After reading law with Judge Parks of Aurora, Illinois, Little moved to Omaha, Nebraska, in 1856 and entered the practice of law there, in which he "soon rose to the highest eminence in the profession", remaining so for ten years. He served in the Nebraska Legislature for several years, and in 1866 defeated Oliver P. Mason to be elected chief justice of the state supreme court,James C. Olson, History of Nebraska (1997), p. 141. the only Democrat to win in that election. However, he became ill, apparently with tuberculosis, and returned to Illinois "to die among his kindred". His seat on the supreme court was then filled by the appointment of Mason.
