Civil Trial & Procedure

Rachel Tomlinson Dick joined the College of Law in 2022 as a Housing Justice Fellow, helping to develop and institute the Housing Justice Clinic in its inaugural year. In 2023, Rachel was named Director of the Housing Justice Clinic, which focuses on serving vulnerable Nebraska families facing housing-related legal issues.

Professor Sullivan joined the Law College faculty in August, 2013, as a supervising attorney in the Civil Clinical Law Program. He received his B.A. from Colorado State University-Pueblo while completing his enlistment in the U.S. Army, majoring in business administration. Thereafter he attended California University of Pennsylvania where he obtained his Master’s in Health Sciences. After a career in the fitness industry, he enrolled at UNL College of Law where he served as an editor of the Nebraska Law Review, the Chair of the Moot Court Board, and a member of the National Trial Team.

Professor Ruser joined the Law College faculty in June, 1985, as a supervising attorney in the Civil Clinical Law Program. He received a B.A. from UNL in 1975, with an English major and a history minor. Professor Ruser attended UNL College of Law and received his J.D. in 1979. He worked for Western Nebraska Legal Services from 1979-1985; the first two years were spent in the Grand Island branch office, and the last four years were spent in the Scottsbluff office, where he was managing attorney.

Professor Lenich joined the faculty of the College of Law in 1984 and taught for 36 years before retiring in 2019.  Among the courses he taught were Antitrust, Appellate Advocacy, Federal Courts, Civil Procedure, and Remedies.  He also served as the Coach of the College’s National Moot Court Team from 1988 to 2007, as the Faculty Advisor to the Nebraska Moot Court Board from 1994 to 2002, and as a Special Assistant to the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs from 2017 to 2018.

Professor Kirst joined the faculty in 1974 and is a Professor of Law. In 1970 he received his J.D. degree from Stanford Law School where he served as a member of the Stanford Law Review. He was admitted to the New York Bar in 1971 and the Nebraska Bar in 1974. He was employed as an associate by a New York City law firm from 1970-71 and served in the U.S. Navy JAG Corps from 1971-74. Professor Kirst teaches Civil Procedure, Evidence and Civil Rights Litigation.

Professor Johnson’s research sits at the intersection of administrative law, the separation of powers, and the law of democracy. His writing focuses on the ways democratic institutions, including Congress, the Presidency, and the Administrative State interact, and the ways in which the courts attempt to shape those interactions. Professor Johnson’s articles and essays have appeared in nationally recognized publications including Wake Forest Law Review, the University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law, Boston University Law Review, and the Harvard Law Review Blog.

Professor Jefferis’s research focuses on theories of punishment and the law and policy governing prison and detention, with an emphasis on the for-profit prison industry and immigration-related confinement. She takes both critical and comparative approaches to her work, looking at carceral systems, practices, and theories around the world.

Sydney Hayes joined the faculty in 2023 as the Assistant Director of the First Amendment Clinic.  Prior to joining the University, she was a commercial litigation and alternative dispute resolution associate at Husch Blackwell in Omaha, Nebraska.  She has experience in litigation involving complex constitutional issues and business disputes, among others.  In addition to her work with the University she continues to practice at the Law Office of Daniel Gutman.  Her practice focuses on civil rights, election, and ballot initiative issues.