Creighton University School of Law Continuing Legal Education Seminar: Landlord/Tenant Law

Location

Creighton University School of Law
Ahmanson Law Center, Room 124
2133 Cass Street
Omaha, NE 68178

Parking is available on the roof of the 20th Street parking garage (Lot G5) south of the Harper Center, surface parking (Lot 5A) south of the Harper Center, and any available street parking as space allows. Click here to view the parking map.

Registration

No Cost to Attend

Description

The Creighton University School of Law is pleased to announce a Continuing Legal Education Seminar “Landlord/Tenant Law: Eviction Defense, Section 8 Housing, the Fair Housing Act, and Attorney Ethical Considerations.” The CLE is supported by The Sal Carta Real Estate Law Endowed Professorship.

The seminar will have four components. First, it will cover eviction defense basics (Tenant Assistance Program training). The Staff Attorneys at the Milton R. Abrahams Legal Clinic at Creighton University School of Law will discuss a number of eviction defense-related topics to help prepare members of the Nebraska Bar for the pro bono and litigation opportunities with the Tenant Assistance Project. The Tenant Assistance Project is a homelessness prevention project that mobilizes pro bono attorneys and law students to provide free legal services to unrepresented low-income tenants who appear for their eviction hearings at the Douglas and Lancaster County Courthouses. The training will cover (1) Residential Eviction Procedure in Nebraska, (2) Defenses to Eviction, and (3) The Tenant Assistance Project’s Procedures. The training will conclude with a short demonstration of what a typical landlord-tenant negotiation and hearing may look like. At the end of the training, practitioners will be well-equipped for this opportunity to address a persistent need in the Nebraska community. 

Second, Mr. Scott Mertz, the Director of Legal Aid of Nebraska’s Housing Justice Project, will discuss the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program and how this public housing benefit differs from other iterations of public housing. He will cover the responsibilities and rights of the tenant/program participant. He will discuss the responsibilities and options for a landlord that accepts Section 8 payments. Also, Mr. Mertz will touch on the “warranty of habitability” and the obligations and standards of habitability set by state law, housing codes, and the Housing Assistance Payments (or HAP) contract. 

Third, Mr. Scott P. Moore will discuss how to bring and defend Fair Housing Act Claims. The Fair Housing Act is a federal law that protects people from discrimination when they are renting or buying a home, getting a mortgage, seeking housing assistance, or engaging in other housing-related activities. The FHA prohibits discrimination against protected classes. Mr. Moore will discuss the scope of the protections under the FHA, including exemptions from the FHA. He will discuss the FHA’s requirements to provide reasonable accommodations and to allow reasonable modifications for persons with disabilities. 

Finally, Professor Kendra Fershee, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the Creighton University School of Law, and Professor Craig Dallon, the Sal Carta Real Estate Endowed Professor of Law, will discuss the obligation to competently represent clients with limited means or limited capacity, as well as the duty to bring only non-frivolous claims or defenses. They will discuss ethical considerations for attorneys representing landlords and tenants including rules governing truthfulness in statements to others, dealing with unrepresented parties, meritorious claims, expediting litigation, candor toward the tribunal, and fairness to opposing party and counsel. 

Designed For

Lawyers, Law Students

Jointly Provided By 

• Creighton University School of Law
• Creighton University College of Professional and Continuing Education

Schedule

Friday, November 7, 2025

All times listed are in Central Time (CT).

Noon
Registration

1 p.m.
Welcome and Introduction
Dean Joshua Fershee
Creighton University School of Law

1:05 p.m.
Eviction Defense Basics (Tenant Assistance Program Training)
Christopher Mihalo and Mark Carraher
Milton R. Abrahams Legal Clinic, Creighton University School of Law

2 p.m.
Section 8 Housing and Warranty of Habitability
Scott Mertz
Director, Legal Aid of Nebraska Housing Justice Project
Managing Attorney, Legal Aid of Nebraska-Omaha Office

2:50 p.m.
Break - Refreshments Provided

3:05 p.m.
Fair Housing Act
Scott P. Moore
Partner, Baird Holm LLP

4 p.m.
Ethical Obligations for Attorneys Representing Landlords and Tenants
Kendra Fershee
Associate Dean, Creighton University School of Law

