Adjunct Faculty

Tom Ashworth

Tom Ashworth works for the Iowa Legislature as a Senior Research Analyst in the Senate. He staffs the Judiciary Committee and Administrative Rules. Ashworth received a bachelor's degree in history from Kansas State University and his law degree from Drake in 2001. He was among one of the first graduates to complete the Legislative Practice Program. In his time at the Legislature, Ashworth has also staffed Commerce, Labor, Veterans Affairs, Economic Development, and the Infrastructure budget. He has made numerous guest appearances in the Legislation and Legislative Practice Program. Prior to law school Ashworth attended graduate school in history at Kansas State and worked in law enforcement.

Thomas Bakke

Thomas Bakke is an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Iowa. He represents the State’s prosecution interests in appeals from criminal convictions. He received his undergraduate degree in sociology and criminal justice from Iowa State University in 2011, and he graduated from Drake Law School with high honors in 2016. While at Drake, Thomas was a member of the Drake Law Review and the ABA Moot Court Team. Thomas has been a coach of Drake’s ABA Moot Court Team since 2019.

Judge Romonda Belcher

Romonda D. Belcher was appointed as a District Associate Judge on August 20, 2010. Born in Plymouth, North Carolina, she earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree with Honors from Howard University in 1990, and her Juris Doctorate Degree from Drake University Law School in 1995. Prior to her appointment to the bench, she served as an Assistant Polk County Attorney for 15 years prosecuting juvenile, criminal and civil matters.

Jessie Benson

Jessie Benson received her undergraduate degree from the University of Northern Iowa in 2014 and graduated from Drake University Law School in 2018. She currently works for the Waukee, Iowa based insurance broker Holmes Murphy & Associates as a member of their in-house legal team and oversees their compliance department. She is a current member of the Polk County Bar Association and Iowa State Bar Association. While at Drake Law, she was a member of the ABA Negotiations Team. She has continued to serve as a coach for the ABA Negotiations Team since graduating in 2018.

Jackson Blais

Jackson Blais is an appellate attorney at Shuttleworth & Ingersoll P.L.C. in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  He received his undergraduate degree in political science from Grinnell College, and graduated magna cum laude from Notre Dame Law School in 2019, where he served as the Executive Notes Editor of the Notre Dame Law Review. After graduating, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable Thomas D. Schroeder in the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. 

David Charles

David Charles is a Shareholder in the Litigation Department of Belin McCormick, P.C. His practice focuses on civil jury trial work, both plaintiff and defense, including lender liability claims, general commercial disputes of all types, personal injury, product liability, employment, trade secrets, Lanham Act, medical and other professional malpractice, various types of estate disputes, real estate litigation and condemnation matters. He graduated from the University of Iowa College of Law in 1974 after receiving a political science degree from Parsons College in Fairfield, Iowa.

Stacie Codr

Stacie Codr graduated with distinction from the University of Iowa College of Law in 2002. She practiced with Bradshaw, Fowler, Proctor and Fairgrave, P.C. until joining the firm of Finley, Alt, Smith, Scharnberg, Craig, Hilmes & Gaffney, P.C. in 2007. Codr practices in the areas of health law and professional liability, representing health care professionals and entities in matters ranging from malpractice litigation to licensing, disciplinary, and administrative matters. She has presented continuing education to health care professionals and legal organizations on a variety of medical-legal issues.

Tyler Coe

Tyler Coe is a shareholder and chair of the family law practice group at Dentons Davis Brown PC. Tyler represents individuals in cases involving divorce, child custody, modifications, high conflict disputes, and high asset property divisions. He has a deep interest in division of gifted and inherited property. He routinely represents young professionals, established professionals, business owners, executives, and stay-at-home spouses. Tyler is a prolific speaker and speaks in excess of thirty times per year on the topics of divorce, ethics, and attorney wellness.

