Brothers and attorneys William and Jeffrey Bump formed a partnership in 1991. William, seated, and Jeffrey, standing on the right, were joined in 2022 by John Twillmann. The trio is shown in the conference room at the Bump & Bump office in Panora.
Jeffrey Bump explains the impact Lake Panorama has had in Guthrie County and on the Bump & Bump law firm.
By Susan Thompson | Lake Panorama Times
The Panora law firm of Bump & Bump was formed in 1991 between brothers Jeffrey and William Bump. The pair chose the same career path as their father, Wilbur Bump, who was one of the early leaders of the effort to create Lake Panorama.
William Bump earned his law degree from Drake University in 1984 and began practicing law with his father in West Des Moines. Jeffrey Bump earned his law degree, also from Drake University, in 1988. After graduation, he joined an 85-lawyer law firm in Dallas, Texas.
Wilbur Bump, the father of William and Jeffrey Bump, was an attorney and served as legal counsel for Mid-Iowa Lakes in the 1960s. Mid-Iowa Lakes was raising money to build the Lake Panorama dam by selling stock. This certificate documents the sale of 100 shares of stock on March 15, 1967, and was signed by Wilbur N. Bump. The framed certificate is on display in the Bump & Bump office.
“My wife, Karen, and I enjoyed our time in Dallas, but when we decided we wanted to start a family and raise children, we knew the only place to do that was in Iowa,” Jeffrey Bump says. “With our father’s retirement in 1990 and our plans to return to Iowa, William and I forming a partnership in 1991 was good timing.”
Bumps Bend on the west side of Lake Panorama was named for Wilbur Bump. He served as legal counsel for Mid-Iowa Lakes in the 1960s and later was legal counsel for the Lake Panorama Association. He was also a member of the Mid-Iowa Lakes board, then a member of the first LPA board. He was elected in 1969 to the LPA board and served for five years.
As a director, Wilbur Bump was one of the first to be able to purchase a Lake Panorama lot before they went on the market. He picked one on Burchfield Cove.
Although William and Jeffrey Bump never lived at Lake Panorama, their father was a member of the first LPA board of directors. As boys, they participated in competitions at the West Lodge swimming pool. Shown are ribbons they won in the 1971 Lake Panorama Swimarama.
“Right after the dam was finished and the lake filled in 1970, he bought a boat, and we spent quite a bit of time on the lake on weekends,” Jeffrey Bump says. “I remember dad hitting a lot of hidden tree stumps, then driving slowly back to the marina and watching him change out the damaged prop behind the boat. We had to mow the lot each weekend before we could go boating, so we hurried up and got our chores done.”
Jeffrey Bump has fond memories of those early days.
“The West Lodge was the main gathering point at the lake,” he says. “There were swim competitions for youngsters like us. Bill and I competed in several of the competitions, which were heavily attended. We did quite well and got a few ribbons. Pool tables were upstairs in the Lodge, a bar was downstairs, and, for some reason, they kept the temperature at about 60 degrees.”
Neither of the brothers ever lived at the lake.
“Our law practice was in the log cabin above the marina from 1992 to 2008,” Jeffrey says. “We had a slip on the jetty where we kept a boat, and we spent a lot of time with our young children in the 1990s boating, tubing, skiing and enjoying the beaches.”
During that time, the brothers each built homes in the country, west of Panora.
“We’re close enough that we can hear water rushing over the dam when the wind is right,” Jeffrey says.
What kind of an impact has Lake Panorama had in Guthrie County, and on the Bump & Bump law firm?
“The impact the development of the lake has had on Panora, Guthrie County and the surrounding communities is unquestionably the best thing that could have ever happened,” Bump says. “So many businesses have benefitted, including ours, and we are blessed to be able to help our friends at the lake with their legal needs.”
Over the years, the brothers merged two law firms into their practice. One was the law practice of John Donahey, who had been practicing in Panora since his return from active duty in WWII in 1945. Donahey also was a member of the Mid-Iowa Lakes board. Donahey Drive, which isn’t far from Bumps Bend on the lake’s west side, was named for John Donahey.
The other practice that merged into Bump & Bump was the one of W. Dean Moore, whose law firm had been in the same location in downtown Stuart since 1890.
Bump & Bump built a modern office building in Stuart in 2006, followed two years later by a new building at 222 E. Market St. in Panora.
John Twillmann joined the firm in the summer of 2022. He most recently spent nearly four years as the assistant county attorney for Guthrie County. Earlier he worked as a clerk for the sixth judicial district and held a corporate counsel position in Des Moines. Twillmann is originally from St. Louis, Missouri, and received his undergraduate and law degrees at the University of Iowa.
Practice areas for the firm include litigation; wills, trusts, estate planning, probate and tax law; real estate; business and corporate law; and criminal defense.
William Bump focuses on estate planning.
“John and I handle every other legal matter that needs attention by our clients,” Jeffrey Bump says. “We pride ourselves on being able to handle any issue our clients need help with.”
How has the business of being an attorney changed over the last 35 years?
“Fax machines were on the cutting edge of technology when Bill and I started the practice in 1991,” Jeffrey Bump says. “We had one dedicated fax line and one phone line. At that time, we were on Main Street in Panora, and we had many people stop in to send a fax from our machine.
“Now the practice of law requires us to have high speed internet, to file everything with courts electronically and answer emails instead of letters. This has eliminated a lot of time in the courthouse, but John and I still spend a fair amount of time trying cases and arguing motions in the courts in our area. We are fortunate to have Panora Fiber, which has helped us with each step of the change in technology.”
Jeffrey Bump is in the Panora office daily. William is in Panora three days a week, with two days in Stuart. John is in the Panora office four days a week, with one day in Stuart. The three attorneys are assisted by Deanna Van Cura, legal assistant in Panora, and Dee Egger, legal assistant in Stuart.
Jeffrey and Karen Bump have three adult children, two daughters and a son. Their son followed in his father and grandfather’s footsteps and is a lawyer in New York City. He and his wife are in the process of moving back to the Midwest.
Bump says he has always felt the need to give back time to his community and profession.
“I have served on Panora and Lake Panorama Development Group as an officer and director since 1991,” he says. “I served on the Guthrie County Conservation Board from 1998 to 2019. I served as an officer and director of the area’s local resort located at Lake Panorama, Clover Ridge, from 1998 until 2019. I am a member of, and have served as president, of the Guthrie County Bar Association.”
Jeffrey Bump also served from 2013-2018 as a commissioner on the Iowa Supreme Court Attorney Grievance Commission to hear attorney grievance cases; from 2012 to 2018 helping select candidates for the bench as a commissioner for the Iowa Supreme Court Fifth Judicial District Judicial Nominating Commission; and has served on the Guthrie County Magistrate Nominating Commission since 1996.
William Bump and his wife, Kelly, have two adult children and two grandchildren. He is a member of the Iowa State Bar Association, a member and past president of the Guthrie County Bar Association, and was a member of the Prairie Woodlands Conservation Commission from 1998 to 2018.
John Twillmann and his wife, Emily, have a young son and live in rural Panora. He is a director and officer of the Panora and Lake Panorama Development Group.
The Bump & Bump website is www.bumplaw.com.
The Bump & Bump office building at 222 E. Market St. in Panora was built in 2008. Prior to that, the law office was housed in the log cabin just east of the Lake Panorama marina.