Knudsen, Berkheimer, Richardson & Endacott, LLP

Focus and practice areas

Based in Lincoln, Nebraska, the firm carries the full legal name Knudsen, Berkheimer, Richardson & Endacott, LLP. It describes its work as full-service, and it represents individuals alongside public and private companies. That mix shapes the range of matters it takes on. The site does not state a founding year.

The practice groups cover a wide field of civil law. They include administrative law, agricultural law, appellate practice, bankruptcy, business and commerce, condemnation, and employment law. The list continues with estate planning and probate, health care law, mediation and arbitration, real estate, trademark and copyright, trial advocacy, and workers' compensation.

In my opinion the breadth reads as a firm built to keep a client's related legal needs under one roof. A business owner might turn to the same lawyers for a commercial dispute, an employment question, and a real estate closing. The firm publishes its services in English and Spanish, which widens who can reach it.

Who the firm works for

The firm states that it represents both people and organizations, such as public and private companies. Those two audiences pull work in different directions. An individual client often brings an estate plan, a probate matter, a workers' compensation claim, or a bankruptcy filing.

A company client tends to bring commercial disputes, employment questions, real estate deals, and matters tied to trademarks or copyrights. Holding both under one roof lets a lawyer who knows a family also handle the business that family owns. That continuity has value in a market the size of Lincoln, where many clients keep long ties to one firm.

The firm frames its role around resolving or preventing the legal problems its clients face. Prevention points to planning work, such as drafting contracts and estate documents before a dispute arises. Resolution points to litigation and negotiation once a conflict is already underway. Both sides of that pairing appear across the practice list.

How the team is built

The firm names two managing partners, three associates, four of counsel attorneys, and three paralegals. Charles E. Wilbrand and Trev E. Peterson hold the managing partner titles. The associates are Robert J. Drust III, Anthony M. Budell, and Jacob H. Barker.

The of counsel group covers Jeanelle R. Lust, Shirley K. Williams, Richard C. Reier, and LeRoy W. Sievers. An of counsel role usually marks a senior lawyer with a long tie to a firm who keeps an active caseload without the full duties of partnership. Here that group carries several decades of practice between its members. Three paralegals round out the staff and support the attorneys on case work.

The managing partners

Trev E. Peterson joined the firm straight from law school in 1981 and became a partner in 1986. He earned his juris doctor from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln in 1981, with a bachelor of arts from the same university. He held the managing partner role once before, from 2002 to 2006, and has sat on the firm's management committee.

Charles Wilbrand, who goes by Chuck, joined the firm in 2012. He took a Bachelor of Journalism in Broadcasting from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2008, then a Juris Doctor with distinction from the University of Nebraska College of Law in 2011. His practice covers litigation and employment work. The gap between their start dates, 1981 and 2012, puts a long-tenured partner and a newer one at the head of the firm.

The associates

Robert J. Drust III, Anthony M. Budell, and Jacob H. Barker hold the associate titles. The team page gives their names and roles, and associates typically carry research, drafting, and day-to-day case work under the direction of senior lawyers. That places these three at the working core of the firm's caseload.

Working under senior counsel is the usual path for associates, and here the of counsel and partner ranks bring decades of practice for the three to learn from. That depth of experience on one roster gives the firm reach across its many practice groups.

Backgrounds on the of counsel attorneys

Jeanelle R. Lust has practiced at the firm since 1994 and concentrates on commercial litigation. She graduated from Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in 1991, then from Creighton University School of Law in 1994. Her matters have included RICO claims, professional malpractice involving doctors, lawyers, and accountants, and automobile accident cases.

Richard C. Reier holds a B.A. from 1971 and an M.B.A. from 1972, both from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, and a J.D. from the same school in 1975. His practice spans agricultural law, banking, business and commercial law, and estate planning, probate and trust law. That range fits a firm with ties to Nebraska's farm and business economy.

LeRoy W. Sievers earned a B.A. from Doane College in 1970, an M.S. from American University in 1975, and a J.D. from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in 1977. His work covers appellate practice, condemnation, government and administrative practice, natural resources and environmental law, and real estate. Shirley K. Williams also holds an of counsel title with the firm.

How the named matters generally proceed

Several of the firm's practice areas follow set procedures, which helps explain what a client can expect. Condemnation cases, which involve the taking of private land for public use, move through valuation and often a hearing over just compensation. Appellate practice sits above the trial court, where a lawyer files written briefs and argues points of law without retrying the facts.

Estate planning and probate splits into two phases. Planning happens while a person is living, through wills, trusts, and related documents. Probate follows a death, when a court oversees how an estate settles and how assets pass to heirs. Reier's listed focus on trust law places him across both parts of that work.

Bankruptcy runs under the federal code, where different chapters set separate paths for individuals and businesses. Workers' compensation claims in Nebraska proceed before a dedicated state court that hears workplace injury disputes. Mediation and arbitration move a dispute toward resolution outside a courtroom, which can save time and cost.

Real estate work covers purchases, sales, leases, and the disputes that follow when a deal breaks down. Business and commerce spans formation, contracts, and the day-to-day questions a company faces as it grows. Agricultural law touches land, financing, and the regulation that bears on Nebraska's farm operations. Trial advocacy signals that the firm takes matters to court when a case does not settle.

Health care law reaches into licensing, regulatory compliance, and the contracts that bind providers and institutions. Employment law, one of Wilbrand's areas, covers workplace disputes and claims filed with state or federal agencies. As a reviewer, I read this run of procedure-heavy fields as a sign the firm is set up for detailed, document-driven work. Trademark and copyright work ties into federal registration and the protection of names, logos, and creative output.