Anagha Dixit

Anagha Dixit received her undergraduate degree in political science from the University of California, Irvine in 2011 and her law degree from Drake University Law School in 2016. After briefly working at a small, private firm practicing family and criminal law, she started her current position as an Assistant Attorney General for Iowa. Dixit represents the Iowa Department of Human Services in juvenile and dependent adult matters and employment litigation. She was a member of the ABA Moot Court Team and ABA Arbitration Team while at Drake. She has served as the ABA Arbitration coach since 2016. 

Joe Ferrentino

Joe Ferrentino is an Assistant Attorney General at the Iowa Attorney General’s Office in the criminal appeals division. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan, where he double-majored in English and Brain, Behavior, and Cognitive Science, and of the University of Michigan Law School. He has also worked for Iowa Legal Aid, the Iowa Court of Appeals, and the Administrative Hearings Division of the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing.

Steve Foritano

Steve Foritano recently retired as the Bureau Chief of the General Trial Bureau of the Polk County Attorney's Office, a position he held since 1991. The position included management of the General Trial Bureau and an active case load involving the investigation and prosecution of major offenses. Foritano was also a special assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa. Previously, he served as an assistant Iowa Attorney General. He is a recipient of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General's Integrity Award and the Iowa County Attorney Association Award of Merit. Foritano teaches trial advocacy at Drake Law School and coaches the National Mock Trial team.

Ronald Forsell

Ronald Forsell received his undergraduate degrees in Political Science and Public Administration from Buena Vista University in Storm Lake Iowa, and his law degree from Drake University in 2015. While at Drake, Ronald was a member of the ABA Arbitration Team, the National Mock Trial team, and was selected to the Order of the Barristers. Following graduation from Drake, he was hired as an Assistant Dallas County Attorney where he prosecutes all levels of criminal offenses. Ronald coaches the ABA Arbitration team, who finished runner-up at the National Championship in 2017 and won the National Championship in 2018.   

Judge Arthur Gamble

Judge Arthur E. Gamble earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Iowa in 1975 and graduated with distinction from the University of Iowa College of Law in 1978. He practiced law with the Des Moines firm of Gamble & Davis in the field of civil litigation. In 1983, the governor appointed Gamble to serve as Judge of the Fifth Judicial District of Iowa. In 1995, the Iowa Supreme Court appointed Judge Gamble to serve as Chief Judge of the Fifth Judicial District. He has extensive experience as a trial judge in civil, criminal, family law, juvenile and probate matters. Chief Judge Gamble retired from the district court in 2019 and currently serves as a Senior Judge with the Iowa Court of Appeals. Judge Gamble is a past president of the Iowa Judges Association and the C. Edwin Moore American Inn of Court. He has received the Drake University Law School Distinguished Service Award for his contribution to the Trial Practicum. He is also a judicial advisor to the New York University School of Law Civil Jury Project.

Sydney Gangestad

Sydney is an attorney and lobbyist at Dentons Davis Brown PC with 10 years of public policy experience. Before private practice, she acted as the Special Counsel and Legislative Liaison for the Iowa Judicial Branch where she represented the interests of the Iowa judiciary before the legislative and executive branches. She also assisted the State Court Administrator and the Iowa Supreme Court in policy development for the state court system. Sydney now represents client interests at the Iowa legislature and executive branch. She assists in developing their legislative agendas and is active at the Capitol during session advocating for clients, and garnering support from legislators and other entities with similar interests. Sydney graduated from Dake University Law School in 2013 and in 2010 received her B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. Sydney is the Assistant Director of Legislative Practice at Drake Law School.

Michael Gilchrist

Michael Gilchrist is of counsel with McKee, Voorhees & Sease, PLC. He graduated with high distinction from the University Of Iowa College Of Law in 1995, where he was a Managing Editor of the Iowa Law Review. He is a registered patent attorney. He is past president of the Iowa Intellectual Property Law Association and former chair of the Intellectual Property Section of the Iowa State Bar Association. Mike coaches the Drake Law School Intellectual Property Moot Court Team.