Craig W. Dallon
Professor of Law, Creighton University School of Law

5 p.m.
Adjournment

Featured Faculty & Presenters

Christopher Mihalo is a Special Assistant Professor and Staff Attorney at the Milton R. Abrahams Legal Clinic at Creighton University School of Law. Christopher has supervised and instructed senior-certified law students and litigated civil cases with the Clinic since 2017. Christopher is a graduate of Creighton University and Seattle University School of Law. He practiced with Domina Law Group PC LLO prior to his years at the Clinic. His case work involves a variety of public interest areas including public housing, eviction defense, family law, and protection orders. 

Mark Carraher is a Special Assistant Professor and Staff Attorney at the Milton R. Abrahams Legal Clinic at Creighton University School of Law. Mark has supervised and instructed senior-certified law students and litigated civil cases with the Clinic since 2022. Mark is a graduate of Loyola University Chicago and University of Nebraska College of Law. Prior to his year with the Clinic, Mark practiced immigration law with Brown Immigration Law PC LLO and was a public defender at the Lancaster County Public Defender. His case work involves a variety of public interest areas including eviction defense, family law, protection orders, and guardianships. 

Scott Mertz is the Director of Legal Aid of Nebraska’s Housing Justice Project and the Managing Attorney of the Legal Aid of Nebraska’s Omaha Office. Scott has been practicing law with Legal Aid of Nebraska since 2009. He is a 2009 graduate of Creighton School of Law. 

Scott P. Moore is a partner at Baird Holm LLP in Omaha, Nebraska. He focuses his practice on the defense and preventative representation of employers and the housing industries with a particular emphasis in defending discrimination matters under the ADA, Fair Housing Act, and Section 504.  He has substantial experience in defending individual and class/collective actions, including pattern or practice cases brought by the EEOC and Department of Justice, involving allegations of disability discrimination under the ADA, FMLA, the Fair Housing Act, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.  Scott is widely recognized as a national expert in ADA and fair housing law. He served as a Deputy Chief of the Employment Litigation Section and a Senior Trial Attorney in the Housing Section of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. In those roles, Scott led the Department’s enforcement actions on some of the largest employment, ADA, and fair housing pattern or practice cases brought by the United States. 

Kendra Fershee is the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and a Professor of Law at the Creighton University School of Law. She teaches family law courses and Professional Responsibility. Dean Fershee writes about issues affecting young parents, such as access to education, custody issues, and the process of termination of parental rights for all parents. She has served as the Editor in Chief of the Family Law Quarterly, a journal that explores family law issues from a scholarly and practical perspective, since 2015. She received her J.D., cum laude, from Tulane Law School, where she served as the Senior Managing Editor of Tulane Law Review. Following law school, Dean Fershee practiced commercial litigation for Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy in New York, NY, and Washington, D.C. Dean Fershee previously taught at the Penn State Dickinson School of Law, the University of North Dakota School of Law, and the West Virginia University College of Law. Dean Fershee joined the Creighton Law faculty in 2019. 

Craig W. Dallon is the holder of the Sal Carta Real Estate Law Professorship and is a Professor of Law at the Creighton University School of Law. Professor Dallon teaches, writes, and speaks on topics including professional responsibility, property, trademarks, and copyrights. He was Associate Dean of Academic Affairs for the Law School from 2006-2014, 2020-2023. From 2019 to the present, Professor Dallon has been the Director of the Masters of Science in Government Organization and Leadership (GOAL) Degree Program. He graduated with his J.D. from the J. Reuben Clark Law School, at Brigham Young University, summa cum laude, where he was an Executive Editor of the BYU Law Review. Following law school, Professor Dallon clerked in Olathe, Kansas, for the Honorable James K. Logan on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. He then practiced with the law firm of Van Cott, Bagley, Cornwall & McCarthy in Salt Lake City for five years, where he was a member of the firm’s litigation section and technology law practice group. Professor Dallon join the Creighton Law faculty in 2000. 

Questions? 

Office of Continuing Education
College of Professional and Continuing Education
Creighton University
402.280.1830
CLE@creighton.edu