Iowa

U of Iowa Law School Offers Free Web Course on Health Care Reform Act

In what may be a one-of-a-kind move, the University of Iowa College of Law is offering all comers the opportunity to attend a free online 14-week course on the nation’s new health care reform law. Already, nearly 500 people have reportedly expressed an interest in attending. The class will be…

Aug 26, 2010 11:10 PM CDT

Lawyer: I Had Sex with Client at Her Home and in My Office, But Not in Courthouse Law Library

Facing potential discipline for admittedly having sex with a client at her home and at his office, an Iowa lawyer says an implication that he might have done so as well in the Black Hawk County courthouse law library is baseless. Clovis Bowles, 56, admits the affair several years ago…

Aug 26, 2010 9:42 PM CDT

A Monumental Journey

When you think of Iowa, things like corn, Big Ten sports or the political caucuses may come to mind. But this heartland state also has been influential in helping to promote diversity in the legal profession.

Aug 1, 2010 5:14 AM CDT

Lead Attorney in Microsoft Case Hogged Lion’s Share of $75M Legal Fee, Suit Says

A lead lawyer in a $179.5 million class action antitrust settlement with Microsoft Corp. shared the $75 million legal fee with attorney Richard Hagstrom and the Minneapolis-based Zelle Hoffmann law firm, the Associated Press reports. But Roxanne Conlin of Des Moines, Iowa, didn’t honor an agreement to pay 20 percent…

Jul 6, 2010 10:09 PM CDT

County Attorney Accused of Mortgage Fraud Will Stay on Job

A county attorney in Iowa will continue in office after having been criminally indicted in a federal mortgage fraud case. Clarke County Attorney Ronald Wheeler is accused of misstating his income and assets and lying about his intention to occupy an Ankeny home for which he allegedly served as a…

May 25, 2010 4:43 PM CDT

Art Project and Late-Awarded Law License Recall Exclusion of Black Lawyers

Two news stories this week—about an art project in Iowa and a Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision—call attention to a history of discrimination against black lawyers. In Pennsylvania, a man twice denied admission to law practice in the 1800s because he was black has been awarded a law license posthumously. The…

May 7, 2010 10:30 AM CDT

Life Sentence Sought By Feds for Kosher Meat Plant Exec Ignites Firestorm

News that federal prosecutors are seeking an unusual life sentence for an executive of a kosher meatpacking plant in Iowa has ignited a firestorm of criticism. Originally targeted in a huge 2008 immigration raid of the Postville company then known as Agriprocessors Inc., Sholom Rubashkin was charged in a massive…

Apr 26, 2010 5:52 PM CDT

County Atty Turns in Keys After License is Suspended Over ‘06 Relationship With Client

An elected county attorney in Iowa has reportedly turned in his office keys after the state’s top court today suspended his law license over a sexual relationship he had with a private client in 2006 while representing her in a child-custody case. Floyd County Attorney Jesse Marzen declined to comment…

Mar 19, 2010 11:56 PM CDT

Utah Gov. Studying Bill That Would Hold Women Criminally Liable for Illegal Abortions

A 17-year-old girl’s decision to pay a stranger $150 to beat her up in hopes of inducing a miscarriage created such an outrage in Utah that the governor is now weighing whether to sign legislation that would criminalize illegal abortions. The legislation, known as Utah State House Bill 12, would…

Mar 2, 2010 6:16 PM CST

Prosecutor Removes Ash from Forehead at Request of Judge

A defense lawyer objected last Wednesday when an Iowa prosecutor returned to an attempted murder trial after a lunch break with ash on his forehead. Assistant Marshall County Attorney Paul Crawford was observing Ash Wednesday, the Marshalltown, Iowa, Times-Republican reports. Defense lawyer Aaron Hawbaker objected, saying he feared jurors could…

Feb 22, 2010 3:21 PM CST

EEOC Hit with $4.5M Legal Fee Award in Losing ‘Pattern & Practice’ Case, Plans Appeal

A federal judge has ordered the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to pay an Iowa trucking company’s $4.56 million legal bill after dismissing what she characterized as a pattern and practice sexual harassment lawsuit brought by the federal agency in 2007 on behalf of female drivers. Although “not unprecedented,” a fee…

Feb 17, 2010 10:56 PM CST

Lawyer Suspended for 6 Months Over 3rd Drunken-Driving Conviction

An Iowa attorney’s law license has been suspended for at least six months after he was convicted for the third time of driving while intoxicated, even though there was no evidence that the felony or his admitted alcoholism had any direct relationship to the longtime practitioner’s legal work or adversely…

Oct 23, 2009 5:48 PM CDT

Would-Be Law Prof Sues for Age Bias, Asks Why Schools Don’t Value Experience

Updated: A Michigan lawyer who didn’t get an interview for a faculty job at the University of Iowa has sued for age discrimination. Immigration lawyer Donald Dobkin says he was 55 when he responded to a law school ad last year seeking teachers with experience in administrative law, immigration and…

Aug 21, 2009 12:22 PM CDT

Teflon Suit Dropped After Judge Denies Class Certification

A lawsuit claiming Teflon cookware poses a health risk was dismissed after plaintiffs lawyers failed in their bid to win class certification. The suit contended that a chemical used in the Teflon manufacturing process releases toxic particles when heated during cooking, the Associated Press reports. If successful, the suit could…

May 13, 2009 2:42 PM CDT

Midsize Midwestern Firms Outside of Big Cities Doing Relatively Well

Midsize Midwestern law firms outside of major urban areas are doing better than their larger counterparts, where layoffs are common and associate start dates are being pushed back. Midwestern firms with between 100 and 450 lawyers haven’t relied as much on work stemming from capital markets and mergers and acquisitions.…

Apr 27, 2009 5:39 PM CDT