Judge Kevin R. McManaman: Professional Background and Legal Expertise

The Hon. Kevin R. McManaman is a judge for the 3rd Judicial District Court of Nebraska. He was appointed to the bench by former Governor Pete Ricketts in 2016, filling a vacancy created by the retirement of the Hon. Steve Burns.

The 3rd Judicial District encompasses Lancaster County. Over the course of his judicial career, McManaman was invited to sit with the Nebraska Supreme Court on February 1, 2022. He heard arguments in the case of State v. Surber (S-20-0856).

Prior to his appointment, McManaman was a managing partner at Knudsen, Berkheimer, Richardson & Endacott in Lincoln, a position to which he was named in 2001. Before that, he spent time as a partner at Erickson & Sederstrom in Omaha (1995 to 2001). McManaman specialized in personal injury, employment, healthcare, railroad, business, and commercial matters, supplementing his practice with service as a hearing officer for the Nebraska Department of Banking and Finance.

McManaman earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Nebraska in 1990. He spent the next year working as a mental health counselor at the Lincoln Correctional Center before completing a J.D. at Creighton University School of Law in 1994. As a law student, McManaman clerked at Erickson & Sederstrom (1992 to 1994).

He is licensed to practice in Nebraska (1994), the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska (1995), and South Dakota (2013).

After graduating from law school, McManaman began his legal career as a judicial law clerk to the Hon. Nick D. Caporale of the Nebraska Supreme Court.

His memberships have included the Nebraska State Bar Association, the South Dakota Bar Association, the Lincoln Bar Association, the Omaha Bar Association, the Robert Van Pelt American Inn of Court, the Transportation Lawyers Association, the Defense Research Institute, the Lincoln Estate Planning Council, and the Nebraska Society of Healthcare Human Resource Administration. He has also been involved with the Omaha Jaycees and the Boy Scouts of America, and he has served on the Board of Directors of Lincoln CenterPointe and the Lincoln Children’s Zoo.

Born and raised in Lincoln, Nebraska, McManaman and his wife, Lisa, attend St. Peter Catholic Church.