Current Employment Position(s)

Shareholder

Lawyer Overview

Steve Olsen has been in the practice of law with the Simmons Olsen Law Firm since August 1983. He is a native of Monroe, Wisconsin. He attended the College of St. Thomas earning a B.A. in 1980 and received his J.D. degree from the Creighton University School of Law in 1983.

Steve's practice has included a general civil trial practice in the areas of personal injury, commercial litigation and products liability. He often represents insurance companies in this work. His practice involves trials in all courts throughout Nebraska and Wyoming. This has included state and federal courts, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court.

He is a member of the American Bar Association, the Nebraska Bar Association and the West Nebraska Bar Association as well as the American Trial Lawyers Association, the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys, the Defense Research Institute and the Nebraska Defense Counsel Association. He has served on the Young Lawyers Committee, the Civil Practice and Procedure Committee and the Budget and Audit Committee of the Nebraska Bar Association.

Steve has spoken at several recent seminars including a Premises Liability Seminar put on by the Nebraska Defense Council along with speaking about Uninsured and Underinsured Coverages at seminars put on by the Nebraska Defense Council and the Nebraska State Bar Association. He was a speaker at the Nebraska State Bar Association seminars on Nebraska New Pleading and Practice Rules. He also conducted a trial demonstration on the Wrongful Death of a Teenager through the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys

He is extremely involved in his community. Steve has been a Board Member and President of the Board of Directors for the YMCA of Scottsbluff and has been chairman of several of the sustaining campaigns for the YMCA as well as its General Chairman for the 1994 Capital Campaign. He has been recognized as a Volunteer of the Season and was the Volunteer of the Year in 1998. He has been a board member and President of the Board of Directors for the Scotts Bluff County United Way and served as its Campaign Chairman in 1987. Steve has served on the board and as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the ScottsbluffGering United Chamber of Commerce and was awarded Trialblazer of the Year in 2005. He is a member of the Scottsbluff/Gering Rotary Club and served as its President in 2000-2001.  He is currently on the board of the Twin Cities Development and is a member of the St. Agnes School Advisory Council where he serves as its chairman.

Steve is married to Sara and they have one son, Eric.

He has appeared frequently in appellate courts some of those cases have included:

Lynn v. Jelinek, 2005 WL 2007150 (Issues of Evidence and Experts in Truck-Pedestrian Accident).

Iodence v. City of Alliance, 270 Neb. 59, 700 N.W.2d 562 (2005) (Recreational Liability Act).

Gies v. City of Gering, 13 Neb. App. 424, 695 N.W.2d 180 (2005) (Interpretation of Insurance Policy Language).

Aguallo v. City of Scottsbluff, 267 Neb. 801, 678 N.W.2d 82 (2004) (Burden of Proof in Slip and Fall Case).

Nauenberg v. Lewis, 265 Neb. 89, 655 N.W.2d 19 (2003) (Claims of Unlawful Arrest).

Wagner v. Union Pacific Railroad Co., 11 Neb. App. 1, 647 N.W.2d 821 (2002) (FELA - Railroad Injury).

Wyman ex rel. Estate of Wyman v. Wyman, 2002 WL 171315 (Claims of Undue Influence).

Roth v. Board of Trustees of Nebraska State Colleges, 2001 WL 1402075 (Claims of Negligent Exposure to Chemicals).

Giron v. Safeway Store of Alliance, NE., 2001 WL 968073 (Slip and Fall).

Schneider v. Chavez-Munoz, 9 Neb. App. 579, 616 N.W.2d 46 (2000) (Auto Accident - Claims of Improper Jury Instructions).

Amateis v. City of Bridgeport, 2000 WL 868510 (Negligent Spraying of Chemicals).

Snyder v. Case, 259 Neb. 621, 611 N.W.2d 409 (2000) (Underinsured Motorist Coverage).

Martinez v. Super 8 Motel, Inc., 1999 WL 1338335 (Slip and Fall).

