Kerrie Plummer says Gonzalez, Saggio & Harlan L.L.P. gave her an offer she couldn’t refuse: the opportunity to open a new office in Des Moines, building the staff from scratch.

A Des Moines native, Plummer is a graduate of the University of Iowa with a law degree from Drake University. Upon graduation, she spent several years as an assistant city attorney in Sioux City and then Des Moines.   

“I began litigating after the first two weeks, and I haven’t looked back since,” Plummer said. “It was an excellent experience as far as obtaining real-life experience as a litigator. I think I got my feet wet sooner than I might have in private practice.”  

Then an opportunity arose in 1998 for her to open a Des Moines branch of Gonzalez, Saggio & Harlan L.L.P, a law practice with offices in five states. When she joined the firm, she was its only local attorney. She has since added one lawyer per year. This has allowed her to build a workplace in which everyone is “a good fit.”

Plummer says joining the Gonzalez firm appealed to her because of the leadership opportunity and because it is one of the largest minority-owned legal practices in the country.  

“Our firm offers corporations the opportunity to have diverse counsel,” she said. “Diverse counsel brings a wider variety of viewpoints to better serve the client.”  

Plummer also serves on the Women and Minorities Committee of the Iowa State Bar Association. A recent project of the committee was producing a Spanish-language video explaining the legal process to Latinos. She says the goal of the organization is to ensure that women and minorities have access to and understanding of the legal system.   

Plummer says she is vigilant about balancing her responsibilities as a committee member; as a co-managing partner, taking care of the day-to-day operations of the firm; as a lawyer, primarily in employment law and personal injury from the defense perspective; and in her personal life, with her husband, Mike, and her two children.

“It’s absolutely crucial, because if you lose that balance, it affects your performance and your level of satisfaction with life,” she said.