EDITORIAL TEAM
Our attorneys and contributors have in-depth experience with appellate litigation.
Spencer Cady
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(515) 283-3118
Matt McGuire
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(515) 283-8014
A successful litigant tells a compelling story. Matt McGuire draws on his background in journalism to ensure his clients’ stories resonate with the court. Applying his experience handling litigation and antitrust matters at a large law firm in Washington, D.C., Matt acts as an effective advocate in all aspects of his clients’ business. His current commercial and business litigation practice also builds on his judicial clerkship, which provided valuable perspective on the litigation experience—perspective he now applies to his clients’ cases.
Logan Eliasen
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(515) 283-3119
Logan Eliasen is a passionate advocate with a wide-ranging litigation practice. Prior to entering private practice, Logan gained invaluable knowledge of the judicial system through several clerkship experiences, which encompassed federal and all levels of Iowa’s state courts. Logan learned the expectations of judges—what they want to see in arguments and written briefs. Oral arguments, where people turn written law into an active debate, continue to fascinate him. Logan knows the value of a well-crafted argument. In his work, he applies research, analysis, and creativity to tell his clients’ stories.
Dana Waterman Hempy
Email Dana
(515) 645-5528
Dana Waterman Hempy loves litigation’s continually moving parts and its new challenges. Dana’s experience as a law clerk for an Iowa Supreme Court justice gave her insight into effective written and oral advocacy. For thorny issues before the Iowa Supreme Court, Dana was tasked with analyzing cases and presenting the best arguments on both sides. Reading appellate briefs as a judicial law clerk proved to Dana that writing matters. Because every client and every fact pattern is different, her job is to find unique avenues of persuasion to get each judge’s attention. She continually looks for opportunities to make her arguments stand out.
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Iowa Supreme Court to hear oral argument about the presumption of innocence October 2 in Iowa City
Is it inherently prejudicial to have a uniformed sheriff’s deputy stand next to the witness box while the defendant testifies?
Iowa Supreme Court considers standards for assessing religious exemptions in special argument session in Spirit Lake
Under what circumstances may a court reviewing a religious university’s decision to deny a religious exemption under the Iowa Civil Rights Act determine whether a student’s religious beliefs are genuine?
Summary of Iowa Supreme Court Cases Argued and Submitted Sept. 9 and 10
The Iowa Supreme Court heard arguments in seven cases on September 9th and 10th. Five other cases were submitted to the Court without oral argument. The following are summaries of those cases.
A statistical review of the 2025-26 Iowa Supreme Court term: “The Incredible Shrinking Judicial Opinion”
The last four Iowa Supreme Court terms—from the 2022-2023 term to the recently concluded 2025-2026 term—have seen a stylistic shift in how the Court articulates its rulings.
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On Brief: Iowa’s Appellate Blog is devoted to appellate litigation with a focus on the Iowa Supreme Court, the Iowa Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.