Jefferson Downing
Lincoln, Nebraska
phone (402) 475-8230 or (888) 234-0621 (Toll-Free)
fax (402) 475-8328
Jeff Downing practices in the areas of serious personal injury, medical malpractice, and constitutional law. He is a third generation Nebraska lawyer, born and raised in Superior. Mr. Downing is a 1986 cum laude graduate of the University of Texas-Dallas. In 1990, he graduated from the University of Nebraska College of Law where he won the Lewis Powell Award as Best Oral Advocate in the National Moot Court regional competition and was selected to the Order of the Barristers.
Mr. Downing clerked at the firm during law school and since his graduation has focused on trial work. His practice now primarily centers on: (1) medical malpractice–successfully representing clients who were catastrophically injured or whose loved ones died as the result of medical negligence; and (2) serious personal injury–successfully litigating cases ranging from industrial accidents involving traumatic amputations to automobile accidents resulting in wrongful death.
Mr. Downing has also had the privilege of representing clients in several precedent-setting cases. In Heins v. Webster County, 250 Neb. 750, 552 N.W. 2d 51 (1996), the Nebraska Supreme Court threw out the invitee/licensee distinction in premises liability law, a rule going back to the common law of England. The decision represented a significant change in Nebraska law lowering the burden on injured parties to bring their claims against negligent landowners.
Mr. Downing also brought the case of Rader v. Johnston, 924 F. Supp. 1540 (D. Neb. 1996) wherein a federal court held for the first time that a student could be exempted from a university’s on-campus housing requirement for religious reasons.
Rader is only one of many cases in which Mr. Downing has defended the First Amendment rights of Nebraskans. In Doe v. School District of Norfolk, 340 F.3d 605 (8th Cir. 2003), the Court ruled that a school board member’s prayer at graduation did not violate the Establishment Clause. In ACLU Nebraska v. City of Plattsmouth, 419 F.3d.772 (8th Cir. 2005), the Court held that a city’s display of a Ten Commandments monument in a city park was constitutional.
In In re Interest of Anaya, 276 Neb. 825, 758 N.W.2d 10 (2008), a case which garnered national attention, the Nebraska Supreme Court found improper a juvenile court’s aggressive exercise of jurisdiction over a newborn whose parents objected to mandatory medical screening on religious grounds. The Supreme Court ruled that the juvenile court’s orders were “a nullity.”
Mr. Downing’s other reported decisions include: Skiles v. Security State Bank, 494 N.W. 2d 355, 1 Neb. App. 360, (1992), Olmer v. City of Lincoln, 23 F. Supp. 2d 1091 (D. Neb. 1998), Blue Dane Simmental v. American Simmental Association, et.al., 178 F.3d 1035 (8th Cir. 1999), and Unisys Corp. v. Neb. Life and Health Guaranty Ass’n, 267 Neb. 158, (2004).
Mr. Downing has been inducted into the Honor Corps of the Alliance Defense Fund, is a member of the National Lawyers Association, the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys, and serves as Nebraska state coordinator of the Christian Legal Society.
Mr. Downing and his wife, Diane, are the parents of five children. In addition to his legal practice, Mr. Downing serves on the board of his church and is a founding board member of Family First, the Nebraska Center for Family Policy. He enjoys hunting, fishing, and golf.
Areas of Practice:
- Medical Malpractice
- Serious Personal Injury
- Constitutional Law
Bar Admissions:
- Nebraska, 1990
- U.S. District Court District of Nebraska, 1990
Education:
- University of Nebraska College of Law, Lincoln, Nebraska, 1990
J.D.
Honors: National Order of Barristers
Honors: Best Oral Advocate, Region IX, National Moot Court Competition - University of Texas, Dallas, Texas, 1986
B.A.
Honors: Cum Laude
Professional Associations and Memberships:
- Lincoln Bar Association
Member - National Lawyer’s Association
Member - Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys
Member - Christian Legal Society
State Coordinator - Alliance Defense Fund
Honor Corps
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