Civil & Criminal Litigation
Personal Injury & Wrongful Death
Workers' Compensation
Employment Law
Business Law
Commercial Law
Mediation
Drake University Law School, J.D. with high honors, 2010
Grinnell College, B.A. (History), 2006
The Case for "Cramdown": Eliminating the Practical and Ideological Barriers to Pure Mortgage Modification, 18 U. Miami Bus. L. Rev. 257 (2010).
Iowa, 2010
South Dakota, 2011
Nebraska, 2012
Peter makes solving his clients' legal problems his personal mission. His empathetic approach to the attorney-client relationship makes Peter unique among trial lawyers, and helps him understand his clients' needs and what actions to take to better serve their interests. As a strong believer in a proactive approach to dispute resolution, Peter blends his experience using time-tested litigation tools with creative legal arguments to achieve the best possible resolution to his clients' cases.
Peter handles all stages of the trial process, including pre-lawsuit investigations and negotiations, preparing formal demand letters, drafting or answering petitions and complaints, conducting discovery, engaging with judges via motion practice, and presenting cases to judges and juries at trial. Peter particularly enjoys appellate litigation. He has also assisted many clients through the mediation process, and is adept at presenting the strengths of his clients' cases to mediators in a concise, compelling manner.
Peter is licensed to practice in the state and federal courts of Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota, and has tried cases in the district courts of each state. He also offers his services as a mediator to fellow members of the bar. He completed his mediator training course through the International Academy of Dispute Resolution in 2014. He has worked on a wide variety of legal issues on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants during his career, including personal injury, wrongful death and workers' compensation cases, drainage and boundary line disputes between landowners, employment-contract violations, federal civil rights cases, and business contract disputes.
In 2015, Peter was named one of Drake University Law School's "150 in 150," a recognition given to the 150 individuals who best represent the qualities and values of the law school in celebration of its 150th anniversary.
A native Iowan, Peter grew up in West Des Moines and attended Grinnell College and Drake University Law School. He began his career as an attorney in Sioux City, with a stop in Omaha prior to joining Norelius & Nelson P.C. in February 2017.
In his spare time Peter enjoys spending time outdoors with his family, trying out new recipes in the kitchen, and closely following his lifelong favorite baseball team, the Chicago Cubs, as they pursue a repeat of their 2016 World Series Championship.
