I started my legal career in private practice, where I handled all manner of cases, including workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment law, and corporate and business disputes. I represented the minority shareholders of Blue Valley Foods, Inc. in a shareholder derivative action alleging fraud and breaches of fiduciary duties by the company’s majority shareholder. I first-chaired a four day trial in federal court, which resulted in a recovery for those shareholders. More information about that trial can be found at the Malone v. Kantner tab above.

I left private practice to join the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office. While there, I led the investigation into Goodwill Omaha, directing a team of attorneys and investigators as we worked to determine what happened and how to fix the organization. I drafted the Official Report of Findings and a guidebook of Best Practices for Nonprofit Organizations. I was left with a deep interest in exploring why organizations fail and in designing systems to prevent that. I am also very interested in fiduciary duties and making organizations more ethical. I also served on the faculty for the National Attorneys General Training and Research Institute (NAGTRI), where I instructed other Attorneys General on trial advocacy and negotiation skills. 

I joined Nebraska Risk Management Association, Inc., where I provided legal counsel to the 81 Nebraska counties and 14 related agencies that comprise NRMA’s membership. I handled all manner of state and federal litigation, including administrative hearings, settlement conferences, trials, and appellate matters. I created, designed, and developed educational materials and content for NRMA publications. I designed and conducted presentations, workshops, seminars, and training sessions for county officials. I also advised the NRMA Board of Directors, officers, and employees on a wide range of legal, business, financial, legislative, and corporate issues affecting the company's business and governmental affairs.

I moved on to Big Fire Law and Policy, where I represented Native American tribes and tribal entities in state and federal litigation. I drafted and reviewed commercial contracts and provided guidance on a wide range of legal, business, financial, legislative, and corporate issues affecting the company's business and governmental affairs.

I then served as General Counsel for Midwest Laboratories. As the company’s chief legal officer, I provided corporate legal services and counsel to the company, served as counsel to senior leadership, and structured and executed all aspects of the company’s relationship with vendors, clients, and regulatory agencies. I drafted, reviewed, and negotiated contracts and policies and drafted and reviewed requests for proposals, requests for information, and bid documentation. I developed a system of progressive discipline, a guidebook for internal investigations, and a variety of different HR and legal tools and forms. I also developed and led corporate legal strategy to promote the company’s interests and served as a resource to support business operations.

I also served for more than a decade as a Business Law and Ethics Professor at Creighton University, where I taught courses on business law, negotiation, and alternative dispute resolution to law and business students. The courses I taught at Creighton dealt heavily with emerging technology, including the legal and ethical aspects of Big Data, artificial intelligence, business analytics, fintech, and other technological developments. I was also the Director of the Creighton Business Law Research Forum and the Director and Head Coach of Creighton University’s Mock Trial team.

While in grad school, I helped to design and implement the eBay/PayPal Community Court, a ground-breaking user-driven online dispute resolution system.

My CliftonStrengths are Achiever, Strategic, Learner, Ideation, and Individualization.