Iowa lawyer’s license is suspended after seven prior disciplinary cases

A Dallas County lawyer who has been sanctioned in seven previous disciplinary cases has now had her license suspended for 90 days.

The board alleges that between June 2025 and April 2026, it opened investigations of five separate complaints alleging attorney Alexandra Maria Nelissen of Clive had engaged in misconduct.

According to the board, Nelissen failed to attend scheduled probation violation and contempt hearings on behalf of two different clients. In addition, the board alleged, she disregarded three separate orders by the Iowa Supreme Court to file a statement regarding a delayed appeal in a criminal case.

Also, in a case involving a client’s efforts to challenge the termination of his parental rights, Nelissen did not file a petition for appeal on a timely basis and then failed to respond to the state’s motion to dismiss her client’s case, according to the board. Ultimately, the court granted the state’s motion.

In deciding that a suspension of Nelissen’s license was warranted, the board noted that Nelissen had an “extensive prior disciplinary record” that included the following actions:

August 2012 — Public reprimand for mishandling client funds.

August 2014 — Public reprimand for neglecting two client appeals.

November 2015 — Thirty-day license suspension for client-billing issues.

January 2016 — Public reprimand for failing to act with diligence in handling a case involving termination of parental rights.

October 2017 — Public reprimand for failing to act with diligence in her handling of a client’s child-custody case.

February 2023 — Public reprimand after being accused of failing to appear for various court proceedings and then offering dishonest explanations for her absences.

August 2023 — Six-month license suspension due in part to Nelissen’s handling of a child-custody case. Nelissen later acknowledged that after her client in the custody case “made at least seven false reports of physical abuse or sexual abuse” of the minor child by the opposing party, she filed with the court a motion that falsely stated a forensic investigation and therapeutic work had concluded that some form of assault had actually occurred.

“Clearly, Nelissen has not heeded the warnings from her prior discipline,” the board recently concluded in recommending that her license be suspended for 60 days.

In consenting to a license suspension of up to 90 days, Nelissen explained she had been dealing with medical issues in 2025, a period that overlapped with some of the issues raised in the most recent complaints against her.

“I had hip surgery in late March of 2025 and again in May 2025,” she explained. “I did not review notifications from the appellate court as I did not think I had anything pending and was only participating minimally in virtual hearings… I had taken on too many cases in an effort to help clients.”

In its recent ruling on the matter, the Iowa Supreme Court opted to suspend Nelissen’s law license for 90 days. Nelissen declined to comment on the matter when contacted Monday by the Iowa Capital Dispatch.