About Tana M.
Tana M. Fye built her legal foundation at the University of South Dakota, where she completed a Bachelor of Arts in political science and criminal justice in 2002. She stayed on to earn a Master of Public Administration in 2005 and a Juris Doctor from the University of South Dakota School of Law in 2006. Those years shaped both her interest in public service and her grasp of law and policy.
Her early legal work included a 2007 internship in the Department of Social Services, Division of Legal Services, and a 2008 summer associate role at Gunderson Palmer Nelson & Ashmore. In 2009 she served as a law clerk for the Second Judicial Circuit Court. Those positions exposed her to administrative law, court procedure, and the everyday demands of casework.
In 2010 she opened Fye Law Office. A few years later she accepted a role as a deputy public defender in Buffalo County in 2012. That mix of private practice and public defense has informed how she approaches client representation. She has worked in courtroom settings and in offices that manage high caseloads, and she has experience on both sides of the attorney-client relationship.
Fye holds licenses in South Dakota and Nebraska and has been active in professional and civic organizations in the region. She has belonged to the Nebraska Criminal Defense Lawyers Association since 2012 and to county bar associations in Buffalo and Phelps. Her leadership roles include serving as president, secretary and treasurer of the Phelps County Bar Association and as president of Holdrege Young Professionals. She has also taken board and treasury roles with local organizations such as Holdrege Area Friends of the Library and Teammates.
Her community work extends to children’s issues. She has been on the advisory board of the Nebraska Resource Project for Vulnerable Young Children since 2015 and previously served on parents’ lawyer and CASA committees. Those positions reflect ongoing involvement in programs that intersect with the family and juvenile systems.
Colleagues and clients see a lawyer whose background spans public administration, courthouse practice and community service. She maintains memberships in state and national associations that align with those interests. Fye continues to practice through Fye Law Office, handling criminal defense and matters involving children and families in her Nebraska and South Dakota jurisdictions.
