Former Iowa Department of Revenue Director Courtney Kay-Decker Returns to Lane & Waterman

Courtney Kay-Decker is Lane & Waterman’s newest attorney, but she’s no stranger to the firm.

Kay-Decker began her career at Lane & Waterman in 1998 and practiced transactional and tax-related law for 13 years. In 2011, Decker was appointed by then-Governor Terry E. Branstad to serve as director of the Iowa Department of Revenue. She continued in that role until January 2019.  During her tenure with the department, Decker focused on improving administrative rules, guidance, and processes to simplify and reduce compliance burdens for the taxpayers of Iowa.   

In addition, she served as a national leader in the prevention of identity theft tax refund fraud. In particular, she served as the first state co-chair of the Identity Theft Tax Refund Fraud Information Sharing Analysis Center Partnership, a collaboration among the Internal Revenue Service, state tax agencies, and industry that works to develop tools and protocols to detect and prevent identity theft tax refund fraud.  
 
Decker received her bachelor's degree from Northwestern University. She holds a Doctor of Jurisprudence with distinction from the University of Iowa College of Law.