Kevin Hathaway

Kevin Hathaway received his undergraduate degree from Iowa State University and his law degree from Drake Law School. Since then, he has served as an Assistant Polk County Attorney, and currently prosecutes general felonies, sex crimes, and crimes against children. Hathaway participated on the mock trial team while at Drake, and was selected by the faculty to receive the outstanding student advocate award from the American Board of Trial Advocates. Hathaway now coaches Drake's TYLA mock trial teams.

Allison Kerndt

Allison Kerndt is a shareholder at Nyemaster Goode, P.C., in the firm’s Des Moines office. Her practice involves advising clients ranging from start-ups to multinational corporations on issues related to the management of their intellectual property portfolios. Kerndt is a registered patent attorney and has significant experience in the preparation and prosecution of patent and trademark applications before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Kerndt graduated from the University of Iowa College of Engineering, and the University of Iowa College of Law.

Danette Kobolt

Danette Kobolt currently serves as an Associate General Counsel at GuideOne Insurance Company. Prior to GuideOne, Danette held various roles in compliance, risk management and claims at Nationwide Insurance in Des Moines, Iowa for just over seven years. Danette has also worked as a Compliance attorney for the Iowa Insurance Division (DOI) and as a Director for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for a number of years. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Northern Iowa in 2005, and received her law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in 2008 and obtained an M.B.A. from Drake University in 2020 in Data Analytics and Accounting.

Nicholas Krob

Nicholas Krob is an intellectual property attorney at McKee, Voorhees & Sease. He is a member of the firm’s litigation, trademark, and licensing departments and assists clients in a wide variety of intellectual property matters. Krob graduated summa cum laude from the University of Northern Iowa in 2012 and attended Drake University Law School as a Dwight D. Opperman Scholar, where he graduated with high honors in 2015.  Prior to joining MVS, Krob worked as a judicial law clerk for the Fifth Judicial District of Iowa.

Kristy Latta

Kristy Latta is an attorney at Ahlers & Cooney, P.C., in Des Moines, Iowa. She is a member of the law firm’s education law practice area and primarily works with public school district clients. Latta graduated with distinction from the University of Iowa in 2002 and earned her JD with high honors from Drake Law School in 2005 (Order of the Coif). While in law school, she participated in law review and served as a teacher’s assistant for the legal research and writing program. Latta is a frequent speaker at school law seminars and has been an instructor at Iowa State University's Iowa School Business Management Academy and Viterbo University.

Kathleen Law

Kathleen Law received her undergraduate degree in Business from William Penn University in Oskaloosa, Iowa, and her law degree from Drake Law School in 2005. She is a partner at Nyemaster Goode, P.C. in Des Moines, where she practices primarily in real estate. Her practice involves advising clients in the purchase and sale of real estate, subdivisions and platting, leasing, easements, agricultural real estate issues, wind farm development, and other real estate matters.

Justice Ed Mansfield

Justice Mansfield was appointed to the Iowa Supreme Court in 2011. He earned his undergraduate degree from Harvard College in 1978 and his law degree from Yale in 1982. After clerking for the U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, he practiced law in Phoenix, Ariz. He then worked for the Belin Law Firm in Des Moines from 1996 until being appointed to the Iowa Court of Appeals in 2009.

Jeremy Masterson

Jeremy Masterson is an attorney at Ahlers & Cooney, P.C. in Des Moines, where he is a member of the firm’s Business Entitles Practice Group. His practice consists of assisting both non and for profit businesses of all types and sizes with; entity formation, corporate formalities, mergers and acquisitions, real estate transactions, succession planning, and ownership transitions. Upon graduating from Drake Law School in December 2012 Jeremy helped found the law firm of Masterson & Bottenberg, LLP, where he maintained a general practice until joining Ahlers & Cooney, P.C. in October of 2020.

Debra Mendenhall

Debra Mendenhall is an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa. She is a 1993 honors graduate of the Drake Law School, where she served on the editorial board of the Drake Law Review.

Charles Monterio, Jr.