Solar Motors, Inc. v. First Nat. Bank of Chadron, 4 Neb. App. 1, 537 N.W.2d 527 (1995) (Bad Faith and Breach of Contract).

Kroese v. Ferret Exploration of Nebraska, Inc., 1994 WL 399133 (Claims of Negligence in the Workplace).

Nelson v. Production Credit Ass'n of the Midlands, 930 F.2d 599 (8^th Cir. 1991) (Claims of Bad Faith and Breach of Contract).

Johnson v. Scotts Bluff County Sheriff's Dept., 245 F. Supp.2d 1056 (2003) (Claims of Improper Arrest).

Representative Cases

• Nelson v. Production Credit Association of the Midlands, 729 F.Supp. 677 (D. Neb. 1989)
• Martinez v. Super 8 Motel, Inc., 1999 WL 1338335 (1998)
• Community First State Bank v. A.A. Daringer, 1998 WL 787187 (1998)
• Kroese v. Ferrer Exploration of Nebraska, 1994 WL 399113 (1994)
• Moore v. Scotts Bluff County, 2 Neb. C.A. 821, 1993 WL 70940 (1993)
• Ohio National Life Ins. Co. v. Rust, 585 N.W.2d 438, 255 Neb. 372 (1998)
• Worht v. Schillereff, 447 N.W.2d 480, 233 Neb. 628 (1989)

West Practice Categories

Bad Faith Insurance, Insurance Subrogation, Insurance Malpractice, Motor Vehicle, Property & Casualty, Bankruptcy Litigation, Federal Appellate Practice, Federal Trial Practice, State Appellate Practice, State Trial Practice, US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, US Supreme Court, Animal Bites -- Defense, Assault & Battery -- Defense, Aviation Accidents -- Defense, Defamation & Privacy -- Defense, Motor Vehicle Accidents -- Defense, Premises Liability -- Defense, Property Damage -- Defense, Railroad Accidents -- Defense, Slip and Fall -- Defense, Wrongful Death -- Defense, Aviation Accidents -- Plaintiff, Motor Vehicle Accidents -- Plaintiff, Premises Liability -- Plaintiff, Property Damage -- Plaintiff, Slip and Fall -- Plaintiff, Wrongful Death -- Plaintiff, Chemicals & Cosmetics, Machinery & Tools, Medical Products & Devices, Motor Vehicle Defects, Pharmaceutical Products, Recreational Products, Legal Malpractice, Pesticides, Medical Malpractice

Bar Admissions

• Nebraska, 1983
• U.S. District Court District of Nebraska, 1983
• U.S. Court of Appeals 8th Circuit, 1990
• U.S. Supreme Court, 1991

Professional Associations and Memberships

• Scotts Bluff County Bar Association
• West Nebraska Bar Association
• Nebraska State Bar Association
• Defense Counsel Association of Nebraska
• Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys
• The Association of Trial Lawyers of America
• Scotts Bluff/Gering Rotary (President 2000-2001)
• Scotts Bluff/Gering United Chamber of Commerce (Board Member 1998-2001)
• Scotts Bluff County YMCA (Board Member 1993-2002)
• Scotts Bluff County YMCA (President 1997-1999

Honors and Awards

• Scotts Bluff County YMCA, Volunteer of the Year, 1998

Classes and Seminars

• Solo & Small Firm Practice, NCLE

Education

• Creighton University School of Law, Omaha, Nebraska, 1983
  J.D., Doctor of Jurisprudence
  Honors: National Moot Court Team, 1983
• University of St. Thomas, St Paul, Minnesota, 1980
  B.A., Bachelor of Arts
  Major: Political Science

Fraternities/Sororities

• Alpha Lambda Phi

Address

1502 2nd Avenue
Scottsbluff, NE 69361-3174

Phones

(308) 632-3811

Faxes

(308) 635-0907

Emails

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Websites

http://www.solawfirm.com