Carey Collingham

Practice Focus

Carey Collingham is an attorney at Berry Law whose practice focuses on personal injury law, catastrophic accidents, and insurance disputes. He represents clients who are trying to recover physically, emotionally, and financially after being harmed by another person’s negligence or intentional wrongdoing. Carey brings a deeply personal perspective to that work. Having experienced the life-altering effects of a serious collision himself, he understands how injuries can disrupt a person’s health, livelihood, identity, and long-term goals. That firsthand experience shapes the urgency, empathy, and persistence he brings to every case.

Across his practice, Carey is committed to using the tools of the law not only to help his clients resolve their injury claims, but to help them move forward with greater stability and confidence. His approach is grounded in the belief that legal representation should be both strategic and deeply human, especially when a client’s future has been unsettled by someone else’s conduct. Carey’s objective is to be a supportive ally for his clients throughout the healing process, being a fierce advocate during settlement process, and becoming a friend as his clients look to the future.

Role at Berry Law

At Berry Law, Carey serves clients who need an advocate prepared to understand the full impact of an injury, not just the paperwork surrounding it. He knows from personal experience that recovery often involves far more than medical treatment. It can mean adapting to physical limitations, rethinking career plans, rebuilding confidence, and finding a path forward after a major disruption. Because of that, he takes time to understand his clients’ lives, goals, and concerns so he can help them pursue outcomes that support the best possible future.

Carey’s legal career grew directly from that perspective. After a distracted driver caused nerve damage that limited his ability to continue playing cello at the professional level he once had, he chose to leave a valued career in Music and in Nebraska’s nonprofit community to pursue the study of law. He has described his own attorney at the time as someone who helped him realize how important a compassionate and understanding advocate can be during recovery. That experience now informs the way he serves his own clients: with attentiveness, clear communication, and a commitment to empowering people at a time when they may feel vulnerable or uncertain.

Community, Service & Music

Before becoming an attorney, Carey built a career in nonprofit work that reflected his longstanding desire to help others. He worked with Heartland Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Arthritis Foundation, and the National Audubon Society, where he managed special events, fundraising efforts, and community partnerships. That background reinforced a service-oriented mindset that continues to define his practice today. He is motivated not only by legal problem-solving, but by the chance to help people rebuild after hardship and pursue a stronger next chapter.

Carey’s life outside the law is equally shaped by music and community involvement. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in 2005 and has spent more than two decades performing cello in the Lincoln community. He remains principal cellist in the Lincoln Civic Orchestra, occasionally teaches cello, and continues to perform at weddings and other local events. Even though his injuries now limit how long he can play comfortably without a break, music remains a central part of his life. He also serves as President of the Board of Directors for the Lincoln Civic Orchestra, extending his commitment to sharing music with the broader community.

Education & Background

Carey later earned his law degree from the Nebraska College of Law, bringing together his artistic background, community-service experience, and personal resilience in a new professional direction. His published work includes The Damages of Caps in Nebraska, a comment published in the 99th volume of the Nebraska Law Review in 2020. His work has also earned the highest recognition through Martindale-Hubbell’s Client Champion Platinum distinction and through Avvo’s Clients’ Choice distinction in 2024, 2025, and 2026.

Originally drawn to the law to help fellow community members get through and eventually recover from what is typically one of the most stressful times in their lives, Carey has built a practice that reflects both compassion and determination. Outside of work, he enjoys fishing, hunting, kayaking, archery, working under the hood of his car, spending time with his wife Amy and their young son, and exploring the outdoors with his rescue dogs. Whether he is helping a client navigate the aftermath of a devastating injury or sharing music with the community, Carey’s work is guided by the same principle: meaningful victories are strongest when they help people reclaim purpose, dignity, and the ability to move forward.

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