Mark is intense and unrelenting. He’s always been that way. When he was 17 years old, Mark graduated from high school early to join the U.S. Army. He served three years in the Army, and was awarded two Army Achievement Medals and the Good Conduct Medal. After that, Mark earned his college degree from Wayne State University in Detroit in less than three years. Then, he attended the University of Houston Law Center, where he graduated in 1994, cum laude, Order of the Coif, and was in the top 10% of his graduating class. Mark is Board Certified in Labor & Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Mark is a highly effective advocate. His focus is always to get results for his clients. On behalf of employees, Mark has settled many cases for high six-figures and seven-figures. Mark has won more than fifty summary judgments and jury trials for both employees and employers (see Mark's Relevant Texas and Other Employment Law Experience). In 2013, Texas Lawyer magazine named him “Litigator of the Week,” after he won a $2.9 million jury verdict in an age discrimination case. In 2016, he and his partner won a significant jury verdict in an FLSA retaliation case. Mark has also argued and won numerous appeals. In 2017, he argued and won an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in an ERISA severance benefits case, and his client was awarded $255,000.00, plus attorneys’ fees.

Mark’s peers have recognized him for practicing employment law at the highest level of the profession. Based on high feedback from his peers in the Houston legal community, the publication Best Lawyersawarded Mark the honor of 2018 Lawyer of the Year for Houston Litigation - Labor and Employment. Furthermore, every year since 2009 Mark has been recognized as a Super Lawyer, a Thompson Reuters service printed in Texas Monthly. In addition, each year since 2015, the same publication has recognized Mark as a “Top 100 Houston Super Lawyer,” and in 2017 the publication named him a "Top 100 Texas Super Lawyer."

Mark regularly handles claims for race discrimination, retaliation, sex discrimination, sex harassment, age discrimination, disability discrimination (ADA), whistleblower, FLSA (unpaid overtime and minimum wage), Sarbanes-Oxley Act retaliation, Dodd-Frank Act retaliation, trade secrets and covenants not to compete, breach of contract, and many other types of employment law claims. For an overview of Mark's employment law experience click here.

Mark is a prolific speaker on a wide variety of employment law topics. Mark regularly speaks at seminars across the country on retaliation and whistleblowing for a preeminent CLE provider, the National Employment Law Institute. More than 10,000 people have viewed Mark’s on-line employment law classes for Lawline, and given him very high “course ratings.” Mark is also a frequent commentator on employment law issues in The Houston Chronicle, and many of the cases he has handled have been covered by media outlets throughout America.