Fort Dodge Criminal Lawyer | Iowa

Jennifer Bonzer was born and raised in Marshalltown, Iowa. She went to college at the University of Northern Iowa majoring in Economics. Jennifer then decided to pursue a legal career and attended law school at the Chicago-Kent College of Law in Chicago, Illinois. After graduating law school, Jennifer returned to Iowa and became a Prosecutor for the Webster County Attorney Office. She worked her way up the ranks to the position of First Assistant Attorney.

During her period as a prosecutor, Jennifer handled pretty much every crime from simple misdemeanors to felony cases involving drugs, assaults, and sexual abuse. Jennifer prosecuted over 20 jury trials, both felonies and misdemeanors. Jennifer supervised the juvenile section overseeing all juvenile matters in the office. She has handled over 40 contested Child in Need of Assistance, Delinquency and Termination of Parental Rights trials.

After 6 years of prosecuting, Jennifer decided to join Derek Johnson in a legal partnership. She brings a unique perspective in handling cases because she has represented the State in a variety of legal matters. She understands the dynamics of law enforcement and juvenile agencies because she has worked on their behalf.

Since beginning in private practice in April of 2012, Jennifer has handled 3 criminal jury trials. The first was a felony sexual abuse trial where the client was facing up to 26 years in prison. Jennifer and her partner Derek teamed together to try the case which ended up in a verdict of a serious misdemeanor with a 30 day jail sentence and probation. The other two trials were both assault trials that ended up in not guilty verdicts. Jennifer is aggressive in filing pretrial motions to narrow the issues of the case.

Since moving to private practice, Jennifer has provided services to family law clients handling issues involving child support, divorces, child custody, termination of parental rights, adoption, modification, and contempt. In working for family law clients, Jennifer works to keep conflict at a minimum and negotiate an outcome that will be beneficial to the client. That being said, Jennifer isn't afraid to go to court if a resolution can't be met.

Jennifer also provides services to clients seeking social security. Applying for social security is often a frustrating process for clients as they deal with being denied over and over again. Jennifer works with client to explain the process to them so that their best case is presented at administrative law hearings. She helps clients to obtain medical records so that the Judge has an accurate understanding of all of her client's impairments. She further focuses he efforts on questioning the vocation expert to show the Judge how her client's impairments are affecting their employment.

Jennifer has recently opened a satellite office in Marshalltown where she can serve clients in central Iowa. Jennifer will provide you the best possible representation whether it means going to trial or negotiating the best settlement.

Position	Organization	Location	Duration
Prosecutor	Webster County Attorney Office	Fort Dodge, Iowa	6 years

School	Degree	Major	Graduation
University of Northern Iowa	Bachelor	Economics	2005

State / Court	Date
Iowa State Bar	2005

• Webster County Bar Association
  Iowa Bar Association

• Former Prosecutor for the Webster County Attorney Office

Sun.	Mon.	Tue.	Wed.	Thu.	Fri.	Sat.
	8:30 am - 4:30 pm	8:30 am - 4:30 pm	8:30 am - 4:30 pm	8:30 am - 4:30 pm	8:30 am - 4:30 pm