Special Interest and Experience

• Mediation of Custody and Divorce
• Collaborative Family Law
• Representation of Children in Custody or Divorce
• Custody issues of Substance Abuse and Mental Health
• Domestic Violence

Specialized Training and Experience

• Mediator of family law cases since 2000 (40+ hours of training, including mediation in cases with domestic abuse)
• Iowa Academy of Collaborative Attorneys http://www.iacollaborativeattorneys.org/
• Licensed Foster Parent since 1990, with annual training related to children with special needs
• Lay facilitator of continuing care groups at Powell Chemical Dependency Center since 1985
• Representation of low income clients in family law cases for more than 25 years through legal services programs in Des Moines, Muscatine and Ann Arbor

Bar Admissions:

Michigan, 1976
Iowa, 1977
U.S. District Court Southern District of Iowa  

Professional Associations and Memberships:

Polk County Bar Association - Member
Iowa State Bar Association - Member

Related Activities

            * Frequent instructor at continuing education and community education events on family law
               topics, including substance abuse and domestic violence in family law cases, joint                physical care, custody evaluations
            * Legislative Chair, Family & Juvenile Law Section of the Iowa State Bar Association          
            * Family Law Committee, Polk County Bar Association
            * Adjunct faculty University of Iowa School of Social Work (1980-97)
            * Adjunct faculty Drake Legal Clinic

Community Involvement

            Walnut Street School Parent-Teacher Organization
            Urbandale United Church of Christ
            St. John’s Lutheran Church

           
Diane L. Dornburg is an associate in the Carney Law Firm and has been practicing since 1976. Diane was born in Wheaton, Minnesota, and attended Gustavus Adolphus College, graduating magna cum laude with a B.A. in sociology in 1973. She attended The University of Michigan Law School in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and received her Juris Doctor in 1976. Diane was admitted to the Michigan bar in 1976 and the Iowa bar in 1977.

Diane provided legal services to low income persons in Ann Arbor, in Muscatine, Iowa, and in Des Moines, for over 25 years. She was an attorney at the Legal Aid Society of Polk County for most of that time, practicing primarily in family law. She has extensive trial and appellate experience in all areas of family law, including divorce, custody, child support, domestic abuse, and paternity. She has been the attorney of record in sixteen (16) Iowa appellate court cases, including Jorgensen v. Vargas, 627 N.W.2d 550 (Iowa 2001).

Diane is a certified mediator with the Polk County District Court Mediation Program, having fulfilled the 40 hour training requirement. She is qualified to mediate complex custody and divorce issues, including cases involving domestic abuse.
Diane taught Family Law in the MSW program at the University of Iowa School of Social Work for nearly twenty years. She co-authored the casebook for that class. She has been an adjunct faculty member at the Drake Legal Clinic, supervising clinical law students.  In addition, she has been a speaker at a number of continuing legal education programs. She co-authored Family Law and Custody Issues: Family Violence and Substance Abuse, published by Lorman Educational Services, August, 1994.

Diane is a member of the Polk County Bar Association, and the Volunteer Lawyers Project and the Family Law Committee of the Polk County Bar Association. She is also a member of the Iowa State Bar Association; she is the chair of the Legislative Committee of the Family Law Section and has been a member of the Family Law Section Council.
In addition, Diane has served as a volunteer facilitator of continuing care groups at Powell Chemical Dependency Center since 1985. She is a licensed foster parent. She has served on the church council and various committees, as well as teaching a variety of classes. Previously she has served on the boards of non-profit corporations for the establishment of residential facilities for chemically dependent women and of Metro Women's Network.