Gilg installed as U.S. attorney

Deborah Gilg's installation ceremony Friday drew law enforcement officials from across Nebraska, fitting for a lawyer whose career has spanned the state.

Gilg is the first Nebraska woman to serve as U.S. attorney for the District of Nebraska. She was sworn in last month and started work in Omaha as the district's chief federal prosecutor.

U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., who recommended Gilg for the position, told the standing-room-only crowd inside a fourth-floor federal courtroom that he has confidence in Gilg.

She understands Nebraska and has worked on both sides of law enforcement, as a prosecutor and private attorney, Nelson said.

Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine thanked Gilg for her time as past president of the Nebraska County Attorneys Association, saying she'll “always be one of us.” Gilg served from 1987 to 2002 as Keith County attorney and most recently has been in private practice in Omaha.

Gilg's daughter, Colleen Gilg, a New York attorney who a year ago told her mom to “go for it” in regards to the position, read President Barack Obama's appointment to the crowd.

The new U.S. attorney replaces Joe Stecher, who was appointed in April 2007 by President George W. Bush.

Gilg graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of Nebraska College of Law. She spoke of her days attending St. Peter Catholic Church and Omaha Central.

“Only in America can an Irish-Catholic kid from a working-class background be given the opportunity to be a leader in (the) federal government,” Gilg said.

U.S. District Judge Laurie Smith Camp presided over the ceremony, calling it a historic day for the state. Smith Camp spoke of previous days when the doors to professional schools were closed to women.

Smith Camp said Gilg would display the same calmness, fairness, patience and modesty in her new role that she showed while trying tough cases.

Gilg will “ensure the federal courts in this district will always be a safe place,” the judge said.

Gilg thanked Smith Camp, a law school cohort, along with other friends and colleagues from across the state.

“I owe much to western Nebraska for embracing a young Omaha lawyer and teaching me what an honorable profession it is to be a lawyer — and that there doesn't have to be a gap between urban and rural Nebraska.”

Contact the writer:

444-1279, jason.kuiper@owh.com