Thanks to valuable peer feedback and independent research, we’re proud to announce that more than 85% of Dickinson Bradshaw’s attorneys have been recognized once again by Best Lawyers® across all three of its 2027 recognition lists.
  
Of those honored, two attorneys were named as “Lawyer of Year” in their respective areas for receiving the highest level of peer review in the Des Moines area; 34 were named as among The Best Lawyers in America; and nine were named to the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch list.
 
Highlights Include:
  • Jeffrey Baxter was recognized with the prestigious Lawyer of the Year award in Real Estate Law, a practice area in which he has been recognized by Best Lawyers since 2021. Jeff was also honored for his work in Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships) and he earned new recognition this year in Land Use and Zoning Law.
     
  • Jason Madden was honored as Lawyer of the Year in Insurance Law for the first time. He was also honored in two additional areas, including Commercial Litigation and Product Liability Litigation – Defendants, the latter of which he was previously named Lawyer of the Year in 2020, 2023, and 2026.
     
  • Several Dickinson Bradshaw attorneys were recognized in The Best Lawyers in America for the first time, including Joel T.S. Greer, Dale Knoshaug, and Doyle Sanders. Attorneys Matthew Phillips and William Reasoner advanced from the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch list to The Best Lawyers in America, reflecting their continued professional excellence and growing reputations among their peers.
     
  • Several of our recognized attorneys received new practice area recognitions for their top-notch work, including Ben Bruner, Blake Hanson, John Lande, Tim Lillwitz, Sean O’Brien, Mollie Pawlosky, Matthew Phillips, and Jeff Ewoldt, one of our newest additions to the firm.
     
  • Associate Attorney Grant Gasner was recognized for the first time on the Ones to Watch list for 2027.

Best Lawyers

The complete list of Dickinson Bradshaw attorneys selected as among The Best Lawyers in America and their areas of recognition include:
 

  • Steven Augspurger

    • Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers

  • Jeffrey Baxter

    • Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships)

    • Land Use and Zoning Law (new)

    • Real Estate Law (Lawyer of the Year)

  • Joseph Borg

    • Commercial Litigation

    • Litigation – Real Estate (new)

  • Lori Brandau

    • Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers

  • Ben Bruner

    • Banking and Finance Law

    • Commercial Transactions / UCC Law

    • Corporate Law (new)

    • Land Use and Zoning Law

    • Mortgage Banking Foreclosure Law

    • Real Estate Law 

  • Ted Craig

    • Commercial Litigation

    • Litigation and Controversy – Tax

  • Cody Edwards

    • Litigation and Controversy – Tax

    • Tax Law

  •  Jeff Ewoldt

    • Insurance Law

    • Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants (new)

  • Jeffrey D. Goetz

    • Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law

  • Joel T.S. Greer

    • Litigation – Insurance (new)

    • Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants (new)

  • Howard Hagen

    • Banking and Finance Law

    • Financial Services Regulation Law

  • Matthew Haindfield

    • Insurance Law

  • Blake Hanson

    • Commercial Litigation 

  • L. Lars Hulsebus

    • Commercial Litigation

  • Gregory Kenyon

    • Elder Law

  • Dale Knoshaug

    • Commercial Litigation (new)

    • Insurance Law (new)

    • Litigation – Insurance (new)​​​​​

  • Justin LaVan

    • Commercial Litigation

  • John Lande

    • Banking and Finance Law

    • Commercial Litigation

    • Construction Law

    • Litigation – Banking and Finance (new)

    • Litigation – Construction

    • Privacy and Data Security Law

  • Tim Lillwitz

    • Commercial Litigation (new)

    • Insurance Law

    • Litigation – Insurance

    • Litigation – Trusts and Estates (new)​

  • Jason Madden

    • Commercial Litigation

    • Insurance Law (Lawyer of the Year)

    • Product Liability Litigation – Defendants

  • Ron Mountsier

    • Tax Law​​​​

  • Sean O’Brien

    • Insurance Law

    • Litigation – Construction (new)

    • Litigation – Insurance 

  • Mollie Pawlosky

    • Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law

    • Commercial Litigation

    • Litigation – Banking and Finance

    • Litigation – Bankruptcy (new)

    • Litigation – Construction

    • Litigation – Real Estate

    • Mortgage Banking Foreclosure Law (new)​​​​

  • Matthew Phillips

    • Litigation – Insurance

    • Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers (new)​​​​​

  • Amy Plummer

    • Banking and Finance Law

    • Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships)

    • Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law

    • Corporate Law

  • Nicole Proesch

    • Education Law

    • Employment Law – Management

  • William Reasoner

    • Land Use and Zoning Law

  • David Repp

    • Nonprofit / Charities Law

    • Tax Law

    • Trusts and Estates 

  • Doyle Sanders

    • Trusts and Estates (new)

  • Melissa Schilling

    • Education Law

    • Employment Law – ManagementLabor Law – Management

    • Litigation – Labor and Employment 

  • William Smith

    • Criminal Defense: White-Collar

  • William Stiles

    • Commercial Transactions / UCC Law

    • Corporate Law

    • Land Use and Zoning Law

    • Real Estate Law 

  • David Wetsch

    • Banking and Finance Law

    • Corporate Law (new)

    • Real Estate Law

    • Trusts and Estates

  • Mary Zambreno

    • Banking and Finance Law

    • Family Law

Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch

  • Matthew Blake 

    • Elder Law

    • Real Estate Law

    • Trusts and Estates​​​​​

  • Brennan Eddie

    • Banking and Finance Law (new)

    • Corporate Law (new)

    • Real Estate Law

  • Grant Gasner

    • Insurance Law (new)

  • Brandon Hanson

    • Commercial Litigation

    • Insurance Law

    • Municipal Law

  • Elissa Holman

    • Education Law

    • Labor and Employment Law – Management

    • Litigation – Labor and Employment

    • Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants

    • Privacy and Data Security Law

  • Benjamin Kenkel

    • Appellate Practice

    • Commercial Litigation

    • Insurance Law​​

  • Sierra McConnell

    • Banking and Finance Law

    • Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships)

    • Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law

    • Corporate Governance and Compliance Law

    • Privacy and Data Security Law 

  • Anthony Siegrist

  • Endylion Strohman

    • Elder Law

    • Trusts and Estates

About the Best Lawyers Lists

Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers has become regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence, having earned the respect of the profession, the media, and the public as the most reliable, unbiased source of legal referrals. Attorneys selected for each of its three ratings lists are selected based on peer reviews for their abilities, professionalism, and integrity.
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 Only a single lawyer in each practice area and designated metropolitan area is honored as the “Lawyer of the Year.” These lawyers are selected based on particularly impressive voting averages received during the peer review assessments. Lawyers on The Best Lawyers in America list are also divided by geographic region and practice areas, and are reviewed by their peers for their professional expertise. The Ones to Watch list recognizes associates and other lawyers who are earlier in their careers for their outstanding professional excellence in private practice.