Education

• B.A., Central College, 1995 Magna Cum Laude; Alpha Zeta Mu (top 10%)
• J.D., University of Iowa, 1998 With High Distinction; Iowa Law Review Managing Editor; Phi Delta Phi Vice President.

Admitted to Practice

• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
  
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
  
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa
  
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa
  

Bar Memberships

• Illinois - 1998
• Iowa - 2002

Publications

• "Social Security No-Match Notices: Safe Harbor No More!",
  
• "Balancing the Briefcase and the Babies",
  
• "IMMIGRATION ALERT",
  
• ""Stepping in Before the Problems Start," Negotiating Employment Disputes (2007)",
  
• "URGENT IMMIGRATION UPDATE: H-1 Bs Soon to Become Unavailable",
  

See archived articles by this author

Memberships

Polk County Bar Association (Board of Directors, 2008-); Iowa State Bar Association (CLE Committee: Vice-Chair, 2008-; Labor and Employment Law Section Council: Member, 2004-; Young Lawyers Division: President, 2007-2008); American Bar Association (Labor and Employment Law Section: Member; Young Lawyers Division Labor and Employment Law Committee: Vice-Chair, 2008-); Litigation Counsel of America™ (Fellow); Blackstone Inn of Court; Polk County Women Attorneys Association; American Immigration Lawyers Association.

Recent Presentations
"The FMLA: It's Not Just Medical Anymore," DMTH 2009 Employment Law Seminar, West Des Moines, Iowa, October 8, 2009.
"Impact of the Employee Free Choice Act (Card Check) on Iowa Contractors," Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) of Iowa, Des Moines, Iowa, December 4, 2008.
"Immigration Compliance; Privacy & Conducting Internal Investigations," Sterling Educational Services Employment Law Update, November 19, 2008.
"Immigration: Extension of OPT for F-1 Students with STEM Degrees," Technology Association of Iowa, Des Moines, Iowa, October 21, 2008.
"Managing Intermittant Leave," M. Lee Smith FMLA Master Class, June 17, 2008.

Background

Practicing primarily in employment law and immigration law; also practicing in litigation.  Selected for inclusion in the 2008-2010 editions of Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business in the area of Labor & Employment and in the 2010 edition in the area of Immigration.  Listed in the 2010 and 2011 editions of The Best Lawyers in America in the area of Immigration Law.  Selected as one of the Des Moines Business Record's Forty Under 40 honorees for 2009. 

Law Review Articles
"Give the Child a Legal Father," Volume 83, Iowa Law Review (1998)

Representative Reported Cases
Libel v. Adventure Lands of America, Inc., 482 F.3d 1028 (8th Cir. 2007)
Parsons v. Pioneer Seed Hi-Bred Int’l, Inc., 447 F.3d 1102 (8th Cir. 2006)
Van Arkel v. Warren County, 365 F. Supp. 2d 979 (S.D. Iowa 2005)
Parsons v. Pioneer Seed Hi-Bred Int’l, Inc., 385 F. Supp. 2d 782 (S.D. Iowa 2005)
Groves v. Cost Planning Management Int'l, 372 F.3d 1008, 1010 (8th Cir. 2004)
Henthorn v. Capitol Communications, Inc., 359 F.3d 1021 (8th Cir. 2004)
Henthorn v. Capitol Communications, Inc., 259 F.3d 1021 (8th Cir. 2004)
In re Archer Daniels Midland Co., 333 NLRB 673 (2001)