Attorney Michael Marquess.

In our cozy little community of Tama-Toledo, two lawyers have found their place in the past couple of years, and now they are expanding. Marquess and Hoyer Law Offices have been around for a couple of years now in downtown Toledo, perfectly placed, being just a stone’s throw from the County Courthouse.

Toledo City Attorney and Tama Interim City Attorney Michael Marquess started the Toledo law offices by himself back in 2019. This is after the 2018 Tornado ripped through Marshalltown and tragically destroyed his then law practice with attorney Brian Danielson. Before Michael had to start again in 2019, he was kept busy splitting his time between his private practice and being a prosecutor for both Tama and Marshall Counties.

Marquess Law Offices thrived for two years before adding that element that makes the law offices what we know and love today. Small town Illinois boy Wes Hoyer picked a perfect time to graduate from the University of Iowa Law School… 2020.

While everyone was locked inside wearing masks and bathing in disinfectant, Hoyer was looking for a job. Marquess had just finished his first year with the new practice and was looking to bring someone on. The two met like everyone did in 2020, via Zoom.

The interview must have gone well because Hoyer was brought on as an associate. A year or so later, Hoyer was an equal partner, and the offices now bore, both of their names, Maruess and Hoyer.

Attorney Wes Hoyer.

While Marquess has lived nice and close in Marshalltown for the last 20 years, Hoyer lives over in Bondurant. This gave Hoyer an idea, a second law office. Marquess jumped on full throttle, saying, “He suggested the idea of opening an office there for convenience and to expand into that market. Bondurant is growing by leaps and bounds, and we are excited to grow with it.”

The convenience of not having to drive the hour to work every day was not the only reason to start the second law office. Hoyer and his husband Nick have made Bondurant their home for years.

“We have lived in Bondurant since January of 2021, and we love the community. It’s near the Des Moines Metro, but still has a small town feel, and with that comes a lot of small town loyalty. We noticed all the local businesses are thriving, but there wasn’t a law office like ours that does litigation. We are excited to fill that niche and have gotten a good response from the Bondurant community,” Hoyer said.

One slight difference between Hoyer and Marquess is their age gap; the two graduated nearly 20 years apart from each other. Mike is an alum of the Drake class of 2003, while Wes got his degree in 2020 from the University of Iowa after having his fun studying philosophy.

Another difference is how they came to be lawyers in the first place. For Marquess it was simple, he had an internship in college at a local prosecutor’s office, got hooked on trial work, and the rest is history. For Hoyer, on the other hand, It took him a while to come to the decision. Ultimately, he landed on becoming a lawyer because it combined two of his greatest abilities, writing and talking, and he hasn’t looked back since.

The two may have some differences, but the office is tight-knit and even family-like. There are only two other people who help make up Marquess and Hoyer law offices; the first, Teresa Vodochodsky, has been with the office since the beginning. The second is Nick Brune, husband of name partner Wes Hoyer.

Nick started with the firm in 2020 as a legal assistant. There is also a dog or two that always seems to be around waiting to greet those who come in the door.

For Marquess and Hoyer, their private practice may take up a large chunk of their day, but it doesn’t fill it all. Marquess has another job that fills a couple of hours of his week, City Attorney.

He reviews contracts, drafts ordinances, and goes over a bunch of other miscellaneous work that keeps the city going. When he isn’t furrowing his brow over some legal briefs, Mike spends his time traveling with his family, playing video games, reading, and watching movies. I have to assume the movies are of the horror variety as the guy is a big horror fan, having even decked out part of the Toledo office with some of his memorabilia. Hoyer goes the video game route as well being a self confessed teenage boy at heart. But when the games are getting a little tiring, he has his dog, Gideon, there to keep him busy.

With the second office having opened late last year, the two are ready for business. Whether you’re getting a divorce, need someone to look over the deed of your house, or they finally found that guy chained up in your basement, Marquess and Hoyer Law Offices are here to help. Here in Toledo and in Bondurant as well.

Or you can contact them at their website: www.mhlawia.com.