Rebecca
Duffy

“I like having a relationship with the client and helping them navigate what can be a complex world.”

When her younger daughter was born at only 24 weeks gestation, Becky Duffy was thrust into the medical system. It was a long, long personal journey, but it is valuable knowledge in her workers’ compensation defense practice. “I’m extremely familiar with the medical system and the frustrations,” Becky says. “I can be empathetic. I do understand that the goal is to get people treatment and to get resolution to their claims. I also know people want to be heard.”

 

Now, with her daughter thriving, Becky uses her personal experience as well as professional experience working for an insurance company and in private practice. She navigates the workers’ compensation system using a set of legal tools and resources learned handling complex cases. “It’s beneficial that I have internal insurance company experience,” she says. “It gives me a different lens. I can better relate to my insurance clients. I know all the pressures that are on them. I know how hard they work.”

 

Becky always looks for ways to advance her client’s case using well-reasoned, practical arguments that fit within the framework of the law. Her Iowa Court of Appeals clerkship also gives her an insider’s view of how the appellate courts will approach an agency appeal. “That helps me frame arguments more effectively and to know the types of arguments they will find persuasive and others that they will not find persuasive,” she says. 

 

Becky focuses on solving problems, using what she knows to move cases forward and reach resolutions. “One of my favorite parts of my job is when I get to write, be a little creative, and dig into facts and arguments,” she says. “I don’t always know all the answers, but I’m more than happy when I get to do research.”  

 

Client relationships are just as important to her. One of Becky’s goals is to have clients describe her as competent, practical, insightful, and professional. “People rely on you and want to trust that the answer you give them is the final answer,” she says. “They come to you to help solve a problem, and they want to have confidence in your answer, in your abilities.”

 

In school, a desire for fairness sparked her interest in the law. Growing up in northern Minnesota, Becky saw deer hunting override every other activity during the first two weeks of November. Once, when she left school early for a makeup piano lesson, her science teacher gave her a little grief. She countered that no one said a word when kids missed school to go deer hunting. Her teacher suggested Becky consider law school—and she did.

 

“I’ve always wanted to stand up for what I believe is right, and I believe in fairness,” Becky says. “I think it’s important that people get to tell their side of a story and let the law handle how things should play out.”

Polk County Juvenile Drug Court Collaborative Board

  • Member, 2015–present

 

Drake Law School Board of Counselors

2015–2021

 

Polk County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyer Project

  • Pro bono representation of Afghan asylum seeker, August 2022–present

 

St. Mark Lutheran Church

  • Kids ministry coordinator, West Des Moines, August 2022–May 2023

Dwight D. Opperman Scholar

 

Drake Law Review

  • Note Editor

 

H.G. Cartwright Law Review Award for Best Student Note

“The Moral Hazard of Increased Deposit Insurance: What the 1980s Savings and Loan Crisis Can Teach Us About Responding to the Current Financial Crisis”

59 Drake Law Review 559 (2011)

Overview

When her younger daughter was born at only 24 weeks gestation, Becky Duffy was thrust into the medical system. It was a long, long personal journey, but it is valuable knowledge in her workers’ compensation defense practice. “I’m extremely familiar with the medical system and the frustrations,” Becky says. “I can be empathetic. I do understand that the goal is to get people treatment and to get resolution to their claims. I also know people want to be heard.”

 

Now, with her daughter thriving, Becky uses her personal experience as well as professional experience working for an insurance company and in private practice. She navigates the workers’ compensation system using a set of legal tools and resources learned handling complex cases. “It’s beneficial that I have internal insurance company experience,” she says. “It gives me a different lens. I can better relate to my insurance clients. I know all the pressures that are on them. I know how hard they work.”

 

Becky always looks for ways to advance her client’s case using well-reasoned, practical arguments that fit within the framework of the law. Her Iowa Court of Appeals clerkship also gives her an insider’s view of how the appellate courts will approach an agency appeal. “That helps me frame arguments more effectively and to know the types of arguments they will find persuasive and others that they will not find persuasive,” she says. 

 

Becky focuses on solving problems, using what she knows to move cases forward and reach resolutions. “One of my favorite parts of my job is when I get to write, be a little creative, and dig into facts and arguments,” she says. “I don’t always know all the answers, but I’m more than happy when I get to do research.”  

 

Client relationships are just as important to her. One of Becky’s goals is to have clients describe her as competent, practical, insightful, and professional. “People rely on you and want to trust that the answer you give them is the final answer,” she says. “They come to you to help solve a problem, and they want to have confidence in your answer, in your abilities.”

 

In school, a desire for fairness sparked her interest in the law. Growing up in northern Minnesota, Becky saw deer hunting override every other activity during the first two weeks of November. Once, when she left school early for a makeup piano lesson, her science teacher gave her a little grief. She countered that no one said a word when kids missed school to go deer hunting. Her teacher suggested Becky consider law school—and she did.

 

“I’ve always wanted to stand up for what I believe is right, and I believe in fairness,” Becky says. “I think it’s important that people get to tell their side of a story and let the law handle how things should play out.”

Professional & Community Affiliations

Polk County Juvenile Drug Court Collaborative Board

  • Member, 2015–present

 

Drake Law School Board of Counselors

2015–2021

 

Polk County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyer Project

  • Pro bono representation of Afghan asylum seeker, August 2022–present

 

St. Mark Lutheran Church

  • Kids ministry coordinator, West Des Moines, August 2022–May 2023

Recognition

Dwight D. Opperman Scholar

 

Drake Law Review

  • Note Editor

 

H.G. Cartwright Law Review Award for Best Student Note

Speeches & Publications

“The Moral Hazard of Increased Deposit Insurance: What the 1980s Savings and Loan Crisis Can Teach Us About Responding to the Current Financial Crisis”

59 Drake Law Review 559 (2011)