Judges of the Nebraska Workers' Compensation Court
Laureen K. Van Norman, Presiding Judge
Office Address: State Capitol Building, Lincoln NE 68509-8908
Telephone: 402-471-3924, 800-599-5155.
Judge's Assistant: Evonne Meyers
Date Appointed: July 6, 1993.
Biography: Graduate of University of Nebraska-Lincoln (BA, social work); University of Nebraska College of Law (JD). Former Legal Counsel to the Nebraska Department of Labor. Nebraska State Bar Association: past Chair of Government Practice Committee; past member, Executive Board of Women and the Law Section; member, Supreme Court Gender Bias Task Force.
Michael P. Cavel, Judge
Office Address: Hall of Justice, 1701 Farnam, Omaha NE 68183-0001
Telephone: 402-595-3900, 800-599-5155.
Judge's Assistant: Eileena Stovall
Date Appointed: October 5, 1983.
Biography: Graduate of Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska (BA); Creighton University School of Law (JD). United States Army, 1968-71; private practice, 1971-1983; Midlands Big Brother of the Year, 1988.
James R. Coe, Judge
Office Address: Hall of Justice, 1701 Farnam, Omaha NE 68183-0001
Telephone: 402-595-3900, 800-599-5155.
Judge's Assistant: Eileena Stovall
Date Appointed: October 7, 1988.
Biography: Graduate of University of Nebraska-Lincoln (BS in Business Administration); University of Nebraska College of Law (JD). Partner of Carpenter, Rowen, Fitzgerald, and Coe, 1974-1988. Member of West Omaha (NE) Rotary Club; President of Dora Bingel Foundation.
Ronald L. Brown, Judge
Office Address: Hall of Justice, 1701 Farnam, Omaha NE 68183-0001
Telephone: 402-595-3900, 800-599-5155.
Judge's Assistant: Eileena Stovall
Date Appointed: April 8, 1994.
Biography: Graduate of Dana College (BS, cum laude); Creighton University School of Law (JD). Former occupations: Douglas County Assistant Public Defender, 1977-1978; Brown Law Offices, PC, 1979-1989; Brown and Tripp, PC, 1989-1994. Member of Nebraska State Bar Association, Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys, Association of Trial Lawyers of America.
J. Michael Fitzgerald, Judge
Office Address: State Capitol Building, Lincoln NE 68509-8908
Telephone: 402-471-3924, 800-599-5155.
Judge's Assistant: Evonne Meyers
Date Appointed: April 12, 1996.
Biography: Graduate of University of Notre Dame (BS Business Administration); Georgetown University Law Center (JD); Creighton University (Certificate of Completion, Paramedic Training Program). Admitted to practice: Nebraska Supreme Court, United States District Court for the District of Nebraska, United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, United States Tax Court. Employee-associate and stockholder partner: Matthews, Kelly, Cannon, and Carpenter, PC, 1969-1977. Stockholder partner: Carpenter, Fitzgerald, and Coe, PC, 1978-1983; Miller, Carpenter, Rowen, Fitzgerald, and Coe, PC, 1983-1987; Carpenter, Rowen, Fitzgerald, and Coe, PC, 1987-1988; Carpenter, Rowen, and Fitzgerald, PC, 1988-present. Member of Nebraska State Bar Association, American Bar Association, American Trial Lawyers Association, Nebraska Trial Lawyers Association, Omaha Bar Association.
Michael K. High, Judge
Office Address: State Capitol Building, Lincoln NE 68509-8908.
Telephone: 402-471-3923, 800-599-5155.
Judge's Assistant: Dawn Jensen
Date Appointed: January 8, 1998.
Biography: Graduate of University of Nebraska-Lincoln (BS in Agricultural Economics (1972); MA in Economics (1986)); University of Nebraska College of Law (JD, 1986). Formerly: farmer and rancher (1972-1982); elected commissioner-Gosper County, Nebraska, Board of Commissioners (1978-1982); private law practice (1986-1998).
John R. Hoffert, Judge
Office Address: State Capitol Building, Lincoln NE 68509-8908
Telephone: 402-471-3923, 800-599-5155.
Judge's Assistant: Dawn Jensen
Date Appointed: October 4, 2001
Biography: Graduate of Western Illinois University (BA, High Honors, Political Science); University of Nebraska College of Law (JD with Distinction). Associate/Partner: Knudsen, Berkheimer, Richardson & Endacott, LLP (1980-2001). United States Army (1970-1972). Past member: Legal Services of Southeast Nebraska, Board of Directors; Folsom Children's Zoo and Botanical Gardens, Board of Directors; Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys; American Judicature Society and American Trial Lawyers Association.