Mark McCormick

Mark McCormick is a shareholder of the firm who primarily practices in the areas of complex civil litigation, appeals, alternative dispute resolution, professional responsibility defense, and administrative law.  Mr. McCormick has appeared before numerous state and federal district courts, appellate courts, and the United States Supreme Court.  He has been recognized by Chambers and Partners for his litigation practice.

Mr. McCormick was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy in 1955 and served for three years.  Upon his return from duty, he attended Georgetown Law School and graduated in 1960.  Following law school, Mr. McCormick served one year as a Law Clerk for the Hon. Harvey A. Johnson, the Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. 

Mr. McCormick returned to Fort Dodge, Iowa in 1961 to practice law with a small firm and continued his private practice until he was appointed as an Iowa District Court Judge in 1968.  From 1963 to 1967, Mr. McCormick also served as Assistant County Attorney for Webster County, Iowa.

In 1972, Mr. McCormick was appointed as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of Iowa.  He served on the Supreme Court of Iowa until 1986, when he joined Belin McCormick as a shareholder.

Mr. McCormick has been a frequent author and lecturer in his areas of expertise.  He served on the faculty of the National Judicial College from 1976 to 1979, teaching Evidence Subjects.

Co-author with Hale Starr, Jury Selection, Little Brown and Company, 1985, Fourth Edition 2009. 

Author, “Opinion Evidence in Iowa” 19 Drake Law Review 245, 1970.

Author, “Appellate Congestion in Iowa: Dimensions and Remedies,” 25 Drake Law Review 133, 1975.

Author, “Scientific Evidence: Defining a New Approach to Admissibility,” 67 Iowa Law Review 879, 1982. 

Recognized by Chambers and Partners for his litigation practice

AV® Peer Review Rating by Martindale-Hubbell

Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® in the areas of Appellate Law, Bet-the-Company Litigation, and Commercial Litigation; Iowa Best Lawyers Litigator of the year for 2009

Iowa Rhodes Scholarship Selection Committee (Chair, 1976-1981)

U.S. Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Panel, Southern District of Iowa (Chair, 1990-1995)

Governor’s Iowa Public Funds Investment Task Force (Chair, 1991-1992)

Legislature Reform Committee on Government Ethics and Procedures (Co-Chair, 1992)

Legislative Joint State Government Ethics Committee (Chair, 1992-1993)

Governor’s State Institutional Task Force (Chair, 1995-1996)

Iowa State Judicial Nominating Commission (Member, 1996-2001)

Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board (Member, 1999-2003)

Belin-Blank Center for Gifted and Talented Education, University of Iowa (Chair, Advisory Committee, 1999-2003)

Iowa State Bar Association (Member, Jury Instruction Committee, 1969-1972, 1986-1994; Chair, Jury Instruction Committee, 1991-1994; Chair, Iowa Supreme Court Advisory Committee on the Attorney Disciplinary System; Chair, Appellate Practice Committee, 1999-2002)

Iowa Academy of Trial Lawyers (Hon. Member)

Polk County Bar Association (Member)

American Bar Association (Member)

American Academy of Appellate Lawyers (Member)