Alfred G. Ellick Jr. believed people deserved to have legal representation, regardless of their financial situation. So, in 1962, while serving as president of the Omaha Bar Association, he created the Omaha Lawyer Referral Service. 

In its first year, Ellick recruited 60 attorneys to help indigent people. Today, more than 130 lawyers across the Omaha Metro offer their services. 

People referred to the service pay $50 for a 30-minute consultation with an attorney. The fee is waived for cases involving personal injury, workers’ compensation and Social Security disability. If a person's case is accepted by an attorney, the client is responsible for paying the attorney's hourly rates.

 As part of its annual Law Day observance, the Omaha Bar Association recognizes attorneys who have served at least 10 years with the lawyer referral service. The Ellick Award, named in honor of the service's founder, celebrates four attorneys this year. 

Angela Burmeister 

As the first person in her family to attend college, Angela Burmeister didn’t initially consider a law career. But, as she looked for a stable, rewarding profession, Burmeister landed on the law. 

As a former partner with Berkshire and Burmeister, she moved to Croker Huck in 2025, specializing in business and civil litigation. 

“The way I got there was probably best said by eliminating the things I hated, such as family law, criminal law,” Burmeister said. 

While she enjoys the proactive part of the process, such as estate planning, because she’s helping people on the front-end avoid problems on the backend, litigation can be stimulating, Burmeister said. 

“I kind of like the varied experience,” she said. “I enjoy litigation, and that is part of the meat-and-potatoes of my practice. I often tell new lawyers that it’s good to litigate early, because it’s really hard to learn the things that you have to learn and make the mistakes you have to make to be good at litigation when you’re older.” 

Outside of her practice, Burmeister represents the Bellevue district as a member of the Sarpy County Board of Commissioners. She was originally appointed to finish a term, but has since been elected, even serving as the board’s chair. 

“I think we make better decisions when we can kind of have different perspectives shared,” Burmeister said. “I always like a group where it’s going to be people that might see things differently. I feel like I learn more.” 

Receiving the Ellick Award is special to Burmeister, since she knew the attorney. 

“I actually worked across the hall from Al Ellick for a number of years in the beginning of my practice,” she said. “He was a great guy in the office, all the time. He was toward the end of his practice at that time, but really just an outstanding person, a great role model, person of great integrity, somebody you definitely want to follow.”

Joseph L. Howard 

Living abroad, family trips to Normandy Beach in France, Dachau concentration camp in Germany and a family drive through then-East Germany laid the foundation for Joseph Howard to become a lawyer. 

Howard grew up in Germany, attending Ramstein-Landstuhl High School. His father was career Air Force.

“It just gave you a real good sense of the power of government and how, if it goes wrong, it can go really wrong,” Howard said. “I think that’s what motivated me to want to practice law, was to try to keep government in-check, fight for people’s rights and that’s why I’ve always done defense work.” 

As a criminal defense attorney, Howard personalizes each case. 

“You see a little of yourself in everybody that you represent, a little bit of humanity,” he said.

As a defense lawyer, the odds are usually against the client when they enter a courtroom, and he feels the challenge, Howard said. 

“Definitely when it’s representing somebody that you know is not guilty,” he said. “Those are the cases that keep you up at night, because you’re like, ‘I gotta win this.’ Oftentimes, it’s minimizing or making sure someone gets a fair sentence, or cutting the fat on the overcharged charges. But it’s the cases where you really think that they didn’t do it.” 

After 13 years with the Dornan Law Team, Howard will become a federal public defender. He’ll likely make the move by the end of the summer, after he closes his open cases, Howard said. 

“I think being a PD, a federal PD, is going to be a challenge, but it’s also going to be super, super cool and rewarding,” he said. 

The Ellick Award is a great honor, Howard said. 

“It’s a really great resource for people,” he said. “I don’t know that I should be recognized, but maybe the people who run it should be. All I do is sit there, they send me cases and I try to help people.”

