David Cleland Polley

David C. Polley was a long-time Nevada lawyer who practiced with deep dedication to the law for decades in Las Vegas. Born in the Black Hills of South Dakota, he attended college in Boulder, Colorado, an education interrupted by service in the U.S. Army in Japan during the Korean War. He returned to Boulder to finish his studies as an electrical engineer before graduating from the University of New Mexico Law School. He and his family then moved to Las Vegas, where he began his career as legal counsel for Nevada Test Site contractor REECO.

Over a storied career in Nevada, Polley served for several years in Attorney General Robert List's administration on the Gaming Control Board, and he traveled for years to Nevada's rural counties as a public defender. For decades, up until the day of his death, he maintained a private law practice serving clients as varied as a Nevada brothel and an Anglican order of nuns, along with countless individuals - work he undertook with characteristic generosity, often accepting unusual forms of compensation in place of fees.

Beyond his practice, Polley volunteered as a Truancy Diversion Judge in Clark County, serving the children and families of the community as a respected role model. He was also an active and dedicated member of Christ Church Episcopal for more than 40 years, serving the Episcopal church in Nevada on many committees and special commissions. He was 81. Those who knew him remembered a kind, humble, and honorable man who found the good in people.