Nicholas K. Niemann
AttorneyChair, Family Business Practice GroupGrowing up on a small farm in Quincy, Illinois, and being a part of the Niemann Family Businesses was the perfect setting to begin to learn the ins and outs of Family Business culture, leadership, spunk, grit, drive and commitment.
Nick experienced firsthand both the struggles of Business ventures that faltered and the success of those that thrived for generations. Starting at age 8, he began learning from his Dad and Grandfather what it took to successfully operate the Family Business interests in restaurants, supermarkets, real estate, manufacturing, warehousing, ranching, farming and retail merchandising.
That background taught him a simple truth: Family Businesses will succeed incredibly well only if they design and implement the right Game Plans. And when Family Businesses succeed, so can their employees, their families, and their communities.
This passion for helping Businesses succeed led him to designing Nebraska’s leading economic development incentive programs and also participating in an international movement for innovating, pivoting and creating new Business Models. He has developed specific protocols for Business Growth, Succession and Exit Planning. He has worked with more than 1,000 CEOs and other Business Leaders around the country to help build a strong economic future for their Companies and their families and colleagues who count on them.
Nick has blended that diverse business experience to develop his work as an attorney into three related legal practice areas. As a Family Enterprise Attorney, Exit Planning Attorney, and State Tax & Incentives Attorney, Nick works at the intersection of law, business strategy, tax impacts, family dynamics and long-term vision.
His mission is clear: to turn complexity into clarity so Businesses and Families can create opportunities, build value and sustain their legacy for decades and generations.
Family Enterprise Attorney
As a Family Enterprise Attorney Nick works with Family Business Leaders to design and protect what matters most—their family, their colleagues, their business, their wealth, and their legacy. Drawing on decades of experience in business law, tax planning, estate planning, and succession strategy, and as a long-time Trusted Advisor to CEO members of Vistage International, he guides Family Business Leaders and their Trusted Advisors through the complexities of business model design, ownership, governance, family dynamics and generational transition.
As the creator of The Family Enterprise Initiative, Nick has developed a multi-capital framework that empowers Families to align their Family Business success with long-term leadership development, responsible investing, and shared Family values. His work blends the practical—structuring Family Enterprise LLCs, governance policies, estate and tax strategies -- with the personal -- by strengthening communication, leadership, and decision-making across generations.
- Family Business strategy, governance and succession planning
- Family Enterprise Initiative design and implementation
- Estate Planning for business-owning families
- Estate and Income Tax reduction strategies
- Collaboration with Trusted Advisor Teams
Exit Planning Attorney
As an Exit Planning Attorney, Nick works with Business Owners to prepare for, design, and successfully complete the most important financial and personal transaction of their lives—the exit from their Business. With deep experience in business law, succession planning, and tax strategy, he works with Business Owners and their Trusted Advisor Teams to build customized Exit Plans that maximize business value, reduce risk, and secure long-term family wealth.
He has been a frequent speaker on Exit Planning strategies at national conferences and is actively engaged with the Business Enterprise Institute (BEI) and other national organizations dedicated to helping Business Owners achieve successful transitions and exits. Nick bridges the gap between legal structure and real-world Business Owner goals, helping to ensure that every Exit Plan addresses both the business transaction as well as the Business Owner’s leadership, legacy, and personal readiness.
Focus Areas:
- Business exit and succession planning
- Mergers, acquisitions, and business sales
- Owner readiness and family transition strategies
- Estate and Income Tax planning
- Collaboration with Trusted Advisor Teams for coordinated execution
State Tax & Incentives Attorney
As a State Tax and Incentives Attorney who has designed Nebraska’s principal economic development programs, Nick works with Companies and their other Trusted Advisors to grow, expand, and compete more effectively by reducing their costs of expansion and lowering their state tax burden. He has advised Companies of many sizes and business sectors—from Family Businesses to Fortune 500 public corporations—on how to secure state and local incentives, navigate complex tax laws, and resolve state and local tax disputes with revenue authorities.
Nick represents these companies in two critical areas:
- Business Expansion Incentives – Guiding companies through state and local incentive programs, including negotiations, contracts, compliance, and long-term monitoring, to ensure businesses maximize available opportunities.
- State Tax Audits and Appeals – Defending companies under audit by Departments of Revenue, identifying overpayments, reducing assessments, and resolving disputes efficiently and effectively.
Focus Areas:
- State and local business expansion incentives
- State and local tax planning and defense
- Structuring projects to maximize incentives and minimize taxes
- Negotiations with state and local governments on business expansions
Education
- Creighton University School of Law (J.D., Magna Cum Laude, 1981)
- Creighton University College of Business (B.S.B.A., Summa Cum Laude, 1978)
Admissions
- Nebraska (1981: Sustaining Member)
- Nebraska State Lobbyist (1987)
- U.S. District Court, District of Nebraska (1981)
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit (1981)
- U.S. Tax Court (1981)
- U.S. Court of Federal Claims (1985)
News
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More EventsPublications
More Publications- Nebraska & American Bar Associations
- Nebraska Society & American Institute of CPAs
- Council On State Taxation (COST)
- Vistage International Trusted Advisor Board
- Vistage International National Resource Speaker
- Business Enterprise Institute (Exit Planning)
- Exit Planning Institute (Exit Planning)
- Financial Planning Association of Nebraska
- Omaha Chamber of Commerce Headquarters Target Advisory Board
- Nebraska Chamber of Commerce Tax Council
- National Speakers Association
- CEO Space International
- Business Model Strategyzer Program
- Maxwell Leadership Program
- Vistage Family Business Network
- Family Firm Institute
- Family Business Advisors Alliance
- Secret Knock Business Program
- FSSP North American Province Finance Council
- Certified Public Accountant (CPA-Inactive Registrant)
- Adjunct Professor, State Tax, Creighton University School of Law
- Adjunct Professor, Estate Planning, Creighton University School of Law
- Lifetime Fellow, Nebraska State Bar Foundation
- Great Plains Tax Institute – Speaker, State Taxation and Economic Development (2002 – 2024)
- Council On State Taxation – Speaker, State Taxation
- Tax Executives Institute – Speaker, State Taxation
- Nebraska Society of CPAs – Speaker, Various State Tax and Succession Planning Programs
- Listed: “Best Lawyers in America”, Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships), Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law, Litigation and Controversy – Tax, Tax Law, and Trusts and Estates
- “Best Lawyers in America”, Omaha Lawyer of the Year, Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law, 2020
- “Best Lawyers in America”, Omaha Lawyer of the Year, Tax Law, 2019, 2021
- “Best Lawyers in American”, Omaha Lawyer of the Year, Litigation and Controversy – Tax, 2015
- Ten Outstanding Young Omahans Award
- Book Author: “The Next Move For Business Owners” (Succession and Exit Planning)
- Book Author: “The Next Move For Families” (Estate Planning)
- Book Author: “Exit On Your Terms” (Exit Planning)
- Book Co-Author: “Business Model Generation” (Business Strategic Planning)
- Book Author: “The Business Model Myth Solution” (Business Strategic Planning)
- Book Author: “Fourth Quarter First” (Family Business-Strategic, Asset Protection, Estate and Succession Planning)
- Listed: Martindale-Hubbell, AV/Preeminent Rating
- Listed: Chambers USA, America’s Leading Lawyers for Business (Nebraska, Tax – Band 1)
- Omaha Magazine: “Face of Business Continuity and Succession Planning”
