Office Civil

CHRISTOPHER JOSEPH ZIPKO

**** ****** ****** *****, **********, MN 55082

651-***-**** ~ abluoe@r.postjobfree.com

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BAR ADMISSIONS

State Bar of Minnesota, 2003

Federal District Court, District of Minnesota, 2004

[pic]PROFESSIONAL PROFILE

. Experienced attorney who has counseled and advised clients in family,

civil, contract, personal injury and criminal defense.

. Handled over 4,000 criminal cases as both a prosecutor and defense

attorney.

. Appeared in over 40 criminal felony jury trials.

. Argued to the Minnesota Court of Appeals in eight separate appeals.

. Highly capable attorney with strong writing and communication skills.

. Established private practice.

[pic]LEGAL EXPERIENCE

Peterson & Nelson, P.A., Saint Paul, MN (December 2009 to Present)

Associate

. Associate in a general practice law firm, consisting of a criminal

defense, personal injury, civil, family law and appellate practice

firm.

. Advise criminal clients in all facets of criminal procedure, including

both juvenile and adult clients.

. Counsel civil clients as defendants, plaintiffs, from contracts,

collections, personal injury, to leases, bankruptcies and housing

issues.

. Represent clients in civil forfeitures.

. Currently representing clients in divorces, paternity cases, orders

for protection, child support and child custody matters.

. Represent plaintiffs in personal injury lawsuits, including elder care

abuse, car accidents,

wrongful death cases, as well as other personal injury cases.

Ramsey County Public Defender's Office, Saint Paul, MN (September 2007 to

Present)

Part-time Public Defender

. Represent public defender eligible clients in state criminal

proceedings.

. Currently assigned to primarily felony caseload and represent criminal

clients in all stages of criminal procedure.

. Appear in numerous contested Rasmussen and Florence hearings, as well

as numerous probation violation hearings and sentencing.

. Responsible for all motion writing within my caseload. Cases include,

and have included, clients charged with first degree murder, sexual

assaults, violations related to controlled substances, and other types

of felonies.

. Represented public defender eligible clients in eight (8) felony jury

trials to date.

Wright County Legal Clinic, Buffalo, MN (April 2008 to Present)

Wright County Courthouse, Volunteer

. Offer free legal advice over the lunch hour at the Wright County

Courthouse law library.

. The clinic consists of attorneys offering their services for short

intake sessions for persons who cannot afford an attorney. The

program was set up and is affiliated with Central Minnesota Legal

Services.

Law Office of Christopher Zipko, Saint Paul, MN (June 2009 to December

2009)

Partner, Owner

. Solo practitioner of a criminal defense, personal injury, civil,

family law and appellate practice firm.

. Advised criminal clients in all facets of criminal procedure,

including both juvenile and adult clients.

. Counseled civil clients as defendants, plaintiffs, from contracts,

collections, personal injury, to leases, bankruptcies and housing

issues.

. Represented plaintiffs in personal injury lawsuits, including elder

care abuse, car accidents,

wrongful death cases.

. Statewide representation.

Zipko Davis, P.A., Saint Paul, MN (June 2008 to June 2009)

Partner, Owner

. Owner and partner of a criminal defense, personal injury, civil,

family law and appellate practice firm.

. Advise criminal clients in all facets of criminal procedure, including

both juvenile and adult clients.

. Counseled civil clients as defendants, plaintiffs, from contracts,

collections, personal injury, to leases, bankruptcies and housing

issues.

. Represented plaintiffs in personal injury lawsuits, including elder

care abuse, car accidents,

wrongful death cases.

. Handled criminal appeals.

Law Office of Christopher J. Zipko, Buffalo, MN (October 2006 to June

2008)

Attorney/Owner

. Owned and operated single-person law firm with a criminal, civil,

personal injury, family law and appellate practice.

. Represented adult and juvenile clients in all facets of criminal

procedure from arraignments, trial and appeals throughout the State of

Minnesota.

