Partner Mark Weaver is an experienced litigator and legal advisor who has successfully represented thousands of clients. Whether it’s presenting a complex case to a jury or arguing in front of the Ohio Supreme Court, Mark uses creative persuasion, piercing logic, and his understanding of the law to bring about the best possible results for his legal clients.
Prior to entering private practice, Mark was the Deputy Attorney General of Ohio. Serving on the Attorney General’s Executive Staff, he helped manage the work of a legal office with 50,000 cases and 1,400 employees. Working with his colleagues in that office, he helped represent the state in several high-profile legal matters, including the lawsuit against the tobacco industry, the Microsoft antitrust case, and several death penalty cases.
He has a statewide reputation in media law, public records and open meetings law, and First Amendment practice. For two decades, he taught media law at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. The Cleveland Plain Dealer called him “the guru of Ohio public records law.”
Mark also regularly practices in government and election law. He’s represented numerous judges, local government officials, and state lawmakers. He’s provided legal and litigation advice to the Ohio Attorney General, the Ohio Secretary of State, the Ohio Auditor of State, and the Ohio Treasurer of State. He’s also taught Election Law at the University of Akron.
Many business leaders hire Mark to assist when complex legal matters become high-profile issues in the news media. His knowledge of the ethical issues surrounding what litigants are permitted to say in the press and social media helps his clients win both in the court of law as well as the court of public opinion. He teaches at the School of Government at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and the John Glenn College of Public Affairs at The Ohio State University.
Mark is often asked to act as a felony level Special Prosecutor in criminal cases around the state. In the courtroom presenting to a jury, the state parole board, and in courts of appeals defending convictions, Mark has prosecuted murderers, rapists, child molesters, and other violent criminals. To date, Mark has prosecuted crimes in a dozen Ohio counties, including prosecuting a serial killer whom he helped send to death row. He teaches Constitutional Law to the Ohio Public Safety Leadership Academy and has been a featured speaker for the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association, the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police, the Arizona Judicial Conference, the Michigan Judicial Conference, and the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association.
By appointment, he serves as Acting Judge for the Delaware Municipal Court, presiding when a judge is away from court. Between this work and nearly a dozen years as a Mayor’s Court Magistrate in multiple local courts, Mark has presided over thousands of misdemeanor criminal cases and sentenced thousands of defendants.
While Mark has practiced law in Ohio for three decades, he previously worked and practiced in both Washington, D.C. and his native state of Pennsylvania. National lawyer ranking service Martindale Hubbell, gave him the highest possible rating for legal skill and ethical judgement: “AV-Pre-eminent.”
Mark’s op-ed writing on law, courts, and other topics is regularly featured in national publications such as Newsweek, the Washington Post, and USA Today. He is the author of the award-winning book “A Wordsmith’s Work,” which has been favorably reviewed by the Ohio State Bar Association and others.
His most recent work is authoring the children’s book “God Bless America, 250 Years Strong.” Mark’s ancestors fought in both the Union Army and the American Revolution, and he is a member of Sons of the American Revolution.
He serves as an Executive Board Member of the Christian charity MAP International, which brings medicine to the neediest people in the world.
Mark and his wife Lori volunteer in a local chapter of the Christian ministry Young Life. They are the proud parents of two grown children and three young grandsons.
Honors
•Named to Columbus CEO Magazine’s “Top Lawyer” List (2014-2020)
•“AV Preeminent”- Highest possible rating, Martindale Hubbell legal rating service
•Fellowship, Center for Study of the Presidency and Congress
•Kutztown University of Pennsylvania Student Government Board Outstanding Alumni Award
•Kutztown University of Pennsylvania Outstanding Young Alumni Award
•Kutztown University of Pennsylvania Outstanding Alumni Citation
•Honorary Certificate in Applied Politics, University of Akron
•Excellence in Teaching Award, Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police
•“Who’s Who in American Law”
