Background

Diane Murphy Smith practices in the areas of Family Law,  Guardian/​ Conservatorship, Insurance Defense, Indian Child Welfare Act & Tribal Law, and Criminal Law groups.

Before joining the Heidman Law Firm, Diane was an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Iowa where she worked as conflicts counsel attorney, representing the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services. Diane was also lead counsel on issues relating to Tribal-State relations Indian Child Welfare Act enforcement. She successfully developed a method to streamline Tribal Customary Adoption in Iowa. Diane represented the state on termination of parental rights appeals, subpoenas to DHHS, and complex child welfare cases. Prior to her work at the Attorney General’s Office, Diane worked for over 14 years as an Assistant Woodbury County Attorney specializing in juvenile law and child welfare matters.

Professional Organizations

• Iowa State Bar Association — Juvenile Law Committee
• Woodbury County Magistrate Nominating Commission
• Iowa Cultural Equity Alliance
• Woodbury County Equity Team

Publications/​Presentations

• A Woodbury County, Iowa Child Welfare Community Collaboration, 2023 National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA) Protecting Our Children Conference presentation, April 3, 2023, Reno, Nevada. 
• Tribal Customary Adoptions – Polk County Bar Association Presentation, January 10, 2023.
• Tribal/​State Relations: Where We Have Been, Where We Are and Where We are Going, Iowa State Bar Association Presentation, November 7, 2022.
• Speaker Panel, Cultural Equity Alliance: Fall 2022 Learning Session, November 3, 2022.
• Tribal Customary Adoption in Iowa, Iowa State Bar Association: The Iowa Lawyer November 2022, Vol. 82 No. 10, published October 31, 2022 (https://​www​.iowabar​.org/​?​pg=Io…).
• How does ICWA help children’s attorneys provide high-quality legal representation for children in foster care? The Guardian, Reader Panel P.34, National Association for Counsel of Children, Volume 44 Number 03 Fall 2022 (https://naccchildlaw.app.box.c…).
• Basics of Handling ICWA Cases, Iowa County Attorney’s Association CLE Presentation, October 28, 2022.
• Tribal Customary Adoption in Iowa, 2022 Adoption Summit Presentation, October 28, 2022.
• Iowa family makes history with state’s 1^st successful tribal customary adoption, We Are Iowa, September 23, 2022 (https://​www​.weareiowa​.com/arti…).
• Tribal Customary Adoption in Iowa, Presentation at Children’s Summit, Kearney, Nebraska, September 14, 2022.
• Tribal Customary Adoption in Iowa, Memorial March Presentation, Briar Cliff, November 23, 2021.
• Iowa Public Radio Interviews:
  • https://www.iowapublicradio.or…
  • https://www.iowapublicradio.or…

Support Staff

Practice Areas

• Family Law
• Guardianship / Conservatorship
• Insurance Defense
• Indian Child Welfare Act and Tribal Law

Admissions

• Iowa
• Nebraska
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of Iowa

Education

• Drake University Law School, Juris Doctor 2007
• University of Iowa, Bachelors Business Administration 2004

Community Involvement

• Certified Yoga Instructor