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Philip D. Brooks

Philip D. Brooks Counsel

Contact Information

(319) 896-4035 (319) 366-1917 pbrooks@spmblaw.com Cedar Rapids, IA
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Practice Area

Bar Admissions

  • State of Iowa, 1977

Court Admissions

  • Federal Courts
    • Northern & Southern Districts of Iowa, 1977

Education

  • Creighton University School of Law, JD, 1977
  • University of Iowa, BBA, 1972; MBA, 1974

Phil Brooks is a business attorney serving clients on tax matters with emphasis in estate and business tax planning for closely-held entities including corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships and sole proprietorships. Although his practice is largely devoted to counseling businesses and their owners on organizational, tax and estate planning matters, he has developed a niche practice area of assisting insurance agents and brokers in mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and other areas unique to the regulated environments of the property, liability, life and health insurance industries. In addition to earning an MBA in risk management and finance, Mr. Brooks also holds the Certified Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) and the Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) designations.

Mr. Brooks is a frequent speaker at insurance trade association meetings dealing with construction and interpretation of property and liability insurance contracts and insurance agent and broker business and tax issues. He also serves as an adjunct lecturer at the Emmett J. Vaughan Institute of Insurance and Risk Management located within the Tippie College of Business at the University of Iowa where he teaches life, health, property and liability insurance courses.

  • Included in the Best Lawyers in America® list, 2025
    • Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships), Insurance Law, Tax Law, Trusts and Estates
  • Included in the Best Lawyers® "Lawyer of the Year" list for Cedar Rapids, 2022
    • Insurance Law
  • Included in Great Plains Super Lawyers list, 2015-2016, 2018-2025
    • Business/Corporate
  • AV Rating by Martindale-Hubbell®

Professional Memberships

  • Iowa State Bar Association
    • Business Law Section
    • Taxation Law Section
    • Chairman, Insurance Committee
  • Linn County Bar Association
  • Society of Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriters, Cedar Valley Chapter, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
  • Society of Financial Service Professionals, Eastern Iowa Chapter
  • Iowa Academy of Trust and Estate Counsel
  • Cedar Rapids Estate Planning Counsel

Community Involvement

  • Instructor, University of Iowa
    • Life, Health, Property and Liability Insurance Courses
  • Adjunct Lecturer
    • Emmett J. Vaughan Institute of Insurance and Risk Management, Tippie College of Business, University of Iowa
  • Phil Brooks to Present at the Rural Agents Conference, 1/22/25
  • Civility for Iowa Lawyers - It's Much More Than Being " Iowa Nice," CLE, 6/27/24
  • Merger and Acquisition Update, Mutual Insurance Association of Iowa (MIAI) Managers Meeting, 1/12/22 
  • Business and Succession Planning for the Small and Mid-Sized Agency – What 35 Years Representing Iowa Agents has Taught Me, Independent Insurance Agents of Iowa (IIAI) Convention, 9/19/19