 40 years, died last month. She was 97.

First Executive Director Was ‘Face’ of Omaha Bar Association

Published by Scott Stewart on Wed, 01/20/2021 - 6:46am
Mardee Korinek, who became Mardee Johnston later in life, celebrates her retirement in 2006 at the Omaha Bar Association Fall Kickoff BBQ with Tom Gaughen of First National Bank. (OBA)

The Omaha legal community lost one of its strongest advocates when former Omaha Bar Association Executive Director Mardee Johnston passed away on Jan. 13, six weeks shy of her 85th birthday.

In Memoriam: Ben Novicoff

Published by Nikki Ratay on Fri, 01/15/2021 - 12:00am

Former Workers’ Compensation Court Judge Spent 40 Years – Exactly – on Bench

Former Nebraska Judge Ben Novicoff died last month a few weeks shy of his 100th birthday.

Former Nebraska Chief Justice ‘a Lawyer to the Very Last'

Published by Scott Stewart on Wed, 01/06/2021 - 12:00am

When former Nebraska Chief Justice C. Thomas White retired from the state’s highest court in 1998, he didn’t stay retired for long.

Soon after he stepped down from the bench, he joined his son Thomas White Jr.’s civil litigation law firm, White & Jorgensen.

Kutak Rock’s David Karnes, Briefly a U.S. Senator, Dies at 71

Published by Scott Stewart on Wed, 10/28/2020 - 4:00am
David Karnes (Kutak Rock)

David Karnes, an Omaha civic leader and attorney who was briefly a U.S. senator, died Sunday of cancer at age 71.

Karnes was a 31-year veteran of Kutak Rock LLP, most recently working as senior of counsel and chair of the firm’s government relations practice group.

Bar Members Pay Respects at Smith Camp's Courtroom

Published by Scott Stewart on Thu, 10/08/2020 - 6:00am

Members of the bar paid their respects to the late Judge Laurie Smith Camp by visiting her courtroom at the Hruska Federal Courthouse. The courtroom will be open Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Condolences may be sent to SmithCampCondolences@ned.uscourts.gov and will be shared with Smith Camp’s family.

Judge Smith Camp Remembered as Nebraska's Ginsburg

Published by Scott Stewart on Sat, 09/26/2020 - 6:49am

Laurie Smith Camp was deeply admired by her colleagues in the legal profession, and her absence will be felt long after her sudden death last Wednesday.

Smith Camp “passed away unexpectedly and peacefully at her home overnight,” according to a statement released Thursday afternoon by the court. She was 66.

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