Charles J. Monterio, Jr. is a partner with Venable LLP in Washington, D.C., where he practices intellectual property litigation. More specifically, he handles complex patent litigation cases for both plaintiffs and defendants.  Charles graduated from the University of Miami in 2001 with bachelor of science degrees in civil engineering and architectural engineering.  Charles graduated from Drake University Law School in 2004.

Gary Myers

Gary Myers has over forty years of legal experience with a focus on estate planning, business law, and mediation. He is the former chief legal officer for Terminix International and The TruGreen Companies. He also served as general counsel for a small New York Stock Exchange utility. He has an A.B. degree (Phi Beta Kappa) from Washington University in St. Louis and a J.D. and LLM from the University of Missouri-Kansas City where he served as Associate Comments Editor. He is licensed in several states and before the United States Supreme Court. He has been in private practice for over twenty years.

Jackson O'Brien

Jackson is a litigation attorney at Fredrikson & Byron P.A. in Des Moines, Iowa.  He primarily works with clients on business, construction, and special education cases.  Jackson graduated summa cum laude with degrees in History and Political Science from Morningside University in 2016.  He graduated from Drake Law in 2019 as the President and Valedictorian of his class.  After passing the bar, Jackson served as a federal law clerk in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa prior to entering private practice.  He now teaches Legal Writing to Drake Law’s 1L students.

Kavya Parsa

Kavya Parsa is a licensed wildlife rehabilitator working for Florida Wild Mammal Association in Crawfordville, Florida. Formerly, Kavya worked as an attorney in Des Moines, first as a clerk for Judge Robert W. Pratt of the Southern District of Iowa and then as a farmworker rights attorney for Iowa Legal Aid. Kavya received a Bachelor of Arts in literary studies from Beloit College and her J.D. from the University of Virginia in 2020. 

Jeffrey Noble

Jeff Noble is a 1990 graduate of Drake Law School. He is currently a Polk County assistant district attorney and coaches Drake Law School's mock trial team.

Kayli Paul

Kayli Paul received her undergraduate degree in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2017 and her law degree from Drake University Law School in 2020. While in law school, Kayli served as a member of the editorial board for the Drake Journal of Agricultural Law and was a member of the ABA Negotiations Team for two years. Kayli is practicing as a civil litigation associate attorney at Peddicord Wharton law firm in West Des Moines. Kayli now serves as a coach for the ABA Negotiation Team.

Rebecca Reif

Rebecca (“Becky”) Reif is a shareholder at the Ahlers & Cooney law firm in Des Moines. Becky graduated from Drake University Law School in May of 2013, and was named to the Order of the Coif and Order of the Barristers. While in law school, she was a member of the ABA National Moot Court team and Research Editor for the Drake Law Review. Becky first joined the Ahlers firm in 2015 and is a member of the firm’s Public and Private Law Practice Areas, with a focus on Employment & Labor Law, Education Law, and Litigation.

Roxann Ryan

Roxann Ryan is an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Iowa and has taught at Simpson College and Drake. She earned her law degree at the University of Iowa and PhD at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Louis Sloven

Louis Sloven is an Assistant Attorney General at the Iowa Attorney General’s Office in the criminal appeals division. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Iowa and his law degree from Drake Law School, where he graduated with highest honors. Sloven specializes in briefing and arguing criminal cases on appeal before the Iowa Supreme Court and the Iowa Court of Appeals.

Kim Smith

Kimberly Rodgers Smith is an assistant state public defender with the Des Moines Adult Public Defender’s Office, a position she has held since 2008. Her current practice is focused on representing indigent clients charged with felony level offenses. She is a proud graduate of Mount Mercy University (2000) and Drake Law School (2003).

Paul Swinton

Paul Swinton is Assistant General Counsel at Farm Bureau Financial Services.  Paul graduated with a history degree from the University of Northern Iowa and received his law degree from Drake Law School in 1995. He has been part of the General Counsel’s office at FBFS since 1997. Paul’s responsibilities at FBFS include legal support of human resources, property casualty operations and sales and distribution. Early in his career at FBFS, Paul was a litigator.