Awards

• 2006 Public Justice Award
  The firm’s advocacy on behalf of patient rights and improving medical standards of practice has earned it both Iowa and national recognition, including the 2006 Public Justice Award from the Iowa Association for Justice for their successful class action lawsuit against the two largest hospital corporations in Iowa to end unjust patient billing practices.
• 2018 Public Service Award
  In recognition of their exceptional trial advocacy in the case of Young v. HealthPort Technologies, Inc., in 2018 Gary G. Mattson, James J. Biscoglia and Ryan C. Nixon of LaMarca Law Group received the Public Service Award from the Iowa Association for Justice. The landmark case stopped the medical industry from utilizing third parties to evade statutory restrictions on medical billing charges and provides future protection to injured Iowans from price gouging when requesting their own medical billing statements as needed to litigate claims.
• National Public Justice Foundation
  The firm received recognition by the National Trial Lawyers for Public Justice Foundation for its work in fighting medical device contracts with rebates or kickbacks to hospitals from manufacturers of cardiac rhythm devices. This practice results in hospitals putting pressure on cardiologists to select certain devices based on financial incentives rather than choosing the product best suited to the particular patient’s anatomy and condition.
• Trial Lawyer of the Year
  In 1989, George A. LaMarca was selected as Member of the Year by the Iowa Trial Lawyers Association now known as the Iowa Association for Justice. This award is presented to a member who has made an extraordinary contribution toward the betterment of the profession.

Certifications

• National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA)
  NBTA certification is a credential above and beyond a license to practice law. It communicates to the public and other attorneys that a lawyer has achieved an enhanced level of skill and expertise in trial advocacy and has demonstrated integrity and dedication to the interests of his or her clients. George A. LaMarca has been board certified in civil trials by the NBTA since 1991. There are only 25 lawyers in the State of Iowa who have earned this distinction.
• American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys (ABPLA)
  The ABPLA was formed in 1972 to bring together lawyers throughout the United States who both prosecute and defend negligence claims against professionals, such as doctors, lawyers and accountants.
• George A. LaMarca is one of only four attorneys in the State of Iowa to be certified as a Trial Attorney by both the National Board of Trial Advocacy and the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys.

Professional Recognition

LaMarca Law Group, P.C., as a firm, and its individual attorneys, have earned the professional respect and distinction of membership in prominent merit based organizations in the legal community.

• U.S. News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
  LaMarca Law Group, P.C. has been continually recognized by U.S. News & World Report and Best Law Firms as a Metropolitan Tier 1 Des Moines law firm in Personal Injury-Plaintiffs, and Commercial Litigation in the publication Best Law Firms. This peer-selected designation resulted from extensive research done by U.S. News and Best Lawyers who evaluated over 9,000 firms in 171 metropolitan areas.
• American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA)
  George A. LaMarca holds the rank of Advocate, the highest designation by ABOTA. Mr. LaMarca served as President of the Iowa Chapter in 2006 and 2007. Mr. LaMarca represented Iowa as a national board member from 2007 through 2010. ABOTA requires substantial jury trial and overall litigation experience, as well as a vote by both plaintiff and defense attorneys from Iowa, for admittance.
• Best Lawyers® 2016 “Lawyer of the Year”
  George A. LaMarca was named by Best Lawyers® as the 2016 “Lawyer of the Year” in the Des Moines Metropolitan Area in the category of Personal Injury Litigation-Plaintiffs. Only a single lawyer in each practice area and designated metropolitan is honored as “Lawyer of the Year.”
• Best Lawyers® in America
  George A. LaMarca has been selected by his peers for inclusion in the 2010, 2011, 2014 and 2015 editions of The Best Lawyers in America® in the specialty of Personal Injury Litigation. He has been selected by his peers for inclusion in the 2014 and 2015 editions of The Best Lawyers in America® in the specialty of Commercial Litigation. For over a quarter of a century, Best Lawyers® has been regarded by both the profession and the public as the definitive guide to legal excellence in the United States. Selection to Best Lawyers® is based on an exhaustive and rigorous peer-review survey comprising more than 2.8 million confidential evaluations by the top attorneys in the country. Because no fee or purchase is required, being listed in Best Lawyers® is considered a true honor.
• Great Plains Super Lawyers List
  George A. LaMarca has been selected to the 2009, 2012, 2013 and 2014 Great Plains Super Lawyers list. This honor is limited to no more than five (5) percent of the attorneys in the State of Iowa.
• Top 100 Iowa Attorneys
  George A. LaMarca has been selected as one of the “Top 100 Iowa Attorneys” by the American Trial Lawyers Association.
• The National Trial Lawyers: Top 40 Under 40
  Andrew H. Doane has been selected as one of the Top 40 Lawyers Under 40 in Iowa.
• International Network of Boutique Law Firms (INBLF)
  In April 2006, LaMarca Law Group, P.C. was selected to become a member firm in the International Network of Boutique Law Firms (INBLF). The INBLF is an organization of highly credentialed law firms, each of which, after a great deal of research, has been identified and hand-selected by attorneys of other member firms throughout the United States as outstanding in each firm’s respective field. Membership provides the firm with access to the resources of the top law firms throughout the country in a wide variety of practice areas. INBLF recognized LaMarca Law Group, P.C. for its experience and dedication to practice in the area of civil litigation/trial law. LaMarca Law Group, P.C. is the only INBLF member firm in the field of civil litigation/trial law in the State of Iowa.
• Martindale-Hubbell®
  For more than 138 years, Martindale-Hubbell® has been an authoritative source of information for legal professionals across the globe. Their international ratings network contains over one million lawyers and law firms. LaMarca Law Group, P.C. has consistently held the highest possible rating by Martindale-Hubbell® – “AV.”
• Super Lawyer Designation
  George A. LaMarca has achieved a “Super Lawyer” designation in business litigation by the Corporate Counsel Edition of Super Lawyers Magazine..
  George A. LaMarca has achieved a “Super Lawyer” designation in personal injury, Super Lawyers Magazine.
• Iowa Academy of Trial Lawyers
  George A. LaMarca, Gary G. Mattson, and James J. Biscoglia are members of the Iowa Academy of Trial Lawyers. Membership is by invitation only, upon sponsorship and recommendation from peers and judges and unanimous approval by the Board of Governors. Membership is limited to 250 attorneys who have displayed exceptional skills and the highest integrity, and who have dedicated their professional lives primarily to trial practice.