Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. We don’t charge for the initial scoping conversation, typically 20 to 30 minutes, where we learn about your matter, run a quick conflict check, and either describe how we would handle it or refer you to someone better suited if it is not a fit.

We quote a flat fee in writing before work begins for most routine engagements: title opinions, commercial purchase agreements, leases, closings, loan documents, entity formations, and operating agreements. The fee covers the scoped work. If circumstances change in a way that materially expands the scope, such as a multi-party negotiation that wasn’t anticipated or a title issue requiring quiet title litigation, we discuss the additional scope and the additional fee before it accrues. There are no hourly statements to track and no surprises in the invoice. See our published pricing.

Some matters genuinely don’t: workouts, contested transactions, and multi-party tax credit closings with active negotiation. For those, we work hourly with a clearly defined scope, regular billing statements, and a not-to-exceed estimate where the work permits. Hourly engagement letters describe what is in and out of scope, what factors might cause the estimate to move, and how we will communicate if they do.

We aim to respond to every form submission, email, or voicemail within one business day, and most inquiries received during business hours get a same-day reply. If your matter is time sensitive, a closing this week, a lien deadline running, an urgent loan opinion, call 515.519.3600 so we can route it to whoever is available.

We do not require a retainer. Period.

Before we accept any engagement, we run a conflict-of-interest check against the firm’s client list and matter database to confirm the engagement is consistent with our obligations to existing and former clients under the Iowa Rules of Professional Conduct. If a conflict is identified, we will decline the engagement or, where appropriate and permitted by the rules, seek written informed consent from the affected parties.

Once we have a written engagement letter in place, we will set up a secure channel, typically a client portal or encrypted email, for exchanging sensitive documents. Before a written engagement is in place, please don’t send confidential information through the contact form or by unencrypted email. General descriptions of your matter are appropriate; specific deal terms, financial details, or anything that would create a conflict if reviewed are not.

Conveyance Law’s attorneys are licensed in Iowa. We don’t hold ourselves out as licensed in other jurisdictions and we don’t give legal advice on the law of jurisdictions where we aren’t admitted. On transactions touching other states, we routinely work with counsel admitted in those jurisdictions.

Yes, this is a substantial part of the practice. We work as Iowa local counsel for Am Law 100 firms, regional firms, national lenders, syndicators, and tax credit investors whose deals touch Iowa real estate. Our role is to handle the Iowa-law issues: enforceability opinions, title work, TIF, historic tax credit and LIHTC opinions, and Iowa-specific procedural questions, while lead counsel runs the deal. More on our Iowa local counsel work.

The firm is a transactional practice. We handle some real-estate-adjacent dispute work directly: mechanic’s lien filings and defenses, commercial lease enforcement, and mortgage workouts. We don’t handle commercial litigation, criminal defense, family law, or estate planning. For matters outside our scope, we’re glad to refer you to Iowa firms we trust in those practice areas.

Yes. We handle residential closings as closing attorney and escrow agent, including title examination and opinion, Iowa Title Guaranty certification, coordination with the lender, and recording. Most of the firm’s volume is commercial, but residential closings are part of what we do, and the published flat fees cover routine residential work. See pricing.

Iowa is the only state in the country that primarily uses an abstract-and-attorney title system rather than private title insurance. Instead of a private underwriter, Iowa relies on a continuous abstract of title plus an attorney’s written title opinion. The abstract is updated by a licensed abstractor at every transfer, and the buyer’s attorney examines the updated abstract and issues a written opinion identifying any defects to be cured before closing. The state also runs Iowa Title Guaranty, which issues ALTA-form coverage on top of the attorney opinion for buyers and lenders who need formal title insurance for secondary-market purposes. The system is older than title insurance, and the result, by general consensus, is that Iowa has some of the cleanest title in the country. Read the full article on Iowa conveyancing.