For the past seven years, the Omaha Bar Association has been awarding three deserving attorneys with the Alfred G. Ellick Lawyer Referral Service Award. The award is given to lawyers that have been part of the OBA Lawyer Referral program for ten or more years. This program lets people in need of legal advice to reach out to lawyers for a small fee and find the legal help that they need. This year, the winners of the award are:

Mallory Hughes - Berry Law Firm

Mallory Hughes has been an attorney for over a decade. An alumni of the University of Denver, Sturm College of Law, she has worked in Omaha as a criminal defense attorney defending clients from sexual assault cases, homicides, and Title IX cases at universities. She is a practicing lawyer in both Nebraska and Colorado. She has been recognized by the “Top 40 Under 40” for Criminal Defense Lawyers and the American Institute of Criminal Law Attorney’s “10 Best Attorneys in Nebraska”.

When asked her thoughts on winning the award this year, Hughes stated that “I am honored to receive this award from such a great organization. I appreciate all of the hard work that Dave, Donna, and everyone else involved in the OBA Lawyer Referral Service put in every day. The program gave me the opportunity as a young attorney to get cases early on in my career, which I greatly appreciate. I think the program is a very helpful way for people in our community with legal issues to get directed to attorneys in the relevant practice area quickly, without having to do a bunch of research and try to figure it out on their own.”

Sean Conway - Dornan Law Team

Sean Conway is an alumni of University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Law, and a practicing lawyer in Nebraska and Iowa. Starting his career as a public defender, he  now works with Dornan Law Team specializing in personal injury, worker’s compensation, and criminal defence. He has been a practicing lawyer for over sixteen years. Conway also serves as a member of the Nebraska State Bar Commission, the Westside Community Schools Bond Oversight Committee, and the Saint Vincent de Paul Society.

When asked about his opinion on winning the award, Conway said “I credit my interest in the Omaha Bar Association’s Lawyer Referral Program to my time as a Deputy Douglas County Public Defender, where I learned the value of indigent representation and public legal service. After leaving the public defender’s office and going into private practice, the lawyer referral program was a great way to continue this service, meet a broad range of new clients, and help those in need. I’m grateful to the OBA for allowing me to participate in this important service over the last 10 years.”

Steven G. Ranum - Croker Huck Law Firm

Steven G. Ranum is an alumni of Creighton University, summa cum laude class of 2011. He received his Bachelors of Science in Finance from Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Ranum has a previous background in banking, having been the examiner-in-charge of several banks in western North Dakota. A practicing lawyer in Nebraska and North Dakota, he is an associate with Croker Huck Law Firm, where he has worked his entire career, focusing in real estate and commercial litigation as well as business law.  

“I’ve appreciated participating in the OBA lawyer referral service for the past 10 years as it has been a good source of clients, and it has also been a good source for me to refer people to if I am unable to help,” Ranum said. 

When asked about his thoughts on winning the award he said,  “It feels odd to be getting an award for participating in a program that has helped me build my practice, but I’m glad I have been able to participate for a decade now and look forward to many more years.”