Anne Breitkreutz 

The managing partner of Dornan Law Team, Anne Breitkruetz didn’t take a traditional route to the law profession. 

Breitkruetz planned a career in fashion design when, during her senior year, a professor recommended she attend law school. 

“She thought I had the talent to become a lawyer, and that I should consider it as an option,” Breitkruetz said. “Looking back, maybe it was because my drawings were terrible. I couldn’t draw to save a soul.”

After passing the Law School Admission Test, she enrolled in law school. 

While she initially worked in civil litigation and business formation, Breitkruetz found herself handling family law cases. 

“Once your name gets out in a certain area, then that’s kind of the clientele that I developed,” she said. “I like to see people blossom, even though a life change has thrown them a curveball.” 

Family law can be challenging, but attorneys just need to maintain a positive mindset, Breitkruetz said. 

“We’re dealing with good people at a really tough part of their life, and so they are under high stress, very high emotion,” she said. “Their world is getting turned upside down. And a lot of times, I’m the scapegoat, I’m the sounding board. I’m the person they’ll yell at or be unhappy with or complain to, so that can be challenging. And you always have to just keep in mind that these people are going through a really hard time.” 

Serving as a managing partner presents challenges others may not experience, such as hiring issues and marketing needs, she said. 

“Because, obviously, our talents are being lawyers, not necessarily running a business,” Breitkruetz said. “Although my partners seem to think I have a talent for running a business.” 

Preferring to fly under the radar, Breitkruetz appreciates receiving the Ellick Award. 

“My goal has always been to help individual people through really tough times, and sometimes that means people don’t have the money, but they really need to talk to a lawyer,” she said. “And doing what I do, and getting that award, I think, is a recognition that people in our community need help. They need to talk to the lawyer, but they don’t know where to call. Sometimes they don’t know who to ask, they don’t even know the questions to ask, and they don’t have money to pay. And I still think those people need help just as much as everybody else.” 

J. Robert Black 

A founding partner with Black and Weir, J. Robert Black specializes in criminal law defense, military law and civil litigation. 

Becoming a defense attorney seemed inevitable, Black said. 

"I've always had a profound sense of justice, and I've also always liked to argue, so those two things together, I guess it worked out," he said. 

Black, whose father and grandfather were both career Air Force, followed their paths, serving as an attorney with the United States Air Force Judge Advocate General for 14 years.

"Ultimately, the JAG corps in the Air Force really offered the chance to do litigation, and I had made up my mind in law school that that's what I wanted to do, kind of where my aptitude was," Black said.

He left active duty in 2014, with he and his wife wanting to raise their children in one area. But, he felt an ongoing desire to serve in the military, so he joined the Iowa National Guard. He's a lieutenant colonel in the JAG. 

While a JAG, Black worked both as a prosecutor and a defense attorney. He switched to serving as a defense attorney the final four years of active duty. 

"That kind of gave me a taste for the experience of doing criminal defense," Black said. "I found I really enjoyed having clients in the military who I really felt strongly about their innocence, and so being able to secure acquittals at trial is a really good feeling." 

After freelancing his services for about three years, he met Josh Weir at the Douglas County corrections center. 

"We had heard of each other by reputation, and just kind of hit it off," Black said. "We both decided, 'Hey, we were in this criminal defense thing, so let's join up.'" 

Black appreciates the expectations that come with being a defense attorney. He primarily handles federal cases. 

"The stakes are very high for your clients," he said. 

Black appreciates receiving the honor, acknowledging the role the Omaha Lawyer Reference Service plays in connecting people with attorneys. 

"(They) spend time with people, really get to know their situation, and really know the attorneys' areas of practice and try to make a good fit," he said. "That's comforting for me."

Tim Trudell is a freelance writer and online content creator. His work has appeared in Flatwater Free Press, Next Avenue, Indian Country Today, Nebraska Life, Nebraska Magazine, Council Bluffs Daily Non-Pareil and Douglas County Post Gazette, among others. He is a citizen of the Santee Dakota Nation.