CEDAR RAPIDS — Attorney Mark A. Roberts has been selected as the next U.S. District magistrate for the Northern District of Iowa.
Roberts, 52, an attorney with Simmons, Perrine, Moyer and Bergman, will take the bench as soon as U.S. Chief Magistrate C.J. Williams is confirmed by the U.S. Senate as a U.S. district judge, which could be sometime this summer.
The Merit Selection Panel conducted interviews and chose five based on each applicant’s “character, judgment, legal ability, temperament and commitment to equal justice under the law” and then the District Court judges selected Roberts for the position, U.S. District Court Clerk of Court Robert Phelps said.
The panel included attorneys and community members from the northern district, which includes Cedar Rapids, Waterloo and Sioux City.
Roberts, who grew up in Ames, graduated from Iowa State University with a bachelor’s degree in 1989 and he received a law degree from University of Nebraska College of Law in 1993.
He then joined Simmons, Perrine, Moyer and Bergman in 1993 and began litigating a wide variety of cases. Roberts in his early practice handled some notable criminal defense cases, and his most recent cases include complex real estate, commercial and construction claims on behalf of design professionals, general contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, corporate and institutional owners, as well as individuals.
In addition to his construction and commercial practice, Roberts also has an employment law practice in which he represents employers and employees with regard to their respective rights on a wide variety of claims, including non‐competition agreements, ERISA, harassment claims, discrimination claims and termination of employment.
Roberts is a member of the Linn County Bar, the Iowa State Bar Association, the Iowa Defense Counsel Association and the American Bar Association. He has received a number of awards for his achievements. He also has participated in the Volunteer Lawyer Program and served on a number of volunteer boards in the Cedar Rapids area.
l Comments: (319) 398-8318; trish.mehaffey@thegazette.com