The road that led Amy Dollash to her present position as an associate with the firm of Kollmorgen, Schlue & Zahradnik, P.C. took some interesting twists and turns along the way. She brings a list of various experiences to the practice, just four years out of law school.
A native of Cedar Rapids, she graduated from Cedar Rapids Jefferson High School. She met Eric Hrabak at the time of her grandfather’s funeral while she was a high school senior. They both were considering colleges and she agreed to visit Graceland College with Eric and another friend. She enrolled on a soccer scholarship and graduated with a double major in international relations and communications writing with a literature emphasis.
Along the way, their friendship blossomed and after graduation, they moved to Cedar Rapids. A couple of family situations, including a problem with a property transaction, caused her to consider entry into law school. But she said she always wanted to be a lawyer. Back in fifth or sixth grade, she was in a mock trial situation in school. Her opponent was a boy she really wanted to beat. She did and the interest continued.
Right before she was to enter law school, she decided to have a routine physical exam while she still had insurance where she was employed. She said the doctor called her a couple of days later and in a strangely upbeat tone she informed her that she had diabetes. The doctor also informed her that her life would never be quite the same again, something that someone preparing for the rigors of law school didn’t need to hear. Incidentally, she was never able to figure out that doctor’s upbeat attitude when delivering potentially devastating news, but she was sure to switch doctors soon after that, she said.
Still, she entered the University of Iowa College of Law in 2003 and she and Hrabak moved to Belle Plaine, where he joined the family business, Hrabak Funeral Home. For the next 2 ½ years, she commuted to school in Iowa City and after that, she went to work for Iowa Legal Aid, where she worked with juveniles and abusive family situations, an area of the law she still finds very rewarding.
She remembers one day, when she and Eric were out at a Waterloo restaurant, she vaguely recognized the waitress. The waitress also recognized her and told her how much help she had been with a situation involving her son.
The ability to help somebody make a family situation better is one of the most important part of her career, she said. She continues to serve on a team of professionals that help foster children and families navigate through the system and she also serves as a volunteer court appointed special advocate for children with special circumstances.
That’s the sort of connection many lawyers don’t get when they opt to join a large law practice. She said that when she was in law school, there were a few students in her class they called “gunners” who aspired to work in those large firms, exchanging 90 hour work weeks and no life outside the office for six-figure incomes.
Through an internship and her first post-graduate position with Legal Aid, she was able to have a more personal connection with her clients. For the last two years, she has worked with the Dunakey and Klatt law firm in Waterloo, specializing in real estate and foreclosure.
So the move to her current position, which she began the first of this year, will not only allow her to be closer to home, but will also allow her to practice a variety of law, from family and juvenile issues, to real estate and taxes. It should also give her the opportunity to become more involved in the community. She met a lot of people at last week’s open house at the firm, but asks that local residents be patient with her as she learns their names.
She has already had the chance to attend meetings on Main Street development and beautification. Dollash is especially interested in potential development of trails in and around Belle Plaine, as she likes to bike and hike. With an eye on starting a family in the future, she said she is especially happy with the development of the aquatics center and school improvements in the city.
Jennifer Zahradnik, who completed the purchase of the law firm from Larry Schlue on Jan. 1, said she was pleased to welcome Dollash to the practice, especially with her interest in family law. She also said that Schlue will remain as a full-time employee through the tax season, then continue working part-time for the firm.
Zahradnik was recently appointed the Belle Plaine city attorney and Dollash was appointed assistant city attorney.