Court suspends attorney’s law license, citing client fund issues and case neglect

The Iowa Supreme Court has suspended the law license of a northern Iowa attorney who was the subject of five separate disciplinary complaints.

Court records indicate that between October 2024 and September 2025, the Iowa Supreme Court’s Attorney Disciplinary Board initiated an investigation into five complaints against attorney Elizabeth M. Wayne of Parkersburg.

The complaints alleged Wayne was neglectful in her handling of court proceedings and client funds, and the board charged Wayne with failing to act with reasonable diligence and promptness in representing her clients.

In one of the five cases, according to board documents, Wayne allegedly failed to respond to the opposing counsel’s emails for several months, only answering after a motion for contempt was filed against her client. In two other cases, the board alleged, Wayne missed court-imposed deadlines, resulting in default notices, and she was ultimately removed as legal counsel in both matters.

In the two remaining court cases, Wayne allegedly missed court hearings, which the board alleged represented a “conscious disregard” for the duty owed to her clients. In three of the five cases, she also failed to adequately communicate with her clients, the board alleged.

In addition, the board alleged that in three of the five cases, Wayne failed respond to the board’s notice that she was the focus of disciplinary complaints, and that she “improperly commingled her own earned funds with client funds” and then failed to promptly return to her clients $1,636 in unearned money she had collected. In one instance, the board alleged, Wayne waited seven years before returning a client’s money.

As mitigating factors, the board noted that Wayne expressed remorse for her actions and that the unexpected death of her mother in 2025 had caused her grief, depression and anxiety — although, the board added, her misconduct occurred both before and after the death.

The board also noted that in 2022, Wayne had been reprimanded for her dilatory handling of a client’s estate, which raised some of the same issues as in her 2026 disciplinary proceedings. “Wayne has not heeded the warnings her prior discipline delivered,” the board told the Iowa Supreme Court in recommending a 90-day suspension of Wayne’s law license.

The Iowa Capital Dispatch was not able to reach Wayne for comment, but in court filings related to her disciplinary case, she admitted each of the allegations against her and consented to a 90-day suspension. In her filings, Wayne stated, “I do not anticipate at this time returning to the practice of law but would like to have the option in the future.”

Wayne told the Iowa Supreme Court that while practicing law, she had handled a large number of cases where she acted as the court-appointed attorney in northern Iowa counties that are underserved by attorneys. Wayne also said she regretted not seeking treatment for her grief and depression and that “it took the suspension of my law license to get to that point.”

On Friday, the Iowa Supreme Court imposed a 90-day suspension of Wayne’s law license.