- Shareholder
- 531-247-5536
- Des Moines Office
Jeremy T.
Christensen
“I help clients solve problems, and I get to know people and get to know their businesses.”
Every employer needs Jeremy Christensen’s legal specialty. “Every employer needs it, no matter their size,” Jeremy says. “All employers offer some sort of employee benefits that have tax- and fiduciary-related obligations attached to them.” Jeremy’s practice focuses on those employee benefits programs.
“I am a full-service employee benefits attorney, or an ERISA attorney,” Jeremy says. “I represent employers with respect to all facets of their employee benefits plans, whether that is qualified retirement plans (including ESOPs), deferred compensation, executive compensation, or health and welfare plans. I represent governmental, nonprofit, and for-profit employers with all aspects of employee benefits.”
For employers, ERISA and the tax code add layers of legal complexity to benefit plan compliance, especially with respect to employee stock ownership plans (or ESOPs). “While an ESOP is a business transaction, it also has the added complexity of being a qualified retirement plan,” Jeremy says. “That extra layer of complexity requires a special expertise, not only in corporate transactions, but especially in ERISA tax laws, which govern the qualified retirement plan aspect of an ESOP.”
His highly sought-after specialty developed while Jeremy was in law school. For a summer law clerk position, Mutual of Omaha Insurance assigned Jeremy to the retirement plans division. “Not many law students have relevant ERISA or employee benefit law experience coming out of law school,” he says. “When my first law firm needed someone with that kind of experience, they reached out to me. I’ve been practicing in the field ever since I started private practice.”
Jeremy strives to help clients solve business problems, not only legal problems. “My clients are running businesses, and I want them see me as a business partner and not ever as a hindrance to what they’re trying to accomplish as a business,” he says.
“It’s my job to make my clients look good to their superiors, whoever those people may be,” Jeremy says. That aspect of his legal practice inspires him daily. Another inspiration is the adventure. “It doesn't sound sexy when you talk about employee benefits law, but it’s a new problem almost every day,” Jeremy says. “It’s a lot of counseling, it’s a lot of interaction with clients, and it’s a lot of analysis. I love all of those things.”
Even when the law requires hard conversations, Jeremy is proactive and solution-oriented. Rather than telling clients what they can’t do, Jeremy strives to come up with solutions that accomplish some, if not all, of his clients’ business goals. “I get to know different types of businesses and what makes them tick,” he says. “I can ultimately be of value to them by being a business partner.”
An Omaha native, Jeremy is happily settled among family. “I love Omaha,” he says. “I love the Midwest: the values of the people here, the respect that people in this area have for one another, the work ethic.”
When Jeremy is not in the office, he shifts his attention to his wife and three young children. “I enjoy spending as much time with them as humanly possible,” he says. Jeremy helps coach the kids’ sports teams, is president of the board of directors of the Nebraska Legal Diversity Council, and, along with his entire family, volunteers and fundraises regularly for ALS in the Heartland, a local nonprofit that is especially meaningful to the Christensen family.
The ESOP Association
National Center for Employee Ownership
Nebraska Legal Diversity Council
Board of Directors
- President, 2026–present
- Secretary, 2022–2025
MENTOR Nebraska
Board of Directors
- Secretary, 2020–2022
ALS in the Heartland
Best Lawyers in America®
Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law, 2026
Super Lawyers Rising Star, 2019
Creighton Law Review
OVERVIEW
Every employer needs Jeremy Christensen’s legal specialty. “Every employer needs it, no matter their size,” Jeremy says. “All employers offer some sort of employee benefits that have tax- and fiduciary-related obligations attached to them.” Jeremy’s practice focuses on those employee benefits programs.
“I am a full-service employee benefits attorney, or an ERISA attorney,” Jeremy says. “I represent employers with respect to all facets of their employee benefits plans, whether that is qualified retirement plans (including ESOPs), deferred compensation, executive compensation, or health and welfare plans. I represent governmental, nonprofit, and for-profit employers with all aspects of employee benefits.”
For employers, ERISA and the tax code add layers of legal complexity to benefit plan compliance, especially with respect to employee stock ownership plans (or ESOPs). “While an ESOP is a business transaction, it also has the added complexity of being a qualified retirement plan,” Jeremy says. “That extra layer of complexity requires a special expertise, not only in corporate transactions, but especially in ERISA tax laws, which govern the qualified retirement plan aspect of an ESOP.”
His highly sought-after specialty developed while Jeremy was in law school. For a summer law clerk position, Mutual of Omaha Insurance assigned Jeremy to the retirement plans division. “Not many law students have relevant ERISA or employee benefit law experience coming out of law school,” he says. “When my first law firm needed someone with that kind of experience, they reached out to me. I’ve been practicing in the field ever since I started private practice.”
Jeremy strives to help clients solve business problems, not only legal problems. “My clients are running businesses, and I want them see me as a business partner and not ever as a hindrance to what they’re trying to accomplish as a business,” he says.
“It’s my job to make my clients look good to their superiors, whoever those people may be,” Jeremy says. That aspect of his legal practice inspires him daily. Another inspiration is the adventure. “It doesn't sound sexy when you talk about employee benefits law, but it’s a new problem almost every day,” Jeremy says. “It’s a lot of counseling, it’s a lot of interaction with clients, and it’s a lot of analysis. I love all of those things.”
Even when the law requires hard conversations, Jeremy is proactive and solution-oriented. Rather than telling clients what they can’t do, Jeremy strives to come up with solutions that accomplish some, if not all, of his clients’ business goals. “I get to know different types of businesses and what makes them tick,” he says. “I can ultimately be of value to them by being a business partner.”
An Omaha native, Jeremy is happily settled among family. “I love Omaha,” he says. “I love the Midwest: the values of the people here, the respect that people in this area have for one another, the work ethic.”
When Jeremy is not in the office, he shifts his attention to his wife and three young children. “I enjoy spending as much time with them as humanly possible,” he says. Jeremy helps coach the kids’ sports teams, is president of the board of directors of the Nebraska Legal Diversity Council, and, along with his entire family, volunteers and fundraises regularly for ALS in the Heartland, a local nonprofit that is especially meaningful to the Christensen family.
PROFESSIONAL & COMMUNITY AFFILIATIONS
The ESOP Association
National Center for Employee Ownership
Nebraska Legal Diversity Council
Board of Directors
- President, 2026–present
- Secretary, 2022–2025
MENTOR Nebraska
Board of Directors
- Secretary, 2020–2022
ALS in the Heartland
RECOGNITION
Best Lawyers in America®
Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law, 2026
Super Lawyers Rising Star, 2019
Creighton Law Review