Current Employment Position(s)

Partner

Year Joined Organization: 1975

Lawyer Overview

Admitted to bar; 1975, Iowa; 1983, Nebraska. Education: University of Iowa, B.B.A., 1968; J.D., with distinction in 1974. Areas of Practice: Trial law and personal injury law. His trial experience includes insurance defense, personal injury, workers' compensation, products liability, employment-related issues such as civil rights issues and business torts. Professional Affiliations: Iowa Defense Counsel Association Member and Director; Defense Research Institute; Iowa Association of Workers' Compensation Lawyers; Iowa State Bar Association; Nebraska State Bar Association; Pottawattamie County Bar Association. Licensed to practice law in Iowa and Nebraska. Admitted to practice law before United States District Court of Iowa, United States District Court of Nebraska, United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, and Iowa and Nebraska Supreme Courts.

Areas of Practice

• Trial law
• Insurance Defense
• Personal Injury
• Workers' Compensation
• Products Liability
• Employment
• Civil Rights
• Business Torts

Representative Clients

• Employers Mutual Ins. Co.
• One Beacon Ins. Co.
• Allied Group Ins.
• Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Co.
• Western Iowa Mutual Ins. Co.
• Iowa Mutual Ins. Co.
• United Fire & Casualty
• Alegent Health / Mercy Hospital

Representative Cases

• Ed Miller & Sons and USF & G v. Ronald M. Meffert, No 2-61417 (Iowa Supreme Court 1978)
• Pursell Construction Inc. v. Hawkeye Ins., 596 N.W. 2d 67 (Iowa 1999)
• Loyd v. Federated Kemper Life Assur Co., 518 N.W. 2d 374 (Iowa 1994)
• Young v. Gibson, 423 N.W. 2d 208 (Iowa 1988)

West Practice Categories

Business & Commercial Law, Civil Rights, Employment Law -- Employer, Insurance Law, State Trial Practice, Personal Injury -- Defense, Personal Injury -- Plaintiff, Products Liability Law, Workers' Compensation Law

Bar Admissions

• Iowa, 1975
• Nebraska, 1983
• U.S. District Court Southern District of Iowa
• U.S. District Court District of Nebraska
• U.S. Court of Appeals 8th Circuit
• U.S. Supreme Court

Professional Associations and Memberships

• Iowa Defense Counsel Association (Member and Past Director)
• Defense Research Institute
• Iowa Association of Workers' Compensation Lawyers
• Iowa State Bar Association
• Nebraska State Bar Association
• Pottawattamie County Bar Association

Classes and Seminars

• Good Faith Settlements and a Right to a Defense In Iowa (IDCA Annual Meeting), Iowa Defense Counsel Association
• Comparative Fault Update (IDCA Annual Meeting), Iowa Defense Counsel Association
• Products Liability Update (IDCA Annual Meeting), Iowa Defense Counsel Association
• Legal Causation Between Injuries and Back Disorders (Workers' Compensation Symposium), Iowa Workers' Compensation Advisory Committee, 1980
• Reservation of Rights, Are They Really Effective? (IATL Seminar), Iowa Academy of Trial Lawyers
• How Age, Education and Motivation Affect Industrial Disability (Workers' Compensation Seminar), Iowa Academy of Trial Lawyers

Education

• University of Iowa College of Law, Iowa City, Iowa, 1974
  J.D.
  Honors: With Distinction
• University of Iowa, 1968
  B.B.A.

Accepts Credit Cards

Published Works

• "Estimating Settlement Values", Iowa Defense Counsel, 1985
• Products Liability Update, Iowa Defense Counsel, 1988
• "Comparative Fault Update", Iowa Defense Counsel, 1989
• "Strategy and Discovery in Crop Damage Cases", Iowa Defense Counsel, 1994
• "Reservation of Rights, Are they Really Effective", Iowa Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1999
• "Legal Causation Between Injuries and Back Disorders", Iowa Association of Workers Compensation Lawyers, Inc., 1980
• "Case Evaluation/Measure of Damages", Bridge the Gap ISBA, 1985
• "Motions During Trial", Bridge the Gap ISBA, 1986
• "How Age, Education and Motivation Affect Industrial Disability", Iowa Workers Compensation

Address

35 Main Place
Suite 300
P.O. Box 249
Council Bluffs, IA 51502-0249

Phones

(712) 328-1833

Faxes

(712) 328-8320

Emails

Contact Us

Websites

http://www.smithpeterson.com