David Dirgo Adjunct Law Professor
Lori Hoetger Assistant Professor of Law
Professor Hoetger primarily researches how individuals make decisions regarding their legal rights, especially in the areas of criminal law and procedure. She is especially interested in applications of the Fourth Amendment, studying how expectations of privacy are evolving and how courts’ approaches to searches might need to change in response to new technological developments. Professor Hoetger uses her background in psychology to inform her research and utilizes empirical methods to help address the behavioral assumptions courts make.
Professor Hoetger received her B.A. from the University of Notre Dame in 2009. As a student in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Law-Psychology Program, Professor Hoetger received rigorous training in both legal reasoning and psychological methods. Professor Hoetger graduated first in her class from the University of Nebraska College of Law in 2014 and completed her PhD in Psychology with an emphasis on quantitative methods in 2018.
Following graduation from law school, Professor Hoetger worked as a Project Evaluator at the Center on Children, Families, and Law, helping government agencies design, implement, and evaluate programs to help improve the child welfare system. Professor Hoetger also clerked on the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals and then represented indigent clients in criminal court as a public defender in Omaha, Nebraska. Before coming to the University of Nebraska, Professor Hoetger was a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois College of Law.
Michelle Paxton Lecturer, Director of the Children's Justice Clinic and the Children's Justice Attorney Education Program
Michelle Paxton joined the College of Law in April, 2017 to create and lead the newest clinical program, the Children’s Justice Clinic. Ms. Paxton has served as the Director of Legal Training at University of Nebraska’s Center on Children, Families and the Law (CCFL). She develops curriculum and trains child welfare workers, probation officers, and mental health professionals on all aspects of juvenile court process and procedure in Nebraska. Ms. Paxton also receives Guardian ad Litem appointments from the Lancaster County Juvenile Court. Through her work at CCFL, she came to realize that effective advocacy in juvenile court requires both an understanding of the law and appreciation of the complex dynamics of children, families, and stakeholders comprising the child welfare system. Ms. Paxton initiated the University of Nebraska College of Law and CCFL’s partnership to create a new clinical program wherein law students develop the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively advocate for young children utilizing the training, support, and consultation from experts at CCFL.
Michelle Paxton received her J.D. from the University of Nebraska College of Law, where she served as Executive Editor for the Law Review. Ms. Paxton has served as a Deputy County Attorney in Douglas and Lancaster Counties, specializing in juvenile law, domestic violence, and general criminal prosecution. She has presented comprehensively on all aspects regarding juvenile court including the Indian Child Welfare Act, Termination of Parental Rights, Expert Witness Testimony in Juvenile Court, and Observing Development in Young Children.
Watch to see how Professor Paxton is giving children a voice in court.
Steve Schmidt Associate Professor of Law and Courtesy Associate Professor of Forensic Science
Currently, Professor Schmidt is heavily involved in an on-going project with the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) to assist as Mexico transitions its criminal justice system from a mixed inquisitorial to an oral adversarial model. He spends several weeks each semester in Mexico City teaching advocacy skills and working on that project.
He is an active member of the bar, serving as the Program Chair/President Elect for Inns of Court and as a member of the Lincoln Bar Association, having previously served as its president. In 2010, Professor Schmidt was presented the Warren K. Urbom Mentor Award by the Robert Van Pelt American Inn of Court. When not working, Professor Schmidt enjoys spending time outside - riding his motorcycle, fishing or enjoying time with his sons.
Robert Schopp Robert J. Kutak Professor of Law Emeritus
Professor Schopp practiced clinical psychology before turning to the study of law and philosophy in an attempt to understand some perplexing issues that he encountered during ten years of clinical practice. So far, he remains perplexed, but he likes to think that he is perplexed in a deeper and more comprehensive manner. He joined the University of Nebraska College of Law in 1989 after completing the concurrent law/philosophy program at the University of Arizona. His primary areas of interest involve questions that lie at the intersection of law, psychology and philosophy. These issues tend to arise in criminal law, mental health law, jurisprudence and professional ethics.
Korey T. Taylor Assistant Professor of Law
Professor Korey Taylor joined the College of Law faculty in 2023. Prior to entering academia, Professor Taylor spent thirteen years as an Assistant Public Defender in Omaha, Nebraska and Orlando, Florida where he practiced in criminal and juvenile parental rights law, including thirty-five jury trials. He has previous corporate experience with Sidley Austin LLP, a top 20 international law firm, and Fortune 500 companies J.P. Morgan Chase, Medtronic and Johnson & Johnson. Professor Taylor is licensed to practice law in Texas, New York, Florida and Nebraska.
Born in the Chicago area, but raised in Houston, Professor Taylor earned a B.S. and M.B.A from Florida A&M University, Summa Cum Laude, with concentrations in Business Administration and Finance, a JD from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, where he was a Levy Scholar and served as a Senior Editor of The Journal of International Law, and a Certificate of Business and Public Policy with a Real Estate emphasis from The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.
Professor Taylor is the current President of the Midlands (Black) Bar Association (2020 – present), serves on the Executive Council of the Omaha Bar Association and is Chair of the 2023 Nebraska State Bar Association (NSBA) Annual Meeting and a legislative Delegate in the NSBA House of Delegates. Professor Taylor also currently serves as a board member of Community Alliance, an Omaha-based non-profit that focuses on mental health and wellness of in need community members, and by appointment of the Nebraska Supreme Court as a member of the Committee on Equity and Fairness, along with his service in other organizations. Professor Taylor was nominated and selected as the recipient of the 2023 NSBA Diversity Award in recognition for his leadership as President of the Midlands Bar Association and for his efforts to promote diversity and inclusion in Nebraska’s legal community through his service with various bar, student and minority professional development focused organizations and groups.
Professor Taylor will be teaching Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure (Investigation), Advanced Criminal Procedure (Adjudication) and other courses at Nebraska Law. His initial research interests include diversity and inclusion in the law, profession and judicial appointments and special topics in crime and due process.
