Awards & Recognition Archive

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.

Slides are now available from the Koley Jessen webinar series discussing the implications of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. This series walked through various aspects of tax reform to begin considering what changes businesses and individuals might want to make in 2018. 

Koley Jessen was featured in the January 12, 2018 edition of the Midlands Business Journal. The article discusses the firm's focus on client-service as a key to success and the entrepreneurial spirit of our team. 

Joseph Huigens has joined Koley Jessen’s Health Law Practice. Joe brings a wealth of legal and business judgment drawn from his experiences working for the world’s largest multinational retailer, a premier international corporate law firm, the world’s largest defense company, and as a legal intern in the criminal division of a U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The M&A Advisor named Koley Jessen as Law Firm of the Year at the 16th Annual M&A Advisor Awards on Monday, November 13th at the Metropolitan Club, New York, NY. The Awards Gala honored the professionals whose activities set the standard for M&A transactions. This year, over 280 nominees, representing over 650 companies, became finalists for the awards. 

Koley Jessen Shareholder, Lisa Lehan, has been named a 2017 Midlands Business Journal 40 Under 40 award winner. She will be recognized at the Midlands Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 Awards Breakfast on December 15th for having shown drive, leadership and success in her career as well as within the community.

The M&A Advisor has announced finalists for the Top M&A Deals, Firms and Professionals Awards, which will be announced on November 13th at the Metropolitan Club in New York. Koley Jessen has been named as a finalist for Law Firm of the Year. The finalists are:

Koley Jessen, Vinson & Elkins, Shearman & Sterling LLP, Sidley Austin LLP, Davis Polk Wardell LLP, and Ropes and Gray LLP.

Chambers 2017 High Net Worth Guide has recognized Koley Jessen as a leading firm in Private Wealth Law in their recent rankings. In addition to be ranked as a firm, individual attorneys Kurt Tjaden and Brandon Hamm were recognized by the publication as leading attorneys in this area of law. Only 3 law firms and 5 individual attorneys in Nebraska were singled out as ranked by Chambers.

The Best Lawyers in America© 2018 has recognized 19 attorneys from Koley Jessen across 16 practice areas, including Shaun McGaughey who was named the Best Lawyers© 2018 Mergers and Acquisitions “Lawyer of the Year” in Omaha.

Super Lawyers, which recognizes leading attorneys by state, has announced that 10 Koley Jessen attorneys have been selected to the 2017 Great Plains Super Lawyers or 2017 Great Plains Rising Stars list. Only the top 5 percent of all attorneys in Nebraska are named each year as Super Lawyers and no more than 2.5 percent of all Nebraska lawyers are named to the Rising Stars list.

Koley Jessen is proud to announce that eight attorneys received individual rankings in the 2017 Chambers USA Guide. 

“Our summer associate program continues to play an essential role in our recruiting efforts and growth strategy,” said Mike Hupp, President of Koley Jessen. “The program is designed to provide valuable ‘hands on’ experience and expose our summer associates to our culture. The ultimate objective is to identify and get to know hardworking, client service focused law students who can fill our entry level hiring needs.”

Koley Jessen recently hosted 130 accountants, investment advisors and insurance brokers at the Estate Succession and Tax Summit at Happy Hollow.

Alex Wolf, has earned the Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP®) designation from the Richard D. Irwin Graduate School of The American College. This unique learning program is facilitated locally by the Omaha Community Foundation and Mark Weber of Silverstone Group,and provides advanced insight into the process of philanthropic planning. CAP® graduates are uniquely qualified to help charitable organizations achieve long-term financial success, and help donors improve their communities by maximizing the effective application of their financial resources to achieve charitable goals.

Congratulations to Patrice Ott, who has been promoted to Shareholder as of January 2017!

Koley Jessen is pleased to announce that Michael Keblesh has joined the firm as an Associate. 

Koley Jessen has welcomed former law clerk, Justina Piatek, to the firm as an Associate in the Business General Counsel Practice Group.

Formerly a law clerk with Koley Jessen, John Dunn has returned to the firm as an Associate.