. Counseled civil clients in personal injury lawsuits, both as

plaintiffs and defendants.

. Advised family clients in custody matters, as well as in numerous

CHIPs (Children in Need of Protective Services) proceedings.

Mille Lacs County Attorney's Office, Milaca, MN (November 2003 - October

2006)

Assistant County Attorney (Criminal)

. Prosecuted felony and gross misdemeanor cases for Mille Lacs County,

with primary focus on controlled substances.

. Caseload included the crimes of attempted murder, shaken baby

syndrome, assaults, sexual assaults, burglaries, robberies, as well as

all probation violations.

. Responsible for all motions, trials and appeals within my caseload.

. Drafted and reviewed search warrants.

. Worked with the North Central Drug Task Force, the Minnesota

Department of Corrections, the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, as well as

other law enforcement agencies, from city, county, state and federal.

. Represented Mille Lacs County in twenty-seven (27) felony jury trials,

numerous court trials and six (6) criminal appeals.

. Attended the National District Attorney Association trial school in

Columbia, South Carolina. Attended two separate trial schools, Trial

Advocacy (2005) and Jury Selection (2006)

. Completed the American Prosecutors Research Institute Drug Prosecution

Program in Baltimore, Maryland (2005).

. Attended Minnesota Attorney General's Office Methamphetamine

Manufacturing and Prosecution training (2004).

Federal Public Defender's Office, Minneapolis, MN (September 2002 - June

2003)

Law Clerk

. Drafted criminal procedure motions, including motions to suppress

evidence, and sentencing motions.

. Conducted legal research on federal criminal procedure and drafted

memoranda of law.

. Interviewed defendants and assisted with investigations.

Ramsey County Public Defender's Office, Saint Paul, MN (August 2001 - June

2003)

Law Clerk

. Represented public defender eligible clients, adults and juveniles, in

state criminal proceedings.

. Represented the clients during all stages of criminal procedure,

including arraignments, settlement and dispositional conferences,

trial management conferences, trials, sentencing and probation

violations.

. Conducted investigations for attorneys in felony trials and co-chaired

in felony jury trial.

. Additional duties included legal research and writing memoranda of

law.

Immigrant Law Center, Oficina Legal, Saint Paul, MN (March 2001 - July

2001)

Volunteer

. Assisted permanent legal residents petition the United States

Government to obtain legal status for their relatives. The majority

of the interviews were conducted in Spanish.

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APPELLATE CASES:

Thomas William Fickett v. State of Minnesota

A08-0479 (Minn.Ct.App. 2008)

State of Minnesota v. Ted Brown

709 N.W.2d 313 (Minn.Ct.App. 2006)

John Benjamin Amble, III v. State of Minnesota

A06-1597 (Minn.Ct.App. 2006)

Michael Peter Henderson v. State of Minnesota

A06-1597 (Minn.Ct.App. 2006)

Crystal Marie Jorgensen v. State of Minnesota

A05-549 (Minn.Ct.App. 2006)

State of Minnesota v. Susanne Jean Beutz

A05-1855 (Minn.Ct. App. 2006)

Ariel Suzette Pedersen v. State of Minnesota

State of Minnesota v. Ariel Suzette Pedersen

A04-2480 (Minn.Ct.App. 2006)

A05-608 (Minn.Ct.App. 2006)

Wayne A. Hamlin v. Mille Lacs County, Child Support Division

A04-2043 (Minn.Ct.App. 2005)

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PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

Minnesota State Bar Association

Ramsey County Bar Association

Minnesota Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

Minnesota Association for Justice

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EDUCATION:

William Mitchell College of Law, St. Paul, MN

Juris Doctor, May 2003

CALI Award for highest grade in the class in Criminal Appeals Award

Recipient

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN

Bachelor of Arts, June 1996

Major: International Relations

Minor: Spanish

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