Kutak Rock partner Michael Mullin has been awarded the Richard Sheppard Arnold Award by the Eighth Circuit Bar Association. Each year at the Eighth Circuit Judicial Conference, a recipient from each federal district receives the Richard S. Arnold Award for meeting the following five criteria:

1. The person has achieved professional excellence in his or her field.
2. The person has been a leader in the legal community as reflected in the leadership positions held in bar associations and other professional organizations.
3. The person has contributed significant work toward the delivery of volunteer legal services to under-served members of the community.
4. The person has been honored by his or her peers.
5. The person has served as a mentor or role model for less-experienced lawyers or students interested in law.

A nomination for the award is submitted by the chief judge of each district in the Eighth Circuit. Judges are asked to weigh the five criteria for all nominees. 

Click here to learn more about the history of the award.

Recognized by The Best Lawyers in America^® across five practice areas–including mediation and arbitration–Mike has been named Omaha “Lawyer of the Year” 11 times and is ranked as a “Star Attorney” by Chambers USA. He has been honored annually by Benchmark Litigation and has held an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell^® for decades. Although Mike retired from several honorary trial societies in 2013 due to his full­time mediation career, he remains a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA).

A nationally regarded mediator, Mike has mediated over 4,900 disputes, with a success rate exceeding 90%. He is the only Nebraska mediator inducted as a Fellow into the International Academy of Mediators and was the first of just two Nebraska mediators inducted as Fellows into the American College of Civil Trial Mediators. He is a Diplomate of the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals and serves on prestigious panels including the AAA Midwest Master Mediation Panel. He has been recognized annually by Who’s Who Legal: Mediation since 2011.

Mike’s commitment extends beyond his practice. He is a past president of the Omaha Bar Association, and he previously served on the Nebraska State Bar Association House of Delegates for over a decade. He also served on numerous civic and legal boards and was honored with the Nebraska State Bar Foundation’s “Legal Pioneer Award” in 2022 for his work in advancing the use of mediation in Nebraska. In 2023, he was the 11th recipient of the Omaha Bar Association’s “Lifetime Achievement Award.”