Programs
Monthly Meetings
The INBA meets the second Thursday of each month at noon. Each meeting typically lasts an hour. Meetings are currently being held virtually in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mentor Program
INBA members engage in mentoring students at various law schools.
Welcome Dinner for Drake Law and Iowa Law BLSA students
The INBA typically hosts a welcome dinner for Drake Law and Iowa Law BLSA students at the home of a local INBA member.
Community Outreach
INBA members speak at local schools about careers in the law and participate in community forums and provide legal information at events such as I’ll Make Me A World in Iowa.
The Journey Newsletter
The INBA produces a newsletter that features news and updates about happenings in the Iowa legal community and with INBA members, member spotlights, and special articles of interest. You may find the Fall/Winter 2019 edition here.
Awards
The Gertrude Rush Award was co-established in 2003 and is co-sponsored with the Iowa Association of Women Attorneys. This award recognizes a lawyer who manifests the pioneering spirit of Gertrude Rush, demonstrates leadership in the community and in the legal profession, and demonstrates concern for human and civil rights.
Awards: The INBA presents or co-presents two awards, the Gertrude Rush Award and The Journey Award. The Gertrude Rush Award was co-established in 2003 and is co-sponsored with the Iowa Association of Women Attorneys. The Journey Award was established by the INBA in 2019 recognizes individuals/ groups who have demonstrated a commitment to equity and diversity and have enriched the lives of others.
Meeting at the Monument
The INBA hosts the annual Meeting at the Monument: A Celebration of Diversity within the Iowa Legal Community. The event takes place at the Monumental Journey statue located along the Principal Riverwalk at the corner of Grand & 2nd Avenues, Hansen Triangle Park, in Des Moines. The statue was created by artist Kerry James Marshall to honor the founders of the National Bar Association (NBA). The NBA was founded in 1925 in Des Moines by twelve brave African-Americans who were excluded from the American Bar Association due to their race. NBA members went on to fight against segregation, discrimination in employment and housing, and other injustices. Today, the NBA remains the largest national network of predominantly African-American attorneys, deans, professors, and judges.
The inaugural event took place on August 2, 2019. Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Cady delivered the inaugural address. The INBA presented the inaugural Journey Award to Des Moines Attorney Alfredo Parrish for his commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in Iowa’s legal community. Approximately 75 individuals attended the inaugural celebration.
The second annual event took place on October 8, 2020 from 4:00-5:30 PM. While speakers, their organizations/guests, and our sponsors were welcomed to participate in a socially-distanced manner, the ceremony was recorded and additional members of the legal profession and the general public were invited to view the program virtually at their leisure. The INBA presented the Journey Award to three recipients for their demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion: the NAACP Legal Redress Committee (Betty C. Andrews accepting on its behalf); Professor Russell Lovell; and Former Drake University Law School Dean David Walker.
The Meeting at the Monument helps support INBA’s long-term initiatives, including the creation of a diversity scholarship, CLE and ethics programming, and funding for the centennial celebration of the NBA’s founding to be hosted in 2025 in Des Moines.