Mark earned an undergraduate degree in Psychology with honors in the mid-1970’s. In 1978, he began working as a Family Relations Counselor in the New Haven Superior Court, Family Relations Division. During that time, he attended Law School and in 1985, earned a law degree graduating summa cum laude. Upon graduation, he was selected as the Law Clerk for Justice David Borden who was then a Judge of the Appellate Court. His work as a Family Relations Counselor involved conducting extensive investigations in cases where the parents did not agree regarding custody and parenting schedules for their children. When the Superior Court started its Mediation program, Mark was among the first Mediators in Connecticut to provide court-connected Mediation services upon referral from the Family Court Judges.
In 1986, Mark began his law practice representing clients in Family Law matters exclusively. In those early years, his law practice involved traditional adversarial litigation in Family Courts throughout the State of Connecticut and occasional work as a Mediator. To preserve and protect his deep-rooted interest in Mediation and non-adversarial conflict resolution during those years while fully engaged in adversarial litigation, Mark created a dispute resolution course for law students which he has taught every year since 1989.
Mark has since shifted the entire focus of his practice away from litigation and his work is now focused entirely upon the non-adversarial, out-of- court processes of Mediation and Collaborative Law. In addition, he will serve as consulting/review counsel for clients working with other Mediators who wish to have their agreements reviewed before they are finalized. He also serves as an Arbitrator upon request of lawyers and clients who have not been able to resolve their matters through mediation or Collaborative Practice.
Mark is a member of the CCND Board of Directors, a founding member of Collaborative Divorce Professionals of Fairfield County, an active member of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (IACP), the bar associations of the States of Connecticut and New York, the American Bar Association, and is admitted to practice in the U.S. Supreme Court.