Deborah M. Tharnish
CONCENTRATION
Deb is a senior shareholder of the Davis Brown Law Firm. She has a general practice in, but not limited to, business litigation and employment law. Deb was a member of the firm's Board of Directors from 1996 through 1999, serving as president in 1998 and 1999.
Her business litigation includes contract and business tort cases and
real estate assessment appeals. Her employment practice includes advice
to employers to prevent employment-related problems, including all types of discrimination claims, wrongful termination
claims, and restrictive covenant cases. She also deals with real estate assessment appeals and handles adoptions for families.
Deb is a member of the Litigation and Labor and Employment Law sections of the Iowa State Bar Association and Iowa State Bar Association Trade Regulation Council. She previously served on the board of the Iowa Defense Counsel and District 5C Judicial Nominating Commission.
PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION
- AV® Preeminent™ rated by Martindale-Hubbell. An AV certification mark is a significant rating accomplishment - a testament to the fact that a lawyer's peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional excellence.
- Arabella Mansfield Award Recipient, 2005
- The Best Lawyers in America, Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Litigation - Labor & Employment
- Chambers USA, Litigation: General Commercial, Iowa Ranked Band 2; Labor and Employment Law, Iowa Ranked Band 2, 2012
- Fellow of the Iowa Academy of Trial Lawyers
- Great Plains Super Lawyers, Business Litigation
- Best Lawyers' 2012 "Des Moines Litigation - Labor & Employment Lawyer of the Year"
- Benchmark Litigation Top 250 Women in Litigation, 2013
- Graduate of the Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute
COMMUNITY
Deb has served on the boards of directors of the Iowa State University Alumni Association and the University of Iowa Law School Foundation. She is an alumnus of the Polk County Volunteer Lawyers Project, and past president of the Board of Directors of Hawthorn Hill, Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Greater Des Moines, and of the St. Mary of Nazareth Pastoral Council. She also serves on the Des Moines Public Library Foundation and is the past board president of Iowa Legal Aid.
PERSONAL
Deb and her husband, Nicholas Roby, have a blended family of seven children.
Memberships
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American Bar Association
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Defense Research Institute (DRI)
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Iowa Academy of Trial Lawyers
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Iowa Defense Counsel Association
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Iowa Organization of Women Attorneys
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Iowa State Bar Association
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Polk County Bar Association
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Polk County Women Attorneys
Alma Maters
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Iowa State University, 1977
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University of Iowa College of Law, 1980
Bar Admissions
Articles