- Shareholder
- kklaw@nyemaster.com
- 515-283-3116
- Des Moines Office
Kathleen K.
Law
“Helping my clients achieve what they want gives me the most job satisfaction. Much of my work is tangible. I can drive around Iowa and see buildings or wind turbines I’ve had a part in developing.”
An aha moment in high school planted the seed of law school in Kathy Law’s mind. “Two boys on a competing school’s debate team announced they were going to be lawyers,” she says. “I thought if they could do it, so could I, and so I decided right then and there to become an attorney.”
Kathy put her dream of law school on hold, however, to work with her husband to save their farm and to raise their family during the 1980s farm crisis. “I worked to put food on the table until the farming got better,” she says. “Fast-forward 20 years and I was finally able to start law school.” She had no idea her delay would one day be the stepping-stone to a real estate law practice that is anything but typical.
Kathy practices in the area of real estate law, mainly representing commercial real estate developers and also wind energy developers. Kathy’s work with commercial real estate developers involves reviewing abstracts and issuing title opinions. She drafts and negotiates purchase agreements, leases, and easements, and she handles platting and subdivision work.
For wind energy matters, Kathy represents her clients in site acquisition and negotiating and preparing agreements with landowners. She helps with zoning, permitting, and other title matters. “Farms are typically the choice location for wind energy, so my farming background gave me an advantage when the opportunity in the wind energy field came knocking,” she says.
Kathy also works with other alternative energy, renewable fuels, and public utility projects, assisting with project finance and asset sales of developed sites as well as sales of project companies.
Timeliness and efficiency are just two qualities of Kathy’s strong work ethic. Clients find her dependable and responsible, and they consistently send her referrals. Kathy appreciates getting to work with wind clients who are concerned about making farmers happy and interested in protecting the land. “It’s so rewarding to represent people who actually care and want to work together for the greater good,” she says.
Kathy was the president of the Iowa Wind Energy Association for three years and has been active in various professional and community organizations. When not in the office, Kathy is an avid gardener, cultivating hundreds of perennials, and an artist who creates art in glass. “Gardening and art projects let me change gears after a long day at work,” she says. “And they are hobbies my husband and I can do together.”
The Best Lawyers in America®
2018–2025
Chambers USA
Real Estate, 2011–2023
Drake University Law School
Recent Alumni Award, 2017
Des Moines Register
“30 People to Watch in 2017”
Iowa State Bar Association Young Lawyers Division
Award of Merit, 2014
American Bar Association RPTE Fellows
Class of 2008–2010 (one of six young attorneys in the nation selected)
American Bar Foundation
Fellow
American College of Real Estate Lawyers
Fellow
Iowa State Bar Association
Graduating Senior Award, 2005
Order of the Coif
Drake Law Review
Associate Editor, 2004–2005
Drake Moot Court Board
2004–2005
Drake Law School
Dean’s List, 2002–2005
Top “A”
- Civil Procedure II & Contracts II, spring 2003;
- Federal Income Tax & Wills & Trusts, summer 2003;
- Children and the Law, spring 2004
David Brown Scholarship Recipient
2004
Drake Law Alumni Scholarship Recipient
2004
Robert D. Blue Scholarship Recipient
2002
Drake Law School Board of Counselors
CREW Iowa
Iowa Commercial Real Estate Association
Board of Directors
Iowa Wind Energy Association
- Board of Directors
- President
Iowa Conservative Energy Forum
Leadership Council
Iowa Arboretum
Board of Directors
American Bar Association
Probate and Property Magazine, a publication of the American Bar Association
Articles Editor for Real Property, 2022
RPTE Fellows
Class of 2008–2010
Iowa State Bar Association
- Vice President, 2023–2024
- Board of Governors, 2016–present
- Real Estate Section Council, appointed 2008
- Title Standard Committee, 2008–present
- Real Property Committee, 2008–present
- Legal Forms Committee, chair
- Annual Meeting Committee, co-chair
Polk County Bar Association
Board of Directors
I Have a Dream Foundation
Board of Directors
Boy Scouts of America
Assistant Scoutmaster
Mexico mission trip leader
1999
Los Angeles mission trip leader
2002
Alternative Energy Developers
Property acquisition, zoning, and economic incentives for five 100,000,000-gallon ethanol plants.
Wind Energy Project Developers
Acquisition of land rights, title curative matters, and zoning for over 4,000 megawatts of constructed and operating (or where construction has commenced) wind energy projects in the Midwest and over 800 more megawatts in various stages.
"Iowa Real Property Law and Practice"
LexisNexis, 2024
"Options, Rights of First Refusal and Rights of First Offer"
American Bar Association Real Property, Trust & Estate Section Law Annual Conference, 2022
"Underwriting Energy Transactions"
American Land Title Association
2022
“Trees—A Unique Branch of Law,” ABA Probate & Property, Vol. 31, No. 2, March/April 2017
“A Practitioner’s Guide to Real Estate and Wind Energy Project Development”
American Bar Association, 2014
“Wind Power: Developing Real Property for a Wind Project,” ABA Probate & Property, Vol. 23, No. 4, July/August 2009
OVERVIEW
An aha moment in high school planted the seed of law school in Kathy Law’s mind. “Two boys on a competing school’s debate team announced they were going to be lawyers,” she says. “I thought if they could do it, so could I, and so I decided right then and there to become an attorney.”
