Essex Lawyers

H. Edwin Detlie has practiced law in Ottumwa since 1982; before that, he was an Administrative Law Judge with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission for several years. Mr. Detlie is a former President of the Iowa Association of Workers' Compensation Lawyers, and is Chair of the Iowa State Bar Association's Law Practice Management Committee. He has spoken at national, regional and State conferences on workers' compensation and Social Security Disability, and is a member of the Larson's National Workers' Compensation Advisory Board for LexisNexis, the world's largest legal publisher.

Representing employees and workers in workplace issues since 2004. I concentrate my practice on protecting workers rights in Workers' Compensation Claims, Personal Injury and Employment Law, including wage and hour disputes, Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) violations; Federal Civil Rights Act violations for age, gender, race, sexual orientation and disabilities. I also represent individuals facing harassment on the basis of race, color and/or national origin under the Federal Civil Rights Act. We are experienced trial lawyers in representing workers faced with all types of employment law issues, including wrongful termination, sexual harassment, hostile-environment sexual harassment, quid...

Daniel J. Rothman has been practicing criminal law since his admission to the bar in 2002. He is a former prosecutor of 7 years having worked in the Story County Attorney's office and as the senior member of the OWI Division of the Polk County Attorney’s Office until March of 2009. During his time as an OWI prosecutor, Mr. Rothman was an instructor for the Prosecutors Training Council’s Annual Officer’s training school on OWI law and a presenter for the Central Iowa Traffic Safety Task Force’s annual training regarding OWI law. Mr. Rothman was invited to teach other attorneys in...

Daniel is committed to competent advising, responsive communication, and value-based service for clients. With a background and continued involvement in his family's farm, Daniel P. Fischer understands the legal needs and planning techniques best suited for individuals, farms, and businesses in southwest Iowa. Daniel studied Agricultural Business and Economics at Iowa State University, where he graduated summa cum laude and served as the Student Body President. At the University of Iowa, Daniel earned his Juris Doctor, with distinction, and was published in the Iowa Law Review for his note on the taxation of agricultural bankruptcies. Following law school,...

Aaron Hamrock is a founder and partner at McCarthy & Hamrock, P.C., which is dedicated to giving clients in the West Des Moines area the highest quality of criminal defense. With nearly 15 years of experience, Aaron has defended hundreds of clients facing charges including DUI, federal offenses, drug charges, and violent crimes. He believes in giving each client personal attention and respect, and keeping communication open. Aaron pursued a legal career with this goal in mind. His studies began at Central College, where he graduated before earning in Juris Doctor at Drake University. In 1995, he became licensed to practice...

Sam practices primarily in Estate Planning (including wills and trusts), probate law, succession planning and business law. In addition to being a lawyer, he is also a certified public accountant. Sam received his undergraduate degree in Business Administration-Accounting from the University of Southern California (U.S.C.) in 1978, and his Juris Doctorate at Drake University in 1981. Sam is licensed to practice law in all courts within Iowa, as well as the following Federal Courts: Northern and Southern District of Iowa, Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Tax Court. Sam is a member of the...

Born and raised in southern Iowa (don't hold that against me) on a farm just outside of Centerville. (Big Reds and Pancake Day). Undergraduate degree from THE Iowa State University. I still bleed cardinal and gold, but I can find a place to help even Hawkeye fans. Drake University to get the degree that allows me have the law license. I spent my initial 16 years at a local medium-sized law firm honing my skills before jumping out of the nest and starting my own firm in 2013. I said this when my girls were younger and...

Attorney Deans Stowers began his career as a lawyer at the United State Sentencing Commission. In private practice, Dean has tried many criminal jury trials in Iowa state and federal court, including the only federal death penalty case in Iowa in the last 50 years.

Among his other accomplishments are numerous not guilty verdicts in state and federal court, and reversals in appellate cases. Dean is known as an aggressive and effective advocate for his clients.

Dean is licensed to practice law in Iowa, Pennsylvania, the United States Supreme Court, the Northern and Southern Districts of Iowa, the 8th Circuit Court of...

Tucker Law Office has over 35 years of experience helping injured Iowans recover compensation. We are compassionate and caring about your situation and will aggressively fight for the compensation you deserve.

Attorney Tim Bottaro is a graduate of Creighton University (B.A. 1981) and the University of Iowa (J.D. 1983 With Distinction). He is admitted to practice law in the United States Appellate Court (8th Circuit) and United States Federal Court, as well as Iowa state courts. Tim handles primarily personal injury cases, such as car accidents, motorcycle accidents, semi accidents, bicycle accidents, pedestrian injury accidents, wrongful death claims, construction accidents, dram shop suits (vs. establishments who serve alcohol), slip and falls, and animal bites. He also handles insurance litigation and general litigation matters. With Tim, your consultation is always free! Tim became...

