Mark C. Willis
Since the beginning of my legal career, I have dedicated my skills to obtaining justice for injured individuals and families. My typical client finds his or her life turned upside down as a result of someone else's carelessness, negligence, recklessness, or greed. Injuries are not always just a physical component. Often they create financial and emotional stress as well.
I have successfully represented clients against insurance companies, banks, mortgage companies, real estate companies, trucking companies, Fortune 500 companies and local businesses as well as other individuals. I have been on the cutting edge of obtaining insurance coverage for clients where insurance companies have claimed no coverage existed. I have had success in making insurance companies pay more than they claim they have in coverage. I have had success against these interests at the Common Pleas, Appellate, and Supreme Court levels. Obtaining justice for clients against the insurance industry and other big business interests has always been rewarding. With over 20 years experience in litigating cases, I have the experience and the resources to obtain justice for my clients.
I graduated from high school in rural West Virginia and went on to college in West Virginia. I moved to Akron, Ohio in 1983 to attend law school. I began working at age 13 and by the age 17, I was working full-time. I worked full-time the remainder of high school and all the way through college and law school. I have always had a strong work ethic and I work hard for my clients.
Areas of Practice
- Personal Injury
- Fraud
- Insurance Company Bad Faith
- Tort
- Insurance Coverage
- Consumer Rights
Bar Admissions
- Ohio, 1987
- West Virginia, 1987
- U.S. District Court Northern District of Ohio
- U.S. District Court Southern District of West Virginia
- U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit
Education
- University of Akron School of Law, Akron, Ohio
- Juris Doctorate - May, 1987
- Concord College, Athens, West Virginia
- Bachelor of Science - May, 1983
- Major: Small Business Management and Computer Science
- Princeton High School, Princeton, West Virginia, June
Classes/Seminars
- Instructor, Ohio Association of Justice Trial Practice Series, 2007
- Instructor and Moderator, Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers Annual Conventions, 2000
- Instructor and Moderator, Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers Annual Conventions, 1999
- Instructor, Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers Evidence/ Discovery Seminar, 1999
- Instructor, Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers Insurance Law Seminar Series, 1999
- Moderator, Summit Country Trial Lawyers Association Trial Practice Series, 1998
- Instructor, Akron Bar Association Consumer Law Series and Personal Injury Series, 1998
- Instructor and Moderator, Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers Annual Conventions, 1997
- Moderator, Summit Country Trial Lawyers Association Trial Practice Series, 1997
- Instructor, Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers Insurance Law Seminar Series, 1997
- Instructor, Akron Bar Association Consumer Law Series, 1997
- Instructor, Mahoning Trumbull Country Trial Lawyers Association Annual Trial Practice Seminar, 1994
- Instructor, Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers Insurance Law Seminar Series, 1993
Professional Associations and Memberships
- American Association for Justice
- National Association of Consumer Advocates
- Ohio Association for Justice (formerly Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers)
- Ohio Bar Association
- West Virginia Bar Association
- Summit County Association for Justice (formerly Summit County Trial Lawyers Association)
- Akron Bar Association
- Cleveland Academy of Trial Lawyers
- American Association for Justice, Task Force Representative Dover, Delaware, 1992
- American Association for Justice, Task Force Representative Newark, New Jersey, 1991
- American Association for Justice, City Task Force Drive and Oho Academy of Trial Lawyers, Chair, 1999
- American Association for Justice, City Task Force Drive and Oho Academy of Trial Lawyers, Chair, 1996
- American Association for Justice, City Task Force Drive and Oho Academy of Trial Lawyers, Chair, 1995
- Summit County Trial Lawyers Association, President, 1999 - 2000
- Summit County Trial Lawyers Association, Vice President, 1998 - 1999
- Summit County Trial Lawyers Association, Secretary, 1997 - 1998
- Summit County Trial Lawyers Association, Treasurer, 1996 - 1997
- Summit County Trial Lawyers Association, Board of Trustees, 1996 - 2008
- Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers, Consumer Law Section, Chair, 1998 - 2001
- Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers, Board of Trustees, 1997 - 2001
- Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers, Environmental Law Section, Chair, 1997
- The Supreme Court of Ohio, Ohio Association for Justice, Amicus Curiae Representative, 2007
- The Supreme Court of Ohio, Ohio Association for Justice, Amicus Curiae Representative, 1998
- The Supreme Court of Ohio, Ohio Association for Justice, Amicus Curiae Representative, 1995
Pro Bono Activities
- Committee Member, Akron Chapter, Ducks Unlimited, 1993 - 2008
- Executive Chairman, Akron Chapter, Ducks Unlimited, 1996 - 1998
- Property Committee Chairman, Bethel Lutheran Church, 2008 - Present
- Bethel Lutheran Church, Property Committee, 2006 - Present
- Bethel Lutheran Church, Budget Committee, 2006
- Bethel Lutheran Church, Budget Committee, 2005
- Council President, Jerusalem Evangelical Lutheran Church, 2003
- Council President, Jerusalem Evangelical Lutheran Church, 2001 - 2003
