Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds today announced her appointment of Christopher Polking as a district court judge in Judicial Election District 2B on Friday, June 28, 2019. This is the application he submitted to the district judicial nominating commission.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds today announced her appointment of Christopher Polking as a district court judge in Judicial Election District 2B on Friday, June 28, 2019. This is the application he submitted to the district judicial nominating commission.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds today announced her appointment of Christopher Polking as a district court judge in Judicial Election District 2B on Friday, June 28, 2019. This is the application he submitted to the district judicial nominating commission.
Kim Reynolds Ada
GOVERNOR! OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR CTGOvERNOR
Gregg
JUDICIAL APPLICATION
Please complete this application by placing your responses in normal type, immediately beneath
each request for information. Requested documents should be attached at the end of the
application or in separate PDF files, clearly identifying the numbered request to which each
document is responsive. Completed applications are public records. If you cannot fully respond
10 a question without disclosing information that is confidential under state or federal law,
please submit that portion of your answer separately, along with your legal basis for considering
the information confidential, Do not submit opinions or other writing samples containing
confidential information unless you are able to appropriately redact the document to avoid
disclosing the identity of the parties or other confidential information
1
3.
State your full name.
Christopher Clement Polking
State your current occupation/title.
Attorney and mediator in private practice — Polking Law Office, PLLC
State your age.
4
State the city of your residence,
Carroll, IA
List in reverse chronological order each college and law school you attended,
including the dates of attendance, the degree awarded, and your reason for leaving
each school if no degree from that institution was awarded.
a. University of Minnesota Law School, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Juris Doctorate, Magna
Cum Laude and Order of the Coif, 1998-2001. I practiced as a student attorney in the
Misdemeanor Defense legal clinic and in the Legal Assistance to Minnesota Prisoners
(LAMP) legal clinic. I was also a student director of the LAMP clinic.
16.
1.
b. University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, junior year study abroad, 1992-1993.
¢. Tufts University, Medford, MA, 1990-1994, Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude,
‘major in political science.
List the dates you were admitted to the bar of any state and any lapses in
membership. Please explain the reason for any lapse in membership.
September 20, 2001 - State of Iowa. No lapses in membership to the present.
Deseribe in reverse chronological order all of your work experience since
graduating from college, including in your response:
Your position, dates (beginning and end) of your employment, addresses of
law firms or offices, companies, or governmental agencies with which you
have been connected, the nature of your connection with each, and the name
of your supervisor or a knowledgeable colleague if possible,
(i) Polking Law Office ~ September 2001 to present, 225 E. 7" St., P.O. Box 882,
Carroll, IA 51401. This was with my father, William G. Polking from 2001 until
January of 2009. I have been in solo practice since January of 2009. In 2010, I
formed Polking Law Office, PLLC.
Attomeys Barry Bruner, David Bruner, and James Van Dyke have practiced out
of the same building during this time frame and would be knowledgeable
colleagues.
(i) Magistrate Judge ~ Carroll County Iowa ~ February 6, 2008 through July, 31
2017. Supervisor was Chief Judge Kurt Wilke, knowledgeable colleague was
Magistrate Judge Eric Neu.
(iii) Student Director, Student Attorney Supervisor, Legal Assistance to
Minnesota Prisoners legal clinic, University of Minnesota Law School,
Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2000-2001.
(iv) Crime and Safety plan organizer, Longfellow neighborhood Community
Council, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1996-1998.
(v) Iowa Department of Agriculture, worked from home setting and checking
‘gypsy moth traps in several western Iowa counties, summer of 1993 and 1995.
(vi) Chicago-Lake Liquors, Minneapolis, Minnesota, work floor, stock shelves
and beer cooler, various dates in 1995 and 1996.
(vii) Canvasser, Jordan neighborhood, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1994-1995.
2b. Your periods of military service, if any, including active duty, reserves or
other status. Give the date, branch of service, your rank or rating, and
present status or discharge status.
None. 5
8. Describe the general character of your legal experience, dividing it into periods with
dates if its character has changed over the years, including in your response for each
a, A description of your typical clients and the areas of the law in which you
have focused, including the approximate percentage of time spent in each
area of practice.
b. The approximate percentage of your practice that involved litigation in court
or other tribunals.
¢. The approximate percentage of your litigation that was: Administrative,
Civil, and Criminal.
d. The approximate number of cases or contested matters you tried to
conclusion (rather than settled) within the last 10 years, indicating whether
you were sole counsel, chief counsel, or associate counsel, and whether the
matter was tried to a jury or direetly to the court or other tribunal.
¢. The approximate percentage of your practice that has been in areas other
than appearance before courts or other tribunals and a description of the
nature of that practice.
Thavve been engaged in the general practice of law as a private practice attorney from
2001 to the present time. Matters handled have included, but are not limited to: criminal defense;
family law; juvenile law, both delinquencies and CINA actions, representing both parents and
children, and acting as GAL for children; probate, including estates, guardianships and
conservatorships, and trusts; termination of parental rights and adoptions; real estate transfer
documents, title opinions, and real estate closings; drafting of wills, trusts and powers of
attomey; debtor/creditor issues for both businesses and individuals; chapter 236 domestic abuse
proceedings representing both plaintifis and defendants; business formation including
corporations and limited liability companies; employment law including unemployment claims
for both employers and employees; and city attorney for the City of Breda, Iowa from 2009 to
the present. I have also been the attorney from 2009 to the present for the Carroll County Solid
Waste Commission, a 28E intergovernmental entity that operates the Carroll County Landfill and
Recycling Center, which serves several municipalities and counties in western Iowa. In 2019 I
also became the City Attorney for the City of Arcadia, Iowa. In late 2011 I attended a 40 hour
certified family law mediation training, and since 2012 I have regularly engaged in family law
mediations, with a smaller amount of other civil law mediations.