Mindi Vervaecke is an Attorney at Law for Wertz Law Firm, P.C. Her practice focuses on Workers' Compensation. Mindi joined the firm in 2021 and is committed to representing injured workers throughout the state of Iowa. As a 1996 graduate of the University of Iowa Law School with distinction, Mindi has been a member of the Iowa Association of Justice Workers' Compensation Core Group, Continuing Education Committee, Iowa Supreme Court Nominating Commission. Mindi currently serves as a member of the Iowa Supreme Court Commission on Continuing Legal Education, in addition to her memberships with the Iowa Association of Justice and Iowa Association...

While in law school, Mrs. Van Wyhe was an active member of the South Dakota Law Review and volunteered as a C.A.S.A. (Court Appointed Special Advocate) for abused and neglected children involved in juvenile court. Following law school and prior to starting in private practice, Amanda was a law clerk for the Second Judicial Circuit Court in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Amanda entered private practice in 2006 at the Vriezelaar law firm as an associate and became a partner in 2011. In 2009, Mrs. Van Wyhe was officially recognized and commended by the Iowa Supreme Court for contributing more...

Attorney Dean Fankhauser was raised in Chadron, Nebraska and is the son of former business owners who still reside in Chadron today. After graduating from Chadron State College, Dean studied at The University of South Dakota School of Law and graduated in 2014 with a Juris Doctor. While in law school, Dean had many great experiences, including advancing to the Elite 8 of the Sam Masten Appellate Advocacy Competition and completing an internship at the Federal Public Defender’s office in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Dean moved to the Siouxland Community after law school and shortly began working as an associate attorney....

Attorney Colby M. Lessmann was born and raised in Sioux City, Iowa, and is a graduate of Sioux City North High School. Colby graduated from the University of South Dakota School of Business (B.S., 1996) and School of Law (J.D., 1999). During his law school education, he published a casenote in the South Dakota Law Review (1998) and was both the Managing Editor and the Production Editor for Volume 44 of the South Dakota Law Review (1998-1999). After graduating from Law School, Colby clerked for Justice Robert Amundson of the South Dakota Supreme Court in Pierre, South Dakota. In August...

Let a qualified, award-winning lawyer take care of all your legal needs. At Hansen Law Offices in Burlington, Iowa, we have over 37 years of experience in representing our clients in the state and federal courts. It is our primary goal to diligently ensure that our clients receive the best legal assistance available, while maintaining all of their rights afforded under the law. Hansen Law Offices is a full service law firm providing services in most areas of the law with the high concentration devoted to General Practice, Including but not Limited to: Accidents, Bankruptcy, Criminal Law, Legal Malpractice, Litigation, Medical...

Brad Biren is an elder law and estate planning attorney with specialized training in tax law. He is passionate about crisis Medicaid planning, special needs planning, and reducing tax liability. Much of his work also focuses on business and land-use consulting for startups, early ventures, and agriculture. Born in New York, Brad attended Cornell University for his undergraduate degrees in both landscape architecture and plant sciences. In 2006, he became the youngest person in the state of Florida to obtain LEED Accreditation. Mr. Biren moved to Iowa to attend the University of Iowa College of...

Mr. Pothitakis practices in the areas of Iowa Workers' Compensation and Personal Injury. He focuses on helping Injured workers in their fight for full compensation when injured at work in Iowa. His personal injury practice focuses on auto accident and other litigated claims. As an AV-Rated attorney by Martindale-Hubble and a 10.0 out of 10.0 rated attorney by AVVO he is highly skilled and qualified in his areas of practice. Mr. Pothitakis handles cases across the state including cases from Davenport, Bettendorf, Muscatine, Burlington, Keokuk, Clinton, Dubuque, Iowa City, Mt. Pleasant, Fairfield, Ottumwa and most other Iowa towns.

Some lawyers dabble in many different areas of the law. Not so for Tom Wertz. Shortly after moving into private practice, he turned his focus to workers' compensation and representing injured workers. Wertz quickly recognized the need for experienced attorneys in this specialized field. His commitment has resulted in a legal practice representing injured workers for more than 35 years. His record before the Iowa Supreme Court has led to major legal changes on behalf of injured workers. These changes include: Compensation benefits for tinnitus (ringing in the ears) and acute psychological injuries. Home medical care for out-of-state injured workers. These workers no...

Attorney Deborah J. Morris was born and raised in Sioux City, Iowa. She attended college at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa where she graduated summa cum laude earning dual Bachelor’s Degrees in Business and Accounting. Deborah graduated With High Honor from the South Dakota School of Law in 2016 and began working in the field of family law. Deborah opened her own firm in 2019 offering both full and limited scope services in family law, as well as estate planning and business formations services. Deborah joined the law firm of Tigges, Bottaro & Lessmann, LLP in January...

Gunda J. Brost is a U.S. immigration attorney ("lawyer") from Oldenburg, North Germany. Ms. Brost holds a J.D. from Hamline Mitchell University School of Law (2006) and holds a license to practice law in Iowa (2007). Ms. Brost has represented clients from all over the world in various different immigration-related matters and has a special interest in asylum law, waivers and getting complex cases unstuck. Ms. Brost is fluent in French, German and Spanish.