Kathy put her dream of law school on hold, however, to work with her husband to save their farm and to raise their family during the 1980s farm crisis. “I worked to put food on the table until the farming got better,” she says. “Fast-forward 20 years and I was finally able to start law school.” She had no idea her delay would one day be the stepping-stone to a real estate law practice that is anything but typical.
Kathy practices in the area of real estate law, mainly representing commercial real estate developers and also wind energy developers. Kathy’s work with commercial real estate developers involves reviewing abstracts and issuing title opinions. She drafts and negotiates purchase agreements, leases, and easements, and she handles platting and subdivision work.
For wind energy matters, Kathy represents her clients in site acquisition and negotiating and preparing agreements with landowners. She helps with zoning, permitting, and other title matters. “Farms are typically the choice location for wind energy, so my farming background gave me an advantage when the opportunity in the wind energy field came knocking,” she says.
Kathy also works with other alternative energy, renewable fuels, and public utility projects, assisting with project finance and asset sales of developed sites as well as sales of project companies.
Timeliness and efficiency are just two qualities of Kathy’s strong work ethic. Clients find her dependable and responsible, and they consistently send her referrals. Kathy appreciates getting to work with wind clients who are concerned about making farmers happy and interested in protecting the land. “It’s so rewarding to represent people who actually care and want to work together for the greater good,” she says.
Kathy was the president of the Iowa Wind Energy Association for three years and has been active in various professional and community organizations. When not in the office, Kathy is an avid gardener, cultivating hundreds of perennials, and an artist who creates art in glass. “Gardening and art projects let me change gears after a long day at work,” she says. “And they are hobbies my husband and I can do together.”
RECOGNITION
The Best Lawyers in America®
2018–2025
Chambers USA
Real Estate, 2011–2023
Drake University Law School
Recent Alumni Award, 2017
Des Moines Register
“30 People to Watch in 2017”
Iowa State Bar Association Young Lawyers Division
Award of Merit, 2014
American Bar Association RPTE Fellows
Class of 2008–2010 (one of six young attorneys in the nation selected)
American Bar Foundation
Fellow
American College of Real Estate Lawyers
Fellow
Iowa State Bar Association
Graduating Senior Award, 2005
Order of the Coif
Drake Law Review
Associate Editor, 2004–2005
Drake Moot Court Board
2004–2005
Drake Law School
Dean’s List, 2002–2005
Top “A”
- Civil Procedure II & Contracts II, spring 2003;
- Federal Income Tax & Wills & Trusts, summer 2003;
- Children and the Law, spring 2004
David Brown Scholarship Recipient
2004
Drake Law Alumni Scholarship Recipient
2004
Robert D. Blue Scholarship Recipient
2002
PROFESSIONAL & COMMUNITY AFFILIATIONS
Drake Law School Board of Counselors
CREW Iowa
Iowa Commercial Real Estate Association
Board of Directors
Iowa Wind Energy Association
- Board of Directors
- President
Iowa Conservative Energy Forum
Leadership Council
Iowa Arboretum
Board of Directors
American Bar Association
Probate and Property Magazine, a publication of the American Bar Association
Articles Editor for Real Property, 2022
RPTE Fellows
Class of 2008–2010
Iowa State Bar Association
- Vice President, 2023–2024
- Board of Governors, 2016–present
- Real Estate Section Council, appointed 2008
- Title Standard Committee, 2008–present
- Real Property Committee, 2008–present
- Legal Forms Committee, chair
- Annual Meeting Committee, co-chair
Polk County Bar Association
Board of Directors
I Have a Dream Foundation
Board of Directors
Boy Scouts of America
Assistant Scoutmaster
Mexico mission trip leader
1999
Los Angeles mission trip leader
2002
REPRESENTATIVE TRANSACTIONS
Alternative Energy Developers
Property acquisition, zoning, and economic incentives for five 100,000,000-gallon ethanol plants.
Wind Energy Project Developers
Acquisition of land rights, title curative matters, and zoning for over 4,000 megawatts of constructed and operating (or where construction has commenced) wind energy projects in the Midwest and over 800 more megawatts in various stages.
SPEECHES & PUBLICATIONS
"Iowa Real Property Law and Practice"
LexisNexis, 2024
"Options, Rights of First Refusal and Rights of First Offer"
American Bar Association Real Property, Trust & Estate Section Law Annual Conference, 2022
"Underwriting Energy Transactions"
American Land Title Association
2022
“Trees—A Unique Branch of Law,” ABA Probate & Property, Vol. 31, No. 2, March/April 2017
“A Practitioner’s Guide to Real Estate and Wind Energy Project Development”
American Bar Association, 2014
“Wind Power: Developing Real Property for a Wind Project,” ABA Probate & Property, Vol. 23, No. 4, July/August 2009